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Robyn S
5/5 STARS Dog Training-Private Lessons~ Verified Review February 12,2020
Initially, my husband and I brought Susie in for an evaluation of our dog, Dakota, a 3 year old rescued Shepherd Mix with extreme separation anxiety. He couldn't be crated and would self harm. Later, reactivity became a major issue, as well as going after our cats. He needed a total overhaul.
From the moment I spoke to Susie, I felt a connection. She wasn't just a dog trainer, she really seemed to understand us as well.
From the moment we met Susie, we knew we'd made the right call. She's only been here once, but we know it won't be the last. She spent over two hours evaluating him and it was clear that Dakota respected her. She never yelled at him, it was just her authoritative tone and body language that made the difference. Before we even met face to face she had us walk him around the block so she could observe his behavior. My husband and I were terrified she was going to tell us that he was too aggressive and would need to be rehomed. I feared for her safety as well, not knowing how Dakota would respond to her. We had stopped taking him on walks over a month before, because of how reactive he was. Dakota is 85 pounds and pulls me around like a ragdoll when he sees another person or animal. But she assured us beforehand and told us not to worry. Honestly, I imagined the worse. When Dakota saw her he started pulling and growling and my husband had to grab the leash when I couldn't physically hold him back. She told us to allow him to come to her and I held my breath. But then something amazing happened. Nothing. That's right. What we perceived as outright aggression towards another person wasn't aggression after all. She told us she saw no reason he'd have to be rehomed. What a relief! My husband and I aren't rich by any means and yes, the initial evaluation cost wasn't cheap, but that peace of information as well as peace of mind we gained from her, was worth every penny we invested. It's made us see our dog differently. Knowledge is definitely power.
She touched on his separation anxiety, and also explained how nutrition plays an active role in behavior. We were sickened to learn what was actually in his dog food. She worked on his reactivity to knocking at the door, and within the first session Dakota had already begun catching on not to bark and go at the door. I was impressed. But the most impressive thing was her work with him being around one of our cats. Before she left she had both eating side by side. Never in a million years would I have believed that possible. Don't get me wrong, there's a ton of work to be done on this, but it's a start, and we know that he's now capable of "playing nice" with our cats and it gives us hope that one day we'll be able to grant Dakota freedom around them once again.
Susie poured a lot of information into the evaluation and was more than happy to go over some of the things we couldn't quite remember when we gave the 48 hour progress report. She gave us hope and a new outlook for Dakota's future. Susie has a presence about her that tells you she's been down your road before and she understands. It's easy to recondition your dog; the hard part is in reconditioning ourselves. We're grateful she's in our lives! It's going to take time to recondition our dog, but now we have hope that Dakota will have a brighter, happier, and healthier future. We have confidence in Susie's abilities and we look forward to her working with us and Dakota in the future. For anyone reading this, I would highly recommend her services. Robyn S. Clinton, WI
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Chace Wolff
5/5 ☆☆☆☆☆! We purchased a English Lab puppy for our son Adam who has Down Syndrome. We wanted companion/ service dog training. After the conventional classes Karen from the Bark Market suggested Susie to train our puppy Shadow. Susie is amazingly intuitive with dogs and people! She was able to assess Shadow and Adam coming up with the the best way for them to communicate with one another. Susie's instructions are clear and the response from Shadow was inspiring. Shadow passed his CGC with flying colors! We are now taking Shadow to the next level with Susie and are excited to achieve his therapy/ service vest for he and Adam to go out into the world together. Practice makes perfect folks! Susie has a video if Adam and Shadow at Lowes if you want to see them in action. Susie is a blessing to all of us! Adam is so happy with his buddy Shadow! Part 2 is we have a new puppy a Maltipoo Alfie we are starting to train with Susie! One session last night and Alfie caught on! Susie you ROCK!!!! Thank you friend!
