When my young Havanese shut down in agility after the passing of my Papillon, I was devastated and concerned.  I did not know what was wrong – if I had done something wrong in his training or something happened to him to have such and emotional impact.    Lots of people had advise like crate him anytime he is not working with you or retire him from agility.  However, I was not finding practical and adequate training help.  

I was referred to Alicia and requested to work long distance with her to try and sort out what was going on.  A whole new world of dog training opened up to me and my dog.  Instead of my focus being on behavior performance and precision we changed to the emotional and social side of training.  Alicia taught me how to listen to my dog and his needs and emotions.  She helped me build a bond of trust through play, enrichment, consent, relationship, reinforcement, and delayed reinforcement.  Alicia has shown me and my dog empathy.  She has supported us and coached me through this emotionally difficult journey.  I know better how to listen to my dog, and give him what he needs to consent to the games and activities I ask him to participate in.  The value of what I’ve learned is immeasurable but what I can now bring to the relationship I have with my dog is evidenced in the trusting bond we’ve built.  My dog is as honest as they come and gives his everything to whatever I ask, now I can give so much more to my dog.