Total Control Dog Owner Assistance (TCDOA)

Hi, my name is Judith Joseph, and for over 20 years, I have trained many dogs – just for the fun of it.  What a great feeling to have a dog owner say to you “THANK YOU FOR TRAINING MY DOG”!  Many of these dogs weren’t allowed in their owner’s homes, banished to the backyard because of ‘bad behavior’.  Dogs don’t automatically learn how to behave in the home because you tell them!  It takes training at an early age - or ANY age - for a dog to learn and understand acceptable behavior. 

How TCDOA got its start.

In January 2006, I began to provide friends and co-workers with dog sitting services for periods ranging from 2 days to 3+ weeks when they vacationed, traveled abroad, or across the nation on work related assignments.  On occasion I would have the opportunity to obedience train dogs while the owners were away.  I was referred by these friends and co-workers to other dog owners who traveled.  “You’re so good at it”, or “training dogs is what you should be doing, you're amazing”, or “I can’t believe this is my dog” are words I often heard.  I was encouraged to do what I do best; to make a career out of doing something that I truly enjoyed doing, and that I was good at. 

October 2006 - I created Total Control Dog Owner Assistance (TCDOA).  I continued to provide dog sitting services and would obedience train the dogs that had behavioral problems their owners could not correct.  They would be surprised and delighted to see how much better behaved their dogs could be.  Having to be at work 8 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., and many days until well after 6:00 p.m., I could only dream of building my business.  I simply did not have the time, not to mention I needed the pay checks. 

December 2006 – at a PetSmart local animal rescue organization adoption event,  I volunteered to work with an aggressive “un-adoptable” adult dog after I heard his story.  His several foster owners had all given up on him.  He jumped on them, bit them and was labeled not trainable, uncontrollable.  He was scheduled to be returned to the County Shelter and would most likely be euthanized.  I brought him to my home and the first two days were extremely difficult for me, my family and my other two dogs.  He did bite!  He growled and attacked me on Day One when I placed his food bowl near him.  He attacked my two female dogs (a German Shepherd and a Doberman Pinscher) the moment he saw them.  I couldn't go near him.  It was a very sad first two days for me.  I questioned whether I had the ability to help this dog.  Had I made a bad decision?  But, I took a deep breath, and told myself I could not fail.  His life depended on me.  I was his last hope. 

It took over a week for me to be able to feed him and give him water without being attacked.  By the end of Week 2 I was able to sit near him and talk to him.  Week 3 I began reward based Obedience training and socializing him with my dogs.  We had a few setbacks, but I never lost hope.  By Week 7 I was taking him everywhere with me, exposing him to people, places, parks, lakes - things he may not have experienced before.  He was able to ride in the back seat of my car with my two dogs without incidence.  During the 9 weeks he was with me, I was able to gain his respect and trust, to socialize him with my dogs, obedience train him, and resolve his aggression towards dogs and people.   He was posted on the rescue’s website for adoption.  I'd meet with prospective adopters who had seen him on the website, and interviewed, evaluated and assessed each family to find the best home environment for him with an experienced dog owner.  He was adopted in early February 2007.  I would not be telling the whole story if I did not tell you that I cried like a baby for many weeks after he was gone from our home.

  I'd open the garage door or step out into the yard expecting to see him.

A dear friend helped me through this "grieving" period by telling me that "he's with a good family.  Now you have time to help save another dog who needs you".  It was then that I knew in my heart that I wanted to do obedience training and to work with problem dogs.  

As Fate would have it, a few months later there were lay-offs in our department - I was one of them.  Fortunately I received severance pay for a few months, allowing me to focus on getting my business up and running.   I returned to college so that in addition to my experience, I would have the credentials needed to become a Professional Dog Trainer.  

Since 2008, as TCDOA, I have trained over 50 dogs and many puppies for private individuals, gaining well over 2000 hours of professional training experience including Basic and Advanced Obedience, Housebreaking, Fear Aggression, Dog-Dog Aggression, Food Guarding, Leash Pulling, Running Away, Nipping, Jumping, Destructive Behavior, Socialization Problems, Car Chasing, Object Aggression, Separation Anxiety, and numerous other behavioral issues such as excessive barking and squirrel chasing.  TCDOA also provides Dog Walking and In-Home Boarding services (feeding, walking, play time and quality companionship) as an alternative to kenneling your pet when you travel.

Breeds I have trained during my lifetime and over the past years as TCDOA include the Boxer, German Shepherd Dog (GSD), Doberman Pinscher, Irish Setter, Chow Chow, American Pit Bull, Chihuahua, Cocker Spaniel, Collie, Great Pyrenees, American Bull Dog, Staffordshire Terrier, Yorkshire Terrier, Maltese, Dachshund, Rat Terrier, Bulldog, Labrador Retriever, Akita, Schnauzer, Rottweiler, Australian Cattle Dog, Beagle, Vizsla, Mastiff, English Cocker Spaniel, Jack Russell Terrier, Husky, Shih Tzu, Pomeranian, Italian Greyhound, GSD mixes, Labrador Mixes, pit bull mixes, and numerous other mixed breeds.

EXPERTISE + EXPERIENCE = RESULTS!

NEW PUPPY?  TCDOA offers puppy socialization, housebreaking using techniques that work,

and positive, reward-based basic obedience training. 

TCDOA can help you teach your children how to handle and interact with your new puppy or dog to

avoid behavior problems in the future.

Thinking of getting a puppy but don't know which one is right for you and your family?

TCDOA provides Evaluation and Assessment services, helping you make the right dog choice for

Your Family, Your Lifestyle.

Already have a dog that is unresponsive to your commands, destroys your furniture, barks non-stop,

shows aggression toward you, family and friends, exhibits anxiety and fear, or

pulls like crazy on the leash, chasing after everything that moves?

Call or email TCDOA for more information.

Contact TCDOA Today for Results You'll Be Happy With Tomorrow