Pete Hvisdak Testimonial

Pete Hvizdak's Testimonial

Lars Vallin was a NHPD policeman and was working with his K9 partner Xander when I first met them covering a crime story during my job as a newsman in New Haven, Connecticut. Seeing Xander and Lars together was intriguing and we started talking about dogs and dog training. I engaged Lars to help with
my dog.

As my brother was a tactical K9 handler, K9 trainer and team leader for a SWAT team in a major metropolitan city, I had an immediate connection to Lars and Xander. My gut told me that Lars had a special talent for training dogs and that Xander was a shining example of his expertise. Lars and Xander had been officially recognized for their exemplary teamwork and I had heard war stories from other police officer of their heroics that included catching criminals and saving lives.

Lars and I developed a relationship that centered around training up my dog Ace, a rescue from Texas via the Cosgrove Animal Shelter in Branford, Connecticut. Ace, is a 50% black Labrador Retriever with the rest being almost equal parts of German Shepherd and Rottweiler.

Ace, a type-A personality at 85-pounds, was a handful with no skills whatsoever but exhibited potential to be a great dog. Immediately, Lars shared some basic techniques that were as simple as hand-feeding Ace after gaining eye-contact during feeding time. It helped the bonding process as well as Ace knowing that all good things come from me. Obviously, hand-feeding stopped, but it was a critical first step for building a relationship with Ace and all of the basic commands. I learned that dog training is developing good habits and behaviors by the owner as they related to one’s dog.

Lars teaches simple training progressions that, if followed by the dog’s family, will benefit both the dog and the family in their quality of life, together. The key is for the family to consistently follow through with the lessons learned from Lars.

The largest hurdle was training Ace to stop his incessant barking while traveling in the car. It was problematic and very difficult to change that behavior with traditional training because of my dog’s history and personality. Lars, with his safe and caring ways, quietly introduced the electronic collar to Ace and it became a wonderful and humane communication tool that we integrated with voice commands. It works. Today, we only use the e-collar as just one of the many tools from the lessons learned from Lars.

Today, Ace and I will be moving to human scenting and other fun training with Lars.

I am so thankful to Lars for helping me develop the super relationship I have with my Ace. My advice to those who enlist Lars to help them communicate with their dog is to follow through consistently on what
Lars teaches.

Lars has helped me appreciate this quote: “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains
unawakened.” —Anatole France.

Pete Hvizdak's Testimonial

Lars Vallin

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