May the New Year brfng to
all our friends and
is
ealth, joy, prosper)
everything good ifT

•

Janice & Larry List.
" 'el, Jaclyn, Jennifer

To all our
relatives and
friends, our
wish for a year
filled with

happiness,
health &
prosperity.

Mae & Milt Goodman

A VERY
HAPPY & HEALTHY
NEW YEAR
TO ALL OUR

Roytapel tells Boomer to stay.

recting with a nip on the neck,
then she praises with a lick.
"Momma says once," he tells
his clients. "Remember that."
Roytapel says people often
ask if he can train their chil-
dren as well. He feels the same
techniques can apply.

Teaching Who's. Boss

A.C.T. trainers come into your
home, usually for a series of 10
(one- to two-hour) lessons.
Dogs know immediately when
Roytapel is around. His voice
commands attention. He
ignores the dog until he needs
it, then expects total compli-
ance. He's calm, relaxed yet
exudes confidence — the ulti-
mate alpha male.
He's a hard act to follow, say
some clients who are used to
lavishing love, not discipline,
on their dogs.
"I let him get away with too
much," Randy Otis of West

Bloomfield says of his 11-
month-old golden retriever
Boomer. "I'm laid back, that's
part of the problem. I need to
be more assertive and the
leader."
Roytapel sees this often in
American households.
`Americans confuse democ-
racy with permissiveness, love
with indulgence," he says. "But
the dog will confuse kindness
with weakness. If you won't be
the leader, your dog will."
Boomer understood the con-
cept. He had taken over the
Otis house early in the rela-
tionship.
"We would sit on the couch
with our legs up because he
would nip, chew and jump,"
says Elise Otis. "He took over
our lives."
Randy had taken Boomer to
a traditional obedience class,
but says it was ineffective, "a
waste of time." They heard
about A.C.T. from friends.

'After one session, Boomer
was altered in such a way that
it was amazing," he says. "The
dog is perfect when Vladae is
here."
Elise Otis had a suggestion.
"We need a life-sized -poster
of Vladae and a tape recording
of his voice to have around all
the time," she jokes about the
trainer who also has become a
friend.
Some clients even admit to
imitating Roytapel's Russian
accent to get the best response
from their dogs. •
Part of the in-home training
is spent teaching standard
commands: sit, stay, down,
come. To get a feel for A.C.T.'s
stylized leash movements,
Roytapel and Wainz have own-
ers role-play. They hold the
leash and pretend to be the
dog as the trainer demon-
strates.
Roytapel invented one move

WHISPERER on page 76

.

May the blessings of

family & friends

strengthen our resolve
to strive for

peace & security
in the New Year.

Hon. Susan Moiseev

May the coming year be
filled with health and
happiness for all our
family 8. friends.
L'Shanah Tovah!

Marilyn & Harvey
Saperstein

We wish our friends and family
a very healthy, happy and
prosperous New Year.

Helene & Steve Spitz

TN

9/26
2003.

\4.„.

75