Dogs By Dancer

My only regret is not finding Scott Dancer earlier! We met Scott about a year and a half ago, when my Portie puppy, Jed Bartlet, was 8 months old. I always joke that he "came out of the box" pretty perfect and well-behaved but once we hit that 8mo mark, he started pulling like a champ and it was ... exhausting. Every walk became a fight with his stubborn and fiercely independent self, even though I was trying everything the internet suggested. We had also tried a number of different training options in DC (four!) but literally every one of them insisted on starting with basic commands that Jed had mastered at two months. It was annoying, expensive, a complete waste of time and, honestly, kinda demoralizing to never get to the actual behavior I needed help with --- until we found Scott! The first time we met him, he LISTENED. Like sat down in our living room and actually listened to what was going on and, most importantly, what we had already tried. He didn't even care that I had taught Jed different commands for the same behavior - he explained that it's normal for them to know different commands from different people in different settings (like daycare vs home); Scott is always sharing his knowledge and educating you as the owner as he works with your pup. Long story short, within one lesson, he had taught Jed new commands, taught me even more than that, and by lesson two, introduced us to the Sidekick head harness/gentle leader -- which changed.the.game! We still use it when Jed is excited or knows we're going somewhere he really likes. Otherwise, a year later, he walks like the poised president he is most of the time :) We initially did a two month package with Scott but have also used him for boarding and, of course, we go to the free, lifetime, Saturday group classes as often as we can! And, I'd be remiss not to mention that Jed loves Scott. I mean, like, he might be his favorite person. And Scott loves every four-legged friend -- knows them by name, breed, temperament, and quirk - and has usually given them a nickname. Scott's amount of knowledge and experience is crazy impressive but is surpassed by his passion and genuine care for your best buddy. p.s. His sister, Suzy, does all of his bookings remotely, and she is lovely! p.p.s. Scott also got us hooked up with the best groomer ever, GG at City Dogs, and we are beyond grateful.

Its like I have a brand new dog! We did the 8 sessions with Scott and I wish we had done it sooner. I used to dread walking my dog in the morning, she pulled, lunged at dogs and people, zig-zagged, was really hard to manage. I had to stay on her all the time and use both hands on the leash. Now our morning walks are peaceful and nice. I can listen to my podcasts or carry a coffee, we get to walk so much more. It's a miracle honestly. We also did the off-leash training. Now, we take her on hikes and she gets to play in my in-laws unfenced backyard. It has really improved her quality of life and ours. She unfortunately is a poop eater as well. So we couldn't go to the dog park without the risk of her getting sick. But now that she has off-leash recall, we can recall her and it's really solved that issue for us. I used to get nervous paddleboarding with her. She has been known to leap from the board, swim to shore and make a run for it. Now that I can recall her, its not a problem if she gets to shore before me. She usually waits and if she doesn't, I can recall her just fine. I could go on and on but I will stop here. I can't recommend Scott enough! You wont regret hiring him and your pup will thank you too.

Scott is great to work with and has helped my dog so much! My dog did a 2 week board and train when we lived in Florida but I didn’t get the results I wanted. When I moved to Virginia, I reached out to Scott to help with my dogs leash reactivity and he was able to meet up with me and my dog shortly after to come up with a plan. I noticed results even after the first lesson! 10/10 would recommend training with Scott!