Purely Positive Dog Training

Scotty, our GSD/Husky/Lab mix rescue, is a stubborn, reactive, yet totally loving and smart dog. He is just over three years old and incredibly strong. We made the decision to finally do one-on-one training after one walk where Scotty went crazy trying to approach our neighbors dog on a walk (pulling, barking, making all the sounds!). We knew he was trainable but needed help. Enter Susan! Even just from our introductory email, she knew exactly what was going on and knew she could help us. We did five trainings, two at our house, one at the beach, one at Alhambra hall, and one at Pitt Street Bridge. She helped us immensely! She was able to teach us tasks to start using in the house, then exposing on walks and advancing them to the next step. Her calm demeanor put us at ease, and Scotty and her became best friends! She helped us by explaining where some of his behavior could be coming from (maybe nervous, doesn't like being restricted on a leash when off leash dogs approach). By our last walk on Pitt Street, we were able to successfully pass incredible amounts of dogs without issue. It completely changed our perspective! It goes without saying that the consistency and practice in between the trainings will also help, but Susan sent us an email after each session with what we worked on and what we could continue doing. They included helpful references. We plan to keep Wednesday evenings as our "explore around the town" walks with Scotty so he does not lose his new knowledge. We cannot thank Susan enough for all of her help and we will miss not seeing her weekly (and so will Scotty!).

If I could give more stars for Amanda, I would. She worked with us and our yorkie/chihuahua mix for 10 sessions and was absolutely amazing. We accomplished our stated goals within about 4 sessions and have progressed far beyond what we thought was possible for our older dog. Amanda was flexible in scheduling, kind and patient working with us. More even than the actual training I learned about dog behaviour and now have tools for new situations that we didn't specifically address. If I ever need any dog training I will most definitely be contacting Amanda again.

Over the years of owning reactive rescue dogs, I’ve worked with several trainers all over the east coast, and Susan of Purely Positive dog training is HANDS DOWN the best. She worked with me and my dog Olive, a four year old reactive German Shepherd. Olive struggled with many things: she was not good with other dogs or other people. Susan gave us SO many tools to succeed, clearly explained them all, and gave us examples for how we might use them. After every lesson, she would then send us a detailed email going over everything we talked about in the session and more. Olive has come so far since we began working with Purely Positive. She is now able to go on walks around the neighborhood without having a meltdown, and she even has been able to go to the crowded and busy local county parks. She’s been progressing so much with guests in the home and even was able to make a friend with my fiancées twelve year old sister the other weekend. She’s made incredible progress! We are so grateful to Susan for her patience, kindness, and vast knowledge of all things dog training. Highly recommend! Olive gives two paws up.