Happy Puppy Tutoring

Please don't do submission holds on your dog! I very much regret not doing more research on this method and agreeing to do submission holds on my dog with aggression issues. Unfortunately, this is Marilyn's main training method and when they didn't work for my dog she didn't have any other training methods. The submission holds made my dog even more untrusting of me, more aggressive, and gave my dog a seizure (which he had never had before). Pros: Marilyn is friendly Cons: Main training method is dangerous & made dog more aggressive more

Having several dogs in my lifetime, I thought I could control our Airedale puppy. Months later, I finally hired Marilyn Nichols of Happy Puppy Tutoring and cannot say enough great things about the training ""I"" received. Showing Bodhi who was boss made all the difference in the world. Marilyn's submission hold was very effective and Bodhi now calms down quickly. The counter-surfing and aggression subsided and Bodhi is much easier to live with after we were both trained by Marilyn. The ""clicker"" and treats were a welcome addition to the training. Bodhi responds very well to both and we have taught him a few tricks since the training. Bottom line: If you have dog issues, call Marilyn... or live with your DOG running YOUR life. Thank you, Marilyn! more

I highly recommend Marilyn Nichols with Happy Puppy Tutoring. It had been a long time since I have had a puppy in the house. It has been money well spent! With Marilyn's patience both puppy and I are doing great!!! more

Marilyn Nichols has been a life saver. When our new puppy was out of control we called Happy Puppy Tutoring. The best service ever! With Marilyn's help we now have a wonderful dog. Thank you! Now everyone in my family is happy. more

Marilyn is awesome. I have a 65lb aussie/border collie mix. She has huge panic attacks during storms. We call her ""the weather dog"" because about 20 min before she starts pacing and panting and then boom you have 65lb of dog in your lap. There is no way to get her to settle down. I have a homeopathic that I use but sometimes the storm has already hit and she's too far into the cycle. Marilyn showed me how to use the shoulder press on my dog. AMAZING. I did that for about 5 min and she just melted at my feet and was that way till the storm was over. She has worked with all 3 of my pound puppies and they are much better for it. OK so am I. :D more

I love Marilyn, and I have been in rescue for over 10 year, and in AKC dog clubs / shows just as long - she has helped with so many of our dog, I could write a book. I first met her while training one of my labradors for AKC shows - and I told her about a Great Pyrenees ""rescue failure"" that was not fitting into my home pack of 3 large dogs and being aggressive. She worked with all of the dogs, and with me to become the ""Pack Leader"" and by the end of the 4 sessions, there were no more 'surprise attacks"", no more dog fights, NOTHING - everyone was happier and communicating - I was amazed! I have since called her for every rescue that is fearful and destructive or not bonding in the pack welland showing aggression - and have recommended her routinely with others that have fearful or aggressive dogs - and she has always had rave reviews! ;) Yes, she uses the submissive hold technique - but that was the key for us in bringing the ""dominant"" behavior under control (& my Pyr is over 100lbs) - it didn't hurt him or scare him at all. For another dog, she didn't do that all - as his needs were different. If you have tried everyone else without success, don't give up - try Marilyn - she never gives up on you or your dog. more

We did 4 training sessions with Marilyn and they have been super helpful. As a new dog owner, she taught me many things I just did not know (e.g., petting a scared dog reinforces their fear) and gave us some specific techniques that have helped our fearful dog to relax. Sunny wrote below to beware of the submission technique but this has been a huge help to our dog - though our dog is scared, not aggressive. Marilyn is loving and kind and a pleasure to work with. She gives so much of her time and experience, and makes herself available outside of training sessions. She's a great resource for all things dog - I am very grateful to know her and have her work with our dog! Thank you, Marilyn! Pros: smart, kind, experienced, easy to work with more

I just wanted to take a minute and tell you how wonderful Marilyn at Happy Puppy Tutoring is. She is an absolute miracle worker. We have a maltipoo puppy that barked all through the night for about 2 months and would growl at our children. We did extensive research and read several books and nothing worked. Honestly we probably would have given her away if she hadn't been a christmas present for our daughter. We were referred to Marilyn from a lady who said that she did a great job with her dogs. My husband and I were very skeptical but we were so sleep deprived that we were willing to try anything. She actually got our puppy to stop barking after the first visit! We couldn't believe it, we were ecstatic! With all of her bad behavior out of the way we are now working on all the other training like, roll over and play dead and we are having so much fun watching her learn more things. We learned a lot too and are much better pet owners because of what Marilyn taught us. Our puppy is now a close member of our family and owning and training her is just the most wonderful experience and it is all due to Marilyn. Pros: very reasonable fees, very proffessional, really knows her s more

My dog is a different being after 2 lessons. I wanted him to WILLING walk his chubby body every day instead of fighting and stalling: ride quietly in his car seat without whining to be held; not beg while I eat, and give the ball instead of growling viciously at everyone.. And, oh yeah, quit barking when I answer the door.\r Well, TA DA! I''ve already got my money's worth, and I have 2 more lessons to reinforce this. MARILYN IS MY AFFORDABLE DOG WHISPERER. more

Marilyn & her training has made a huge difference in mine & my dogs life in just 4 weeks. I would reccomend her for any training needs. It was a great experience & I'll keep up with her training once a month. more

Marilyn has helped me so much with my dogs’ behaviors, tricks and obedience training. \r We have 3 dogs; 2 Maltese and 1 Chihuahua mix, and all are males. Because they only weigh 6 or 7 pounds, doesn’t seem to matter much to them! \r Marilyn keeps the training fun, and does this in an assertive, not aggressive way. \r After the first time she was here, I saw two huge immediate improvements in my dogs. (Especially the one who thought he was in charge) The first was when they were eating and “Mr. It” just lay down and let the others eat first. In the past it has been somewhat of an argument over the food. \r The second thing was when I left the house; they just calmly sat and watched me leave. In the past they have always nipped at my ankles and tried to go with me, only to run off barking to the front window. There was none of that, no ankle nipping and no barking! It was and continues to be GREAT! \r They love it when she gets here, and they have loved working with us as well. All of the kids have had fun working with them also. She also provides very clear written directions for tricks and behaviors; which has really helped with recognizing consistency. \r Marilyn is AMAZING! Knows her stuff! Answers your questions! Well Worth It and Very Reasonable! \r Pros: We have seen amazing results! more

In just the first session Marilyn helped our female shi tzu / lhasa mix dog to realize that she was not the Alpha dog in the household, that the humans were the Alphas and that she has to obey them. She showed us how to curb bad behaviors and use commands like Leave It, Drop It and a few tricks..\r \r Marilyn projects a strong personality to the dog, so they almost-instantly obey. She has shown our family members some every effective techniques that cause the dog to obey us also. It's remarkable how quickly the dog's bad behaviors can be replaced with good ones. Pros: Very quick, highly effective results Cons: None I can think of more