Testimonials

(due to overwhelming amounts of 'spam', please do not change the subject line of emails, otherwise your email may be deleted)

We are the proud owners of Lyndee, a 70lb Pit bull. When we first took her in we fell in love with her playful puppy spirit and high energy. As she got older we realized that she was becoming more and more aggressive toward everything. Bikers, pedestrians, birds, and other dogs were a distraction for her so much that she would run after any of these distractions aggressively, barking, and snarling the whole way.

We first contacted Suzi at The Canine Psychology Center and scheduled an evaluation. From the first few minutes of arriving we could see that Suzi demanded the respect of our unruly beast. After a quick demonstration of her talents and ability, Lyndee already seemed like a different dog. We signed up for the next class.

The first day with Lyndee, Suzi showed our almost wild dog who the pack leader was. With in a few minutes, Lyndee knew were she stood in Suzi’s pack and was sitting attentively at her side. She was a different dog only a few lessons later.

As training progressed, Lyndee became less and less distracted and more attentive to the pack leaders in her life. She has become so calm, relaxed and submissive that our young granddaughter has become a pack leader and Lyndee will now submit to a 40lb child.

When Lyndee graduated her off leash training we could not be more proud. It brought tears to our eyes watching the once aggressive dog that we feared we would not be able to keep, turn into such a kind, gentle, loving and affectionate canine. Several family members have taken notice to the dramatic difference in attitude and behavior.

As owners, we could not be happier or prouder of our BIG little girl. It has been 1 year since our first lesson and she continues to become more and more impressive. We can’t say enough about Suzi and her ability to take our little beast and train her into a loving, caring member of our family.

I would like to take this time to let you know how much I have enjoyed training 'Dillon' with you. You are extremely knowledgeable and explain concepts so that I understand them. You are very patient and have made our lessons constructive, but also enjoyable. Your sense of humor has made our lessons productive and rewarding. We have used other trainers, but have not experienced the individual attention that we have with you.

'Dillon' is turning into a wonderful and obedience little guy and I have you to thank. Your skills as a trainer are superior, but more importantly, your compassion and kindness makes you a very special person.

Thank you so much for your kindness when 'Maggie Mae' died. I hope that we continue to progress in our private and group lessons. Hopefully, in the very near future we will start 'Stella Blue' in puppy training with you.

October 20, 2004

Dear Suzi,

I have enjoyed working with you as we team up to train our family puppy, 'Kiowa'. As you know, the Shiba Inu as a breed have a reputation of being stubborn and are described as being more difficult to train than other breeds. At your suggestion we began early, at 11 or 12 weeks of age, and she has proven to be extraordinarily trainable and willing to do what is asked of her.

I appreciated your training packet and have incorporated many of your suggestions into our day to day family life. What I really enjoy is the individual attention we both get on a weekly basis; to be honest, being in the 'spotlight' has proven to be great motivation for me to make it a priority to with 'Kiowa' throughout the week, so neither of us look ill-prepared!

I look forward to our future training sessions and the incredible family pet we will enjoy as a result.

Sincerely,

Kiowa's family

(photo to come!)

September 22, 2003

Dear Suzi,

In July we brought 'Copper' to you for training, because he pulled my elderly mother, Teri, down on the ground after he saw another dog and started to chase him. He grew larger than we thought he would when we got him as a puppy and is now 36 lbs. Because of his strength we needed to have him trained for mom, so he wouldn't pull her down again. The main things we wanted you to concentrate training on was the pulling on the leash, barking, running back and forth in the house, chewing and learning to walk at mom's side when outside.

We signed up for the board and train program knowing we would have a lot of follow up training. It seemed to us that it was longer than two weeks, but when we picked up 'Copper' we were amazed at the difference in him! Because you had so many other dogs there at the same time and 'Copper' learned to be around other dogs without getting excited, that really helped him when we take him outside now.

He has stopped the pulling, barking, chewing, running back and forth and now walks with mom and obeys her command. It has been such a relief to us as a family that 'Copper' is trained and hopefully will never pull mom down and hurt her again. With your experience and expertise you have answered all our questions, helped us solve our problems and given us good advice.

We want to thank you for all the work you did with 'Copper' to make him a perfect companion. You are truly a professional and know how to handle both dogs and their owners! It has been a pleasure working with you and we recommend your services to anyone.

The Hara family

(photo to come!)

November 3, 2004

I write this letter in appreciation of my experience with the Canine Psychology Center. 'Dakota' is the first dog I have owned all on my own and what a learning experience it has been! Now, being 3 and a half years old he recently passed his off-leash basic obedience test after 7 months of training with CPC and I am now the very proud owner of this greatly trained dog. He was a very feisty puppy and had issues with aggression toward other dogs.

