The animal-loving philosophy that is reflected on your web site attracted us to Mystic Moon, and we are delighted to testify to the effectiveness of your methods and your marvelous skills as a trainer and coach. You can be sure that we'll continue to call on your expertise in the months and years to come.

Saturday, January 14

Tonja & Chuck,

From Cindy, Mark, and Izzie (the ''little white dog'' with blue collar also described as 5-year-old Westie rescue female with ears and tail cropped by previous owner) . . . we were in your Wed. class that ended just before New Year's.

THANK YOU for what you shared with us in your class. Mark and I appreciate it very much, Izzie, too, but perhaps me most of all. I have grown up with dogs, all moderately to somewhat poorly trained, though much loved. As an adult I had have had two Labrador retrievers, one after the other, which I adored but struggled with given their size, energy, and my shortage of time and help available then. I've taken classes with three local trainers/sources, but never with the kind of results that we're getting with Izzie. Mark is new to dog ownership and has not trained dogs previously and he thought it all made sense and was pleased as well. I should admit that simultaneous to taking your class I read two of Jon Katz' books, and as you likely know Katz too is a big fan of ''positive capture'' and reward-based training. So much of what you teach, Tonja, seems common sense once you hear it, but common sense isn't always in abundance! After bringing Izzie home I was hot to trot to add another to our household and office, but now I'm committed to waiting. I really want to build on what she's learning so that we can have fun together, so that she can be a relaxed and constant companion at home, work, and on adventures such as hiking and paddling and camping. I am somewhat interested in agility just for the fun. Anyway I wanted to say THANK YOU.

Would you be willing to board Izzie in March? We would love to have her with you.

Hope all's well with you two and yours this New Year,

Cindy Pearson, Mark Dixon & Izzie

Tonja -

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for the help you have given us with our Irish Setter, Riley. Without your assistance he probably wouldn't still be with us, which would have been a loss for us since he's turned into a wonderful companion.

When we rescued him from the Animal Rescue League he was 9 months old and had little if any training, but he was such a beautiful dog. I had always wanted an Irish Setter, but never figured I'd get one. Then shortly after we got him home I wasn't so sure living with an Irish Setter was for me.

He was difficult to work with, would not obey and did not get along with the other pets in the house. He was really a four legged red terror. But then when we were just about totally fed up with him, he would show us a glimmer of hope with his loving personality.

When we first contacted you, we had reached the end of our rope. We were close to taking him back to the Animal Rescue League and writing it off as a bad experience. We really doubted there was much hope for him. Then we started working with you. We didn't see immediate results, but slowly we started seeing a difference. He was showing more promise.

By the time we finished the basic training class, he was much better and turning into the pet we wanted and had hoped for. Without the work and encouragement you gave us, we would have returned him to the Rescue League and it would have been a loss for us and Riley.

Now, he's not perfect and he has his moments, but then again he's a healthy, energetic, fun loving Setter. He gets along well with the other pets in the house and has become a loving companion for both us and his Wheaton Terrier brother, Buster. And since he started doing squirrel watch in the backyard, no one has been attacked by a squirrel.

We were eager to take the advanced class you offered at the Valley Junction Farmers' Market. When we first heard you talk about it, we never suspected Riley would do well, but we decided to give it a try. By the the end of the class, he was "almost" a model citizen - we could even drop the leash and walk away from him and he would stay. Pretty good for a dog with his energy level.

Again your patience and understanding of dogs and their companions (and their frustrations) showed as you helped every dog and companion in the class to better understand each other and work better together. It's hard to imagine you could have 7 or 8 dogs sit on the street and watch their people sit on the curb and eat supper and not once did a dog try to steal a meal.

Thanks again for all of your guidance and patience. We look forward to the opportunity to learn more about rally and agility. If we can channel that big red dog's energy, it'll be a sight to behold. And we'll have the Irish Setter we dreamed of owning.

Sincerely,

Steve, Sue and Riley Gibbons

Saturday, January 21

Last February while my husband and I and our three kids were spending a quiet weekend at our cabin in southern Iowa we found a small female puppy, or in more truthful terms, a small female puppy found us. We were not looking for a dog; we already owned a sweet, old, obedient, mixed Border Collie/ Husky. I'd heard my husband tell our three teenagers many times when they asked for a second dog, "We're a ONE dog family". But I could not turn away from this young, hungry, scared, ball of fur darting across the Iowa farm fields. We brought her home. The next day our veterinarian told me that although she was healthy, she had probably never been touched by human hands and she would be difficult to train. He also said she might bite us out of fear. But I had successfully trained our older dog, Barkley, and I wanted to try to keep this little puppy. We named her Cleo.

Two weeks later, in spite of my efforts to train the puppy, I was surrounded by torn window treatments, chewed furniture, destroyed shoes and ruined carpeting (she ate it!), and also a very unhappy husband. I realized I would either have to train Cleo quickly or find her another home. I remembered seeing a truck in my neighbor's driveway a few months prior; on the side of the truck was an advertisement that read "Canine Training". I called the neighbor and she gave me a great recommendation for Tonja Osborn, the owner of Canine Training By Mystic Moon,Inc..

