Are you a dog owner? If so, then you will undoubtedly agree that sharing your life with a dog has it’s shares of ups and downs. There are wonderful moments, and then there are others that are extremely challenging for all kinds of reasons. The fact remains however, that through it all, dogs are still “man’s best friend” in my opinion…it is just harder to make friends with some dogs than with others.

With our current dog, an eight year old miniature schnauzer, we have definitely faced a few challenges. Within a short time of him coming into our lives, we discovered that, while a smart and loving little guy, he also:

1. Growled and jumped on anyone who came to visit, and barked at absolutely everything he saw.

2. Absolutely hated going to the groomers to get clipped.

So what did we do? We did some research and spoke with our vet to discover some strategies and techniques that we could use to help make him a “good friend”. Here is how we resolved these issues.

1. It took a while to help him with the growling/jumping/barking problem because, as a good little schnauzer it was very important to him to protect his territory. Unfortunately, him being territorial, meant he was scaring all of our friends and neighbors. So we tried tons of training methods to teach him better manners: reward systems, squirting water, coins in a can, newspapers, you name it, we probably tried it. Nothing really worked. So we discussed the problem with our vet who suggested a remote training collar. Not really knowing anything about how they worked, we did more research and finally decided to try the Innotek Ultrasmart Remote Trainer. Perhaps the thing we liked the best about it was that it had 9 different stimulation levels so that we had a lot of flexibility in controlling the settings, so that we could always give the least amount of stimulation that would be effective. In addition there is a tone-only training option that provides even more versatility. We also decided to get the Innotek Ultrasmart Remote Trainer, 300 yds. which allows for training within a 300 yard range. What was the best thing about the Innotek Ultrasmart? It worked. In no time at all, our little dog learned how to not scare our guests, and we were able to have visitors again!

2. Now the problem of our dog being stressed by going to the groomers was really more an issue of training us as opposed to him. We decided that by learning to clip him each month at home, we could be done with the process much quicker, and he would be more comfortable, and happier as a result. So we invested in the Oster A5 Turbo Clipper, and have to honestly say that doing so has made such a difference in his life…and ours. We chose these clippers because Oster has a reputation for lasting forever, and we didn’t want to buy new ones each year. Plus, the reviews on them stated that they did a quiet, smooth, and quick job, which was just what we wanted. The Oster A5 Turbo Clipper has worked out great for us, with the only slight glitch being that the clippers can get warm, but we easily solved this by cleaning and changing the blades, and using Oster Kool Lube. They are really very easy to use, the challenge for us was just learning to get the cut right! But happily, all the challenges in grooming our little guy each month have completely vanished, and the process is now actually smooth and stress-free for all of us.

Having a dog can, and should be a joy, but it often takes a little work to get to that point. In our case, we had a little help from the Innotek Ultrasmart Remote Trainer, and the Oster A5 Turbo Clipper. But the investment and time we took to use these tools to help make life with our dog better for us and for him have been so worthwhile. The reward has been a merry, little schnauzer whose intelligence, loving nature, and desire to please truly make him our best friend!

Discover how your dog can learn to become a happy and well-mannered best friend. Learn more about the Innotek Ultrasmart Remote Trainer and the Oster A5 Turbo Clipper, read the reviews of the product from other happy dog owners, and see if they are right for you and your dog.