Testimonials (all pulled from Facebook and Google)

“Steph is truly amazing. She’s one of those rare gems you don’t come across often in life. She truly has a gift with understanding a dog’s needs and helping that dog’s humans to meet those needs. She’s made the biggest impact on our household dynamic and on our dog’s quality of life, that I’m not sure I can even truly find the words to properly convey the difference she made.

We rescued our boy, Herman, from a shelter at 8 weeks old. We didn’t know at the time that he was 100% cattle dog, as he was listed as a mix. His genetics, combined with a rough start in life before his time with us, presented some very serious reactivity issues. My husband and I had zero experience with a reactive dog, and Herman’s behavior had us frustrated and feeling completely stuck. It’s the first time in our lives we were bitten, multiple times, by our own dog. We were doing our best to give him what he needed but we were admittedly lacking in the knowledge and experience department, both with Herman’s breed and his reactivity. Most of the time he was sweet and silly and happy, but those times he would react would generally end up in him redirecting towards us and growling, snarling, and biting.

Steph’s time with us immediately had her opening our eyes to the things we had been missing before, that helped us understand our boy so much better. She helped us understand how to better give Herman “jobs” he needs as a cattle dog. She had Herman loose leash walking extremely quickly, which has made our walks such a better experience for him and us. She taught us protocols to stop the reactivity from happening before it got to that point. One very amazing example- Herman’s vacuum reactivity had gotten so extreme that I could not even reach for the vacuum without being bitten. Forget even trying to vacuum if he was in the house. Steph taught us a way to work together to reward Herman for NOT reacting to the vacuum, before it even happened. We are now able to vacuum with Herman in the SAME room. We’ve used that same protocol out in public while working on his socialization, and being able to be around other dogs and people and noises, without reacting. It’s amazing how quickly he learns when we are armed with the knowledge we need to help him be happier, which in turn makes us happier. Herman’s confidence has soared. I could write an entire novel about the way Steph’s training has positively impacted ours and our boy’s lives.

Prior to Steph’s training, we didn’t know if we were going to be able to continue living under the same room as Herman, which broke our hearts. Now- our bond with Herman is unbreakable. We work with him all the time and it’s FUN and rewarding for all of us. Herman is happier, more confident, and is even getting really good at relaxing when the time comes, because his needs are being met. We are forever grateful for Steph!!!!” -Kayla Pavey, Fort Worth Tx

“Stephanie of Howl Mountain is the MOST fabulous trainer that there is. I started with Stephanie when she walked dogs, now she is my trainer. My rescue, Sassy, is a timid, frightened little Chihuahua who came to us afraid of the world and Stephanie has her coming out of her shell. I cannot say enough good things about Stephanie. I would have her train every and any dog no matter what.” - Amy Currie, Worcester Ma

“Working with Stephanie has been amazing. She is teaching us how to work with our reactive and slightly aggressive dog. Each week she assigns homework and goes over the lessons with us. We’ve already seen a huge difference in him! I highly recommend her for both basic training as well as breaking the reactive habit. She is both professional and personable.”

-Alicia Galvin, Leicester Ma

“We used Stephanie’s extensive knowledge of dogs to help

Us learn how to properly train our new addition, not only for the present, but for future success. Although I have attended training with our other dogs, I found the 1:1 focus in our home to be much more beneficial for both our dog and us. She is always available to provide support when we hit a a bottleneck. One of the methods I had never had introduced was dogs who were not part of the class. She has a very realistic dog decoy that she brought to our in home training. It was a great tool for both dogs.

I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Stephanie with guiding you on how to teach your dog good behaviors. I can’t express how much more beneficial in home training is than group training.

Thanks again Stephanie.” -Nadine Barley, Brookfield Ma