Testimonial 79 - Moordog

We brought Moordog home as a cuddly 8 week old puppy. He was always playful (he loved running around with his stuffed toys and ball), and enjoyed snuggling up with us and greeting all of his human and dog friends in our building. Moordog excelled at learning his basic commands, and was very treat motivated! We just loved having this new addition to our family.

However, when he was about 7 months old, we'd notice that at times his playfulness at home turned more aggressive, and he would bark and nip at us seemingly in frustration. This seemed totally out of character from his previous demeanor. At first, it seemed like an isolated issue, or maybe play getting out of hand. But then it began to happen more frequently. Moordog never exhibited these actions outside the home, but we became concerned that he might, which was definitely something that we did not want to happen.

We tried many (unsuccessful) ways to resolve this problem, but the issue continued to escalate. This became a source of frustration at home, as we loved Moordog but were unsure of when his next outburst was. We reviewed different types of training methods and finally found Mary's website. This was exactly what we all needed!

We met with Mary, and she provided an in-depth analysis of Moordog's behavior based on information we provided, and her observation of him in the session. She was able to walk us through a variety of techniques that would de-escalate any mounting frustration and unwanted behaviors that he exhibited. We left our session feeling like we were armed with actionable solutions, but were still not sure if they would really work once we were alone.

Mary's advice worked immediately. Within a few days, we saw a reduction in frequency and severity of the outbursts, and within a month they were all but gone. We now had a better understanding of what the problem was, and how to positively adjust the situation to circumvent any unwanted behaviors and promote good ones.

Almost a year later, we have a happy, goofy, playful dog, who listens to commands and knows how to settle down without any issue. Moordog is very happy that Mary was able to train his humans!

Best, Sarah, Rob & Moordog from Washington, DC