Animal Minds - Rancho Cordova, California

Andrea Abrahamson

We began using Animal Minds for our Mini Australian Shepherd, Eevee. Eevee is 3 years old and lives in our household with Cooper, our 4 year-old mini Australian Shepherd. They've been inseparable since we picked her up as a puppy, but her boundless energy caused problems as she got older; she has been a much more difficult dog than her brother. Eevee began showing signs of aggressive behavior: she would try to control hot-spots like the couch or bedroom, she would steal and hoard toys, and she was having outbursts outside towards other dogs. Susan described her behavior as "fun policing." Eevee is an exceptionally smart pup, but we could never get past the next step to communicate with her to solve these issues--we couldn't get her to understand us. We wanted to help Eevee to become comfortable in uncomfortable situations, and help our other dog find his place in our home again.

We were initially very nervous and intimated to work with a board-and-train program. We had believed we had the skills to train and had attended many past dog training classes and workshops. After meeting for a consultation with Susan, she perfectly matched us at our knowledge-level and analyzed the dynamics at play with our pups. Susan has oodles of canine training expertise at her fingertips and immediately identified ways we could work through Eevee's solutions in both the short-term and long-term. We took a leap-of-faith to send our girl to Animal Minds and we couldn't be happier. Susan gave us constant updates--prompted and impromptu--on how Eevee was progressing. In the initial 4 weeks we were assured that Eevee was struggling but working through the challenges laid in front of her. Susan took so much time to answer our questions, big and small. After the first month, we began seeing Eevee again to begin putting the tools into our hands.

Immediately we saw a huge difference. Eevee was not only a gentler, more relaxed pup, she now had the tools to help manage and process her stressors in real-time. Both out-and-about as well as at home, Eevee can better regulate her big emotions and make space when she needs it. We are also better equipped to continue her training both in physical routine as well as strategies for challenging her mind. Eevee is living a fuller, richer life where she can better cooperate with Cooper and better navigate a big, scary world outside. Any fears that we had that Eevee might be "different" were erased; we know we have done the right thing for our dog.

Some situations Eevee is now better equipped to handle include:
- sharing common spaces, toys, and food with our other pup
- having her paws and nails groomed
- walking around our busy, dog and child-filled neighborhood
- walking with a long-line leash
- greeting guests in our home politely

One thing in particular we would like to highlight is Susan's pure dedication. We were able to easily reach her with questions, concerns, and check-ins. Susan wanted to make sure Eve (and ourselves) were fully prepared to have a smooth transition home; she went the extra mile with training during boarding and for follow-up for related issues we faced after. Eevee stayed with Animal Minds for 12 1/2 weeks total.

I don't know what we would've down without Susan and her expertise. Animal Minds provided a new way to approach life for our very nervous dog. We are grateful and fortunate to have learned so much during our board-and-train and wholeheartedly recommend Susan's skillset to anyone else who needs assistance.