BlackDog Behavior and Training, LLC

MORE THAN JUST DOG TRAINING! Becca’s training advice is so effective that, while out on a training walk with my puppy today, a strange man working on his car told me, “Looks like you’re doing it right.” While flattered by his unsolicited approval, I realized that Blackdog gives me something much deeper than simple puppy training. Blackdog helped me feel worthy as a human with respect from strange men. Something I’ve never needed, but am always reminded of. Thanks BLACKDOG!!

There is life before BlackDog and then there is life after BlackDog. Life before BlackDog had my lovely sweetheart Austen pulling on the leash no matter what training strategies we tried (and we'd seen 2 other trainers & watched countless videos before), barking at every single other dog she saw to the point where she stressed herself out and was unable to calm down, and going nuts with excitement when anyone entered the house. As a result we limited walks and outside explorations and I learned to live with the anxiety of having a reactive dog. Enter Becca. In the first session she not only seemed to understand Austen's struggles and triggers, but she helped to break down why Austen was doing what she was doing, what approach would help it, and our first couple of steps. She gave detailed information there and followed it all up with an easy to read written doc. Our sessions were followed with clear and simple steps to follow so even as I was working crazy hours, I could still find time to train Austen. It's been about 4 months. Now Austen and I go out for walks in parks and I know if we have enough space, she'll make a good choice when seeing another dog. She doesn't bark at bicyclists or joggers 90% of the time. She is able to calm herself down and continue a walk without being set off by every little trigger afterwards. Yesterday we took a walk around the neighborhood and ran into two off-leash dogs in their yards. She didn't bark or lunge or try to run away. She walked past, alert and stressed, but focused on getting by. I even feel comfortable letting other people walk her now. We've still got some growing to do, but honestly Becca has been a life saver.