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Have to share a situation in which your training helped greatly. On a walk, I stepped on the leash to readjust and it slipped away under the snow and Ellie took off for home and toward a busy street!
I panicked and started to go after her then realized I wouldn’t catch her and remembered your tip…walk in the opposite direction and do something a bit crazy. It was hard to trust the move but it worked, she came running back and was saved!
See you Saturday,
Bob
We want to tell you about a close encounter with coyotes that occurred last Sunday morning around 7:00 a.m. I took out my greyhound, Tango, as I do every morning into our back yard. Tango is a very keen dog and as soon as we rounded the house he grew really tall and his ears stood straight up. I followed his gaze and saw a huge coyote on the back section of our yard- I sternly told him “Good morning- Go Away!” There was also a neighbor’s dog running around in the woods on the side of our house with another coyote.
At the same time, I put into practice all of the tools that we have been working on in our training with you. Tango was totally focused on me during this incident ….he was especially responsive to my clicking and rewarding. I was so impressed with his behavior and focus during all the chaos!
As a rule, our checklist leaving the house is our pouch filled with training treats, our clicker and our phone. In the past five months that we have been training with you, we feel it’s important to review our lessons each and every walk.
We can’t tell you how grateful we are to have entrusted our new journey with Tango to you and your wonderful, useful and gentle training methods.
We look forward to adding many more tools to aid Tango’s focus and behavior !
Thank you,
Felicia and David Hayes
(And Tango)
It's been about 1 year since I reached out to Michaela for help. My GSD Ginger, became completely fear reactive after the passing of our older shepherd. She couldn't be around other dogs anymore, and was petrified of people suddenly. I had no idea what to do. My girl was grieving and moreover didn't know how to properly judge people or dogs on her own without the guidance of her older brother. We were devastated, she was miserable and missing out on fun. I had to wait a while for a private lesson availability with Om Obedience. Desperate for help I contacted 3 other "positive" trainers. One berated me for not knowing how to fix Ginger and allowing her to get reactive in the first place. The other two wanted to use shock collars. Om Obedience was 1000% worth the wait. Michaela communicated with Ginger and taught me how to help her. Now a year later she completed a Reactive Rover class, and was able to share space in a very close proximity without freaking out. When we walk now, she no longer barks at people or bicycles or children on the street. We still have work to do, however the change has been incredible. I can't thank Om Obedience and Michaela enough for everything she's taught us both. TRAINERS MATTER. You will not find a more compassionate trainer that cares about your furry family members success as much as Michaela does. I'm so thankful to be part of the OM family. We still have work to do, however the change has been incredible. ~Serafina
Raising a puppy during Covid has been exhausting to say the least. I enrolled our newest family member Blueberry into Puppy preschool where he was shy and timid around the other friends. Michaela helped pair him with other similar pups to socialize and he began to blossom now that he was more comfortable. When I tell you this little man screamed all through the first classes, you would leave with a headache. Om Obedience didn't kick us out of class, instead gave us tips to work together to improve his confidence. We enrolled in some private lessons and Elementary Obedience which ended up being paused shortly after due to Covid. Thankfully I had already learned skills to work on with Blueberry to keep us on the right track. When classes resumed, with the lack of socialization Blueberry had developed a terrible habit of barking at his friends. Worse, he was scared again and scaring everyone else as he got his big boy bark in quarantine. Michaela worked with us during classes so we could still participate. Fast forward we are now in Intermediate II with some great new friends that we don't bark at anymore. We learn something new at every single class and a good trainer is the best investment you will ever make for your dog. Om Obedience is the best choice and I couldn't be happier with our training journey as Blueberry grows. Thank you Michaela for everything you do to help us be successful! ~Serafina
We embarked on our training journey with our new puppy with a goal in mind but with no idea on how to accomplish it. Sparkie is our 1 year old Labradoodle who absolutely loves being a part of our family and is an addition we have loved bringing into our world. I couldn't be happier with her progress, she has developed manners, skills that have made our lives more enjoyable, and overall has blossomed into an awesome dog! I work at a high school and have always been invested in possibly working towards certifying Sparkie as a therapy dog. Michaela and OM Obedience has been instrumental in focusing on the skills that are most important and doing this in a positive supportive environment that Sparkie and I look forward to each week! We cant wait to continue on our training journey and feel so fortunate to have found such a wonderful trainer to do so with! ~Tracy
Michaela is simply the best. I can't recommend her highly enough. She has been a terrific guide and resource for me, and a wholly positive influence for my reactive dog. Working with Michaela has significantly improved my dog's quality of life (and therefore mine!) - he is a much happier and more confident dog than when we started, and Micheala's classes continue to be an important part of his social well being.
We've done both private sessions and group classes with Michaela. Both are great, and we've gotten different things out of them. She's adept at assessing what a dog needs and what strategies will be most successful based on those needs and the dog's personality. This shines through not just in one-on-one interactions but also in how she structures classes. Different dogs in the same group class often need to get different things out of it, and Michaela is great at shaping a class to meet those varied needs.
