“When I contacted Deborah, I had no idea how much it would change our lives, all I knew was that this was the first time I faced actually wanting to give away a dog. I knew I had not done the training necessary but was worried it could not be fixed. When we added Coco to our family I had two very young boys and an older dog. Two years later our family was miserable and I include the only remaining dog in that grouping. Coco was locked away when we had company, as he showed his excitement for new people by knocking them over. He was also rude about taking kids food right out of their hands. His barking was out of control, he did only basic commands and not consistently, he ran out the front door a lot, and walks were not enjoyable because he pulled me in pursuit of any animal noticed.

“Through time, repetition, relationship, we learned to work together. I realized how much had changed when we had to bring him along on a family trip due to finances. He just wanted to be near us, often sleeping in a corner close by. He was relaxed, following commands, and happy to be included in winter fun with our family. He even managed to win over several non dog lovers in my husband’s family and for the first time my husband was fine with his presence.

“Each family member has been involved in training with him and he now fits in our family happily and peacefully. For fun, we have even done some obstacle training. It amazes me what Deborah helped Coco and myself accomplish, I will always be incredibly grateful. It just continues to get better for us.”

-- Sarah and Coco

Abbie-Kate is my Border Collie mix, an intelligent and energetic girl who shares my zest for life. Every Dog Can, Inc., was recommended by my veterinarian to help train her with the goal of becoming a therapy dog to work with me in my public school speech pathology practice. Since she was a small puppy, Abbie-Kate has been taught and socialized with the expertise provided by certified trainer Deborah Grodecka. As we progressed through three levels of classes, we have learned basic and advanced commands and skills to help us be successful at home and in the public school environment. Every Dog Can also provided me with in-house professional consultation at my workplace for concrete advice on how to help my therapy dog program succeed. And their regular Doggie Social Hour socialization sessions have been invaluable to help Abbie-Kate interact beautifully with other dogs and people and learn self-control.

Because of the positive nature of training at Every Dog Can, my bond with Abbie-Kate is exceptionally strong. She is a happy, well-adjusted girl who enjoys other dogs and people. She is well-behaved in public and welcomed at my school. We will definitely reach our goal of becoming a certified therapy dog team!

-- Martha and Abbie-Kate