DRIZZTY
Meet Mike, Rachel, and Drizzty. Drizzty is a 2 year old lab-shepard mix who was in desperate need of training. Before we started training, she had gone into Rachel's school bag, taken out her IPAQ, and destroyed it. Luckily when Rachel told her principal "My dog ate my IPAQ", he thought it was funny. Unfortunately, after about three months of training, Drizzty's energy got the best of her and she injured her back leg so training has been suspended.
This is what Rachel had to say about the training they received: "If you want a well-behaved dog, I highly recommend Michelle Sutton as an excellent dog trainer. I especially liked the approach she took in demonstrating with her dog, and letting us practice and refine a technique before working with our dog, to avoid mistakes. Basically, she trained us in how to train our own dog. With many obedience classes, someone else works with the dog. Often, the dog's compliance doesn't transfer to the owners afterwards. Michelle's approach reinforced us as the masters and trainers. She discussed our concerns and wishes and gave great advice for handling a wide variety of issues. Additionally, Michelle's method of positive reinforcement and correction techniques are highly effective, and we noticed an improvement in our dog's behavior very quickly. After an initial resistance, our dog really liked Michelle and looked forward to her training sessions, something I did not expect. Her excited reaction whenever Michelle came over really said it all! We enjoy our dog so much more now, the training sessions were one of the best investments we have made".
ROWDY
Meet Eric and Rowdy. Rowdy is a two year old mix who Eric rescued from a local shelter. To say the least, his name fits him perfectly. We have been working with Rowdy on and off for about 6 months. He has been a very quick learner and very eager to please. We are currently working with him on advanced off-leash obedience.
This is what Eric had to say about his training experience. "Although Rowdy had a very friendly personality right from the start, he also had a lot of energy and did not always respond well to my commands, particularly when he was excited. Since we started training, Rowdy is much more focused on my commands and his behavior has calmed down a lot, especially inside the house. While still full of energy, I can now control his behavior off lead and have stopped him from chasing other animals and vehicles simply by voice command. The training helped Rowdy act like a more mature dog but it has not changed his personality or liveliness."
PAYTON
Meet Pete, Audrey, and Payton. Payton is a one year old black lab with a lot of energy. He would pull so hard on the leash that Audrey was having a hard time walking him. We have been working with Payton for a couple of months and this is what they had to say about the training:
"We started out by taking Payton to obedience classes at a local pet store, but we didn't get much out of them. We wanted to train Payton so that he was calm around other people and so that he wouldn't run into the busy street we live on. After the first session with Michelle, we started to notice a big difference. Payton was actually listening to our commands and was excited to work everyday. Michelle's training is more personalized and it revolves around what our dog already knows and what we want to teach him. Michelle is a great trainer. She disciplines him when he's not on task, but she also gives him plenty of praise and affection. We used to not be able to walk Payton without him pulling us down the street, but since the training sessions started, it is no longer a problem. With Michelle's training, our dog now listens to us and that makes our lives easier and our time with Payton more enjoyable!"
GUS
Meet Kathy and Gus. Gus is a 2 year old miniature poodle who thinks he is the boss in his house. He has had very little discipline, but he is very intelligent. Kathy says he knows the names of all of his toys and can bring you whichever one you ask for. We have been working with Gus for about a month now. It was slow going at first because both Kathy and Gus were unsure of themselves. They are both getting more confident with each session and Gus is improving everyday. This is what they had to say about the training thus far.
"Hi, my name is Gus. I am a very sweet, sensitive and smart miniature poodle. I don't think of myself as a dog, you see I'm so cute that I'm easy to spoil. One day mama (Kathy) heard about Michelle, so mama decided that is was time for me to learn some real manners and be disciplined. Michelle made an appointment to interview us to see if the three of us were able to follow through on training. Well, I passed inspection and Michelle decided to take me on as a challenge since I'm the first "small" dog she has worked with, you see I only weight 6½ pounds".
"We have had three training sessions thus far and I feel that I am making real good progress. As for mama, she's a slow learner, but she's catching on that if she's firm, but relaxed in giving commands that I will obey (and still love her anyway)".
"I look forward to learning to be a well trained dog for Michelle is a good teacher and a pleasant person to work with".
BAILEY
Meet Scott and Bailey. Bailey is a 6 month old Shepard-Husky mix. She is a very energetic puppy that we have been training for a couple of weeks now. She is a quick learner, but she has a little bit of attitude at times as well. We have been working on "puppy problems" such as jumping up and mouthing at your hands as well as obedience commands. Bailey has made great strides in such a short time and with continue training she will be a great dog.