New Dogs - Old Trix

If I could give 100 stars, I would give it to Susan at New Dogs Old Trix!!! I have a 1 yo Border Collie mix and she was not properly trained as a puppy due to personal circumstances. My girl is very sweet/smart but obnoxious and would not listen to any command and was very stubborn. She chased everything (birds, gophers, trash blowing, tumbleweeds), jumped all over people, jumped on my other dog constantly, chewed anything and everything she could get in her mouth (almost 15 pairs of shoes ruined from her chewing) and would bolt through the front door anytime it was opened. I knew I needed to get her help and sought out services from Susan. My girl went for a 3 week board and train and it was worth every penny, plus more. Susan quickly identified my girl was insecure and worked on building confidence and controlling her excitement. Susan has resident dogs who also help with socialization and helping my dog understand boundaries. Susan sent daily messages providing updates, sent videos and pictures as my dog was meeting milestones (going out in public, swimming, off leash walks). She would also call as a "check in" or if there was a concern. Susan trains 1 dog at a time, so my baby was getting all of her attention 24/7. I live far away and could not come as often as I would like but Susan was very accommodating with me coming for visits and also spending time with me showing me the commands, letting me try and showing me how to correct if my dog didn't respond. After 3 weeks I now have a WONDERFUL pleasant dog who is still sweet/funny but is not obnoxious. She knows how to relax when indoors (no more chewing shoes), walk off leash without running all over and chasing, no more jumping when company arrives, going out in public to stores and behaving, understands how to play with my older dog and most of all she has gained confidence!!! Since training my dog has been to the vet and they were impressed with her behavior, they couldn't believe it was the same dog. I have also taken her to stores and walks and everyone comments on how well behaved my dog is and were just gushing with compliments!! Once the 3 weeks were complete, Susan continues to follow up and is available for any questions or even if I just want to "brag" about how my dog is doing. Susan has passion for what she does, she loves dogs and makes it SO fun for them, I don't think the dogs even realize they are in training. Susan also offers pack walks for the dogs she has trained and I will be joining as often as I can. It is an incredible experience to watch all the dogs walk together, the owners are all saying the same commands and the dogs all know how to respond. Thank you doesn't seem to be enough but Thank You Susan for helping my baby!!!

Our heeler, Blue, was first trained by Susan in 2011 and came home a completely different dog. Throughout the years, he has retained almost all of the commands that Susan initially taught him. We brought Blue back for a brief retraining after he developed some leash reactivity, as well as our new rescue heeler mix, Mag. I was a little nervous and apprehensive that Blue's behavior was "set in stone" because he's 7 years old, but it was no issue at all and he has been very receptive to Susan. Mag didn't come with any particular obstacles or challenges to overcome, but she struggles with insecurity and is highly sensitive. Our once incredibly stubborn dog will now perform basic commands and is excited to play training games. We've received compliments on how much more confident Mag is and how she is able to settle and relax. We are able to settle and relax because she no longer barks at noises from 3 miles away! It has been and continues to be a real joy to work with Susan and I would highly recommend her to anyone introducing a new dog into the home, whether there are specific behavioral issues or not. I am much more confident in my handling abilities with my dogs and how to set them up for success, as well as tools to help when situations don't go as planned. Susan is also knowledgeable and up-to-date about dog nutrition, and has caught a couple health concerns in my dogs to check out with my vet. I have gained so much more than a dog training event. I have learned so many games and tools to keep the training process going and Susan has continued to help me with new concerns. I love that she genuinely cares about my dogs as if they were her own.Thank you so much for all you have done and continue to do for Blue and Mag!!!

We adopted a one year old Border Collie from a rescue, and realized immediately that he was so incredibly smart that we would be negligent if we didn't get him some extensive training. He became reactive to workmen coming into our home after just a short while of being with us. After doing our homework, we decided on Susan del Signore, New Dogs - Old Trix. Her training has made the difference between a "nice dog" and confident, well behaved companion. Her methods are gentle yet firm and the response from our pup has been absolutely wonderful. Her in-home setting gave her 24/7 access to our dog in a normal setting, so she could see all of his behaviors, and it really paid off. Plus, she took him on "field trips" to get him used to other situations as well. AND, perhaps most important, she trained us as well! Best of all, her training includes follow up. She's available to answer questions and help out whenever needed. My husband and I highly recommend Susan del Signore.

Susan is the best. We did some class training with our Dog Denver, and not much had changed before meeting Susan. When complaining about our dogs behavior to a friend she recommended New Dogs Old Trix. It was just what we needed for our 1.5yr old golden retriever. Before going to New Dogs Old Trix our dog was unable to settle down, would put everything he found in his mouth, put his paws on the counter tops and take food, pull when walking, jump on people when they came over....and the list goes on. Once we got him back he was a much better behaved dog. We are able to walk him off leash, he is much better on leash (the kids can even walk him), if he does pick something up once we give the command "out" he drops it and does not run (it use to be a game to him). We can even take him to stores, which i would of never done in the past. Not only did she train Denver, she trained us :) She set us up for success when we brought Denver home. She included us in the training process, and was patient with our boys as they wanted to help. You can tell she loves what she does. She went above and beyond with our dog. She made a probiotic as he was having belly issues, brushed him, and even bathed him. We received videos and photos while she had him as well. If we ever get another dog, we will be sure to take it straight to Susan. I highly recommend Susan!!! Old Dogs New Trix is well worth the investment!

We bought a 10 week old Golden Retriever puppy, we had not had the puppy experience in over 30 years but had just lost our most recent rescue Golden, I wanted to start from scratch after having a number of rescue dogs. He was a wonderful little guy, great personality and full of energy and...out of control. We enrolled in two puppy classes that were very good but we were still having lots of behavioral problems such as chewing on everything (socks, shoes, sandals, toilet paper, Kleenex’s, paper towels, and irrigation drip line), and then running off with them, pretty frustrating. We loved the little critter but were having real issues that we could not solve and decided that we needed a professional. Through friends, we heard about Susan and New Dogs Old Trix, Cathy set up an appointment for an evaluation and shortly after, Maxwell went to live with Susan. Within days she had done wonders and we looked forward to the daily videos and photos of his progress, it is truly amazing the transfomation in just those first couple of days. After not seeing him for a week, we were invited over for our training session and to see him show off his new skills. Here I will mention my experience with horses and dogs, the trainer can do an exceptional job of training an animal but if the owner does not become a part of the training process, it will never be the success that it can and should be. After the initial meeting, I would do the morning walk and observe her in action with Max, her two dogs (and usually a couple of others) so that I could learn how to effectively give commands without confusing him. After our early morning walk, she would spend some time with Maxwell and me reviewing his training and how I should follow through so that both he and I understood what was being asked of him. After three weeks with Susan he came home and was a dramatically different dog, don’t miss understand, he was still a nine month old puppy but normally would no longer pick up items, when he did and I gave the “out” command, he would always drop it and has not once run off with it. I wanted a companion to walk with me daily and hike trails, this is the highlight, on leash he controls himself and off leash, responds to voice commands so well that he is a pleasure to be with. Yes, it is moderately expensive but no training from a competent professional is cheap and you usually get what you pay for, this lady knows her business and it is training dogs. Most importantly, you have to be involved and take the time to continue the training regimen once your dog comes home. Susan is a friend now but that does not in any way affect my evaluation of her skills in training animals, she genuinely loves animals and treats them with respect and commands their obedience. During my walk with Maxwell this morning I was thinking just how much I owe Susan, Maxwell (it used to be The Monster) is now a wonderful companion to be around and we genuinely enjoy our time together. She made that difference.