I am so happy with our training program with Suzi. 'Dakota' has really changed his attitude and demeanor. He has done great with other dogs and now looks to me for approval and guidance, rather than just becoming nasty and aggressive. Without Suzi's help I know I would be walking down the street or going for hikes avoiding many situations that now I am very confident about.

I have learned so much in the short time I have been in the basic obedience program. I am excited to keep making progress with my dog and very excited for when I can introduce another dog into my home and use everything I have learned for all my future companions.

Thank you very much, Suzi, for a wonderful experience!

Kristen and 'Dakota'

(Kristen and 'Dakota' also graduated Level 1 protection training on December 13, 2004 - see that photo on the 'graduates' page.)

October 20, 2004

We began with private lessons with Suzi in December of 2003 after we adopted a 4 month old Yellow Lab / Rhodesian Ridgeback named 'Sleet'. We found that our dog was fear aggressive, so with Suzi's help we have been able to work with him and understand why he is the way he is.

With Suzi's help 'Sleet' now knows all of the basic commands. We have come a very long way and 'Sleet' graduated the off-leash test in group class on September 19, 2005.

Thanks Suzi!

Jeff & Holly Olson

(Sadly, Holly Olson passed away only two months after graduation - she is dearly missed and can be seen on the 'lost loved ones' page.)

March 31, 2008

A few years ago, my daughter Liz gave me a 4-month old, mixed breed puppy for Mother’s Day. “Duke” came from a shelter with no background information. His adoption papers listed him as a black lab mix. As his appearance said black lab mixed with Am Staff or pit bull, I decided to check into dog training. After doing internet research and making quite a few phone calls, I found Suzi Schaefers. Neither my husband Ed nor I knew anything about dog psychology or training when we took Duke for an evaluation meeting with Suzi. We were both extremely impressed with Suzi and signed up for Basic Obedience Training. I have never regretted our decision.

Suzi didn’t really train Duke; she trained me. At each lesson she would demonstrate a new command and go over it with me until I understood how to work with Duke on it. She critiqued our progress and pointed out what needed more work. Somehow, she managed to do this without ever making me feel like the ignorant and bumbling beginner I was. After graduating from basic obedience, I continued to take Duke to group occasionally, and recently Duke and I began doing Advanced Obedience training.

As if giving me one dog wasn’t enough, shortly after giving me Duke, my daughter moved back home with her dog – also a black lab mix. When Liz moved out again after a few months, “Petey” stayed. I hate to imagine what life would be like at my house with these two fairly large (65-70 lbs), very energetic dogs without Suzi’s help.

Whenever I get comments on how well behaved my dogs are, my standard response is that it’s because “I have a great trainer.” I was impressed with Suzi from day one, and after working with her for over two years, my regard for her has only continued to increase.

Lori Stepp

Littleton, Colorado

Our miniature schnauzer, 'George', has never liked our mail carrier and has always barked at him. One day, George actually charged the man and I told my husband we either find a dog trainer to help us or the dog goes down; I WILL NOT have an aggressive dog! After 2 training sessions with Suzi, I sat outside with 'George' on a leash while our mail carrier walked up to our house. 'George' remained in a “sit-stay” position and did not move or bark. I told the mail carrier that 'George' was going to a special trainer who is a dog whisperer and he said he was very impressed. I have told several people about Suzi and I am a believer.

Dear Suzi, Considering the disposition of the Rhodesian Ridgeback breed as an 'independent' thinker, I really wasn't sure what to expect when entering the training program with you. Needless to say, our dog, Kya, has responded with great enthusiasm and results thanks to your methods as well as to you personally. Her program has been invaluable in creating a strong bond between dog and family, as well as an education in the intricacies of the dog to human social interaction. We thank you for your time and will certainly recommend you to anyone looking for an outstanding dog trainer.

'Moe' is my 115 lb, four year old, male Rottweiler. He was very social as a puppy and was okay on a leash with some very basic commands. However, when he was about 18 months of age he had two knee surgeries that required eleven months as a couch potato, with restricted contact with other dogs. After his recovery he became very aggressive toward unknown dogs. I modified our walk schedule and took him out when the chances of running into other dogs was remote. Unfortunately, this only made his interactions with other dogs worse. And, since we didn't interact with other walkers/joggers for the most part, he also started being very protective when others were walking or jogging toward us. I knew I needed to work with him to change his behavior, but was afraid that no one would want to work with an 'aggressive' Rottie.

Suzi was very optimistic about modifying 'Moe's behavior. Each week Moe's behavior improved. We are still working diligently and are not even close to an off leash test, but I can now take him outside and know that I can control his impulse to dominate other dogs. Moe and I had been working with Suzi for three months when she decided we should attend our first group class. I was very nervous, but he very well in the group environment.

I am incredibly happy with our training experience and hope to be able to pass the off leash training at some point in the future.