Pluto's Pals Pet Care

I cannot say enough good things about Michelle and her help in transforming our reactive dog, Elvis, and our quality of life. We got Elvis at a shelter during covid lockdowns. He was a one year old mix of retriever and dachshund and had no interaction with other humans for about a year after. His reactivity around people were getting worse. Constant barking and panting and whining. We could not take him anywhere and gave up on having people over. We hired a trainer who came to our house for a few sessions, but did not realize that the training methods used were making his reactivity worse. We also have 4 adults and two teens in the house and we all were not on the same page when it came to training. Elvis was 5 years old when we found Michelle and we had no idea we were reinforcing all the bad behaviors for all those years. I was looking for a place to board Elvis overnight for a Christmas party. I found Pluto’s Pals online and was impressed with the setup so I called and Michelle, from the first phone call she gave me tips and eased my own anxiety about leaving my dog to someone else. Michelle was able to move around her schedule to take Elvis in so that he would be at the board and train during our Christmas party. He was with her from Dec. 7th thru Jan 3rd. She gave us updates and posted videos on Instagram so I was able to keep up with the progress. The day he graduated and came back home, our whole family was so nervous to see how much, or how little he had changed. First thing she did when she came in with Elvis was 10 minutes of meditation. Definitely something we were not expecting! We all kind of looked at each other and was like….Okay…sure?. I will tell you, that really helped calm our nerves and Elvis picked up on our emotional state. I was a believer after that. She had prepared a whole schedule for us to follow. Absolutely overwhelming and intimidating at first. Didn’t think we could do it. It wasn’t the matter of not doing things correctly, because Michelle spelled it all out for us. It was a matter of follow through. We all committed to the schedule and believing that the system will work and boy did it work! For 21 days we stuck it out. The first few days were really really hard, not gonna lie. Then the routine got easier, the follow through wasn’t as intimidating and we found our groove. Michelle did the heavy lifting, the bulk of the work was already done, we just needed to keep it up. Elvis is a star when it comes to obedience. His recall was a lot better, he was more relaxed and calm around the house. He was loose leash walking with a regular ol’ slip leash (no more prong collars). His sit/settle/stay was so great, we took him out to outdoor restaurants where he didn’t make a peep the whole time, we almost forgot he was there! You should have seen him before, he was whiney and barky the entire time, and I was literally shoving food in his face to bribe him into being quiet. No bribing now, we are a household practicing calm confidence and joy. The timing worked out great for us where in January, we adjusted to the schedule and in February we started the 5 week boot camp so that Michelle can train us humans. My mom, my husband, and I all went and learned a lot about dog psychology and little nuances about our training methods that we didn’t realize before. It helped us all be aligned in our training. The first week, Elvis was super excited and over stimulated, which got me anxious and nervous. But with each successive session, we all got better and more confident and less anxious. This is a life change people! If you’re not willing to put in the work, then look elsewhere, but also realize that there are no easy fixes. The entire experience has been so great. Michelle is super responsive and a joy to work with. I trust her 1000% with Elvis and we’re all so thankful that we found her!!

Nothing but an amazing experience so far with Pluto’s Pals! When moving to the Orlando area we were recommended to check out Pluto’s Pals by our dog trainer, and spoke with Michelle on how to get the dogs to become part of the pack! We have done both pack days and overnight boarding, & we normally do just 1 pack day a week for the two pups. Everything is extremely organized and a lot of care and thought is put into everything. From making sure the dogs are all healthy and vaccinated, to getting them adjusted to all the dogs in the pack! My dogs are big barkers (dachshunds are very loud hahah) but they were also dealing with insecurity and nervousness. Just bringing them once a week into a calm and structured environment and introducing them to new dogs has improved both of their behaviors tremendously! They can walk with and near other dogs and strangers without reacting, they are much more polite with strangers, and their confidence has skyrocketed. We’ve been a part of the pack for about 3 months now, and will stay with the pack as long as we are in Orlando! Thank you Michelle and Pluto’s Pals for taking great care of Benson and Piper 🐶🐾

Michelle and her team at Pluto’s Pals Pet Care were a lifesaver for us and our 2.5-year-old Portuguese Water Dog, Otter. We were at our wit’s end when we found Michelle, as Otter had begun displaying aggressive behavior, severely biting us without warning. We had already spent thousands of dollars on numerous vet visits, including a GI specialist and a veterinary behaviorist who prescribed a variety of anxiety and sedative medications. We even tried working with a fear-free trainer, but nothing seemed to help. It was heartbreaking to see Otter so unhappy, and we felt completely lost. Michelle was a breath of fresh air. From the moment we met her, we felt heard and understood. She took the time to really listen to our concerns, cried with us, and showed us and Otter the utmost respect. Michelle’s compassion and expertise were evident from the start. We were literally a day away from the heartbreaking decision of behavioral euthanasia (this was tearing us up but we were under the impression it was the only option), as Otter was so fearful that he wouldn’t even be in the same room with me without growling, barking, and charging. It felt like my best friend had suddenly turned against me, and we didn’t know why. Nothing had happened that would justify his behavior. Michelle helped us discover that Otter had numerous food allergies, which were likely causing him immense discomfort and triggering his aggressive behavior. With her guidance, we were able to wean Otter off his anxiety medications and sedatives, experiment with different diets, and introduce CBD oil and probiotics. The transformation was incredible. Otter graduated from a board and train program with Michelle at Pluto’s Pals, while we attended her first weekly dog psychology class to better understand how to communicate with Otter in a way that is natural for dogs. Despite our initial apprehension, given the amount of money we had already spent on various treatments and trainers, we are endlessly grateful that we took a chance on Michelle and that she took a chance on us. She truly helped us rebuild our relationship with Otter. Otter has come such a long way. He’s no longer fearful and aggressive; he’s the smart, sweet, and feisty dog we always knew him to be before his aggression started. He even allows us to groom him again, something that had become a huge issue due to his discomfort. We cannot thank Michelle enough for her patience, understanding, and dedication. She has given us back our best friend, and for that, we will be forever grateful. If you’re struggling with your dog’s behavior and feel like you’ve run out of options, I highly recommend reaching out to Michelle at Pluto’s Pals Pet Care. She’s our angel and truly a miracle worker!

Mr Giggles LOVES Michelle and his pack at Plutos Pals! I wish I would have called a year earlier because it was what I was looking for all along. He gets training, gets to play outside in the spacious area where he can run, play in the water feauture(which he loves), play with his pack, so he has a balanced, structured day. I was hesitant in the beginning due to the days, hours, and all-size dogs together, but I made the adjustment because he is happy, learning, and she is a trained handler with dog pyscholgy experience. He has never been excited about daycare, but I love the fact that he beats me to the door. And he asks Michelle for cuddles and gets them while he is there which makes me so happy. I've also learned a lot from Michele and grown as a dog owner which has improved our relationship because I understand dogs more now.