Frequently Asked Questions

Why must I pay before you do anything? - It is not unusual for owners to schedule an appointment in a moment of desperation, or amidst a very hectic schedule, and then forget about it or change their mind. Prepayment is to prevent me planning for an appointment, only to have no one show up. As the sole human running a business, it's expensive to waste time and it also eliminates an appointment time another client might have been able to use. Sort of like how hair dressers now ask you to leave a deposit.

Why do I have to send my pet's history - can't I just tell you everything? Yes, you can. However, as you will see by the history form, there are very specific details that are important to me in addressing your behavior concern. Me gathering all of this info during our session eats up your valuable time, and reduces how much detail I can give you explaining what needs to be done to fix things.

Why are you so expensive when my neighbor knows how to train dogs? If you think I'm expensive, wait until you hire an amateur to do the job! A good analogy is your neighbor is like a guy who has built a few garages and I'm like an engineer who builds mansions. I am not a trainer. I am a behaviorist. This means I not only have to know how to teach your pet new skills, I also have to know what is driving their existing behavior and also how to modify that. Further, I understand three species: cats, dogs, and humans. After all, most of my work is training the HUMAN! You are paying for an expert who knows what to do. Additionally dog training and behavior modification ar two very different things. For example I know plenty of title winning trainers that are aboslutely unqualified of addressing behavior issues. Incidentally, if you're looking for training in protection training, agility, hunting oyrany competitive dog sports, I am incredibly unqualified to do that!

How do I know you know what you're doing? I did not take this up a few years ago - I've been doing this professionally since 2003. I also did not figure it out as I went nor learn from my uncle or "study under a master trainer" (which by the way isn't a thing!) In addition to many years of experience, I also hold an Ivy League master's degree in animal psychology as well as thousands of hours of classes, conferences, and continuing ed (which is mandatory to maintain my credentials. You can trust that I will know what is going on and how to address it without harming your pet or your relationship with them and without making the situation worse. I have worked with several thousands of pets and know what works. If for some reason I don't know, I am not afraid to say so and stear you to a better resource.

What if there is an emergency and I have to cancel with short notice,? Do you keep the entire pre-payment? I get it - life happens. I ask for pre-payment to protect myself from having times where I do not get paid nor are they available to others. If you cancel with less than 24hrs notice or fail to show up, I retain 50% of your fee and refund the balance.

Are there any polivies I should know about? Yes, as part of your pet's history, you will be asked to sign a waiver and agreement. Some of my policies can be found in my "welcome packet" under the "Pet Consulting" menu above.