Success Stories

We have been going to Carrie both locally and long distance for our dogs for years. Carrie has made it possible for us to easily and calmly handle past and current reactive dogs while meeting their needs and ours. She contributed to a much calmer and harmonious household by helping us to help our dogs.

My relationship with my current reactive and sensitive dog wouldn't be where it is today if not for Carrie's logical, realistic, and calm approach to teaching me how my dog's brain works. Carrie has made it possible for us to work through behavioral issues that pop up now by considering who our dog is, making it much easier to puzzle out any small issues that arise without all the anxiety and concern that used to come from them.

We definitely consider Carrie to be one of the greatest contributors to our ability to have positive lives with difficult dogs and can't thank her or recommend her enough for anything dog behavior and family related.

Working with Carrie was an awesome experience. Poppy came to us as a rescue just a few months after we lost our beagle mix Daisy. She was cuddly and friendly and knew how to live with our three cats. But she had a "thing". Nose always to the ground. On walks, constantly pulling. And my word, if there were squirrels or rabbits she would bolt--even over our backyard fence! The doggy DNA result came back with a big clue about what we had in store: Poppy wasn't a mix--she was 100% B-e-a-g-l-e.

We were not ready for this. But Carrie was! Carrie came to our home and taught us about full-Beagle mentality. She helped us feel more comfortable with how Poppy was her own self. We learned some treating games and how to work with Poppy on-leash out-of-doors.

One major takeaway? We had to find time to let Poppy be Poppy outside so that when we needed her to fit better within our family's schedule, she would. Also? Carrie helped us figure out why Poppy was peeing in the house. Better put: Carrie taught us how to read Poppy's signals and interpret what SHE was trying to tell US. 

Working with Carrie showed us that dog training is as much about [re]setting family expectations as it is about teaching our animals.

Carrie has helped us immensely with two of our dogs - one for anxiety and the other for aggression. In both cases, she listened carefully to the specific details of the behavioral concerns we were experiencing as well as observing their behaviors and how we interacted with them.

Her depth and breadth of experience in working with all sorts of issues was always reassuring. She provided tailored recommendations, based not only on the dog but on what certain family members were able to do.

In other words, the behavioral modification plans are always customized not only to the pet but the family, and always without any judgement. One of our dogs was at risk for behavioral euthanasia due to aggression and I'm happy to report that he is doing great! 

I adopted a rescued pup (I named him Harley!)  with a very long list of "issues" which probably stemmed from his obsessive compulsive personality traits, his severe separation anxiety (his original owner dumped him), and his debilitating PTSD from a gunshot wound.   Thankfully we found Carrie who has patiently given both Harley and me the skills we need to insure that the rest of Harley's life is as stress free and joy-filled as possible. 

Carrie is insanely patient, kind and caring so it is no surprise that Harley adores her!  She uses ONLY positive reinforcement in her training sessions which definitely eases MY stress!   Carrie designs training sessions around Harley's needs, which change frequently.  And, although Carrie is the master-mind, she encourages/requires a very collaborative training process.  As a result, Harley can now snooze through even the most severe thunderstorm instead of cowering terrified under a bed. 

He can calmly ride elevators, even with strangers on board, which makes traveling and hotel stays a breeze.  He can comfortably move about in almost any public setting, happily accepting all the friendly attention he inevitably attracts.

He's a much better patient for his Vet thanks to skills Carrie has taught him and he has cleaner teeth, too! Harley and I continue to learn how to successfully navigate the fine line between following the rules, when necessary, but still allowing Harley to be the delightfully enthusiastic dog he was meant to be!  These are just a few examples of what Carrie has done for us and for these, and so much more, Harley and I will be forever grateful.  We strongly recommend and sincerely hope that your dog gets to know Carrie, too!