Helping Pets Behave

My 90 pound pit mix was a shelter rescue so I had little knowledge of his first year of life so we were up for some surprises. As I left the shelter, I was handed a bottle of Trazodone, to help him adjust to his new home, first red flag! I have had multiple large dogs over the years so not a first time dog owner. He was super sweet but a big strong boy ! Not long after we got him home , he started frantic digging in my yard, excavating our fios cables, digging up my plants , pulling downspout off the house just to mention a few things. Indoor damage to furniture and other things as well when not in his crate . I took him to a groomer and he bit them and was dismissed without trimmed nails. I Brought Him to the vet , and he could not be restrained and panicked . The vet suggested I find

Mary is truly a god-send for me and my sweet, anxious pup! Before Mary we tried training and anxiety meds which helped a little, but I knew there was more to Belle's life than just staying home and playing in the backyard. She feared the outside world! Mary developed a plan to help Belle trust me, come to me when afraid, and little by little realize the outside world can be okay. With Mary's help we are still working on it, but the changes in Belle after a week, and now going on three months have been life changing for her. I have every confidence that Belle will be able to take a walk outside without so much fear very soon. I couldn't speak more highly of Mary. Besides her obvious love of animals, her expertise in knowing and changing animal behavior is amazing. She also is very co

Working with Mary at Helping Pets Behave is hands down the best thing I have ever done for my dog, Toby. Toby is a miniature poodle/miniature schnauzer mix, and is a bit anxious by nature. I got to the end of my rope with walking him. He would pull constantly, go wild for squirrels and other animals, and react to other dogs, matching whatever energy they presented. After working with Mary, Toby has improved exponentially. It's like walking a different dog. I'm no longer stressed about going out. I used to have moments of being close to tears, having tried things I read online and just couldn't make work. One of the most impactful things Mary did was teach me about how I was misinterpreting some of Toby's behaviors and how my actions were sending him a different message than I was intending

Mary has helped us with our dogs many times. Most recently, we adopted a puppy, and she has been an amazing help getting us into the right mindset for Moose. She's also helped us get our older dogs more accustomed to the new family member. I'd absolutely recommend her for anyone who needs help with their dog.

I've been working with Mary for a couple months on my dog's reactivity to other big dogs and in just a little over a month, we've seen tremendous improvement! My dog used to stare hard at other dogs, growl, bark, and/or lunge if they were too close or the other dogs growled or barked at her. It made walking her a challenge and we avoided walking towards or passing other dogs on walks. It's not perfect yet, but after working on Mary's recommended training methods 2-3 times a day on walks/at home, we're able to go on walks without her barking/lunging at other dogs! She can even tolerate another dog barking at her as we walk past now which is amazing. Walks used to be stressful (for both my dog and me!), but now we can enjoy our time outside! I plan on continuing to work with Mary on my dog's