What Our Clients Are Telling Us
"Thank you again & over again for such a lovely, informative, and encouraging session the other day. David and I are both feeling such a cosmically epic sigh of relief about having you on our side and we are really looking forward to continuing to work with you. :)"
-Susan and David L. and Rudy, large mixed breed
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"We experienced problems early on with LuLu. She was described by the kindergarten trainers and puppy play group supervisors as 'conflicted' and 'not very well balanced.' A former vet told us to send her back to the breeder.
We kept the puppy and over the next year we worked with four different trainers for private as well as group instruction. Long story short, LuLu was reactive to just about any imaginable sight and sound. We found little help or solace in any trainer or modality. We were eventually referred to Greta.
Greta convinced me from the start, 'There is no quick fix. Your dog is smart. If it were a matter of obedience she'd get it. There is something deeper driving this behavior.' LuLu is now two years old. She and I have worked with Greta for close to a year. Our dog has one remaining issue. She is dog reactive. But we're getting there!
With Greta's expertise, vast knowledge, creative problem solving and continued support, life with LuLu is now fun and her dog reactivity is quite manageable and has quieted down to a simmer. Greta has taught me so much in such a short time. I now have the tools to help my dog and through that, strengthen our bond. I've had my share of rough spells and I've been discouraged and Greta has been there for me every time with many a late night email. She is my biggest cheerleader and she says it like it is. We continue to work with Greta and we continue to see improvement.
Every caring person who lives with a difficult pet deserves to have Greta Kaplan in their life.
And every family pet member deserves love, respect and positive reinforcement in their life.
Our pets our individuals, with quirks...... just like us."
Kellie S. and LuLu, Schnauzer-Poodle mix
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"Greta was referred to us by another trainer at the Humane Society when we adopted our 5 month old puppy (Murphy).... Greta noticed our puppy's funny gait during our first session and casually mentioned that we might want to have Murphy screened for hip dysplasia.... Thank goodness we listened and consulted with an orthopedic veterinarian. Not only did Murphy have hip dysplasia, but torn ligaments and bone chips in the same hip! His cute little bunny hop and puppy exuberance were hiding a lame limb. Fast forward a few months and Murphy is a well-behaved, healing puppy with a great disposition. He looks forward to his sessions with Greta with great enthusiasm.
Considering the rough road we had with Murphy's recovery from hip surgery, I don't believe it would have gone as smoothly without Greta's guidance on training as well as general dog care. Her way of training dogs using positive reinforcement was especially effective for our young shelter dog who was picked up as a stray in California, adopted in Oregon and then subjected to a major surgery and long recovery period. Greta helped with crate training, house training, separation anxiety, and many other basic training skills. Our Murphy is now a well adjusted puppy with no bad habits (except a love for slippers) and great willingness to please.
Thanks Greta!" -Diane K. and Murphy, mixed breed
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"Luna is doing great lately. So glad to have trained and learned what I have with you. It has made all the difference with her and with me." -Emile S. and Luna, German Shepherd mix
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"We are so thankful for finding Greta, she has changed our family. Before meeting Greta we were new dog owners with two dogs that we really needed help with. One of our dogs became dog-reactive and the other was very shy and fearful with people. We were in over our heads.
I saw a post on an internet message board for a “Feisty Fido” class taught by Greta Kaplan…little did I know how much she would change our lives. We enrolled our first dog in the class, we were nervous about trying another class and trainer, but we HAD to do something. I had thought we were going to class to teach our dog how to behave politely around other dogs…but what we really learned was how to understand what our dog needs. We learned about body language, working under threshold, to see when our dog was getting uncomfortable or reaching that threshold and how to help him out of the situation. This was all done with positive training methods, no more pinch collar, leash corrections, or force…that was all replaced by treats & praise. Greta helped us to repair our relationship with our dogs." -Sarah S., Basil and Berry, Miniature Pinschers