"When I first brought Sassy, our German Shepherd Dog, to Helen we had been struggling with major behavioral problems for close to a year. She was aggressive towards other dogs, especially while on leash. We were also very concerned about her unpredictable reactions to people in our home. After our first meeting with Helen we began to notice significant changes in attitude and behavior with our dog. With hard work, and also through the availability and helpfulness of Helen, we learned the proper methods and behaviors to help our dog overcome her aggression issues. In the last 6 months we have even been complimented numerous times on Sassy’s calm and approachable demeanor. With Helen’s help, my husband and I now have the tools to be good owners and Sassy has become a wonderful companion."
- Jenny, Dave, Sassy and Riley
“My pup Jaxon was just under a year old when he started to develop separation anxiety. Almost at my wits end, I decided that we both needed professional help! Immediately, I was impressed with Helen’s knowledge & experience of working with dogs that have all types of behavioral issues. She empowered me with the knowledge & techniques that I needed to help get Jax & I get back on track. Her philosophy is to give you all of the tools & information you need to create a plan of action on your first meeting, just like one stop shopping! The follow through she gives is equally amazing! Helen would call about once a week to check on Jaxon & I. She would review the basics, give me any additional tips & tools to implement, & gave me the reassurance that what I was doing was correct. She always encouraged to call anytime with any questions, or concerns I was having. Helen definitely goes well above and beyond the call of duty with her service. Her passion & dedication to her business & the emotional well being of dogs is paramount!Thanks to Helen, Jax is on the road to recovery! I’m happy to report that his anxiety about me leaving the house has dramatically decreased!”.
- Amy and Jaxon
Testimonials
"After a terrifying experience with my six month old puppy, Gretl, I immediately contacted Helen Nicholls for help with the resulting phobia. With Helen's guidance I completely turned Gretl's behavior around and we are well on our way to the desired end result. What impressed me the most about Helen was how clearly and logically she explained my puppy's behavior and perspective, as well as the practicality and common sense approach of tools and techniques. Most importantly, I work with dogs myself and she never once made me feel as if I should know better. Professionally, I began to refer clients to Helen, who have had equally positive results."
-Amanda and Gretl
"My vet referred me to Helen after I expressed concern that my new dog, Benny, whom I had adopted three months earlier, had been growling frequently at my three year old son. I am a new dog owner and didn't appreciate how serious a situation this was. Thankfully, Helen responded immediately to my call and helped me to understand that, in fact, growling wasn't at all acceptable and if I didn't do something, growling could easily escalate to biting, and biting could be very serious indeed. We met less than a week later. After only three weeks, I have already seen remarkable improvement in both Benny and me. Benny is becoming the sweet, stable dog that I know he can be. He no longer growls at my son, even when provoked. He is even learning to like his crate, after having been quite fearful of it. And, more importantly, I am becoming the confident, self-assured leader that he (and my son) need. I'm so impressed by Helen's breadth of knowledge, which she imparts with passion and enthusiasm. I am especially impressed by her uncanny ability to read dogs. She is amazing and I am so grateful for her help!"
"We can't say enough great things about Helen and her methods. She has an uncanny ability to explain what's likely going on with you and your dog in a clear manner. She helped train us, without making us feel like we needed remedial education :). After the first session with Helen, we saw a honest-to-goodness dramatic change in Leia's behavior. We were able to make a plan of action with Helen incorporating realistic steps that we could take to better our behavior as well as Leia's. With hard work (on Leia's part and definitely on ours), persistence, and the continuous support of Helen we are helping Leia to become a less anxious and more balanced dog. One thing that certainly surprised us was how available Helen is. She was great at managing our own anxieties, and helped us to be more confident dog owners. On two different occasions, Helen even brought two of her own dogs to help us work with Leia! It was enormously helpful to be able to talk with Helen about specific situations in which we wanted to address Leia's behavior, and then actually go to those places/be in those situations during a training session with her. Leia is making great progress, and we are so thankful to Helen."
- Sarah, Travis and Leia
"Recently our 7-year-old shepherd/lab mix was scolded for stealing food from the kitchen counter. Unfortunately he responded by growling and a bite. We were on the verge of finding him a new home, as we did not know how to control this behavior, and were deeply concerned due to expecting our first baby in a few months. This was a heart-breaking decision to face.
