Success Stories
We love seeing our clients progress as we work with them. What we love even more is getting updates as they continue to learn and grow after our classes or sessions!
Billy Yank
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My dog (Billy Yank) and I just finished our last training session with Dana. I just wanted to email to let you all know how wonderful she’s been to work with. She is so patient and easy to talk to, and her training tips are gold! I can see the advice she has been giving us work, slowly but surely. Billy is still a young dog, and I’m sure we’ll have a few setbacks along the way- if and when we do I’ll be contacting you for more training sessions with Dana!
Thanks again from Billy and me, Rachel |
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Henry
When rescuing a puppy, I knew that training classes would be so helpful for a first time puppy owner. Working with Lisa was such as a gift, as I would never have been able to figure it out on my own. She has such a way with dogs, and is an amazing teacher for pet owners. The things that I learned in her courses were invaluable and can not be found in any article or book. She has a wealth of knowledge and offers up assistance whenever you need it. I highly recommend her for any pet owner, whether it's your first dog or your 5th!
Winnie
We are strong and experienced owners of rescue dogs but Winnie really had us stumped. She arrived from a Texas kill-shelter at about a year old and we had no history on her--or her behavior. I struggled with her pulling on our walks, so much so that I started to rethink taking her with me on my explorations. And she simply would not tolerate the Gentle Leader. More alarming, she growled and barked at strangers entering our home and I began to wonder if we would have to surrender her. Luckily, my vet recommended Lisa, who suggested it would take no more than three or so visits to get our dog in line with the program. I was skeptical, but she was right. From the moment Lisa came through the door, Winnie was in love (the ham and cheese treats she keeps in her fanny pack didn't hurt). Lisa also brought some unusual toys and showed us how to have strangers use them so that Winnie would ultimately decide strangers were positive forces! And she showed us what behaviors to encourage--and discourage--in the people who entered our house. Lisa also provided written materials that had us do deep work on "stranger danger" and that spelled out a program for getting Winnie used to the Gentle Leader. We are now happily walking four miles a day together and have no worries at all about who comes in the house. Three sessions...some email support...and bad doggie is a thing of the past.
Luna
We have a great dog. And I knew all she needed was the right guidance (aka her adults), but a group class in the area left me frustrated and no further along. I reached out to Lisa and told her while we are quite happy with our 3 year old pup there were some behaviors we’d like to work on. Our first virtual discussion I talked about what my concerns were and she laid out a plan. Within the first few minutes of meeting in person she made me feel comfortable and told me how to fix the issues. After our first 30 min meeting our pup already had improved. She just needed guidance for the right behavior and I needed to learn how to get there. Lisa was kind and supportive of me as I worked through the training. Three weeks later she came back and in that time our pups behavior was 75% on walks and greeting people. We worked on new issues I wanted to address with simple tools for me to follow.
Lisa operates from a place of praise and support which I so appreciate. She follows up with documents that help you remember how to implement the desired behavior.
We are expecting our second pup home soon and we plan on bringing Lisa over quickly so we can start off on the best possible foot!
Lisa operates from a place of praise and support which I so appreciate. She follows up with documents that help you remember how to implement the desired behavior.
We are expecting our second pup home soon and we plan on bringing Lisa over quickly so we can start off on the best possible foot!
Imogene
THANK YOU! I know you gave stories during training, and now you can add me to them!! Imogene managed to pull out of her harness the other day and ran to the sidewalk without me. I stayed calm, and called out her touch cue. She ran over to me, touched my hand, and I guided her into the house. Never happened before, and hopefully will not happen again, but knowing she responded to the cue made my day.
Lulu
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In April 2020, I adopted Lulu, a Jack Russell-Beagle mix estimated to be about 8 years old, from a local rescue group. As a rescue, little was known about Lulu’s background or how she would react to joining a household that had 6 cats ranging from 3 years to 16 years. My cats were used to dogs. I was prepared for a period of adjustment, but not the chaos and pandemonium that ensued when Lulu came home. Lulu immediately began chasing, barking and snapping at the cats, clearly trying to attack them the way a Jack Russell terrier would go after small mammals. After two weeks, I had doubts that I would be able keep Lulu if she continued to show aggression toward my cats.