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Brianne Chisholm
I got in touch with Susie through “Home Guide” looking for a dog trainer that comes to your home. When I got in touch with Susie over the phone to learn more about her and her training business we spoke for almost an hour. At no point was the conversation rushed and we both took turns “interviewing” one another. I am very appreciative of this because it felt very personal and important to ensure it was a good fit for Susie, myself and my dog Abby. My dog Abby suffers from separation anxiety and fear associated with prior trauma/abuse. I rescued Abby when she was 8 months old and at best guess she is a Sheppard mix. Abby is now 3 years old and after some significant life changes (a couple of moves back to back, a new environment and the loss of her other doggy companion) her anxiety and fear really intensified. Susie gave me a couple of tips over the phone during out first conversation so I could begin working with Abby to help with her separation anxiety. To my surprise within a couple of days I saw improvement! I followed up with Susie and decided to move forward with training since I was so impressed with the success of her tips provided over the phone. At no point did Susie ever make me feel pressured to do business with her and it never felt like it was about the money. Susie spent 2 hours with Abby and I recently and not only trained Abby and taught her new commands but, she trained me as well. I was so surprised how the smallest gesture or choice of words can impact the success of the work you put into training your dog. Susie also went over nutrition with me and I can honestly say that none of the vets I have been to ever sat down and did such a thorough nutritional education that Susie did. As a dedicated and passionate dog mom all I want is to do what is best for Abby to give her the best life possible. With Susie’s help, and expertise I now feel I have the confidence in my own ability to give Abby the life she deserves and the structure she needs to build her confidence as well. Susie is a wonderful person and I am forever grateful for her knowledge and compassion for dogs!
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Marilyn Schane
My husband & I wanted to give the gift of finding the right dog trainer for our Granddogs & daughter for her birthday. I went on line & entered pertinent information & received quickest reply from Susie so started there. She was extremely responsive, listened keenly to needs & immediately addressed some issues even on the phone. We thought it sounded too good to be true that we would be that lucky to find perfect fit for our family with first interview for dog trainer. Susie’s tremendous talent and wealth of knowledge is phenomenal.
Susie honestly was a God send to our family-such a beautiful blessing. We connected on so many levels. Our daughter has anxiety & Susie truly helped that too. Susie made an incredible difference & brought calm environment, positive behavior and peace to fur babies & entire family. We trust her fully & know that God placed her in our path.
The extensive amount of time Susie spent on the phone, literally hours, listening to specific issues, giving tips and advice as well as helping on the spot without additional charge is totally unheard of these days.
It was utterly amazing how quick both the dogs responded & learned new behavior with Susie! She worked with each dog individually with positive reinforcement and really understood their unique personalities. Susie is simply the BEST!
We truly can’t thank Susie enough for making such an enormous positive difference & showing such care, understanding, & patience with both dogs, my daughter, my husband, & I.
Our family highly recommends Susie & we know you will be as blessed as we are if you choose her. We are forever grateful for Susie!
Marilyn Schane
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Susan Lavelle
Susie is very committed to ensuring that both you and your dog get the most out of your training experience. She's upfront and honest and will always give you multiple options. She never made me feel obligated to buy anything or do anything with my dogs that I wasn't comfortable with. My dogs have responded very favorably to Susie's training and I'd highly recommend Wind Dancer for your dog training needs.
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Aubrey Boetcher
Susie was honest and direct throughout her visit. Within 10 minutes of being in our home, she had incredible insight into our dog's behavior and was able to confidently tell us why they acted how they did. We had very separate issues with both our dogs (one is friendly but gets over excited, the other fearful and anxious and mildly aggressive). Susie was so helpful in helping us with both issues. She provided tips and exercises that have helped and corrected some of the issues within just a day or two. We had a follow up phone call 4 days after her visit where I learned even more. Susie is an expert in her field and I highly recommend her!
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Dani J
We have a small Jack Russel/Papillon mix who is only 1-1/2 yrs. He is not and was not ever a "bad" dog, however our home situation changed and we now have several residents with disabilities in wheelchairs. Gus was a little out of his mind. We reached out to Susie via a referral from a friend and are NOT disappointed. She gave us some immediate and strict guidelines to follow until she could come for a training. Long story short, she did not need to come at all. The advice she gave us FREELY over the phone changed the entire situation for the better. Gus has acclimated extremely well and is not going to need on-site training. Susie has called multiple times to follow up and has done all of this at NO Charge. She is certainly a rare find and we would highly recommend her. Thank you Susie!!!
