FAQs

What are your training methods?

I use common sense in training. Rewards range from food, toys, touch [e.g. petting], and/or verbal praise, to the environment itself [e.g. sniffing at a specific spot]. Corrections range from my voice [e.g. a calm but firm “no”] to a quick but pain-free leash-pop when out on a walk. If necessary, when standard correction or redirection is not stopping the dog’s unwanted behavior [e.g. excessive nipping or biting during play with a human or another dog], I will remove the dog from whatever is over-stimulating it to a calmer, quieter area to give him/her time to decompress.

What are your qualifications?

My customers, with their happy dogs, are my qualifications. I believe that proof is in the pudding, and that’s exactly what I bring to my clients. I provide them with actual, visible proof that their dog can be helped, and in the process, I help them make the changes they need to make in order to continue strengthening their relationship with their dog.

What is Board and Train?

A Board-and-Train program is a program designed for dogs with issues ranging from reactivity, anxiety, or fearfulness, to housebreaking, leash pulling, and basic manners. It is designed for owners who want to get help for their dogs but find that group classes don’t work, or they need more than a weekly lesson but can’t get the time to accommodate it.

In order to best and most effectively help a dog, I accept only one into my program at a time. For troubled dogs who are struggling with issues such as fear or reactivity, one-on-one attention is especially important to helping them learn how to become calmer and more relaxed around their triggers.

Am I allowed to visit my dog while he or she is in one of your board-and-train programs?

Absolutely! I’m a firm believer in being completely transparent with you. I would never board my dog with someone I hardly know without first seeing where they’ll be sleeping and how they’ll be living – regardless of how good I might feel about them. I don’t expect you to do anything different just because you like me. So, yes, please do come to my home! Visit and work with your dog as often as you can – in fact, I encourage you to do this so you can start learning sooner how to handle your pup. You’ll meet my husband and our silly cat, Violet, you’ll get to visit with Glimmer [you will have met her prior to your dog coming to me], you’ll find a calm, relaxed, open, friendly atmosphere, and you can see for yourself how your dog is progressing.