Wags Rescue, from whom I had adopted Lulu, suggested that I contact My Pet’s Teacher for assistance, which I promptly did. Lisa was wonderful. Due to the pandemic, Lisa and I had several virtual consultations. At our first meeting, Lisa had me turn on the camera so she could observe Lulu’s behavior in the presence of my cats. We had several virtual consultations where Lisa provided advice and guidance on how to reduce Lulu’s reactivity to my cats using a clicker and “high-value” treats. With patience, perseverance and a lot of love, it did not take Lulu long to become calmer around the cats and lose all interest in chasing them. After about three months, I had no concerns about leaving Lulu alone in the house with the cats. She has accepted them, and they have accepted her. In fact, Lulu and my cat, Milo, appear to have developed a special bond. The two of them are quite a pair. Thank you, Lisa, for facilitating this happy beginning! |
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Scarlette
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I am the proud Fur Mom of a very sweet, intelligent Labradoodle named Scarlette. At 4 months of age, I scheduled her very first grooming session. Just wanted a clean up - a puppy cut. All new terms for me with the acquisition of my first long hair dog. I researched and found a 5 star professional groomer close to me. Unfortunately, our experience was not so 5 star. When Scarlette and I arrived for her grooming session, the groomer asked me what I was looking for. Took off her collar and leash, picked her up and told me she should be about an hour or so. I asked if I could stay since this was going to be our first time apart; and he said no. He finds that the dogs behave better when the owner isn't there. So I left. Forty minutes later, the groomer is calling me telling me my dog has been crying and barking since I left. When I arrived at the shop, Scarlette was on the grooming table, sitting down, serious as I have ever seen her. I took her off the grooming table and she literally climbed on top of my shoulders to get out of that shop. The groomer was dumbfounded. Told me she had "issues". I was shocked to hear him say this and I was sad that Scarlette was put into a situation and that I had done this to her.
Since Scarlette and I were attending a puppy kindergarten class with My Pet's Teacher, I immediately forwarded the video to my instructor Colleen and asked her if she could help me out. Colleen got me in touch with Lisa Berkenstock. Lisa reached out to me and we set up a time to meet with Scarlette. Lisa created a plan for Scarlette and I where we will work on desensitizing Scarlette on all things grooming. As a Labradoodle, she has a lifetime of grooming ahead of her. In our first session, Lisa allowed Scarlette to get familiar with the vet exam room. By breaking down the big scary event into smaller, handleable pieces for my girl, she quickly became comfortable and learned that vet exams aren't so scary after all! About the same time, Lisa and I had been talking about how to find the right groomer for us. Questions to ask potential groomers. I started that process and I found a groomer that offered something that Lisa told me I should ask the groomer. And that was asking the groomer if Scarlette and I could visit the location prior to a grooming session. After calling about 1/2 dozen groomers, the one I chose for our next session offered that option of visiting as many times as we would like to prior to any grooming being done. Appointment was made...and I planned our pop in visits. My sessions with Lisa continued to slowly introduce more grooming tools. I learned how to read Scarlette's body language and understand when I was moving too quickly. Our grooming appointment was made for a Thursday morning. On Monday morning, I took Scarlette to the groomer's parking lot. I parked the car and she and I got out and walked in the parking lot. On Tuesday, we went back to grooming shop and went inside the shop. We met with the groomer and we hung out there chatting and the shop employees meeting Scarlette. On Thursday, we arrived. Scarlette knew the parking lot; walked straight to the door of the shop; we went in and she greeted all that wanted to see her. I spent 45 minutes there talking with groomer, Scarlette getting on the table, brushing her; and then she was off for a bath. I felt Scarlette was very comfortable there and I left. A little less than 2 hours later the shop called letting me know she did GREAT. I couldn't drive there quick enough. My girl did GREAT. This result did not occur by accident. I could have never gotten Scarlette to this point on my own. I felt defeated and didn't know what to do. I can't thank Lisa and Colleen enough. Their knowledge and experience on how to respond and handle this situation has and will make a profound impact for Scarlette and for me. I was defeated and felt badly and I just didn't know how to handle something like this. Now Scarlette is less fearful and more trusting of other handlers. From groomers, to her Vet, to her Vet Technician to daycare friends. The training goes beyond grooming. THANK YOU!! Scarlette and I are so glad that both of you came into our lives when we needed help. |
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Betty
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"Betty, our 6 month-old English Goldendoodle has been well-trained by My Pet’s Teacher.
