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.

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!

Hoe 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 many, many years of classes, conferences, and continuing ed. 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 for all of them.