Michaela is also great at communicating with the people on the other end of the leashes. No matter what you do in a training session, consistency is key to seeing real results, so her ability to work so well with the people who've brought their dogs in is very important - you'll have a clear idea of what to work on between sessions, and how to approach it.
Michaela is very talented and is dedicated to making a positive difference in the lives of the dogs and people she works with. I'm glad to have found such an amazing trainer, and hope to keep working with her for years to come. -Peter E.
We enlisted the assistance from Michaela for our 3 year old rescue dog. For his hyperactivity and separation anxiety, she provided us with very helpful strategies through private training sessions. We also enrolled our pup in the Intermediate class as well. Michaela is an excellent instructor and kept the class size small. We continued to work on obedience training in class. Whatever your dog's needs may be, I am confident Michaela will provide invaluable assistance. 5 stars! ~Beth M.
We couldn’t be more thankful to have found OM Obedience. When we first adopted Nimbus it was clear we needed some major guidance to focus his energy and help with his leash aggression. After Intermediate classes and even Agility he has blossomed into such a sweet dog! He still has his moments of acting out but he proved to us how smart he is and that he’s always eager to please us. We even went to a party this weekend where there were 30 strangers, a strange dog and little kids and Nimbus was on his best behavior! That never would have been possible before Michaela came into our lives!
So first off, sorry I feel the need to tell you every Tyson achievement but I hope it makes you proud too! So he's reactive to birds too (obviously) and I've been really trying to work him in the morning since they're everywhere. Today we're on our usual walk- I became more confident and now do the whole neighborhood dogs barking at us and all - and every single time he saw a bird he just sat and looked at me like, "Ummm...Mom where's my salami?" There were a couple times where I couldn't figure it why he was sitting since he saw the bird well before I did. Long story short, NO reactions today!! I could not have done it without you so please don't ever stop dog training because you are amazing at it and Tyson's super lucky to have found you! -Shauna
Thank you! Q got loose in our yard getting out of the car and I did the hit the ground and call her to play & she came! You ARE BRILLIANT at what you do!!! ~Lauren D.
Hi,
Great meeting you today. We are all excited about working together. I'm shocked to see this, but I think he is certainly going to have his work cut out for him, and work makes us tired!!
Thanks again, we will see you in a few weeks.
Alison
A tired dog is a good dog.
Michaela is the ultimate dog whisperer. She has helped us out completely with being a first time dog owners. We have been with her from puppy to intermediate classes and she has even provided private lessons at our home to work on Manny's at home quirks (ie; jumping at visitors, thinking our couch and bed were his personal property, crazy laps in the house at night). All along the way if I ever have a question she is one Facebook post or text away. Her guidance has really kept us on track with training and shaping Manny into our perfect dog. He still has his crazy moments but with the knowledge she has instilled in us we now have a better handle on him.
Manny's down / wait for a treat has made it very easy to take photos of him. Manny is now a master of fetch. Before Michaela's help when you would go for the ball that he brought over to you he would try to get it before you (sometimes getting you accidentally with his teeth - ouch). He now comes over, drops the ball and waits patiently in a down position until the ball is thrown.
We had a hard time with this 60 pound lap dog jumping up at people and thinking he owned the couch / sitting on the back of the couch like a cat flattening it out. Thanks to Michaela's private training at our home we we're able to have him learn his place was on the rug until we allowed him to join us on the couch. This one has especially been a life saver when having guests over. Samantha, Danny & Manny
We started working Michaela when our Boxer was 10 weeks old. We had just found out we were also expecting our first child and we wanted to make sure our puppy was not only trained properly, but would ready for her new brother or sister. We worked our way through Michaela’s leveled classes and also worked with her once a week in private sessions. We were so pleased with Zoey’s progress and did not have any hesitations about bringing our new baby home. Zoey absolutely loved working with Michaela and still loves seeing her. All we have to say is “Want to see Michaela?” and she runs to the door, tail wagging! Although she is still a puppy, and has boundless energy, Zoey is our little girl’s best friend. She is so gentle and calm around her and loves to give her kisses. We owe a great deal of this to Michaela’s work and positive reinforcement! Meghan, Wayne, Mya & Zoey
In December 2013 we got a puppy. I fell in love with her face and cuddles but I wasn't at all prepared for the responsibility of being a fur mom. The thought crossed my mind that maybe it wouldn't work out and she would have to go back. Then one fateful Sunday, desperate for a way to burn off excess beagle puppy energy, we met Michaela who let us stay at puppy playtime even though Brooklyn was too old. 18 short months later, I proudly guided that same dog through her Canine Good Citizen, with the same miracle trainer. Om Obedience has truly given us a much more peaceful hOMe. –Meaghan K. & Brooklyn