First, Lisa Berkenstock visited our home for the initial assessment and training. Then Krista Davis came to our home for four sessions of personal one-on-one training of Betty as well as of Mary Lou and I! We then moved on to Kindergarten and social training with other puppies and their owners at Colmar Vet taught be Julie McLaughlin. These classes were excellent; Lisa, Krista and Julie can really communicate with Betty. Betty loved all her sessions and so did Mary Lou and I. Today, we took Betty to an assisted-living facility to visit Mary Lou’s mom. We were amazed at how well Betty was behaved and socialized not only with Mom, but also all of her friends. Everyone was all smiles during Betty’s visit! Thank you Lisa, Krista and Julie. We will be back for some Post-Grad Classes. Keep up the good work!" -Jim and Mary Lou |
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Baby Kitty
In one visit Lisa figured out what was ailing our 10 year old cat and stopped her from using the basement floor as a litter box. Lisa is awesome!
DierksDierks is a boxer, hound cross who I adopted from a local rescue who has always had his anxious tendencies. Over the years we have participated in My Pet’s Teacher training classes and after basic cues, our goals were always focused on building his confidence.
After seven years together, my go to cue is “place”. The idea of following my finger to a designated area, is used daily. I use the prompt in ways that would come to the front of any dog owners mind... things like laying down to prevent begging, not getting up on furniture, and so on. I also use this learned behavior to comfort Dierks when he is anxious. For example, Dierks comes to work with me most days, in the office and barn. With me coming and going he tends to get overwhelmed but just a simple blanket or towel down, a finger point, and verbal prompt of “place” Dierks will go lay in a relaxed down and let out a sigh of relief. He knows he is where he is supposed to be and it is such a comfort for him. “Place” has taught me why it’s important to use positive reinforcement with our pets. It’s not really so they stay out of our way, behave or learn a cool trick, it’s to help them have calm and reassurance when figuring out how to share their lives with us. |
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Kelce
Our experience with Laura and our puppy has been wonderful for the three of us. There's not one special spot from the two classes, but overall they have impacted us all for different reasons. We did two classes back to back.
The first one was an eyeopener for us about our puppy. She was 5 months old when we began and Kelce (our puppy) did not have much contact with other dogs. The first lesson Laura gave the three dogs free play time. Laura talked to the owners as the dogs played and she explained how our dogs were reacting. It was so interesting to us (especially about our own dog) and helpful to better understand Kelce's personality at that time. As the night went on, Kelce became more confident and active. Then as the weeks of the class went on, Kelce began to love going there every Friday. She had found friends and learned how to be social with them. We saw a change in her body language very fast.
One of the great benefits was our vet's office was where we had class so Kelce loved going there thinking it would be a "party" with her friends. The kindergarten class helped us understanding more about dogs in general and more about our dog's personality which improved our relationship with her; we also practiced basic cues like sit, stay, place, down, come (our word to get her where we were) )and watch me. We worked on getting Kelce to listen better and focus better while we were using these words and actions. Over the time of the first class, we saw Kelce maturing socially and improving her response to our voices and words and gestures. We realized we were getting through to Kelce to do what we needed her to do to behave appropriately and be safe too.
When we went to the next class which followed the first, we got more time to polish the basic commands. In the second class, the details became more important and the training became more complex. The words and actions Kelce learned first were practiced and refined through the weeks. We were able to see the progress with her abilities to do the actions we wanted. We felt she was developing her skills and it made our relationship more positive about her behavior. Laura was very good at demonstrating what the action should look like and she sent emails to us to reinforce our practicing at home. When we were working with Kelce at home she would cooperate very well; she actually liked doing what she learned with Laura. We believe that Kelce learned so much about how to react to our words and she has shown us that she responses and understands. (By the way, she's not perfect, but we have seen a lot of progress.) Right now we are working on getting her to walk without her pulling us along. Laura did a great job in demonstrating the loose leash technique and we are using it daily when it doesn't rain. We're getting some success but it's taking time which is to be expected. For the three of us, the entire experience has been fun and fulfilling. We learned a lot about Kelce and her personality and she grew into a more focused and responsive puppy which made us appreciate her even more.
