180dog

Our beloved dog Sky died suddenly. Three days later, we had the cutest little puppy flown in from Georgia. We named her Star. I said she was THE PERFECT PUPPY. Then she ate our blinds, baseboards, doors, stairs, furniture, and carpet. Walking her looked more like she was dragging us. Every time someone came to the door, Star would go into wild Doberman mode. My UPS guy said, “This is why I don’t have a dog.” I didn’t understand how I could start out with THE PERFECT PUPPY and end up with the CANINE FROM HELL. I bought a pile of dog training books. Star ate one. I hired a “dog trainer” who put her on a prong collar. Fourteen months later, she was still pulling us on walks, and had become frightened of everything around her. I couldn’t even relate to this dog. She couldn’t look me in the eye. What happened to my PERFECT PUPPY?? THEN I FOUND 180dog. FINALLY! SUCCESS!!! Gari is a dog behaviorist. She trains YOU to understand how your dog thinks. Then she shows you how to interact with your dog. The result: A 180 change in your dog, AND YOU! All this is done without force and manipulation. After one lesson, Star put her head in my lap, looked into my eyes and said, “I love you. Where have you been all my life?” And I said the same thing to her. I have found Star to be incredibly intelligent, and a very fast learner because Gari is showing me what to do, and educating me about my dog. Star loves Gari. I thank Gari for changing our lives, and giving me THE PERFECT PUPPY— well, not perfect, but we’re working on it.

Our (now) 4-month old standard poodle loves Gari. He truly enjoys training sessions and greets her with excitement. We elected private sessions. We chose Gari, in part, upon a recommendation from another of her client's, and also because of her background and use of positive reinforcement for training. She arrives punctually for sessions. Gari trains/teaches us as well as our dog. She is patient and there are always successes. Failures are constructively addressed. She sets the agenda, but is also interested and incorporates our preferences. Gari provides support by email (our preferred means of contact) in between lessons (e.g., answers our questions/reviews the most recent lesson/provides links to videos to supplement a lesson). Gari also provides nutritional and behavioral guidance, including food choices and treats and explanations of why our puppy does what he does or needs what he needs. All a huge help and our puppy is thriving. We have recommended Gari to our friends.

I took puppy training and socialization classes with Gari, as well as a few private lessons. I credit my dog's good manners to Gari's training and guidance. I loved her methodology and fully believe in positive, "force-free" training. I would not hesitate to recommend her to anyone who needs a dog trainer--regardless of whether or not your dog needs basic obedience or a more intensive behavioral plan, Gari will be able to help you.