Behavior modification, where it happens.
Aggression, fear, reactivity, separation anxiety. Worked on in your own home by a certified master trainer with 54 years. Specializing in working breeds, therapy dogs and emotional support dogs.
- 4.7 out of 5 stars on Google,Howie’s Happy Dog · 78 reviews
Solving Canine Behavior ProblemsCornell University
Training or behavior?
Not every problem is a behavior case.
In Howie’s words
Obedience
Obedience is a process in which the dog learns to give a specific behavioral response to a given set of commands. So in obedience the dog is learning the correct response to each command, while we build the willingness, the want to, to respond to the given command.
Behavior modification
Behavior modification takes place when there is already a significant behavior problem in place. We then work to diminish, extinguish or alter that problem behavior. Generally, at the same time, we are building in new behaviors, which are called Replacement Behaviors.
In training we are building behaviors in response to commands. In behavior modification we are tearing down the problem behaviors.
Training fixes it
Everyday manners
Behavior modification
The serious problems
Not sure which one? Describe what your dog is doing. It takes a few minutes to tell.
What I work on
The problems that do not go away on their own.
- 01
Aggression
Toward people, toward other dogs, over food or space. - 02
Fear and reactivity
The lunge and the bark on the leash, the dog that cannot pass another dog. - 03
Separation anxiety
The dog that cannot be left alone. - 04
Housebreaking an older dog
The adult dog that still is not housebroken. - 05
Cannot settle at the door
The dog that loses it every time someone comes in. - 06
Extreme anxieties
Fears that run the house. The serious ones are my specialty.
See your dog in this list? That is where we start.
Price
Starts at
$85/ hour
For aggression it depends on where your dog sits on Ian Dunbar’s levels of aggression: levels 1 and 2 are $85, then $10 an hour more for each level above, and I work up to level 4.
- Evaluation in your home, where the problem happens
- A price you can check yourself, before I meet the dog
- 10% off for students, seniors, military and first responders
Board and train vs your home
Not a full program
Specific Behavior Training.
This training is for those situations where you do not need or want a full obedience program. Maybe you did the training yourself but have a weak spot or two. Or you trained elsewhere but did not get all of the results you wanted. For whatever reason, you just want to work on one or two specific behaviors.
The two most common calls I get in this area, by far, are for leash pulling and problems with walking (heeling), and for poor recalls (the come command). But it could be any one, two or few things you want to work on.
How a behavior case runs
Four steps, all in your home.
- 1
Call or text
A short conversation tells us whether it is a behavior case or the dog just needs training.
- 2
Read two short pieces
Nearly every case comes back to what is in them. It saves us both 30 minutes on the phone.
- 3
Evaluation at your home
I meet your dog where the problem happens and plan the work. You had the price before I came.
- 4
The work, with you
You learn what to do and do the homework between sessions. That is what moves a case forward.
Step 1 takes a few minutes.
Behavior cases
In the owners’ words.
- Severe separation anxiety
“With Howie’s guidance and therapies, we are all now enjoying a quieter and calmer dog.”
Steve D.Google review★★★★★
- Leash aggression
“My 7 year old dog has had improvements in her leash aggression with other dogs.”
My 7 year old dog has had improvements in her leash aggression with other dogs and is able to maintain her cool much better around other dogs. She is still a work in progress but hopefully...
Erica ManleyGoogle review★★★★★
- Fear reactivity to dogs
“My dog made an actual friend and got to play.”
Eventually my dog is very close to other dogs with no reaction. This technique has allowed room for hope for my dog. HE USES POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT. Also once I told Howie that I corrected my dog when he destroyed something in the house and he asked "did you praise him for stopping?' And I said...
Jessica Milburnwith Otto★★★★★
Want your dog to be the next story?
Questions
Before you call.
01Is my problem training or behavior modification?
Jumping, mouthing, chewing, pulling, a bad recall: that is training. Aggression, fear, reactivity, separation anxiety, an older dog that will not housebreak: that is behavior modification. If you are not sure, call or text me and describe what the dog is doing. It takes a few minutes to tell.
02How do you price aggression cases?
Behavior modification starts at $85 an hour. For aggression it depends on where your dog sits on Ian Dunbar's levels of aggression: levels 1 and 2 are $85, then $10 an hour more for each level above, and I work up to level 4. Look up the Dunbar bite scale and you can place your own dog before you call: has it bitten anyone, how many punctures, deeper than the canine tooth, any tearing, or just a red mark. I can quote you before I meet the dog.
03Do you do board and train?
No. I do not take your dog away for weeks and hand it back. You and your dog learn together, in your home, because you are the one who lives with the dog. It costs a fraction of board and train, and you were there for every lesson, so you know how to keep it going.
04What methods do you use?
Whatever the dog in front of me needs. No two dogs are the same, so I evaluate yours at the start session and pick the method then. Almost everything is positive reinforcement; any correction is humane and explained to you first. If an approach is not working, we switch.
05How long does it take?
Basic obedience runs about ten weeks: a 4-hour start session, then weekly 1-hour lessons. Puppy training is eight lessons: a 4-hour start, then seven weekly 1-hour lessons. Tracking and scent work are ten lessons spread over a longer stretch. Behavior modification depends on the dog; I can tell you the price before I meet it.
Start here
Think it is a behavior case?
Describe what your dog is doing. In a few minutes we will know if it is training or behavior work.