The first one was an eyeopener for us about our puppy. She was 5 months old when we began and Kelce (our puppy) did not have much contact with other dogs. The first lesson Laura gave the three dogs free play time. Laura talked to the owners as the dogs played and she explained how our dogs were reacting. It was so interesting to us (especially about our own dog) and helpful to better understand Kelce's personality at that time. As the night went on, Kelce became more confident and active. Then as the weeks of the class went on, Kelce began to love going there every Friday. She had found friends and learned how to be social with them. We saw a change in her body language very fast.
One of the great benefits was our vet's office was where we had class so Kelce loved going there thinking it would be a "party" with her friends. The kindergarten class helped us understanding more about dogs in general and more about our dog's personality which improved our relationship with her; we also practiced basic cues like sit, stay, place, down, come (our word to get her where we were) )and watch me. We worked on getting Kelce to listen better and focus better while we were using these words and actions. Over the time of the first class, we saw Kelce maturing socially and improving her response to our voices and words and gestures. We realized we were getting through to Kelce to do what we needed her to do to behave appropriately and be safe too.
When we went to the next class which followed the first, we got more time to polish the basic commands. In the second class, the details became more important and the training became more complex. The words and actions Kelce learned first were practiced and refined through the weeks. We were able to see the progress with her abilities to do the actions we wanted. We felt she was developing her skills and it made our relationship more positive about her behavior. Laura was very good at demonstrating what the action should look like and she sent emails to us to reinforce our practicing at home. When we were working with Kelce at home she would cooperate very well; she actually liked doing what she learned with Laura. We believe that Kelce learned so much about how to react to our words and she has shown us that she responses and understands. (By the way, she's not perfect, but we have seen a lot of progress.) Right now we are working on getting her to walk without her pulling us along. Laura did a great job in demonstrating the loose leash technique and we are using it daily when it doesn't rain. We're getting some success but it's taking time which is to be expected. For the three of us, the entire experience has been fun and fulfilling. We learned a lot about Kelce and her personality and she grew into a more focused and responsive puppy which made us appreciate her even more.
Bailey
I remember sitting in the vet office in tears that my 6 yr old Labradoodle, Bailey, was aggressive and despite my best efforts we had gone through three trainers as one by one they refused to continue to work with her. The trainers had it in their head what Bailey should be doing. Bailey couldn't do what they wanted so they would stop returning my calls. I spent thousands of dollars trying to ensure my dog was safe around others. She would bark and lunge at anyone that was in her space. I was faced with the realization that she may need to be put down so that she didn't hurt anyone by accident. After a long talk with the vet they prescribed her anti anxiety medication and referred me to My Pet's Teacher.
Lisa and Laura came to my home on Bailey's terms. They did a very thorough intake. We tried different ways of working with Bailey similar to what the other trainers had done. However, when Bailey wasn't responding to the training, Lisa and Laura worked with Bailey based on what she could do. That was the trick - to work with Bailey with what she could do. Slowly, with a lot of work, Bailey was responding to the training. We did a number of sessions with neighbors and one session in public. Bailey still couldn't walk on a 6 ft leash, but with patience over time, she was able to be on a shorter leash. Without the guidance of Lisa and Laura I don't think I would have been able to have Bailey much longer as she was a risk to others. Bailey is still an anxious dog, but I feel she is much more predictable around people and most importantly safer.
Lisa and Laura came to my home on Bailey's terms. They did a very thorough intake. We tried different ways of working with Bailey similar to what the other trainers had done. However, when Bailey wasn't responding to the training, Lisa and Laura worked with Bailey based on what she could do. That was the trick - to work with Bailey with what she could do. Slowly, with a lot of work, Bailey was responding to the training. We did a number of sessions with neighbors and one session in public. Bailey still couldn't walk on a 6 ft leash, but with patience over time, she was able to be on a shorter leash. Without the guidance of Lisa and Laura I don't think I would have been able to have Bailey much longer as she was a risk to others. Bailey is still an anxious dog, but I feel she is much more predictable around people and most importantly safer.
