TESTIMONIALS

I interviewed a number of dog trainers before I found Eileen and I instinctively knew she'd be the right person to help me train Hugo, my Westie. Her attitude and approach to training is exactly what I was looking for.

She doesn't apply a cookie-cutter training program and expect your dog to conform. Instead, she really gets to know your dog and learns his psychology and instincts and trains in a way that takes advantage of that understanding. Hugo wasn't even aware that he was being 'trained' and he looked forward to every visit with "Aunt Eileen"...the whole process was fun (for me too!), engaging, relaxed and above all, very effective. I would recommend Eileen to anyone who wants to bridge the communication gap with the dog they love.

~ Athena Kokas

When we adopted our puppy, Shakira, we had no knowledge that she was only six weeks old — two weeks short of some very important behavioral development with her littermates.

  All puppies mouth and bite, but she was nipping way too much and way too hard. I tried everything the training books said, but to no avail. When Shakira was only 10 weeks old, we hired Eileen to teach us what we had to do to re-direct our puppy’s painful behavior and to help us learn all of the fundamentals of obedience.

As soon as Eileen stepped into our home, we knew we hired the right trainer. She effectively taught us how to redirect undesirable puppy behaviors and how to train our puppy in a humane and loving way. Eileen’s passion for what she does is apparent, she possesses an innate ability to bond with dogs and people alike. Her energy infuses every lesson with fun, plus she’s extremely observant, thorough and attentive. Now, Shakira is a year old and after following all of Eileen’s advice and instruction, our puppy has grown into a very well behaved member of our family.

~ The Miyake Family

I adopted Hera when she was 20 months old. She is a beautiful, 85 lb American Bulldog. Though Hera has a good heart, her uncertainty around strangers and tendency to be easily frightened made her very dangerous at times. After first meeting Eileen, I was very impressed with her ability to interact with my dog. In only a few weeks, the changes in Hera’s behavior were astonishing. Through our work, she became a more social, confident, and obedient Bulldog. The training Eileen provided came into use months after our sessions ended. One afternoon, the door to my house was accidentally left open, and Hera decided to take herself for a walk. By the time I realized she was gone, she was several blocks away. Using the “recall” command taught to us by Eileen, she came sprinting home. That moment alone was worth the time I invested into her training because knowing that command might have saved Hera’s life.

~ Dan Cina

I fantasized about the day when I could go on a leisurely, pleasant walk with my dogs without being dragged down the street or pulled in a million different directions. Well, thanks to Eileen Haley, I now walk them for miles and love every minute of it!

Teaching me how to train my dogs was the most sensible approach. I continue to use everything Eileen taught me about training and behavior to teach new things to my dogs. Her method makes so much sense and is so humane. No choke collars, no screaming, no punishment — just positive reinforcement. Best of all, I’ve been able to help many dogs at the shelter. Actually, I’ve helped the shelter dogs more in the last couple of months since I met Eileen than I did in the six years I’ve been volunteering there. I am now volunteer-in-charge of training at the shelter.

Anyway, I could go on and on. We are so happy and fortunate to have met Eileen Haley. She helped us so much. And because of her, I can help other dogs now. Eileen is a very kind, caring, fun, easy going, reliable, accommodating, dedicated, and knowledgeable person.

~ Cielo DeStefano

When we first brought our dog Lucky (a Jindo) home from the shelter, he was unbelievably calm, he got along fine with our cats, and he never even barked. However, as the weeks went on, he became more and more possessive of us and our home. It began with mouthiness and mounting but soon escalated to the point where it was “fangs and foam” every time somebody came to the door or he saw another animal while out walking. We tried everything from choke collars to a no-pull harness to get him to behave better on walks, but any time he saw another animal it was all you could do to hold him back. After two incidents with other dogs, one that Lucky bit while out for a walk and one where I got bit by the other dog while walking Lucky, we decided we needed help immediately, if not sooner. One of the shelter employees suggested Second Chance Dog Training.

At first we were very skeptical that this class would make that much difference. If I knew then what I know now, well, all I can say to ANYONE interested in obedience lessons for their dog is: SEE EILEEN and SIGN UP IMMEDIATELY. From the very first lesson we noticed a difference. Lucky picked up every command and hand signal within one lesson from being shown. I have never seen anything like it. From the personal attention, ability to work around our schedule, and the care given to Lucky with each and every session Eileen Haley was just incredible. We even ran into two of her former students at the groomer, and they were amazed when we told them Lucky hadn’t even graduated yet. He had three more lessons to go. He was so well-behaved when they saw him they thought he had completed the program. Thank you so much, Eileen, for everything you have done for us!

~ Paulette Berthel

When our Golden Retriever puppy, Mary Jane was 10 months old we were at the end of our rope with the nipping and jumping.  My husband was convinced that we had enough know-how to train her on our own but after some convincing, we agreed to look for a trainer.  I looked on the internet, checked with Westwood Pets and talked to people at the dog park and the finger pointed in the same direction every time.  It was Eileen Haley. I called and thank goodness I did – just in time!  Eileen is extremely professional and her love for dogs is endless.  She taught us all of the tips and tricks that we never would have learned on our own or through reading any kind of dog book. 

