Gary Maria Professional Dog Training

Gary's system really works. We have a dog that was misdiagnosed as an aggressive dog. We were told by other trainers that we would have to get rid of the dog if we couldn't control his aggression. Gary met the dog, and within 5 minutes knew exactly what this dog needed. We learned Gary's system, and now understand that our dog is an anxious lovable marshmallow. Gary taught us tools that we can use to control the dog's instincts and build trust. Now, the dog doesn't leave our side, and is a sweetheart. Gary's experience and knowledge gave us what we needed to work as a team with our dog and make him part of the family. The dog understands what we want him to do, and because of Gary, we know how to tell the dog what we want. We could not have given this dog the kind of home it needs without Gary's help, and highly recommend Gary to anyone who has a dog that seems emotionally difficult or is looking for a great dog trainer in general.

I found Gary by chance on the internet and I am so grateful I did. I came to Gary with my 4 year old pit/boxer Ophelia that we rescued several months back. I had been going to the free training sessions provided by the shelter and having no success. The biggest issue was the 10-15 reactive dogs at each session. Ophelia and I would be stressed the entire session and I left feeling like I was not making any progress with Ophelia. Gary immediately pin pointed many of Ophelia's behaviors and discussed how to move forward with her so she and I could be happy. He was patient and loving at each session and full of knowledge about Ophelia's breed. After just 2 sessions our walks were 100 times better. Ophelia and I are now a team and I am so excited for the future with her. I know that if I continue to work her she will just keep getting better. Thank you Gary!

My dog Lyca is a catahoula rescue who was physically and emotionally abused as a puppy. Remarkably she's an absolute sweetheart with people, however whenever she saw dogs she would lunge, growl and bark, especially when on the leash. Sometimes she would even attack other dogs, though never to the point of drawing blood. It had gotten to the point that I would only walk her at midnight because I was afraid of encountering other dogs. I tried a "sassy dog class" which emphasized dominating the dog, with lots of yelling and jerking on a choke collar when the dog misbehaved. I never felt good about the approach, and while I saw some small early gains Lyca quickly regressed and got worse. I quickly decided that in order to give my dog the life she deserved (with walks at regular hours), I would have to get one on one training. I'm so glad that I decided to go with Gary. His major strength is helping you understand the psychology of your dog's behavior and the types of owner responses that can work with the dog psychology to get the results you're looking for. Lyca has been making steady progress, and after 6 weeks she's so far from where she started. Be warned that as an owner you're required to put in the necessary amount of daily work, but seeing the results makes it all worth it. Lyca still has some ways to go, but I'm finally feeling confident that we'll get there. If you're serious about helping your dog and meeting training goals then Gary is definitely the trainer for you!