“We were so frustrated. We adopted this sweet little dog, Lily, with terrible manners. She had obviously never been trained.  She didn’t listen to us. If we called her, she’d completely ignore us. She went to the bathroom all over our house … even after we’d just walked her! I was starting to hate this dog. My husband was starting to hate this dog. Even my kids were starting to hate this dog.

Susanna changed everything. After just one week of working with Susanna, Lily was crate trained. She would also “come,” “sit,” and “leave it.” I didn’t even know I wanted my dog to leave anything, but it has been the most useful command, and my dog is really good at it! I am happy to report that, thanks to Susanna, Lily is house broken. Thanks to Susanna, Lily has excellent manners. Thanks to Susanna, we have a dog that has become a cherished member of the family!”

– Shannon Rashby

"My husband and I just completed the Good Dog training class with Susanna. It was a wonderful experience for all of us, not just for our puppy Frankie. Given our backgrounds in behavioral psychology, the choice of a trainer for Frankie was guided by our understanding of the power of positive reinforcement for all creatures, not just dogs. Susanna’s understanding of those principles and her kind, non-judgmental way of helping the class understand them was so inspiring. We felt that we were in good hands at every point. She helped us to see through Frankie’s eyes. She helped our book learning become relevant to our lives. She is an excellent teacher; one who guides dog parents gently toward mastering the art of communicating with our canine family members. It’s amazing how much she can see in a dog’s behavior. It was a huge help for us to learn to speak dog!

We are not new to having dog companions. We are developing our “third pack” with Frankie. So, we have had a solid base of experience with training our fur kids. We felt that this experience would hold us in good stead as we incorporated a new puppy into our lives. That was before we met Frankie. At nine weeks, he was already a handful. And now at almost eight months, he has developed into a sweet loving dog with just a few issues!! Susanna’s class gave us new ways of helping Frankie learn and added to our repertoire of ways to communicate with him. It has made the typical chaos of puppyhood much easier to manage. Since I am with Frankie most of the day and since he is less likely to behave well when his Dad is not at home, I plan to enroll Frankie and myself in the Intermediate class when my schedule allows. I look forward to strengthening the bond we already have and to learning more about how to channel Frankie’s wonderful energetic spirit. My husband and I were both moved by Susanna’s mention of the importance of the relationship pet parents develop with their dogs. Her understanding of how to build the best relationship is at the heart of her work. Her competent and compassionate training was the best we have ever had. We recommend her without reserve."

– Catherine Prudhomme

“We moved from Finland to California last spring with our Corgi Jimi, who was less than a year old at the time. Jimi started reacting strongly to other dogs and taking him for walks became painful. We could not go to the dog park because of Jimi’s 'temper tantrums.' He only tolerated certain dogs near him, and reacted strongly to most other dogs by barking and lunging. I was beginning to feel desperate and even considered having my dog euthanized. 

Then I met Susanna, and her positive training approach gave me hope. After a few training sessions Jimi already started behaving completely differently and looked up to me in conflict situations. I could again consider my dream of adding another dog to our family. Susanna helped us get Jimi used to our new dog, Sami. Jimi and Sami have both been to Susanna’s house for boarding and training, and we could not wish for a better place to leave our dogs.

Susanna has given me advice, support and guidance and she has been of tremendous help. She always explains how to perform the training exercises as well as the reason and basis for using the specific method. She also gives feedback on training progress. I warmly recommend her!”

– Satu Kleimola

“I like leaving my dog with Susanna because she gets a chance to be around other people and dogs and work with an experienced trainer. My dog came from a rescue and spent the first years of her life in a kennel with little interaction with other dogs. As a result, she’s not very socialized. 

At Susanna’s, my dog gets a variety of new experiences in a different environment. When I come back to pick her up, she seems relaxed and comfortable. I can enjoy going away on vacation knowing my dog is in safe hands.”

– Tamara Zuromskis

My name is Matthew Harvey and I live in Grass Valley. I have been using The Canine Coach, Susanna, to help me train my staff mix. In the initial meeting, all of my goals were discussed and incorporated. I started out with Susanna picking up Shemp once a week for one on one training. Susanna uses positive and humane training methods, which is important to me. After several weeks of Shemp’s day training, he was a different dog. We then switched to private training at my home. I’m disabled and really couldn’t take Shemp for a walk without the danger of falling. Now I can't help but have a big smile on my face, and Shemp is the dog he deserves to be. The Canine Coach is very affordable and worth every penny. Do your dog a favor and use the Canine Coach to help your dog become a better member of the family.

-- Matthew Harvey