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SALLY LEIBUNDGUTH
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Pat C
I Had just rescued an 18 month old malamute. He's a great dog, but wanted to give him every opportunity to be his best. Contacted Susie and he is already exceeding my expectations. One session and he is definitely more behaved. I would recommend Susie to everyone. Takeets and I are looking forward to a second session.
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Dylan K
Susie has been absolutely fantastic. She has a wealth of knowledge and has been incredibly helpful in training/reconditioning our 1 year old German Shepherd, Murphy.
Prior to working with Susie, Murphy would bark and lunge at moving cars, chase our cats to no end, and bark excessively at friends and family when they visited our home.
Susie has helped us to regain control of Murphy and we have begun to break these bad habits.
I would most definitely recommend Wind Dancer Referrals to anyone looking for help training their dog(s).
Thanks for the help and I look forward to our next session.
Best,
Dylan
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Jill Whiting
We have a Australian Cattle dog which was a rescue. Thou she is a good dog she wouldn’t listen to me and would jump on my head. Was trying to train her but all it accomplished was her getting a treat. Susan came to our house and taught us the correct way to train her. Since then our dog is very good. She doesn’t jump on my head anymore and she listens to me now. I would recommend Susan to help with any dog training. She is very knowledgeable about animals from nutrition to training. Susan’s a God send thank you so much.
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David P
I was having issues with my GSD rescue being unsure of himself and having separation anxiety. I called and had a great phone call with Susan where I wanted to have the initial visit. I set that up and could have not been happier after... My GSD (Loki) immediatly showed more confidence and alertnees towards me where he was already learning sit and down within a half hour....he was also able to take treats out of my hand without fearing them. He is also off the meds that were being used to sedate him because of his anxiety issues. I am completely thrilled, and have scheduled follow up visits to see how far he can come! Will keep posting updates. Susan knows her stuff and I learned so much about all aspects training, feeding, commands etc.....HIGHLY recommend this service!
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Jill Rosenthal
We have a 7 year old dog who was running our household as though she was the QUEEN. A kitten joined our family and soon all chaos broke loose. I was given Susie's name by Karen at the Bark Market in Delavan. We called her and she came out within a few days and met our Queenly dog and poor kitty. When she left we had a totally different household. Dog and kitty were laying on the couch together by evening which never happened before. Now we know how to work thru issues and are beginning to enjoy our home again. THANK YOU, THANK YOU SUSIE.
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David McDonald
Susie is helping us train our 9 month old cream, golden retriever. We found Susie because we are working towards training him for CGC & emotional support dog. We've had a couple bumps in the road and are currently working on some separation anxiety. Susie has been very helpful with this and nutrition, among other things. She is always available for questions. You can tell she really loves working with animals.
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Jessica Clapper
We couldn’t be more happy with Wind Dancer Referrals. We were looking for a well qualified competent trainer who could give us the time, attention to detail and really want your puppy to be a great member of the family as well as a farm dog.
We have a 4.5 month old Australian Cattle Dog who is amazing, lovable and high drive. We needed a way to harnesss his excitement into training. We really wanted to make sure that he was going to fit in at home and on the farm. Susie was here for five minutes and we were already amazed at the command she had. She went through all aspects of owning a dog, training and communicating with our puppy. She did a fantastic job.
Susie was amazing at training and explaining. She gave homework for us to work on and we provided a 48 report as to our progress with our pupppy. It was great to be able to communicate what was going right and what we needed to work on. What really helped us is we are able to see where our puppy needed more instruction and also were we needed more instruction.
We couldn’t have been more happy and we are over the moon to have found Susie. We can’t wait for our next session.
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Rosemary Gardner
Rosemary Gardner
6 mins ago 5/5 STARS We recently purchased a lab puppy and were growing increasingly frustrated with some behavioral issues. We decided to seek some professional training, so we began searching the internet for local trainers. We started the process at 9:00 pm looking at websites and reading reviews. We stumbled upon Wind Dancer Referrals (Susie) and was impressed by the reviews that were on line. The next thing we noticed is that she was open at 9:30 at night! We called Susie and discussed the situation and she came to our house the next day.
