Go Fetch Graduate, "Stockton"

     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