I can generally get most clients started within 1-2 weeks.

Fear, reactivity, and aggression are all normal, natural behaviors. How your dog reacts to perceived threats now is how they will always react when they are overwhelmed. We can't change that reaction, but we can change their tolerance for these situations and teach them new skills they can use instead of the problem behavior.

Behavior is influenced by many things that we can't change with training, including their health. If your dog has a health issue that is causing pain or discomfort, there may be limitations to the progress we can make until that is resolved or managed.

YES! This is the implementation stage of the program. Once we've taught your dog the skills essential for managing their behavior, we practice around dogs, people, or other triggers in gradually more challenging situations.

For virtual clients, we will either do this live, with me watching and coaching from your laptop or phone, or you will take video of your work and we will review it together and plan next steps.

Yes! I'm happy to include family, friends, or even sitters/walkers in the process. Ask me more during our phone consultation!

I work with a lot of challenging and dangerous behaviors. But the most difficult cases are those that involve factors outside my control, including the dog's health, the dog's environment, or lifestyle/family challenges. In these cases, I take those factors into account when designing a behavior plan and, when appropriate, collaborate with the dog's veterinary team to provide the most comprehensive behavior support possible.

In some cases, I can jump start your dog's training. I can come to your home 3-4 days a week and teach your dogs new skills that will be needed in their behavior program. I can then teach you how to get those same results.

However, changing fearful, reactive, and aggressive behavior is not the same as teaching a dog "obedience" skills, like sit and stay, which can be taught quickly. Teaching a new skill is easy - changing a dog's emotional reaction is a longer process that requires your direct participation and practice between appointments.

Sometimes. Depending on your location, I am happy to travel a little longer (up to 45 minutes outside Kirkland) for an additional fee or we can meet at an off-site location between us.

I am sometimes able to combine a weekend getaway with appointments in remote locations or one of the islands.

Ask me!