Wholistic Hound Dog Training and Behavior Services

Boy am I glad I found this company. In late March my hubby and I adopted a beagle who was extremely shy and fearful. Based on markings on her teeth and the appearance that she has had multiple litters, it’s highly probable that Emma was a caged breeder before we met her.
Emma was terrified of everything– hardwood floors, kitchen appliances, people or dogs walking behind her, elevators, sidewalks, cars, buses, bikes, strollers, you name it. By the end of Emma’s second training session with her new trainer Dolores, Emma was happily walking on her leash and scampering on rocks along the Potomac River.
Wholistic Hound only uses positive training methods. For instance, on our walking-​on-​a-​leash lesson, whenever a scary car or bus drove by, Dolores gave Emma treats so that she could associate the Big Metal Monster with something positive. Within an hour Emma’s tail was wagging and she was trotting along swiftly.
It’s been about 5 months now, and our girl is wonderful. Dolores has worked with us to teach Emma basics like Sit, Stay, and Come. But more than that, Dolores has helped us make Emma feel safe and secure. She still has a few fears — like walking over a metal grate on a sidewalk (SO SCARY!)– but those fears are diminishing daily.
One note: The owner of the business is a woman named Sandy, who consulted with us over the phone while we drove Emma home from the North Shore Animal League in New York, where we adopted her. The timing worked better for us to train with Dolores rather than Sandy, but when Dolores was out of town one week, Sandy filled in. She’s absolutely wonderful too.
Great people, great company. Couldn’t rate them higher.

Yelling «NO!» at our dog just wasn’t cutting it anymore. And she pulled on her leash so much that my husband and I felt like we were the ones being taken for a walk. Our dog walker suggested we call Sandy Model at Wholistic Hound and we’re so glad we did.
Over the course of just a couple months (five one-​hour-​long sessions in all) Sandy worked wonders with our 7 year old border collie-​mix rescue dog. She was pulling on leash and she barked out of fear at almost every dog that walked by. Our other dog (an 8 year old rescue dog) is so easygoing, gets along with all people and dogs, so our anxious pup’s behavior stood out in stark contrast. We were worried it was escalating to something more aggressive when she mouthed one of the neighbor kids’ ankles as well as the neck of another dog in our neighborhood.
We had just five sessions with Sandy, which we’d do every 2 – 3 weeks. Sandy demonstrated training exercises for us. And then she would basically have us practice that work in between sessions (and you have to be willing to put in that commitment… this is really the key to success). We made sure to work with our dog several times a week, even if just for five or ten minutes here or there. Sandy recommended a new harness for our dog, which made training her to stop pulling much easier. Sandy also showed us how to do some alternative methods (touch, etc.) to calm our dog down. We’re not normally into alternative medicine and the like but it worked, so our skepticism was quickly quelled.
The most amazing part of all of it was how Sandy helped us work, over time, to make her calmer around other dogs. A few weeks ago I was able to take both my dogs to my neighborhood wine-​and-​cheese sidewalk party (where there were a handful of other dogs, including one that normally would tick my dog off) and there I was, actually able to enjoy myself without worrying about whether she was about to get in a yelling match with this other dog. I was actually feeding my dog and that other dog treats side by side, no problem. She seemed to be enjoying herself as much as me!
With Sandy’s help we have transformed our «old» dog into a more relaxed, happy dog.