Barking Birch Dog Socialization, Training, and Outings

We adopted a rescue dog January '21, with a limited history and presenting with many fears and anxieties including reactivity to other dogs. After an initial social skills class at another dog training company with very limited success, a friend recommended LeeAnn. She is indeed a dog whisperer! She has taught us many skills in anticipating and handling Sweet Pea's reactive behaviors and to increase our confidence being the leader of the pack on and off leash. The best has been working on socialization with the dog pack at Barking Birch Farm. Sweet Pea has continued to adjust to new dogs and increasing numbers of dogs in this setting. It continues to be such a great opportunity to see Sweet Pea develop social skills, running and playing with the pack on our jaunts to the stream. We have implemented what we have learned with our friends dogs to increase socialization opportunities. We are so appreciative of LeeAnn's honest, thoughtful and constructive communication style.

A friend recommended that we seek help from Lee Ann in dealing with our rescue dog who had many fears, the worst of which was fear of my husband. Lee Ann was willing to try different approaches to helping us find ways to let our dog integrate into our family. She even traveled to our home to work with us, sent helpful video links, and gave us an excellent book about dog training, all on top of the meetings she had with the three of us. Perhaps the most valuable training she gave us was to recognize that our dog felt most comfortable outside and off-leash. We live in a condo and don't have access to a fenced-in yard, but Lee Ann took me and our dog to the Northampton dog park, where she taught me how to safely manage our dog off-leash. Thanks to her intervention, I was able to get our dog outside and off-leash every day. It was an immensely therapeutic experience for a dog who hid in our sunroom when he wasn't outside. Thanks to Lee Ann, our dog has spent many hours hiking in the woods, swimming, running with other dogs, and getting lots of exercise! I heartily recommend Lee Ann as a dog trainer.