Are you struggling to find the time to train your dog or does your dog have more serious problems such as anxiety or out of control barking on leash?
Our behaviorist will come to your home and train your dog for you while you work, take care of the kids, or just take a much needed break! All you need to do is maintain the training that she has already completed. Day training or coaching is very convenient and easy for you, and – more importantly – exceptionally effective for your dog. Because your dog is being trained by a professional, most problems can be resolved in 3 – 4 weeks. This is an excellent choice for behavior problems and basic manners alike.
Thank you Kristina for helping me with my extremely unruly young Lab, your ‘homework’ turned him into a love!”
– Marianne Gage
How Does It Work?
Schedule a 90-minute initial consultation
Tell us what your concerns and goals are and we will give you a prognosis and a personalized training package to achieve those goals.
Dr. Kristina Spaulding comes to your house and trains your dog
Choose between direct one-on-one training of your dog OR coaching sessions where we teach you to train your dog with continued support throughout the process.
Enjoy your life with a well-behaved dog!
Have a dog that is a pleasure to live with. An improved quality of life for you and your dog is usually attained within three to four weeks.
What We Can Help With
New Puppies
We can help you and your puppy get started off right! We offer help with common puppy concerns such as house-training, mouthing or nipping, and chewing. Busy schedule? Worried about socializing your puppy? We’ll do it for you! We can expose your puppy in a positive and safe manner to a variety of people, animals, situations and locations. This is an excellent way to reduce the likelihood of behavior problems developing later on in life.
Basic Manners
We’ll teach your dog how to be a polite, well-behaved member of the family and your community. Each package is tailored to your specific goals, but common behaviors include polite greetings, walking well on leash, sit, down, stay, come, drop it, leave it, and wait at the door. Having a well-trained dog improves their quality of life as well as yours.
Behavior Concerns
Do you have more serious concerns? We specialize in the following behavior issues:
- Hyperactivity, extreme mouthiness, impulsivity, and frustration
- Fear
- Reactivity (lunging at other dogs, people, cars or other stimuli on walks)
Behavior modification conducted by a professional is much more effective than trying to do it alone. Let our expertise and experience help you address problems such as mouthing, general unruliness, fear and anxiety, reactivity (barking, lunging, or otherwise out of control on leash)*. We do not currently work with aggression.
Not sure if it’s a big enough problem to schedule an appointment? Unclear if your dog is just frustrated or truly aggressive? Please contact us and we’d be happy to advise you – intervening early often makes behavior modification much more effective!
Is Your Goal Missing From This List?
Contact us and we’ll develop a specialized training package to meet your needs.
Initial 90-minute consultation
Pricing: $180
During the initial consult I will:
- Take a detailed history
- Determine your goals for your dog’s behavior
- Give you management solutions to give you some immediate relief
- Put together a training package based on your goals
Each training package is customized to the client’s specific needs.
Scroll down for additional information on follow-up sessions after the initial consultation.
Walking my dog has gone from incredibly stressful and embarrassing to enjoyable for both of us! I’m so proud of her! I never thought we’d be getting all of these compliments. I am forever grateful to you!”
– Melissa Goard
What is the format?
**Please note that due to COVID-19 all appointments are taking place either 1) outside with the use of masks and distancing or 2) online.***
We offer two kinds of private training:
Day training
With this option, I work directly with your dog 3 times a week for an hour, then meet with you once a week for an hour to teach you how to maintain and build on the behavior in the long run. This combination of me working directly with the dog and then working with you ensures that you and your dog will both learn the skills you need for lasting behavior change!
The primary advantages of day training are that you have a professional behaviorist on the other end of the leash which means that dogs tend to hit higher goals, faster, than dogs training with coaching (see below). Another major advantage is that you do not have to set aside the time to do the bulk of the training yourself because I will be doing it for you!
Coaching
With this option, I work directly with you to teach you how to do the training and behavior modification with your dog. We typically meet once a week in the beginning, then once every two weeks toward the end, though this varies according to the dog’s needs and your schedule. Each week, I will demonstrate behaviors with your dog, teach you how to do them and then coach you as your work with your dog. We will also cover key concepts that will be critical to your success. Then you will have homework to work on between sessions. At subsequent sessions, we review their progress and trouble spots, teach you additional skills, and give you a new set of homework.
The primary advantages of coaching are that you have the opportunity to work directly with your dog rather than having me do the work for you. This is appealing to families that have the time and desire to train their dog themselves. Coaching also tends to require fewer sessions than day training (since you’re doing the training yourself), so it’s also a more cost-effective option.
Our young retriever started out cute, but slowly morphed into a 50 pound, four-legged terror – jumping, lunging, barking, grabbing and nipping. We contacted Kristina and she gave us our puppy back. If you are at your wit’s end with your dog – call Kristina!”
– Ed and Anna Skorupski
How Long Does it Take? How much does it cost?
The length of training depends on your dog’s behavior and your training goals. We customize a package to fit your needs. Here are some guidelines:
Puppy Concerns and Basic Manners
- In most cases, you have the power to decide how many follow up sessions you need based on the level of training (basic – advanced) and how much support your prefer. If your dog has abnormal or serious behavior issues, please see the section on “behavior concerns”, below.
- For day training, basic puppy and manners packages start at $1255 for a two-week package. More advanced training or packages that include more than 3 – 4 behaviors run from $1740 to $2225.
- For coaching, basic puppy and manners packages start at $400 for three one-hour sessions. More advanced training or packages that include more than 3 – 4 behaviors run from $630 to $980.
Behavior concerns
- Most dogs will need at least three weeks of day training ($1740) or 6 coaching sessions ($750). In some cases, particularly if you are catching the issue earlier, you may be able to do two weeks of day training ($1255) or fewer coaching sessions.
- More serious or complex issues (for example, multiple dogs or dogs with several different behavior concerns) usually require more follow up sessions.
- *Housetraining issues are an exception to this rule – most housetraining issues can be fully addressed during the initial consultation or with a single follow up session, often conducted by phone.
Payment plans are available and credit cards are accepted.
All training packages include phone and e-mail support for the rest of the dog’s life!
DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, ALL APPOINTMENTS ARE CURRENTLY BEING CONDUCTED OUTSIDE WITH THE USE OF MASKS OR ONLINE VIA LIVE VIDEO CALL.
As of 1/1/21, all appointments are now being conducted virtually with the exception of day training sessions where I am working directly with your dog.
Curious about how online sessions work? You can click here for more information. Most behaviors can still be addressed remotely as I am still able to observe your dog’s behavior and your interactions and provide direct feedback. In fact, the use of video is often more effective than live coaching because of the ability to go back and review what happened and provide specific feedback associated with particular moments in the video. The only behavior that we really cannot work on remotely as this time is visitors to the home due to social distancing requirements.
Schedule your appointment now!
Please select the option for “Initial Consultations” when scheduling your appointment.
Please notes that appointments fill quickly. If you do not see any available appointments, that means I am currently full. You may e-mail me at info@smartdogtrainingandbehavior.com to be added to the waiting list. New appointments are typically opened at the beginning of each month for the following month. That is, at the beginning of February, March appointments will be opened, at the beginning of March, April appointments will be opened, etc.
We do not work with aggression or separation anxiety. Please contact us at info@smartdogtrainingandbehavior.com for referrals.
Additional questions?
(518) 369-9135
info@smartdogtrainingandbehavior.com