I had the wonderful opportunity of taking a canine good citizen class with Marianne in the early part of 2011.  My 14 month-old Rhodesian Ridgeback, Nyah, had already passed her canine good citizen test as well as earned her TDI, but I thought we could still use some practice with certain skills.  Plus, I enjoy spending time with Nyah and thought it would be a nice activity to do together during the winter months.  Though Nyah had passed both her tests and was generally a sweet dog, we were still having some issues at home.  Nyah continued to bite me, was digging at and eating our rugs in our home, and barking at me during dinner.  In addition, Nyah was notorious for ignoring me in our home when I gave her commands and tearing around the house to avoid getting her leash put on her.  Attempting to put flea and tick medicine on her was a 15 minute ordeal as she would not let me hold her collar to keep her in one position and she was very leary of someone coming up from behind her.  In the community and with other people, she was a completely different dog.  Nyah was always very well behaved and very sweet.  Marianne, after one class, was able to identify that Nyah had the control in our relationship and that I needed to walk a fine line between being too harsh with her and being too soft hearted with her training.  I was certainly the later.  After already having two trainers assist with Nyah’s training and noticing only small changes with Nyah, I contacted Marianne after the completion of our class for help.

Marianne reassured me that Nyah’s behaviors were very correctable with some dedication and time on my part and that Nyah really was a great dog.  She gave me simple tools to correct her behaviors while using positive reinforcement.  Marianne noted that Nyah was highly intelligent and active and though I was managing her physical activity needs, I was not wearing her out mentally.  With some simple ideas of a bag of toys and positive reinforcement as well as me purchasing a few dog puzzles for Nyah, I was able to begin to engage her mentally.  In addition, we began to practice “gotcha” multiple times a day to have Nyah see that allowing me to hold her collar was not a bad thing by using some positive reinforcement.  One of the most helpful pieces of training, was how to control Nyah’s mouthing.  By simply having her drag her leash in her house and grabbing the leash and having her do down while she was mouthing, Nyah began to mouth less and realize that biting me was not an appropriate way to get my attention.

After one month of training, I couldn’t be happier with where we are.  Nyah is now a very happy, well behaved, sweet, and loyal companion in my home!!!….She is my best buddy by far.  She is no longer mouthing, biting the rugs, and is much more consistent with completing her commands.  This month was the first time I was able to apply her flea and tick medicine within 2 minutes and she is now letting me apply cream to her ears which she would never let me do before.  I am so proud of Nyah and know that we will have such a wonderful and happy life together for many, many years to come.  Her improved behaviors have allowed me to fully trust her and we have now been able to try lure coursing and will return to attempting agility courses and rally as well as having Nyah begin to run with me; all the fun activities I had planned for Nyah and me since the first time I held her and when I began to look at her breed almost 3 years ago!  I cannot thank Marianne enough for all of her help!  She was always willing to answer my emails and give me advice.  Thank you so much Marianne!

Jennifer and Nyah

  I called Marianne out of concern for my little dog Lucky who is, at times, dog aggressive. I had to introduce Lucky to my friends dogs so we could go to the park together.  I was not sure how to introduce Lucky to her dogs and the fear was paralyzing for me and what Lucky could potentially do.. I called Marianne at Peaceful Pawz and she recommended that I start Lucky on Melatonin.   I was not exactly confident this was going to work due to the fact it was just a pill, but I trusted her and did it anyway.  She said to start her on it 1 pill a day for a week before I introduce them so I did.  So the day came for me to introduce Lucky to my friends dogs and it was seamless.  Lucky was a little tense and tried to be the boss at first but there was no growling or attacking and I was relieved.  By the end of the day they were best buddies.  I still have Lucky on the Melatonin everyday which cuts down her anxiety when she does see other dogs and there is no interest to run and attack.  I am so grateful to Marianne at Peaceful paws, I feel like I have a new dog and now I can take her everywhere.  
Chris Graham Beverly Hills, MI

"Every week something fun and new for us to learn"

"She has learned that we can have fun and she will be rewarded for her good behavior"

"This class has been the most enjoyable class I've taken with my pet in years. All positive, all fun for both owner and dog. Wish the class was longer than 6 weeks."