Business ProfileforAnimal Behavior Wellness Center

This place was the worst! I have raised 5 puppies, fostered dogs for 30 years and volunteered at the ************** Animal Shelter. I took my puppy here for socialization and basic skills group class. I knew something was off from the beginning when they said do not approach our front door under any circumstances. The three small puppies were separated off by 5 foot partitions. There was strategically no communication between pet owners and now I know why! After about two minutes of play time at the beginning of class, we were sent to our isolation sections. My puppy whimpered to play with one of the other pups. The staff immediately took the whimpering as a crisis and privately told me that my dog needs medications, has ADHD, and is interrupting class! We were put in a janitors closet for the rest of class. I was told if my vet wont give him ********, their vet will. I was stunned and shocked. I shouldve walked out right then. My 5 month old puppy is the calmest, best behaved pup Ive ever raised. This place is a scam and I would not recommend it to anyone! I hope we can get this sort of place out of our community. Please spread the word. Not to mention the exorbitant fees! if you want to spend hundreds of dollars for bad advice and total humiliation, this is your place!

In addition to puppies, our office also treats patients with significant anxiety and aggression histories, which is why, for you and your pup's safety, we have to control access to the building at all times and you must be escorted through the building by a staff member. We ask all clients to please respect this need for caution and to take the time to understand why, which is why we send that information out ahead of class time.During the 3 classes that your pup has attended, he has been having difficulty with learning the skills in the group environment as he just wants to play with the dogs and visit the people. He barks and whines and strains on leash and struggles to focus on training. During each previous class, one of the trainers worked 1:1 with him, with higher value treats (meatballs) and visual barriers, and only got a small number of successful reps with him. To help him be more successful during this last class, we moved you both further away from the distractions. You, your puppy, and the trainer went into the 225 sq ft auxiliary training space (its not a janitor closet) with the door open so you could see into the classroom where the other puppies were working, and he did GREAT! The trainer did make the analogy of how some kids in school are easily distracted, and when they cannot be successful in the classroom, right next to another kid who is tapping his pencil, we move them away from that kid or that distraction, so they can learn. The trainer let you know that when a pup cannot be successful around others in a group setting, we can do the following: (1) We can manage the environment by use of barriers or moving away into the auxiliary space; (2) We can increase treat value; (3) And when those two things are not enough for the animal to be successful, sometimes medications and products can help them stay in the thinking and learning zone. Klonopin (clonazepam) is not a medication commonly used with puppies, and it was not suggested as a possibility for your pup because it is used for panic disorders. The trainer actually mentioned the medication clonidine (an alpha-2 agonist) which helps with hyperarousal and impulsivity, when managing the environment and increasing the treat value are not enough. However, it was very specifically pointed out to you that once we changed the environment and increased the treat value, he was highly successful! Our trainers went above and beyond to ensure your pup had a successful classroom experience, as they would do with any puppy in class.