"We hired Susan to help us tame our brilliant but out-of-control young border collie/aussie mix who we were beginning to think was incorrigible.  We decided on her "Bootcamp With A Heart " program because it seemed like a change of environment and some of Susan's tough love might help get rid of some of his extreme anxiety in a way that purely rewards-based training had seemingly exacerbated.  Given his fear aggression toward strangers, we had been unable to board him previously and were not sure if bootcamp would work. 

Susan "got" him immediately, and he quickly warmed up to her and obeyed her in a way I hadn't seen him react to a stranger before.  Susan was very thorough in her intake process, really got to know us and find out what were trying to work on, and then was very honest about what she thought she could achieve.  This honesty was refreshing after speaking with other trainers who unrealistically "guaranteed" perfection over the phone, without even meeting us or our dog.

Susan boarded him for almost 3 weeks while she taught him that "nothing in life is free" and gave him some serious tough love.  When we went to pick him up, she was again really thorough in explaining how to implement her program at home, and then even came to our house in the city the next day to follow up with more training (in the pouring rain).  She has continued to follow up and offer more training as needed.

It is very obvious that Susan is dedicated to our success and will do whatever she can to help us get things under control.  We still have good and bad days, and some unpredictability, but there has definitely been significant improvement after working with Susan.  I would highly recommend her for even the most challenging cases !"

Sarah A. in San Francisco, CA.

"Last year I was working to rehome a pit bull who had been orphaned by the death of her human. She had some significant issues - a high prey drive and a quick trigger from play to aggression among them.  

After the first visit with Susan [Calm K9 Dog Training & Behavior Solutions], our little pittie had a perfect sit and much better focus.  With the basic tools and doggie psychology and language Susan taught us, things just got better from there.  Susan gets dogs, and she also gets people...something critically important in a dog trainer. She will work with you and your dog, if necessary figuring out new methods and techniques for particularly challenging issues.  She knows that no two dogs and no two dog owners are alike. You'll also get a good dose of humor and intelligence, two things you really need when working with a recalcitrant pup !  

Susan travels, so don't let the Port Costa location be a barrier, and she'll hang in there with you with ongoing support if you need it." 

Julia V. in San Francisco, CA.

"I am a 1st time dog owner who adopted my 1yr old dog, (Bodhi) from ARF.  I want to make sure I was training him properly and wanted to start off with a very good foundation.  He is a great dog, but can be quite stubborn and a bit difficult to figure out.

Susan was eager to work with Bodhi and was extremely willing to share her wealth of training knowledge.  She has not only instilled great behaviors in Bodhi, but has also taught me how to be a good leader.  

I had started working with Bodhi on sits and distractions but in some areas I just felt I couldn't get through to him.  After 2 weeks with Susan, he now sits on walks whenever I stop, and stays until released even if a cat is nearby.  She has taught him a great deal of discipline and self control.  The true benefit of her training is that not only does she train your dog, but trains you as well.   She has a very easy nature and is a wonderful teacher.  She had me relaxed, laughing and confident in my abilities to carry on her training lessons.  This was very important to me being new to all of this and sometimes a bit overwhelmed.

Once training was complete, she took the time to join me on a hike to see how Bodhi was doing and work more on his recall.  We had long conversations and it is great to know a trainer whose priority is to assist both owner and dog with gaining a lasting positive relationship.

I cannot thank her enough for the help she has given me and the deep foundation she has helped me build with Bodhi.  I highly recommend her to anyone who wants to build a strong relationship with their dog, instill good manners, and just overall see a significant positive behavioral change in their dog."

Veronica K. in Pacheco, CA.

"Susan has really helped us with our 6-yr old lab/pit Sierra.  Sierra has wonderful behaviors at home, but she is very challenging on leash.  We had almost given up hope that we could ever take Sierra on enjoyable walks, take day trips with her, or introduce her to another dog.  In the past five years, we've taken her to special training classes: one for leash reactive dogs, and another for pits only (we begged for her to be accepted to this pit-specific training). As the reactivity got worse and worse, we couldn't take her out much anymore, and we brought in  home trainer who specialized in leash reactivity. 
 