Within minutes of her arrival, we were already seeing a change in our dog’s behavior. The session included a health assessment, a nutrition assessment and then teaching (owner and dog) five commands. Susie leaves you with homework to continue reinforcing the commands and then asks you to provide a 48 hour update on how the dog is doing.
We were extremely impressed by Susie’s professionalism in the way she handles the dog and in the immediate change that we saw in our energetic puppy. Susie makes herself available for questions and pointers and we would (and have) recommended her to others looking for help in training their pets. We look forward to our next training session which will include teaching our 3-year-old granddaughter to give Winnie commands. Susie is a true blessing to our family.
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Rada Ivanov
We have an 11 month old beagle, Bernie, who was becoming increasingly harder to handle - not listening to us, biting and destroying things. When he ate my glasses, I thought it was time to seek help - and we found Susie! She is wonderful, she connected with the dog immediately; we thought the dog was stupid but apparently he is extremely intelligent and he was not being appropriately stimulated, as well as he thought he should manage the whole family - us stupid humans and felines, and was finding that burden quite stressful! Susie taught us how to interact with him, set boundaries; we are following her instructions and have bought puzzles which Bernie loves, and things are so much better! Susie is a true dog whisperer, Bernie cried for an hour after she left! Thank you Susie! Rada I. River Forest, IL
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Christine Stuart
Susie is a God-send. She came out to help us with our beautiful 6 year old Golden Retriever Cooper that has gotten aggressive and bitten 3 members of the family over the past 3 years. This last time it was to the point where we were needing to find him a new home. These were isolated stressful situations that happened once a year and we tried to adjust ourselves, but after the last instance I found Susie. She is helping us re-train him and helping us work with him to desensitize him. We have had her out once and plan a return visit to keep up the great progress we have made. We are helping him not resource-guard by regularly giving and taking away bones. We are working with him on basic commands and now understand that there are many components that were probably at the heart of his issues, but we are hopeful. He is eager to please and play and loves the trainings. Thank you Susie for helping us!!! SHE IS A DOG WHISPERER:) Christine S. Richfield, WI
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Bria Galvin
Very helpful, knowledgeable and kind
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Ruth and John Kandaras
Nov 24, 2018. Cant thank you enough Susie for the incite and professional competence in training & modifying our Nala's behavior. For working around our last minute schedule change due to unexpected circumstances & traveling from WI to NC.
We adopted a 2 yr old female German Shepherd who spent most of her time in a kennel & next to no interaction with any other dogs. She had much separation anxiety, liked to nip & wanted to be the alpha dog with us & any dog she saw.
In the short time Susie spent with her, Nala has been more responsive to our commands. Her interaction with other dogs has improved & continues to do so. Even her interaction with our 14 yr old cat has improved remarkably.
Thank you again Susie for your work with our sweet Nala & educating us in how to bring out the best in her. Ruth and John K. Sparta, NC
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Yelena R.
Susie is simply phenomenal when it comes to working with animals! We truly believe she is the dog whisperer. This is the second time we had her come back. She had helped us train our female Akita Phoebe two years ago. Phoebe even after two years still knows all her commands that Susie taught her! It’s simply amazing! Today in just two short hours Susie had our ten week old Akita puppy sitting, doing down, going into his crate and letting us know that he wants to potty outside. Susie was so patient with our puppy Spencer. Never forcing him to do anything. Only positive reinforcements. It’s amazing what a little patience will do in the long run. My husband and I are very happy with the service we received. We highly recommend Susie for all your animal training needs. She is hands down the best! Yelena R. South Elgin, Il
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Yelena R. South Elgin, IL
Susie is simply phenomenal when it comes to working with animals! We truly believe she is the dog whisperer. This is the second time we had her come back. She had helped us train our female Akita Phoebe two years ago. Phoebe even after two years still knows all her commands that Susie taught her! It’s simply amazing! Today in just two short hours Susie had our ten week old Akita puppy sitting, doing down, going into his crate and letting us know that he wants to potty outside. Susie was so patient with our puppy Spencer. Never forcing him to do anything. Only positive reinforcements. It’s amazing what a little patience will do in the long run. My husband and I are very happy with the service we received. We highly recommend Susie for all your animal training needs. She is hands down the best!
