"When I first met C.W. Meisterfeld over nine years ago, I had a hyperactive problem dog. I had been training and showing dogs for four years prior and had been switching from one trainer to another. My training methods were very judgmental and harsh, giving the dogs no leeway for error. I was never completely happy with the training classes. I have found.

The training was always very dominant and I never felt that the instructors truly understood how a dog's mind worked. They always seemed to work against the dog and not with them.

When I met Meisterfeld I was having problems with a young dog of mine named Samson. He was a very hyper and destructive American Pit Bull Terrier I had rescued from Napa Humane Shelter. Because of his short attention span and a tense energy he was always in trouble. I had tried all the training methods I had learned in the past to stop his behaviors. Nothing helped. He kept getting worse and I was very frustrated.

I joined Meisterfeld's eight week training course and that is when the changes began. Not only did Samson's life change, but mine did too.

As we went through he course I had to learn how to become nonjudgmental. This was the opposite of what I had become conditioned to do. I was so used to harshly correcting Samson every time he misbehaved. I also had to become nonjudgmental in my everyday life. This did not come easy for me. I had to learn to be patient and neutral in situations that I would normally become frustrated in. I worked very hard to make the changes necessary to change myself and Samson.

After a few weeks things started to become different. I was looking at things in a whole new way. I was staying neutral and my patience level was rising. As I changed so did Samson. He started paying attention for longer periods of time. His bad behaviors were slowly happening less and less and I was truly enjoying the training.

By the end of the training, Samson and I had a brand new respectful master-dog relationship. I had a dog that no longer drove me crazy.

I have kept up the philosophies I learned in Meisterfeld's course and I apply them in my life to my children. I find that I am very patient and nonjudgmental when it comes to being a parent. I am very grateful for the positive changes that Meisterfeld has helped me make in myself. I find that my life is very peaceful and happy because I am at peace. So are my children and dogs.

I focus my energy on the positive happenings in my life and strengthen them. When something negative happens I deal with it in a matter-of-fact kind of way and move on. I am not angry anymore and let go of the negative things in my life that used to weigh me down. As my children grow older I see then becoming more caring and nonjudgmental. They are not mean or angry towards their classmates or our animals. They care about all beings and take good care of each other.

I feel because of the positive changes in me that occurred by learning this philosophy of dog training, my children will be better adults. I hope to instill in them the respectful, peaceful, nonjudgmental attitude towards life that Dr. Meisterfeld had instilled in me.