Family Dog Training

I've gone through Basic and Advanced beginner with my first dog (a Sato) and am currently in Basic with my new girl (a terrier mix). Family Dog have been fantastic and unbelievably helpful. My Sato is terrified of new people and places and class was a struggle with him. Paul was so helpful in working through his issues with the class work and at-home exercises. The new pup is a bit of a pistol. Paul and Pam have, again, been great in working through her focus challenges.

This review is way overdue, but better late than never! My family and I met Paul Emerson and his team in January 2013 where we attended classes with our newly adopted 2 year old dog. Olive was a difficult case, exhibiting dog reactivity and eventually displaying redirected owner aggression behavior that manifested itself after her adoption and behavior that did not match her foster parent and rescue shelter personality profile. It was a very trying and emotional time for all of us as we tried to rehabilitate Olive while realizing the implications of having Olive live with us, a household with children around. Paul worked diligently with us and offered so much emotional support during the time Olive was with us. He was generous with his time and was genuinely concerned with trying to obtain the best outcome for all involved. We will forever be grateful. We are now pet parents to a 1 1/2 year old standard poodle who has been attending classes on and off at Family Dog Training since he was 3 months old. Paul's insight and understanding of the canine psyche at their different life stages is mind boggling and it is inspirational to watch him work with dogs. Paul will help you understand what your dog is going through and help you to understand and work with your dog. He understands the different needs and requirements of dogs who struggle with different issues. Even when you think your adolescent dog is beyond help, Paul is always reminding you this is a transitional phase and reminds you to hang in there ! He is forever patient with my questions and emails when things come up outside of class and always provides good guidance. Paul does appreciate full participation and attentiveness in class and is not afraid to remind people of that. He also advocates for the dogs and all this can sometimes lead people to form misinformed opinions of Paul. If you take the time to work with your dog and you open your mind to learn as much as you can from Paul and his team, you'll be rewarded with greater insight and knowledge, you'll enjoy numerous funny moments in class, (Paul has quite the dry sense of humor), and you will have tapped into a wonderful person who truly loves, not only his own dogs but those of other people. You and your canine companion(s) will have gained a friend and a resource for life.