Helping Pets Behave listing logo

Helping Pets Behave

Gaithersburg, Maryland

4.7/5· 97 Google reviews

About Helping Pets Behave

Mary is a full time Associate Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, running a small business focusing on behavior modification for problem behaviors commonly seen in pet dogs and cats. She's been involved in the modification of animal behavior as a researcher, veterinary technician, trainer, and animal behaviorist for the past 20 years. Her scientific approach to animal training often leads to immediate results.

Training & services

Training goals

  • Behavior consultation
  • House training
  • Leash training
  • Obedience training
  • Puppy training

Behavior support

  • Aggression training Customer-reported
  • Barking Customer-reported
  • Reactivity training Customer-reported

How training happens

  • Group classes
  • Owner coaching Customer-reported
  • Private training

Dog age

  • Puppies

Support between sessions

  • Homework and practice Customer-reported
  • Personalized training plans

Assistance and working dogs

  • Therapy dog training

Dog sports

  • Trick training

Your dog’s background

  • Rescue dogs

Other listed services

View 14 additional details
  • Animal Assisted Therapy
  • Animal Behavior Consultant
  • Animal Training
  • Applied Animal Behaviorist
  • Behavior Analysis
  • Behavior Change
  • Behavior Treatment
  • Dog Harnesses
  • Dog Run
  • Fun Class
  • In-Home Consults
  • Pet Dogs
  • Private Consults
  • Virtual Consults

Confirm current programs and availability directly.

Customer reviews

Google listing
4.7
out of 597 Google reviews

Mentioned in reviews

  • Fear aggression 27
  • Reactive dog training 10
  • Separation anxiety 8
  • Virtual sessions 6
  • Anxious dog 4
  • Behavior plan 4
All 10 topics
  • Dog behaviorist 4
  • Clear and concise plan 2
  • Detailed written report 2
  • Dog handler confidence 2

Google review topics, not confirmed services.

97 collected reviews

Text reviews first · newest first
Loretta Rodts
5/5
Mary has been wonderful to work with! My dog Zoe is a 4 year old sweetheart with pretty debilitating separation anxiety and noise anxiety. It has been really challenging for both of us and Mary has been there when we need her! We are still working on her training, but Zoe cont…Read full reviewClose full review

Mary has been wonderful to work with! My dog Zoe is a 4 year old sweetheart with pretty debilitating separation anxiety and noise anxiety. It has been really challenging for both of us and Mary has been there when we need her! We are still working on her training, but Zoe continues to grow and show progress every day and I have learned so much from working with Mary. She is knowledgeable, flexible and very responsive. She has been patient and and understanding and truly cares about our success!

Hannah Wascavage
5/5
Could not be any happier with the results of Mary's separation anxiety training plan. The dog who ate the door frame and barked his head off once someone walked out of the front door is now lounging and relaxed all day when left alone! Mary's plan was clear and concise and she wa…Read full reviewClose full review

Could not be any happier with the results of Mary's separation anxiety training plan. The dog who ate the door frame and barked his head off once someone walked out of the front door is now lounging and relaxed all day when left alone! Mary's plan was clear and concise and she was extremely responsive if I had any questions. It was clear from the first phone call with Mary that she truly cared about my dog. Thank you, Mary!

Kelly Burgy
5/5
Mary was a LIFE SAVER for me and my fearful dog, Lady. I live in the city and Lady was so scared of noises that she would not even want to go on walks. Mary worked with us tirelessly to get Lady to be able to go on walks for as long as I want. Mary has also helped us with car anx…Read full reviewClose full review

Mary was a LIFE SAVER for me and my fearful dog, Lady. I live in the city and Lady was so scared of noises that she would not even want to go on walks. Mary worked with us tirelessly to get Lady to be able to go on walks for as long as I want. Mary has also helped us with car anxiety, reactive barking, you name it - she can help! Everything has been virtual and Mary is extremely responsive so we can address the problem & I can get some tips quickly.

Pamela Raitch
5/5
We reached out to Mary when we adopted our Henry from the kill shelter. That was the best decision I've made in years. I felt comfortable from the first minute, and each minute only got better. Her directions were clear, uncomplicated, and direct. She was honest, which allowed u…Read full reviewClose full review

We reached out to Mary when we adopted our Henry from the kill shelter. That was the best decision I've made in years. I felt comfortable from the first minute, and each minute only got better. Her directions were clear, uncomplicated, and direct. She was honest, which allowed us to be the same. I can now frequently walk him by the dog park, where strangers have watched our progress. We hear things like, "wow, he's come so far" and "he's showing up all the other dogs here". What an incredible feeling I get, which runs right down the leash to Henry. From the bottom of my heart, thank you Mary.

Jason Melnyk
5/5
Mary is excellent! Our dog is/was/getting better at extreme reactivity and fear. We did a zoom session with her first and she does thorough preparation work prior to your scheduled zoom call. She takes the time and is very patient in answering all of your questions. I cannot re…Read full reviewClose full review

Mary is excellent! Our dog is/was/getting better at extreme reactivity and fear. We did a zoom session with her first and she does thorough preparation work prior to your scheduled zoom call. She takes the time and is very patient in answering all of your questions. I cannot recommend her highly enough. Our dog still has a way to go, but we have been working on our training walks since October and have seen tremendous improvement with Kenai. We also did an in-person session. Work with Mary! She is amazing.

Original customer experiences from the collected Google data. Ratings without comments follow written reviews.

Explore nearby & related training