From the first day that she came to our home to work with us, I couldn’t believe how smart our dog really was!  Eileen worked with her with great patience and we could never thank her enough for what she did for us.  Whenever we have company over we love to show off her commands and tricks.  We truly cannot say enough about Eileen’s abilities, professionalism and respect for all breeds. In addition to being so dog loving, she has a great rapport with people too!  It turns out we humans need some training as well in order to understand man’s best friend.  We recently called her back to teach Mary Jane some dance moves and by the end of the session, I knew we would be calling on her again.  When your trainer is on the floor snuggling with your dog, you know you made the right choice!!  Maybe our dog is just THAT lovable but I have a feeling that it goes both ways! 

~ Andrea, Jimmy & Mary Jane Walsh

I met Eileen Haley at the local animal shelter where I volunteer. The shelter had invited Second Chance Dog Training to teach some of us how to train the shelter dogs. I was amazed at how the dogs responded to Eileen in such a short time. Even dogs that had been labeled “virtually impossible to walk” and would practically dislocate your shoulder were walking nicely on a leash. Both dog and walker were happy.

I quickly decided that the method of training Eileen was using might be worth a try at home since I had my own ‘pack of dogs’. At that time, I had 2 adult Labs and 2 shepherd mix puppies I had been fostering since they were 10 days old (after six weeks of caring for them, no one in our family could give them up).

Since my male Lab had a bad experience with a trainer in the past, I was a little nervous about how he would react but since Eileen only uses positive reinforcement, he loved it. We all did. Having Eileen come to our home made it much easier with such a crew and allowed her to see how the dogs behaved in their own environment. I have had dogs all my life and thought I knew dogs well. By graduation, I had a totally different way of thinking about dogs; a new understanding and a better way to communicate.

About five months after graduation, I fell in love with a little shepherd mix that had been badly abused. With guidance from Eileen, our dogs accepted her and she found her proper position in the pack. Now we have five dogs and we are all very happy together. I always recommend Eileen to people I meet who want to improve their relationship with their dog.

~ Laurie Lombardi

Tucker, my Lab/Great Dane mix, was adopted at 18 months from an area shelter as a playmate for my 2-year-old Chocolate Lab, Molly. He was a stray that had spent 7 months at the shelter with little opportunity for socialization or training. I immediately started him in traditional obedience classes where he responded with fear and resistance to collar “corrections”. He was aggressive towards other dogs, except Molly, with barking and lunging. Over the next couple of months, Tucker’s aggression escalated to people, he started destroying the house and began guarding a corner of the sofa as his own. Molly responded by becoming protective of me and attacking Tucker. It was obvious that traditional training methods were not working and, I believe, were making the situation worse because reaching for his collar now caused him to turn and bite. I was afraid of him and concerned for Molly’s safety.

Then I found Eileen at Second Chance Dog Training and started using her Positive Reinforcement training. Both dogs were taught all of the obedience commands using praise and treats. Tucker was reinforced as the dominant dog (below me) to reduce the fights that were occurring between Molly and Tucker. Molly and Tucker’s relationship has improved and they spend their days playing and sleeping. Within two months, I was able to take Tucker to a dog-filled park and walk along the trails with a happy dog that no longer felt the need to lunge at every dog he saw. He can even meet and greet some dogs. I have become confident in my ability to work with Tucker and handle him in various situations. He loves my attention, is eager to please, sits whenever he isn’t sure what to do and allows me to hold him at the collar to remove things from his mouth. I believe Eileen and the positive training methods have literally saved Tucker’s life because, without her, I would have been unable to keep him for fear he would eventually hurt someone.”

~ Lisa Hong

I adopted my American Staffordshire Terrier, Asia, when she was about 9 months old. She is a very smart and friendly dog that listens very well. I never had a serious problem before. It wasn't until she was 2 years old when she decided that is would be a lot of fun to start chasing bicyclists and roller bladders in the park. Being that she is in the pit bull family, I decided that this behavior needed to be corrected. I called around to a few dog trainers and happened to call Eileen for some information. I was very impressed by her immediately and liked the methods she had explained to me. I set up the appointment and was very happy to see how knowledgeable she was and how well she interacted with Asia. I was even more impressed to see how her methods really do work and that she taught ME how to correct Asia. We worked on Asia's intrigue with "things on wheels" and she even taught us some basic commands. Asia is now doing very well. I really liked Eileen's method of positive reinforcement to fix my dog's behavior problem and I will be sure to call on her again if her services are needed. You know that this is a person that truly loves dogs.

~ Jennifer Dellindia

We would like to thank Eileen for all she has taught us and our Jack Russell Terrier, Bella. We learned a lot from her and had a great time. After each session, we could not wait until the next. We still keep in touch with her whenever we need advice or just to share something new we’ve been able to teach Bella. Eileen really wants you to succeed and helps you every step of the way. We will be meeting with her in the future to learn some advanced work and tricks. We’ve recommended Eileen to all our family and friends.

~ Mary & Nick Basich

 

Call Eileen Haley at: (201) 262-7173