K9dness

Megan is amazing! We got our puppy, Zinny, when she was 6 months old and she has been sweet and lovable from the beginning. However, once she got settled in at our home, she got a bit out of control – she was jumping on people and over furniture, stealing food from the counters, getting too wild when playing with the kids, she was anxious and jumpy in response to many things, and she was impossible on walks or at the kids’ sports games. We had not experienced any of these problems with our first dog and did not know what to do. We tried a training class and it was not enough. Megan came to our home and took an individualized, compassionate, expert approach to working with our family. She provided us with the tools and training to give Zinny clear expectations and help her to become calm and confident. The change in Zinny is so dramatic that our kids often joke about what Zinny would do Before Training and After Training. I would not have been able to imagine the progress that she has made. We can take Zinny anywhere now (the photos show her enjoying baseball games in sun or rain, a hike at Lake Roland, and lunch out at THB). People regularly compliment us on how calm and well-trained she is. She is a happy puppy and we can now fully enjoy her! I cannot recommend Megan highly enough!

I started working with K9dness for dog walking in late 2023 when I was getting to be too pregnant to get my very hyper young dog out for a daily walk. Our walker Jude is great, and Pepper always looks forward to her adventures. After the baby came, I started to talk to Megan about her training - our hyper pooch has been through a lot of training, and had a great foundation, but her anxiety and reactivity were making everyone’s lives harder. We saw Megan for three sessions and she really helped nail down what was going on, and gave us practical advice and exercises for homework each time, and I’ve seen a huge improvement in my dog’s home behaviors - instead of pacing the room whining from boredom or looking out the windows for something to bark at, she’s happy to lay down at our feet and chew a Kong. Walks have improved too. And most of all, Megan gave us the tools to keep this work going as our dog continues to grow and finds herself in new situations. Is there still work to do? Absolutely. But has this brought peace to our household and improved everyone’s quality of life? For sure!

I can't praise Megan's work highly enough. Megan has been working with our dog Sushi for several months after an increase in reactivity, fear responses, and attention-seeking barking. From our first meeting with Megan, she diagnosed problems and immediately gave us a long list of changes to implement. Sushi needed more positive stimulus outside the home and more rules and expectations inside the home. As we implemented Megan's suggestions, we started to see improvements almost immediately. Sushi improved by leaps and bounds after doing board and train with Megan for a week. Sushi is still a work in progress, but we are on the path to helping our girl be the best dog she can be. Now, we can take Sushi to doggy daycare, family gatherings, and restaurants with confidence instead of dread. I don't think any of that would have been possible without Megan's expert guidance and constant encouragement along the way. K9ndness is so much more than obedience training -- it is counter-conditioning and trust-building between owner and furry companion.