The Well-Heeled Dog

07/04/10

An Amazing Trainer

by Peter Buchman

Susan Isaacs helped our family find a rescue dog. During this process, we worked with her in a one on one session at our home and communicated with her through a number of phone and email conversations. We also took Susan's basic obedience course once we found our dog.

It's rare to come across someone in any field with Susan's combination of talents. Her knowledge about dogs is breathtaking. She deeply cares about the animals and her work. And she is extremely generous with her time.

In guiding us through the process of finding the right rescue dog for us, Susan was invaluable. First, she loaned us an essential book on dog breeds. Then she guided us through the rescue process itself. Susan believes that there are too many rescue places who don't spend enough time testing the dogs themselves, working as hard as they can to make sure that the right animal ends up with the right family. Susan connected us with organizations and individuals who share a similar philosophy. As the process unfolded, Susan was there to answer endless questions.

We also had the pleasure of taking Susan's basic obedience class. We have a 60 pound dog that required training. The same expertise and compassion that we experienced with Susan through the adopting process was just as apparent in her obedience training course. We couldn't recommend her more highly.

03/28/10

Thanks Susan!

by Steven Golightly

When Sterling (2 years old) arrived in our home last January, we wanted to be sure that she was on an even playing field with our other, older dog Poppy. We had Susan for 4 private lessons at our home. As a result of the time Susan spent with us, Sterling is now "well heeled", much more socialized than she was when she first arrived and certainly aware of all the basic commands.

We highly recommend Susan for all your dog training needs. She exceeded our expectations.

• Pros: Personable, Responsive to Individual Requests
• Cons: None

02/09/10

Bella Graduates! Susan Gets An "A!"

by HelenBain

What fun my black poodle, Bella, and I had in Susan's Basic Obedience Class! Every Monday night Bella dragged me down the street to class (not obeying at all) and then performed beautifully for Susan when she got in class. Susan has a delightful sense of humor and immediately captures each dog's personality. Although Bella was timid at first, she soon warmed up to her "teacher" and then proceeded to act like the diva who wanted to get an "A. Each class was well laid out with clear direction and examples shown in a clear and concise manner. Each night after class we received a printout of the lesson learned that night. I really enjoyed the size of the class (4 students) as opposed to huge dog training classes I have attended in the past. I would highly recommend Susan -- she gets an "A" from Bella and me.

01/13/10

If you want the best for your puppy...

by RebeccaOscar

As first time dog owners we wanted the very best for our new puppy and Susan is it!

We were a little overwhelmed after reading and researching about the importance of socialization and training and the million other things you need to do for your pet, so we looked into puppy kindergartens around LA and were fortunate enough to find Susan at The Well-Heeled Dog.

Classes were held in a great location and Susan was extremely knowledgeable and attentive to our puppy. Even though we were in a class with five other pups, we felt like we got a lot of personal attention and Susan was also willing to stay after to answer additional questions or give you a little extra help. We also learned so many useful things that we didn't find in any of the books we read, and Susan also helped us relax a bit as owners, which was great! Just seeing her so comfortable and assertive with the dogs was a lesson for us on how we need to act to get the best behavior from our pup. And we also really like that she uses positive reinforcement rather than other more questionable methods.

Another really fun aspect of class is the play time during which your puppy gets to play with the other puppies. It was so much fun to watch our baby dog interact with other pups for the first time. It really helped our dog become more comfortable around other dogs, and you could see all the pups improve over the course of the program, not only in their training, but also in their comfortability around the owners and pets.

Susan emails handouts of everything you learn in class so you can practice, and she even called to follow up with us and check on Jagger several weeks after the kindergarten was over.

We couldn't be happier and highly recommend Susan!!

• Pros: Positive reinforcement, personal attention, great follow-up
• Cons: Getting up at 8AM! (That really was the only con!)

10/04/09

The right choice in dog training

by Holger L

I contacted Susan at The Well-Healed Dog right after I adopted a 1 year old Jack Russell/Basenji Mix named Dax. Susan was the best thing that could have happened to both of us. She really understood his fear based temperament common with neglected dogs. Her simple yet effective training and instructions made a big difference within a short time. Dax stopped barking at absolutely everything and everyone within a week or two of training. Dax and I still have ways to go but only after a few weeks of working with Susan we have made great progress and Dax is becoming a well adjusted dog. I especially liked her approach to dog training which is based on understanding dog psychology and the dog's point of view rather than simply being based on dominating your animal.

• Pros: great support for even difficult cases