Testimonials
“OVERALL, THE CHANGES WE’VE SEEN WITH OUR DOG HAVE BEEN DRAMATIC AND WONDERFUL.”
“We have been working with Tracey for over a year on reactive issues with our 6 year old, high-drive shepherd, Juno, who was growling and lunging at people in our house, and also at other dogs/ animals on walks. Tracey was so helpful in explaining the behavior and helping us to handle different situations that we encountered in our home and out on walks. Tracey did not try to give us a ‘quick fix,’ but rather she helps us fine tune the way we handle certain behaviors, and has even taught us how to build our dog to be more confident and trusting so she doesn’t react fearfully. Over the last year, we have seen so many positive changes in our dog: she can now confidently walk past her old triggers on leash. In fact, just yesterday we passed by a rowdy puppy who was barking and lunging, and Juno was calm, cool, and collected – there was no scene (what a relief).
Since all dogs are different, if something we tried didn’t work the way we wanted, Tracey would do research, ask her peers, and help us find a solution that would work. So when you train with Tracey, you’re also getting a network of experts that are passionate about solving the ‘tough cases.’
Now that we are well into our training, Tracey is teaching us ways to give our high-drive dog meaningful & fulfilling jobs too.”
“SHE TOOK SO MUCH TIME SHOWING US THINGS AND EXPLAINING THE REASONS FOR THEM. THIS MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD TO US.”
“Tracey was nice enough to make time for us and had us drive to her training facility before we headed home. For 2 hours she showed us the function of the prong collar. At first, Shadow barked and was very hesitant to let her near him. So, she had me put the collar on him, and she began to slowly work with him. It seemed to only be a few minutes and Shadow was walking calmly beside her. She continued showing us things she wanted us to continue doing, and then turned the reigns over to me and then my husband to try. We worked indoors and outdoors so there were plenty of distractions. It was also very hot that day which was an added challenge. Tracey was wonderful. Very informative about why he had certain behaviors and how to overcome his fears. She took so much time showing us things and explaining the reasons for them. This made all the difference in the world to us and to Shadow. By the time we left he jumped up to give her a hug. She gave us a little booklet about dog behaviors to look for and ways to train Shadow to make it easy for him to overcome them. The booklet was a wealth of info and also had all of her trainings that we had done that day to help us remember everything. I truly wish we had seen Tracey the first day we picked Shadow up from Amanda’s. We would not have had the issues we did if that had occurred. You have a really powerful element in Tracey. Please consider letting her write something for all adoptive parents to receive when they pick up their dog, and providing her phone number for any questions. Your dogs and families will thank you for it!”
“I CAN’T BELIEVE THE CHANGE IN OUR FORMERLY REACTIVE DOG SINCE WORKING WITH YOU!”
“I’ve worked with other trainers in the past, but you helped both of us get through the sticky part of it. I can now walk Lucky past other dogs easily and enjoy our daily walks, which was impossible before! After a few sessions with you, you picked up on a few tweaks I needed to make. You really saw Lucky and where we were in the process. You have given me the confidence and skills I need to be his leader and to champion his needs. You have an amazing understanding of dogs. And you are always available for questions/advice! Your pack walks are an awesome support and tool as well. I am grateful!”
“THE CHANGES IN LUNA WERE VERY REMARKABLE. NO MORE WHINING OR YELPING AND WILD EYES- SHE WAS RELAXED.”
“I have a 3-year-old Border Collie/Australian Shepherd mix (Davey). He was a rescue. We were having some issues with being leash reactive, barking excessively at times, and getting excited when new people came in the house (we needed to have him on a leash to greet properly). I was supposed to keep my son and daughter in law’s Austrian Shepherd mix while they were on vacation. The problem was they couldn’t be in the same room together without both being leashed and secured. She would attack him and while he didn’t instigate anything he didn’t back away either. I called Tracey and arranged for her to come help me diffuse the situation. I needed these two to be able to tolerate each other, because I was going to be the only person in the house with these dogs. As soon as Tracey got to my house that evening, she started working with the female and I had Davey. The female (Luna) was known to be aggressive to other dogs, did excessive pulling and had a ‘get in your face’ type personality. She also was very excitable and made a yelping bark. Within about 30 minutes Tracey had her walking with little to no pulling and she was actually listening. (She had introduced her to the prong collar before she took her outside).
