Paws for Thought Dog Training

I adopted a 2 month old mixed breed pup in February, I was super nervous to train him on my own and I am so happy I discovered Paws for Thought. Working with Maddie has been very beneficial, she is extremely patient, kind and works with you to problem solve right on the spot. She has great advice and was an overall pleasure to work with. I will take the skills I learned with her and continue to train my pup as he grows.

Maddie and Erin are absolute all stars!! I adopted my sweet crazy Poppy (5 yr old female corgi) from a rescue last August. Her personality began to fully emerge ~2-3 months post adoption, resulting in severe separation anxiety (this was obvious right away) plus leash reactivity (took longer to appear). She has VERY big emotions and after me working with a more generalized trainer for a few months in addition to doing a lot of my own research (lots of conflicting information out there)... my vet finally recommended a vet behaviorist, who then recommended Paws for Thoughts. I began working with Maddie, on leash reactivity and noise sensitivity, and Erin, on separation anxiety, late last fall (Nov / early Dec 2026) and have already seen tremendous progress on both fronts! I've had many moments of complete despair and Maddie and Erin have truly pulled me through, sometimes serving as MY therapist ha (as it's important I learn to regulate my emotions while on this journey as well). They've provided so many helpful tips with clear instruction and guidance on how to continue executing and perfecting on my own. I am SO happy that I have been able to resume a bit of freedom outside of my apartment (from 10 sec departures in late Nov '26 to 50 minute departures now in Apr '27, outside of unavoidable departures with extra meds + sitter). Additionally, I've gained much more confidence and resilience when on walks with Poppy due to her ability to now fairly consistently disengage without being prompted and much faster recovery if/when she does react. It's been a long journey and the work is far from done, but I'm incredibly happy with the results to-date and am motivated to continue -- all because of Maddie and Erin's personalized curriculum, attentiveness, communicativeness, and just overall fun and friendly demeanor :) They make what is otherwise an incredibly stressful and life-altering situation into a *dare I say it* enjoyable one!

Anna with Paws for Thought is truly amazing. We first were introduced when I got my Bernedoodle puppy, Cornelius, in the summer of 2024. Cornelius was 5 months old when he joined me in the city and he presented with some pretty serious urban anxiety. He naturally is a very sensitive and shy boy so the lively, crowded, and loud East Village / Union Square neighborhood that I live in turned into a nightmare for my little bud (and for me because I struggled to do basic things with him like walks as he would pancake in fear). Anna really helped to guide me in how to help manage the urban anxiety and then worked on training tactics for confidence building and enrichment. I’ve been working with Anna for nearly two years now and she’s been such a critical resource around Cornelius’ development from basic manners, to how to handle his humping era (in the months before his neuter), to locking down important skills like recall etc. She’s also recommended great group classes to help work on my dog’s reactivity, whether they are lead by herself or by Erin (another wonderful trainer!). Both Anna and Erin use positive reinforcement and are wonderful in terms of their ability to work with all different types of dogs, even sensitive, nervous, and reactive pups like my little bud. I couldn’t recommend them both enough!