When Tonja came to my house for the first visit I explained to her that contacting her was a last ditch effort and that I was close to giving Cleo away. I showed her a huge list I'd compiled of Cleo's bad behaviors. She told me she wanted to work with me so that I didn't feel like giving Cleo away was my only option. I was skeptical, however, because I knew this particular puppy wasn't interested in learning how to behave. Within minutes of her arrival, Tonja established that she was in charge and both she and Cleo knew it. Tonja taught Cleo to focus on her and I watched as Cleo's eyes began to follow Tonja's hands and face. Cleo responded well to Tonja but I wondered if Cleo would respond to me. Tonja taught me how to work with Cleo and even told me the vocabulary to use. She left me with written instructions and a phone number to call if I got into trouble.

Within a few days I started to notice a small difference in Cleo's behavior. Tonja is great at problem solving and she gave me lots of ideas and possible solutions to the problems I was having with the puppy. We had some bad days that first week, but we had some good ones, too and by the time Tonja came the following week Cleo had made a couple small improvements. Tonja told me it wouldn't happen overnight and that I'd have to be patient but if I kept up with the training, I would see results. Everyday I took out Tonja's written notes and continued the training. Soon Cleo began following simple commands.

Cleo began to look forward to Tonja's weekly visits. There was lots of tail wagging and excitement (but after a short while, no jumping :-)) when Tonja arrived. Tonja also had fun games for Cleo to play; her favorite was a game called "Find it". We still play that game. It didn't take many weeks before I felt like I could handle Cleo on my own. Occasionally, I'd call Tonja if I had a question or needed help with a problem. But most helpful of all, when we travel and need to board both our dogs, Tonja boards them for us at her home and acreage, and does training with them while they're there. She even picks up and delivers the dogs!

We've had Cleo for almost a year now and it's been quite a while since I've thought of giving her away. She has settled in and become an important part of our family. I'm grateful to Tonja for teaching me how to train Cleo; it required some effort on my part but the rewards have been plentiful. Thank-you, Tonja!

Robin Bear

January 28

We were delighted to learn about  "Canine Training by Mystic Moon INC" through our vet at Jordan Creek Animal Hospital. Tonja Osborn is a "dog whisperer" extraordinaire. Our Lucylou loves Tonja and is instantly transformed in her presence. Her assistance in training and boarding Lucylou has been invaluable to us. We highly recommend Tonja and "Canine Training by Mystic Moon INC" to anyone experiencing puppyhood.

Lucylou, Rita, And Jack

January 31

I adopted my dog, Prince, when he was one year old after the loss of my 11 year old female lab mix who had been my faithful companion for 8 years. He is a beautiful white Shepard mix, who had been neutered and house broken but was definitely still all puppy, locked in the body of an adult dog. While he was very lovable and a good protector of our house, he had many bad habits which were making it difficult to live with him. He barked constantly at anything that moved in front of the windows; he jumped on people who came to visit and refused to relax. He is very tall for a Shepard and often frightened my children if he jumped on them or would knock them down. Although housebroken, he marked items in the house (mostly the children's' toys); and if he were ever to escape through an open door, he would run the neighborhood, ignoring all attempts to coax him back.

I had taken him to basic training at the local pet store and then again to a class who specialized in German Shepards. While he picked up the basic commands, his bad habits still remained. By the time Prince turned two, I was at my wits end. I contacted my veterinarian and he suggested that I call Tonja at Mystic Moon who offered one-on-one training and experience with problem dogs. When Tonja showed up the first night, Prince displayed his usual high energy behavior; however, she went right to work with him. I was amazed after just one session how she was able to get him to calm down and listen. Much of the session was also for training me how to handle him. One of the great benefits of coming to our house was that she was able to see Prince in his normal environment and was able to make suggestions based on his surroundings. I used her simple techniques every day and saw results quickly. Tonja continued to work with us for the next several months. She admitted to me after he finished the first program that she was concerned that I had adopted a dog who may have been too much for our family. Prince is now three years old, and although, he still possesses a lot of energy, his behavior has improved 180 degrees. He is a loving member of our family. The children now adore him and have become his playmates. Prince continues to visit Tonja when a business trip takes me out of town, where his training is reinforced.

Tonja has an amazing way with dogs and I would recommend her to anyone for any level of training.

Patty Czepowski

February 14

When asked by Tonja Osborn to provide a reference for her dog training ability, I enthusiastically said YES. Since we began our process nearly five years ago, we have developed and maintained a wonderful relationship with Tonja and so I considered it an honor and a privilege to be asked to give testimony to the success we have experienced.

As I thought about how to express my satisfaction with the results we achieved in our dogs, I thought about our experience with Tonja, myself, our family, and our two Labrador retrievers, Hershey and Bailey, and I realized that in fact, the dog trainer had successfully trained us humans! Tonja came into our home, observed and interacted with our animals, listened to our frustrations, and formulated a plan for behavior modification which included not only the dogs, but myself, my husband, and our three children.

We, in fact, were all reminded of our place and function in the family, and she artfully taught us how to communicate that hierarchy to our animals in a soft, gentle, consistent manner. The time she spent in our home was concentrated in helping us learn about our “pack animals” and teaching us how to communicate with them at their level. Understanding how and why they behave as they do, helped us to more effectively demonstrate to them how we expected them to behave in our home and with our guests. The result of this method of “practice, practice, practice”, made our lives just about “perfect, perfect, perfect”.

I have since recommended Tonja to many of my friends and even a few strangers. I have received in turn countless “thank you's” for sharing our good fortune with everyone who has received training from Tonja. I will continue to highly recommend her!

Sheila Hancock

Canine Training by Mystic Moon, Inc.
Des Moines Dog Training, and surrounding areas
Tonja Osborn, Owner/Trainer

Call for appointments or more information
515-287-4809