Jane

My dog and I have been students of Joyful Dog, LLC since 2013 and have been in classes led by Marnie Montgomery and her team of supporting instructors. Joyful Dog provides an outstanding service to the community and to dog owners in our area.

We started in the puppy kindergarten and moved up through several levels of the classes where we learned: basic socialization for puppies, good manners for dogs both at home and in public settings, and some TTouch and clicker training.

The professionalism, expertise and dedication that Marnie and her team at Joyful Dog bring to this work are exceptional. They were able to address a wide range of training issues and provide solutions to behavioral issues specific to each dog handler pair. The classes were a lot of fun while still providing the educational format needed for dogs and handlers to learn new techniques and make progress with their dogs.

Through attending these classes my dog learned how to interact appropriately with other dogs and how to behave in public settings. All of the training is positive and teaches the use of positive reinforcement to learn new behaviors or to modify existing behaviors.

I learned many techniques that can be applied more broadly about the impact of positive reinforcement on behavior. Businesses like Joyful Dog contribute significantly to the quality of life in our community.
As a result of these classes, my dog and I are able to go out together in the community without any concerns – we know how to address any situations that may arise when another dog approaches, when children approach or when other situations occur at the park or when walking through a crowded area.

My dog has learned so much through this training that he is progressing on to be a therapy dog. This training supports the development of a dog to the point where the dog can go into a facility for the elderly or disabled and bring joy to the residents.

Joyful Dog provides an excellent and much needed service to the community by graduating well trained dogs that can be positive influences in the lives of everyone they encounter regardless of the setting.