FirstBarkMaddie is the best! Truly understands dog behavior and works closely to develop a specific plan/techniques to achieve your goals. My dog, who isn't fond of strangers, absolutely loves her.
Paws for Thought Dog Training
New York, New York
About Paws for Thought Dog Training
At Paws for Thought Dog Training, we provide positive-reinforcement based training services tailored to you and your dog. We prioritize a dog-first mentality by identifying what aspects of a dog’s environment, genetic predisposition, and temperament will play a role in determining long-term success. We also account for each human’s unique priorities, capabilities, and lifestyles. Through this lens, we are able to create behavior solutions and training plans that move the human-dog team towards success.
Training & services
Training goals
- Behavior consultation
- Crate training
- House training
- Leash training
- Obedience training
- Socialization
Behavior support
- Cooperative care
- Fear and confidence
- Reactivity training
- Resource guarding
- Separation anxiety
How training happens
- Group classes
- In-home training
- Online or virtual training
Program details
Virtual training sessions are tailored to out-of-area clients and those who have particularly sensitive dogs that may not be in the best learning position with a new person in their home. Virtual training sessions mirror in-home sessions in both form and function.
- Private training
Program details
During our in-home training sessions, we first gather background information to build a thorough understanding of the dog and human's needs. We then create a customized training plan and help you implement this training plan with a combination of follow-up and homeschool sessions.
Dog age
- Puppies
Support between sessions
- Personalized training plans
Your dog’s background
- Rescue dogs
Training approach
- Balanced training
- Positive reinforcement
Consultations
- Free consultation
Other listed services
View 23 additional details
- Animal Behavior
- Animal Behaviorist
- Behavior Solutions
- Behavioral Challenges
- Dog Behaviorist
- Dog Family
- Dog Run
- Dog's Behavior
- Electronic Collars
- Helping Dogs
- Home Dog Training
- New Dog
- Pack Training
- Personalized Training
- Phone Consultation
- Positive Behavior Change
- Potty Break
- Teaching Your Dog
- Training Lessons
- Training Sessions
- Training Training
- Training Your Dog
- Vet Visits Class
Confirm current programs and availability directly.
Customer reviews
Google listing5
60 Google reviews
Mentioned in reviews
- Understanding dog behavior 7
- Detailed notes 6
- Reactivity training 5
- Separation anxiety training 5
- Clear guidance 4
- Leash walking 4
All 10 topics
- Positive reinforcement 4
- Private training 4
- Aggressive behavior 3
- City noise training 2
Google review topics, not confirmed services.
I spoke to Maddie Messina during the initial free consultation and she was great! Really attentive and invested in helping us with our pup Ginger. We completed our first session and working with Maddie in person was amazing. She understands our needs and our pup as well!
If you're looking for someone who will teach you how to walk your dogs with choke collars, instill fear and discipline in your pooch and teach it one for, then maddie is not for you. She is compassionate, tremendously caring and understanding of dogs of all temperaments. Focuse…Read full reviewClose full review
If you're looking for someone who will teach you how to walk your dogs with choke collars, instill fear and discipline in your pooch and teach it one for, then maddie is not for you. She is compassionate, tremendously caring and understanding of dogs of all temperaments. Focused on detail and positivity training, follow.her methods and you (and your poochie) will overcome your issues. Very flexible and amiable, she was my first trainer and I couldn't have asked for anyone better. Very recommended if you couldn't tell by now.
Only regret is we didn’t reach out to Maddie sooner. Her approach is clear, organized, compassionate, methodical, and meets you where you and your dog are. There is no quick fix for separation anxiety; humans need to be ready to put in the work and time. Maddie gives clear guidance and markers to track progress and make results feel tangible - she is the best.
We were having a lot of reactivity issues with our dog so we reached out to Maddie. I cannot thank her enough for the work she did with us. Her approach is scientific and methodical from the start and I could immediately tell we would have real solutions working with her after ou…Read full reviewClose full review
We were having a lot of reactivity issues with our dog so we reached out to Maddie. I cannot thank her enough for the work she did with us. Her approach is scientific and methodical from the start and I could immediately tell we would have real solutions working with her after our initial phone call. In three sessions and a couple of emails, she gave us so many tools to help manage our dogs anxiety and everything just feels so much easier for him now. He's improved tremendously in only 2 months thanks to her expertise. I also really love how thorough she is with notes and follow up on what was discussed in our sessions, something I did not experience with previous trainers and found to be invaluable this time around. Maddie was so kind and lovely to our dog and to us. She shows so much grace and understanding to both dogs and owners which I really appreciated. 10/10 experience!
Original customer experiences from the collected Google data. Ratings without comments follow written reviews.