The next morning, Tracey had Luna training to go beside a bike and continued to work her on a leash. Luna was doing fantastic on the leash with the prong collar. Tracey also instructed me on how to use the prong collar and explained everything she was doing. We switched dogs so she could see how Davey was doing and to give me an opportunity to work with Luna. We did a pack walk and then Tracey took both dogs. She was using just the ends of her fingers on the leash with the rest dangling to walk these dogs together. It was simply AMAZING. There was absolutely no aggression just two calm dogs walking with one person. We went inside and fed the dogs. Then she introduced them to their cots and “place”. They both did excellent. They caught on so quickly. In a short period of time we moved the cots closer. Eventually they were about 3-4 feet apart. Both dogs being very calm, relaxed and obedient. I truly did not believe what I was seeing. The changes in Luna was very remarkable. No more whining or yelping and wild eyes- she was relaxed. In turn Davey was relaxed and did not feel threatened. We took them outside with one on place and one loose. Again- no aggression.
We did several more pack walks that day. I even got to take a turn walking both dogs together. Again, I was amazed. There were no problems. On one of our walks we learned how to greet people. The dogs did very well. When Tracey left, I was left to deal with them both by myself. I was able to have both dogs with cots close together and was able to walk them together. I also took them out separately to practice. The day before my son got home I took Luna on a car ride. She has always been extremely anxious in the car. Since they still needed to drive back to Alabama, I decided to see if I could use the collar to remind her to be calm. It worked so much better than I hoped. A small tug on the collar a couple times and a ‘nope’ is all it took. I did several small car rides with her to practice. After the first ride a ‘nope’ reminded her of what she needed to do. The next day my husband and I took both dogs in the same car to the beach. They did great. I was concerned about having them in a confined space. But it worked. When my son and daughter in law got home they were so surprised and happy to see Luna was so relaxed. She even greeted them pretty calmly. Then they got down and hugged on her. Luna is truly a changed dog. I cannot say that enough. I know it sounds like I’m over selling this, but she went from being a ‘loose cannon’ to a just so relaxed dog. Oh- and we had thunderstorms- she used to get nervous and have to get very close to her humans. But she didn’t have to do it anymore. She just sacked out on her cot like nothing was happening.
Tracey is terrific. She is gonna find a solution to the problem. She is very respectful in the way she treats the dogs. I especially was grateful that she listened to what I wanted for my dog. She helped me to find solutions. I know that if have a question that she is always willing to help me. I would highly recommend Tracey.”
“TRACEY IS A MIRACLE WORKER FOR DOGS!!”
“I have learned so much about the psychology of dogs and what I need to do to help Lula feel secure and less anxious. Lula is learning so much too and is doing a board and train with Tracey this weekend. I highly recommend Tracey's training.”
“WE'RE STILL SEEING IMPROVEMENT IN BAILEY’S OVERALL CONFIDENCE.”
“She is barking much less when she's anxious with only a few exceptions. We saw our nephew this weekend, and it's the best that she's ever done around him! We left her with the in-laws for a few hours and she was able to relax fairly soon after we left, which previously would have taken her hours! She has been much more playful and we have gotten her to lay down almost ANYWHERE! We still need to work on recall. We have been practicing "come" while out on walks, but she decided to go exploring while we were at my parents' house and had to spend much too long chasing her. Again, I think this will only improve with practice. My parents will be moving to the area in August, so don't be surprised if you hear from them! They've been extremely impressed with Bailey's progress. My dad even commented that she seems like a completely different dog. She is much more relaxed and affectionate toward other people. We are so thankful for you and the skills you've given us to continue working with her.”
“QUINN HAS SERIOUSLY TRANSFORMED.”
“You have been such an amazing help in getting us to a point where we can communicate and she can start to let go of her fear. Now that you've helped us crack the door, Quinn's reactivity is going to get better, I'm sure of it. Before we met you, I wasn't sure if it was possible, now I'm blown away every day by how much progress we've made in such relatively little time. I can even tell how much more relaxed Quinn is in general, and her goofy personality is coming out more!”