Testimonials
After an initial in-home consultation with Mary, we followed her Foundations and Basic Training Course. Although the focus of the course is basic obedience, Mary was always willing to listen and was open to discussing specific issues that we were dealing with at home (separation anxiety, greeting visitors, etc.). She offered different strategies for tackling those issues and then followed up at the next session to learn what was working and what wasn't.
The training was personalized to the individual needs of our family, always positive and tailored to the dog's temperament, and abilities. Having a neutral set of eyes on us as trainers was helpful too, as the course is as much about training us as it is the dog! After each session, Mary sends a recap of what was learned, along with detailed instruction sheets and helpful links to videos, articles and book suggestions.
Having a handle on the basics is really wonderful. Our dog is learning what we expect from him and his confidence is growing day by day!
Karen, owner of Cooper, hound mix
Paragon Pooch's training services, under Mary's dedicated, expert, and compassionate leadership, are simply superb. She is excellent with both the dog and the owner. Instead of being punitive and harsh, she is very gentle, demonstrating tremendous skill in conditioning good behavior from dogs through positive reinforcement -- or, at most, the absence of reward -- rather than punishment. She is deeply thoughtful, systematic, and consistent in her training approach. She also always follows up with detailed summaries of the lessons learned, so that the owner can refer to these useful notes later. My puppy, Daisy, has learned a great deal with her training classes, and I am proud of the advances she has made. Paragon Pooch is better than any expectation I could have ever had. Enjoy watching your dog develop essential life skills, crucial responses to commands--which can make the difference between safety and injury or threat--as well as an array of manners under Mary's deeply knowledgeable, ultra-competent training. I recommend Paragon Pooch unreservedly. Thank you so much, Mary!
Susan, Owner of Daisy, golden doodle
Thank you, Mary, for everything you’ve done for us and our dog! From the very first session, it was clear how caring and passionate you are about your work. You’re not only incredibly knowledgeable, but also such a good listener—always attentive to the little details that make a big difference in training.
We appreciated how you tailored each session to our specific needs and always took the time to explain the “why” behind every exercise. Your follow-up emails were especially helpful—so detailed and organized, full of tips, exercises, and progress notes that kept us on track and motivated.
We’ve grown a lot as dog owners thanks to your support, and it’s made a big difference in our relationship with our dog. She’s already shown so much improvement, and we feel confident continuing the training on our own with all the tools, tips, and exercises you’ve shared with us.
It’s clear that you genuinely care about both the dogs and their humans. Thank you again for your patience, encouragement, and expert guidance!
Carole, Owner of Murphy, Husky mix
Training a pup can be a stressful thing if you don't know what you're doing. For two years I had a feeling of rowing against the tide and not making any progress with Jules who's a poor a Covid dog from a more or less respactable breeder who has been socialized way too late for his proper development. So he's anxious and barks like there's no tomorrow anytime we get out of the house. He barks so loud I've even been told to "stop beating him" by passersby...
And then I found Paragon Pooch.
Mary is an extremely knowlegeable trainer who helped me analyze what were the specific issues Jules needed to work on and build a custom program for the both of us. I have particularly appreciated her positive reinforcement approach that allowed me to be increasingly confident in working with my dog(s). That and the calm, humorous way she has of presenting things.
What I also loved is the weekly recap of each lesson, with an analysis of your dog's "performance", tips to move forward ans plenty of links to relevant demonstrations, conferences, so there's plenty to work with in between lessons. I'v never had a dog trainer that gave so much value for their professional fee.
In only six weeks, I've already seen great results on a dog I thought would just make my life miserable for the next 15 years. Now I know it won't and it makes me so happy. As a bonus, the other pupper in the house is now much happier too!
Marie-Claude, Owner of Jules, Havanese x Cavalier King Charles spaniel