Helping Pets Behave

Mary has been no short of a lifesaver for my family. We first met with Mary concerning our reactive dog Oscar, who we had had for about a year before finding Mary. Prior to meeting, Oscar had bit not only my husband and I but someone in our apartment building as well. We spent about a thousand dollars on Bark Buster training, unknowingly triggering Oscar's behavior and fear. When we got to Mary, we were heartbroken, overwhelmed and scared. Despite Oscar's history, Mary was open and willing to work with him. She was willing to hear about how sweet of a dog he could be, she was willing to see the love he gave and she was willing to understand how we needed to mend his needs into our lives. The techniques she provided us allowed us to provide Oscar a wonderful life until his passing. When we had to make the decision to put Oscar down, Mary was the first one I called for comfort and understanding about everything concerning the loss of our pet. Now, YEARS later, we have a wonderful doggo Franklin who just this week was bitten for the first time at doggie daycare. Seconds after getting off the phone with the vet he was taken to, I called Mary. She talked me through what rehabilitation looked like for Franklin, and how to help ease his mind AND my mind. I will be taking Franklin back to Mary to help with his confidence and his separation anxiety, and to meet with someone I know who cares about my family and our stability at home. After reading some of the reviews here, I do want to note- Mary is honest. She does not sugarcoat to you what she thinks is best, and lays it out on the table. She's also understanding. She hates dog parks- she shares this bluntly with me, she names her reasons why and she STILL continues to support me and Franklin in spaces even though I take him to dog parks. After owning a reactive dog and having people for months tell me "you're doing everything right, you're so amazing for being patience, it will get better with time"- it honestly was so refreshing to have someone be honest with me about my actions and his triggers, and to be present and there with me to feel how hard it was to adapt and to manage. If you're looking for someone to just reassure your intentions and not correct what is needed to help sustain peace- I would look somewhere else. If you want someone who will join your family, be there to support and be willing to hear honesty and be honest with you- that's Mary.

My husband and I rescued our German Shorthaired Pointer, Reilly (he was 3.5 then, he's 6 now). It was clear when we picked him up that he didn't know how to be around people, what it meant to be loved and welcomed by a family, or how to ride in a car! Reilly doesn't bark or growl EVER - only once when he let my husband know that he didn't like to be petted on his back when he's trying sleep (bark/growled). About 2 years after having Reilly, he bit me when he was half asleep and I tried to gently nudge his face away from where my rear end was about to go. He was looking at me - but I believe he was asleep. It was gnarly. No stitches, but my vet told me that people have had their dogs put down for less. Then, Reilly bit me again a month later. I was sort of asking for it, however, at that time, Reilly didn't give signs that he was not happy with his situation. I was trying to pull a piece of string that was caught on one of his teeth out of his mouth and he punctured and bruised my hand again. Not one to give up -because except for these bouts of aggression, and having had experience with dogs our whole lives (and lots of Cesar Milan and YouTube training, LOL), we knew we needed a professional. I found Mary Huntsberry on the ASPCA website, and working with her was the best decision we ever made. Mary was clear about fees and what was included, right up front. With minimal effort on our part, Mary was able to provide a care plan, a consultation as to how to apply the care plan and follow up instruction. The very first day of behavior modification (ours!) with Reilly and he was already responding. We did still need to put him on Prozac. His aggression has to do with how his brain chemicals work - but Mary taught us how to read his signs, and keep all of us safe. He has not bitten since the Prozac and the continued use of Mary's plan. My vet, upon receiving Mary's report and recommendations, was certain to tell us that she'd never seen such a thorough, well written and concise report. I've always taken pride in my ability to read my pet's needs, and with Reilly, I felt like I had failed him. Mary helped us to help Reilly feel loved, brought back my confidence (and his!), and taught us lessons we can use being around ANY dog (you know, like your Uncle's crazy's chihuahua that snaps at everyone? LOL!!). It may be hard to admit you need a professional to help when you've had dogs for 40 years - but there is always more to learn. Mary can help, you just need to take that first step!

Our experience with Mary was very good. She explained everything in detail and answered all our questions (virtually and in person). We came to Mary because one of our dogs who is very high strung due to her breed was misbehaving in all areas (walking, constant barking, aggressive) and we wanted to take back control and create less anxiety for her. Our dog is so much better today and while she may never stop being excitable, with daily reinforcements from Mary's training, we are headed for much calmer and happier times. She is a great resource for any questions and offers quick responses. We highly recommend her services!

Mary has done an incredible job teaching us how to keep our dog-reactive rescue dog from losing his cool around other dogs. While he’s still a work in progress, her positive, evidence-based methods have proven highly effective, and we’ve seen enormous progress in his behavior. She also helped us deal with his growling at guests coming in the house—again, following her instructions, the behavior is 95% improved. We were at the end of our rope (leash?) when we came to Mary and Helping Pets Behave, and now we’re much more confident as dog handlers/pet parents, and Charlie is happier and more relaxed, too! Mary isn’t afraid to tackle tough issues, so if you have a reactive or aggressive dog, or any other behavioral issue, I highly recommend her!

We adopted a 6-month female chihuahua mix who was very anxious around noises, children running around, visitors, and some dogs. After a few months, our dog’s anxiety turned into aggression and she unexpectedly bit most of the family members. Especially, my kids were very afraid of being next to our dog. We tried some techniques that we found online without any results. Mary is very knowledgeable and conducts a detailed analysis of the initial intake (inclusive of pictures and videos) and the first meeting, which she followed with a detailed written report with very well-articulated training steps. Mary explained to us that there was nothing we did wrong with the dog. But because of the dog’s anxious personality, a lot of things/noises were triggering her anxiety. We trained our dog to desensitize her to noises/kids running around, etc. We noticed a change in our dog’s behavior a week after we started following Mary’s plan. For a while, we kept our dog in her designated area in the afternoon or on weekends when everybody was home. After that we let her roam free but not with any visitors. Our dog did not exhibit any threatening behavior while roaming free. It's like she was a different dog. As instructed by Mary we do not pet our dog unless she comes to us with an overly friendly posture. Now, our dog is happier and comes very often to seek affection or lay down next to us. Our dog continues with the medication, calming collar, and calming supplements, as recommended by Mary. We still see anxiety in our dog’s body posture but no aggression towards family members. We also observed on walks or with strangers outside that she is not very anxious, and we can redirect her focus during trigger situations. We continue with the training because our dog is still anxious and can’t roam free around unfamiliar visitors at our house. Thank you, Mary, for helping us and our dog!