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Diana Morris
We have a 22 month old German Shepherd named Heidi who is incredibly sweet but would rule the house when my husband wasn't home. She was a true alpha. She would bark uncontrollably both inside and outside. She would jump on anyone who would walk through the door. We didn't know how to get a handle on her behavioral issues, until Susie. Susie is a wealth of knowledge. From education on nutrition and the do's and don'ts of ingredients to different training techniques, we could not believe what a difference she made in just a few short hours. She is truly passionate about what she does and has a true love for animals and improving their well being as well as ours. Since our session she has followed up multiple times to ensure we are comfortable implementing and following through with what she has taught us. She is now a part of our family and would recommend her time and time again. We are so grateful Susie had come into our lives and can't wait to see her again. Diana and Ray M. Plainfield, Illinois
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Greg Town
Susie was a miracle worker! We own a 3 year old pitbull and just recently got a 4 month old pitbull lab mix. What started out as great playful friendship turned into a nightmare in a few weeks. Everyday they began to fight more and more sometimes 6 fights a day. We tried everything we read online, but nothing worked. We took a shot and hired Susie, she cared for us and our pets. She totally changed our lives in 1 visit. She taught our new puppy sit, wait, down, off, how to wait for his food. She did not just teach them, but also taught us how to carry out the training that she instilled. Our dogs now sleep in the same dog bed and get along all day without incident. She stopped the constant fear that plagued our household. I could not recommend Susie more.
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Greg Town
Susie was a miracle worker! We own a 3 year old pitbull and just recently got a 4 month old pitbull lab mix. What started out as great playful friendship turned into a nightmare in a few weeks. Everyday they began to fight more and more sometimes 6 fights a day. We tried everything we read online, but nothing worked. We took a shot and hired Susie, she cared for us and our pets. She totally changed our lives in 1 visit. She taught our new puppy sit, wait, down, off, how to wait for his food. She did not just teach them, but also taught us how to carry out the training that she instilled. Our dogs now sleep in the same dog bed and get along all day without incident. She stopped the constant fear that plagued our household. I could not recommend Susie more.
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Greg Town
Susie was a miracle worker! We own a 3 year old pitbull and just recently got a 4 month old pitbull lab mix. What started out as great playful friendship turned into a nightmare in a few weeks. Everyday they began to fight more and more sometimes 6 fights a day. We tried everything we read online, but nothing worked. We took a shot and hired Susie, she cared for us and our pets. She totally changed our lives in 1 visit. She taught our new puppy sit, wait, down, off, how to wait for his food. She did not just teach them, but also taught us how to carry out the training that she instilled. Our dogs now sleep in the same dog bed and get along all day without incident. She she stopped the constant fear that plagued our household. I could not recommend Susie more.
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Greg Town
Susie was a miracle worker! We own a 3 year old pitbull and just recently got a 4 month old pitbull lab mix. What started out as great playful friendship turned into a nightmare in a few weeks. Everyday they began to fight more and more sometimes 6 fights a day. We tried everything we read online, but nothing worked. We took a shot and hired Susie, she cared for us and our pets. She totally changed our lives in 1 visit. She taught our new puppy sit, wait, down, off, how to wait for his food. She did not just teach them, but also taught us how to carry out the training that she instilled. Our dogs now sleep in the same dog bed and get along all day without incident. She she stopped the constant fear that plagued our household. I could not recommend Susie more.
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Cathy Stout
When our dog Jake started being more aggressive towards other dogs we started seeking help and was referred to Wind Dancer only through someone else to whom our vet referred us. That, to me, was Only God. She is a true blessing and is exactly what we needed. She was extremely thorough in her evaluation. We learned our baby dog was unfortunately abused at one point in his life, he is older than we thought and has genius intelligence. She told us and showed us how to address the concerning behaviors which also included some marking. It’s only been a couple days but we are already seeing a difference. I can’t wait until we are fully alpha so Jake can just chill and be a dog instead of a furry four legged (albeit super cute) ball of neurotic behaviors. Thank you, Susie.