Aside from her sibling dog, Sadie, who died in late 2010, Sierra has not been able to interact with other dogs. After Sadie's death, we committed to make Sierra's life as full as possible.  And that led us to Susan.  After a couple of weeks of Susan's “Boot Camp With A Heart” program, Sierra is a new girl.  This did require changes at home too.  Susan made us believers in creating more structure at home, and we have seen fantastic results.  Susan helped introduce Sierra to other dogs, and Sierra now goes on "pack walks" with other dogs in our regional parks.  She's having a blast, getting incredible amounts of exercise, and demonstrating calmer behaviors all around.
 
My first phone call with Susan was almost an hour, and she provided countless recommendations and suggestions...all without discussing money or having us commit to anything !  Her in-home consultation is lengthy and worth it.  She came to our home and invested time in getting to know Sierra, our lifestyle and our challenges. She has been very flexible with our situation, helping us out by picking up Sierra on training days and accommodating Sierra's introductions to other dogs, answering all of my questions along the way...all "off the clock".

I'd recommend Susan in a heartbeat !"

Renee D. in Martinez, CA.

".....After a little over a week with you, I was amazed when Lucy returned.  You showed us how she could be controlled on a walk, while using the Halti.  Lucy not only sat and waited for her food, she would not take it unless you instructed her to do so.  Shockingly, your commands worked when all of the members of our family did them.

"Thank you Susan !!!!  

Max is a 1 year old Springer Spaniel who is really sweet, but completely out of control.   We would get a dislocated shoulder trying to take him for a walk.   Max wouldn't even let us put his collar and leash on.   I was lucky enough to find Susan online, she responded to my "help, we are completely desperate" email quickly.  We came up with a gameplan (ten day bootcamp) to get Max started in the right direction.  

When I picked him up, I was more than amazed - he looked like the same dog, but he certainly didn't act like it.  He had manners !!!!   For the first time ever we went for a wonderful walk !!! Not only was Max attentive, Susan spent many hours training me on how to be a good leader. During Max's "camp" Susan often emailed me with updates and reading material, preparing me to be able to handle Max and continue his training and transition him properly back into our home environment.    

I am so thrilled and happy that we have already signed Max up for boarding/training during the summer -  Max is a much happier dog and we are finally able to really enjoy his company."

Claudia G. in Clayton, CA. 

"...I highly recommend Susan for your dog training needs.  She was awesome!  I initially called with much distress because our 8 y/o dog suddenly developed a severe case of separation anxiety shortly after losing our other dog.  We got another dog in order to try to resolve the issue but without success.  Now we had a dog with anxiety AND a new puppy who needed to be trained.  

Susan was so helpful even over the phone with some suggestions for things to try. To make a long story short the separation anxiety is completely resolved and our new puppy is very well behaved thanks to the guidance of Susan.  I like the fact that she listens and observes to get to know your dog and adapts the training to best meet the needs of the dog.  She gives great advice and everything we have implemented has worked so well.  Cant say enough great things about Calm K9.  If you need a great dog trainer give Susan a call.  I assure you she can help !"

Teri D. in Pleasant Hill, CA.

"...Yang was a DIFFERENT dog after just an hour with you.  She seemed calmer, more confident, less agitated...A skateboarder went by us and she barely turned a hair.  And then we walked by Cafe Zuni, where people were dining at outdoor tables.  Not ONE but TWO yippy dogs leapt out at her.  I SWEAR they told her, 'my owner can afford oysters and yours can only buy a hamburger'.  Yang put her tail in the air and walked right past them.  I was very proud of her...You deserve to have a very successful business...you have great skills AND you are compassionate and generous. Bless you for it..."

Ann C. in San Francisco, CA.

"Thank you so much for coming to work with Terra last week !  Although I am sure trying times are still ahead of us, by the time our session was over, there was already a significant change in her behavior.  By keeping up with the rules outlined for us, I already see everyone in the household (including myself) being more relaxed and harmonious.  The simplicity of the changes made this an easy transition for all of us. 

Terra is so eager to learn, and it is really a pleasure to have the tools to work with her in a more productive way . . . seeing results so quickly is reassuring for even the most difficult-to-train humans !" 

Rachael & Shawn in Berkeley, CA. 

"...Thanks so much for working with Zoe today.  It was tremendously helpful

and we really appreciate your time.  We will use the techniques you

showed us today and we look forward to speaking/meeting with you

again soon...".

Sylvia in Pleasanton, CA.