Testimonial 69 - Riker & Ellie

We first came to Mary with our ten-month-old puppy, Riker, who had severe behavioral problems compounded by chronic health issues for his entire young life. We'd already tried numerous trainers and techniques, none of which helped and some of which actually made his problems worse. He had extreme separation anxiety, unpredictable aggression towards certain people (especially men, including my own father), and existed in a constantly heightened state of arousal and fear. It utterly consumed his life, and ours. Mary changed everything.

We'd planned for an hourlong private session: she spent nearly three hours working with us to examine his history, find and analyze the root causes of his behavior, explain without judgment where we'd gone wrong, and how best to help him. She gave us the tools and techniques we needed to work with him, and drilled us until we had it down.

The change in Riker was monumental. The work she gave us was hard and required a significant daily commitment on our part, but it was worth it. Unfortunately, Riker's health issues took over, and he passed away a few months later. But the progress he made in that short time was remarkable, and we credit Mary with helping make his final months the best of his short life.

When we'd healed enough to be ready for a new puppy, we reached out to Mary for guidance during our search. With incredible compassion, she helped us through the process, and then with early puppy training once we found our girl Ellie. When Ellie started developing her own anxieties (fear of traffic and walks), even though her problems were far less severe, Mary gave her the same in-depth energy and commitment that she gave to Riker. We've continued to work with her both one-on-one and in group classes, and her passion and skill are unwavering.

Mary is an exceptional behaviorist, trainer, and teacher for dogs and for their people, and we will be lifelong clients. We cannot recommend her highly enough.

Seicha, Patrick, (and Ellie!) from Washington, DC