Positive Interactions Dog Behavior and Training, LLC

We can't say enough positive things about Colleen! She was completely professional, friendly, so helpful, and very engaging and interactive with us and our two dogs. We purchased the four session package, and it was amazing how much we were able to get done in that time frame. Colleen has a clear understanding about dog behavior and what needs to happen to reshape behaviors that aren't working and how to encourage pups to learn new behaviors, all through conditioning and positive reinforcements - nothing punitive, which was one of the main reasons we elected to use her over other trainers. Colleen explained to us, at each visit, what we, as pack leaders, should be tweaking or doing differently to inform the dogs about what behaviors we are looking for from them. We learned skills that are transferable moving forward because Colleen also helped us understand the psychology of a dog's mind and what motivates. Of course, everything we learned from Colleen has to be practiced and reinforced over time, but with the tools to know what to do, we're motivated to continue our work now that our sessions are over. I would strongly encourage anyone looking for a quality trainer to consider Positive Interactions Dog Behavior and Training! Colleen was great about providing several available time slots and working with our schedules. You won't regret working with Colleen and her training company and will end up with much better behaved fur babies!

I’ve had dogs my entire life, but never had one that regular puppy training wasn’t enough for, or that had any issues with being approached and pet by other people. Well, we recently ended up adopting a puppy that has turned out to be a handful, and we can only assume he will be one for the rest of his life. He is very people shy and leash reactive on walks, but working with Colleen has provided us with a lot of information and tools which have already helped us enormously with his behavior, and which will continue to help us throughout his life. If you are reading this review, it’s likely because you’ve ended up with a less than ‘perfect’ dog and I do feel for you, you have work ahead of you, but they are worth the work, and starting out with hiring Colleen is an excellent, and highly recommended, move to help you and your dog. We especially appreciated Colleen’s positive reinforcement and reward-based training techniques. The last thing Linus, or other shy/aggressive/reactive, dogs need is a heavy, punishing hand. Colleen was excellent to work with and I know she’ll be an important resource for us throughout his life.

Colleen is the consummate professional, and works to drive the best solution. The training was so much more than teaching our dog, it was an education on how we could teach the dog and reinforce the good behaviors we desired. Given that our dog is a quick learner, and very willing to accept positive reinforcement, I termed the sessions "stupid human" training. Once Colleen showed the dog the behavior she got it and then my wife and I had to get it. It was important that the messaging and actions be consistent, so as not to confuse the pup. Colleen made sure we all got it, and understood the reason for doing things in a specific way. Not only did we get the training but we were provided with a follow on email with material to support the learning. Overall just an excellent experience.

Colleen has been a terrific help to us with our 8 year old dog, Peanut, who came to us from a rescue with collar and leash reactivity and a tendency to bite very aggressively without giving us (obvious to us) warning. Peanut also seems to have hearing loss that results in him being easily startled and therefore scared. Colleen was able to help us understand how dogs interpret certain behaviors and we were able to avoid those that Peanut saw as threatening and aggressive and thus avoid his natural self-protective action. She encouraged us to use more visual cues and now we have a repertoire of hand motions and sound cues that work great! Gradually with her help we have become better at interpreting his cues, can see better when he is nervous or scared, and he has become more trusting of us. Also she has helped us find ingenious solutions to problems - how to distract Peanut so we can put on a muzzle, or give him his monthly flea and tick medication without triggering a fearful response. She very patiently and carefully helped me rehearse how to get Peanut accustomed to have a slip lead put on - we took videos and pictures of us practicing the rewards-based training and that was really helpful later when I was on my own! Particularly helpful has been her perspective on how to work with Peanut gradually over a long time and to be patient. We have made a lot of progress and Colleen has helped us very much. We look forward to working with her in the future!