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Kelsey and Matt -Wheeling, IL.
We called Susie because our puppy, Wrangler has severe resource guarding issues. We were at the point where we were thinking all hope was lost with helping our puppy. After speaking, at length, with Susie on the phone, we decided it was best to have her come to our home. Susie spent her entire evening in our home getting to know our dog. She was extremely thorough about food, treats and even educated us on ingredients so we really had an understanding of the nutrition our dog does and doesn't need. She worked on Wrangler's resource guarding issues and taught us different reconditioning techniques to practice. We truly have never seen our dog react so well to training nor did we ever think our session would have gone as well as it did. It truly was a miracle seeing how well he responded to Susie. Since our session, Susie has followed up multiple times and is available any time we need her. We plan to continue our training with Susie. She has now finally given us hope with our puppy and truly made a difference in all of our lives.
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Josie Patalon
5/5 STARS Dog Training- Private Lessons- Verified Review July 21st, 2018 "First Day Results For A Newly Adopted Dog."
I am very glad called Wind Dancer Referrals (Suzy). We called because our new beloved dog Bebe was very aggressive at the fence line, to the point of self harm. Suzy happened to be in town the weekend of my call and worked with us to arrange an appointment for the next day. The moment she arrived we could tell she was the real deal. By reading her behavior, she revealed hints of Bebe's past, like that she was kicked. During the visit she explained both what she was doing and why she was doing it that way. She even roped the neighbors into the session, it was a learning experience for all. After all it isn't just about dog training, it's about people training too. You could hear the passion in her voice when she explained Bebe's past to our neighbors. We addressed not only the problem behavior but supportive pack dynamics to make our new family member comfortable in her new home and release the burden of being the protector from her shoulders. Josie P. Warren, MI
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Josie Patalon
EVERYTHING!! Susie is exceptional and really cares about you and the welfare of your dog
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Jon and Lori Arvey
We thought we would have to return our rescued American Bull Dog, Max. He is so loving but wouldn’t mind, pulled on the leash, and was aggressive toward other dogs just to name a few issues. Within 1 minute Susan had Max sitting and minding. She worked with him and us as long as we needed and is always available to answer questions The transformation in Max is amazing. We now have a dog we can enjoy, he minds, he doesn’t pull, we can take him on walks and our neighbors just love him. Thank you Susan! You’re the Best
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Pat Long
After just a couple of hours with Susie, my Golden Doodle puppy, Minnie has vastly improved her commands of sit, down, off and wait. She also helped with stopping the nipping and barking. She helped me with nutrition- food and treats and toys. Since my 4 grandkids spend time with me, they were included in the training so we have consistentcy. I was very pleased.
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Kelli Thomas
Suzie is the most knowledgeable "dig whisperer" I have ever encountered. Our dog, Ruby, was an adoption from a shelter. She is a four year old Staffordshire terrier that had never been socialized. We have three teen boys in the home. She taught the boys how to take control of her and leg heh be a dog instead of a protective momma. Suzie was a God send for our family. She is priced right and extremely knowledgeable in her field. You would be lucky to have her as your dog/owner trainer.
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Kalyn Farler
Suzi was so amazing with my Golden Retriever, Charlie. Before she came, I felt so hopeless. People around me told me I was a bad dog mom, but she blessed me with the confidence I needed. She gave me insight on how to relate to my pup, and to understand him feelings and needs. She saved me from having to re-home him. He wasn’t a bad dog, just needed to learn rules and explained to my family (I have 3 very vocal sisters) that he needed to know I was the boss, not them. It would have broken my heart to lose him, it seemed like he was out of control, but now Charlie is the sweetest boy, so full of energy and happiness. I would recommend Wind Dancer to anyone who needs help with their pet!!
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Cody Peters
5/5 STARS Dog Training- Private Lessons~Verified Review September 12,2018 Suzie is incredible and will help you. She customized her approach and methods to our dog specifically and took time to get to know us and our furry family member. She went the extra mile and helped with some additional tips! Please consider calling Wind Dancer Referrals for any animal training/behavioral needs. You'll gain understanding and piece of mind and your pet will thank you! Cody P. Lincoln Park, IL
