We adopted
Stockton, an Australian Cattle Dog mix, in late 2012 from the SPCA. It wasn't long before we realized that
Stockton was exhibiting symptoms of separation anxiety--lucky for us, we reached out to Stacey. Through intensive, consistent desensitization training over a few months, Stacey helped us to get
Stocktoncomfortable staying home alone. We are now able to leave her for long stretches of time without worry--and we couldn't have done it without Stacey.
Stacey has helped us with additional behavioral issues since we tackled sep anx--the list of behaviors includes leash reactivity, demand barking, reactivity to the doorbell, biting and guarding/territorial behavior in the house.
By far, the biggest issue Stacey continues to help us with is Stockton's propensity to bite when she feels scared/threatened or when she gets overly excited around a ball being thrown. We have desensitized her to a basket muzzle and use it when off-leash at the beach (with lots of cookies for good behavior). We also use a muzzle or work with her while on leash when having visitors at the house.
Stacey is the real deal--she's not just a dog trainer. She's a teacher, a mentor, an interpreter, and at times a therapist! She is honest, kind, non-judgemental, always professional, and she cares. Through the use of positive reinforcement training methods, lots of cookies and clickers, Stacey has helped us get to know and understand our dog in a way we never could have achieved by reading books or attending group obedience classes. We highly recommend Stacey!
-Kim, David & Stockton