Clover came to me as a breeder release rescue at age 5 ½, having lived in a kennel her entire life indoors for breeding purposes. She had never touched grass, walked on a leash, been in a house, was not potty trained and had never experienced stairs. I knew we needed training support to help Clover adjust; she was frightened about everything and would not go near a crate nor leave my family room. Since she wasn’t leash trained, and 60lbs, I couldn’t bring her to a group class. I searched the web for Karen Pryor Certified trainers as I was aware of the long-term efficacy of her positive reinforcement training methods. As a clinical psychologist, I know of the damage aversive training methods cause any animal and would never consider anything causing harm. I found A Sound Beginning and was matched with Cassie.
Cassie is amazing, she has helped us every step of the way. Cassie came to my home and worked with Clover every few weeks, initially, and now we see her every few months. Cassie has worked with us in all areas; from potty training methods, to teaching me how to slowly habituate Clover to walking with a harness and leash, and how using high reward treats and working everyday (or most days) with Clover truly helped her. She now walks on a leash, will go into the car, goes up and down the stairs, is 100% potty trained and enjoys learning fun tricks such as sit, paw, touch, down and spin. I felt so much success and joy with Clover that I also rescued her sister, breeder release, Hadley. Now Cassie is working with Hadley as well, and after a few months, Hadley is walking fear free with a harness and leash!
I recommend A sound beginning trainer, especially Cassie!
-Karen A Baker, PsyD
Licensed Clinical Psychologist