Luckily, Helen Nicholls was referred to us as an excellent behavior specialist for aggressive dogs. She quickly responded and determined that our dog Chopper was actually acting out of fear and anxiety. We hadn’t even considered that possibility since he’s such a big strong guy, and we gave him plenty of affection up to that point. Why would he be fearful or anxious? But after hearing Helen’s explanations and learning to read the signs, it became quite obvious.
Helen helped us create a clear, simple, and thorough training plan to remove Chopper’s food-guarding and separation anxiety. Her patience, caring, and dedication is unsurpassed. After only a couple of months the food-guarding has disappeared; we can even pet Chopper while he’s eating! Helen’s techniques have also helped reduce Chopper’s barking-jumping-freak outs whenever we have a guest at the door.
We expect to see even more improvements as we continue to practice, and with much common-sense advice from Helen we’re now preparing Chopper to meet our first baby. Helen’s assistance with the new baby protocol has been a godsend. We feel very grateful and relieved to have her as our dog behavior consultant and trainer."
- Tony, Kate and Chopper
"Helen, I wanted to thank you for all your help. Brady is doing so well with his leash walking, not barking at every person or dog we meet. I thought I would never be able to walk by bigger dogs and people with Brady without it being a big ordeal. However, now he is watching me instead of barking his head off and being aggressive. Baxter is doing great too, and we've learned a lot taking your small dog class. All of us have really benefited from your help, we and our dogs are truly happier...THANK YOU!!"
-Bonnie, Matt, Baxter and Brady
"Helen has been working with our 15-month old German Shepherd Dog, Locksley, and us for almost a year. We first went to her with early puppy issues—pulling on leash, barking, and jumping. With Helen’s help we quickly made progress on all of these issues. More recently we worked with Helen again to get help with Locksley’s out-of-control excitement when seeing other dogs. Locksley recently spent a few days “boarding & training” at Helen’s; when we went to pick him up she had designed a new strategy to deal with his behavior that helped us reach a point where we can walk past other dogs with barely a reaction from Locksley. We have really enjoyed working with Helen; she always explains the rationale behind what she does and we particularly appreciate the behavioral component of her training. Also, Helen’s help doesn’t end when she leaves; she has always followed up on our meetings, checking in to see how we are doing and answering any questions we may have. Helen’s training has made Locksley a better, happier dog and us, better owners."
-Samara, Andres and Locksley
"Hi Helen, Mike and I just wanted to thank you for all the work you've done with Little Bear. He really did great with Merlin and Sweet Pea.
We have signed up for your classes, which Mike will be doing in a few weeks. I recently taught Little Bear "roll over" and I'm working on "speak" to get to "quiet". Thanks again for your inspiration and expertise."
-Cleo, Mike and Little Bear
"Watching Helen teach a puppy class is an amazing experience. After a short amount of time, the owners had their puppies responding to commands and the puppies having a good time doing it. With six puppies trying to go six different ways, Helen shows her gift of teaching by showing owners how to take control in a loving manner. Seeing owner's faces light up when their puppies responded positively was well worth the experience."
- Kathleen, Russell Animal Hospital
Helen Nicholls, CPDT- KA, CDBC
"Mojo came to us from a pet store with potty training problems due to being kept in a kennel for most of his life. With Helen's instruction and patient guidance Mojo has had only 3 accidents in the first week alone and housetraining has been so much easier. We are all well on our way to a potty free home!
Helen also helped us to curtail Mojo's late night/early morning crying. I recommend her for any of your dog training issues. Thanks again Helen for all your help and for making our home a healthy and happy one for all!"
- Amber, Kese, Mojo, and Puella
"Lula and Buster, poodle-border collie crosses, were great at playing with each other but frantic about socializing with other dogs when we started with Helen. We've just completed level one classes and started level two classes and now they are doing terrifically. At the dog park yesterday another owner commented on how well mannered they are. Thanks, Helen!"
- Robert, Buster and Lula
"We are so grateful for the guidance and help that Helen has provided to us and our 7-month-old labradoodle, Kermit (dressed up here for his first Halloween!). Helen has done an amazing job of understanding Kermit-- his sweetness and his quirks -- and helping us learn how best to train and play with him. She is insightful, creative, and always available for any and all questions. Working with Helen is a pure pleasure; she knows her stuff through and through. All three of us are always thrilled when she comes through the door!"
