The Successful Mix, LLC

Pet Behavioral Counseling and Dog Training

Private behavioral counseling personalized to meet the needs of you and your pet.
Appointments made in Rockingham County at 3126 Caverns Dr, Keezletown, VA 22832 (near Harrisonburg).

Schedule a private consultation with you, your family and your pet today!   Email Me!

                                 I am holding private consults and semi-private or small group lessons at my low traffic, spacious indoor facility in Keezletown: 3126 Caverns Dr., Keezletown, VA 22832   
                                 Private Consults at the Keezletown facility can be scheduled most weekdays between 9 am - 8:30pm; and Saturdays 9 am - 2 pm.

                                 I offer 4 and 5-week group classes limited to 4 dogs. CONTACT ME to find out about the next class that will meet your needs and schedule.

I offer basic training and serious behavioral problem-solving using reward-based, positive reinforcement, and LIMA (least intrusive, minimally aversive, most effective) training methods.

I will work with the whole family.

Are you looking for a new pet?
I offer my professional advice for those who are seeking a new pet. Adopting from rescue can be stressful.    It may be difficult to understand how a pet you are visiting with for an hour at the local shelter will behave around your home, and fit into your family routine.    I have many hours volunteering at the local RH SPCA, and have trained under Sue Sternberg and Trish King - both leaders in shelter behavior assessments.    I have attended presentations and studied the written material of Patricia McConnell, PhD and learned much about interpretting dog and cat behaviors. Educating pet owners about the meaning of the signals our dogs constantly send us is my passion.

Where does the Clicker fit into my training program?
I encourage pet owners to employ a training tool called a "Clicker".    Appropriate use of this tool - something I can teach you - combined with a tasty treat effectively and clearly communicates to the pet behavior that you want them to do more often.    Clicker training and its ability to effectively modify behavior is supported by science.    Clicker or "marker-based" training is both effective and an attainable method for any pet owner to quickly learn to use.    Use of the Clicker is not mandatory in my classes.    However, it is my experience that once pet owners discover how to use the clicker effectively, it speeds up progress towards training goals.

What's involved with a private consult?
Initial consults are scheduled for 75 minutes.    Follow-up sessions are typically 1 hour long unless you prefer or benefit from longer sessions.    A written summary is provided after the initial consult.   

A minimum of 3 consults is strongly recommended to better determine that you are understanding the training program that I have laid out, and so that I might recommend some revision, if the plan isn't working well for you or your pet.

In most cases, in order for you to meet at least some of your goals, several sessions are recommended.
Many of my current clients are meeting with me weekly or bi-weekly for several months.

How successful will you be?
Responsibly I cannot guarantee your individual results.    There are many factors ranging from genetics, to early experiences of the pet, your lifestyle, time committment to training and your ability to follow my recommendations that affect the ability to meet individual goals.    I work closely with my clients to have an understanding of the training process to maximize your success in working with your pet.    It is important to learn to set realistic goals for your training, and how you might implement good management into your routine.    I will work with you to establish what goals might be achievable, and how you might expect your goals to change over time.   

I do guarantee that if you open your mind, you will learn something new that will benefit future decisions you make with your pet.

Sincerely,
Karen
CPDT-KSA, CCUI, APDT member #3574

    Initial consults are scheduled for 75 minutes (1.25 hours).
    The initial consult includes a set of written follow-up handouts for exercises introduced and a custom-written initial behavior modification or training action plan.

    Frequent Flyer Discount: $55.00/hour**
    **Available after the 10th consult
    **This option is also subject to additional fees if the behavior concerns benefit from additional custom written instructions or frequent email or phone support.

NOW OFFERING Video Review: An alternate form of private consults:

• $25.00/video or set of videos 5 minutes or less
• $50.00/video or set of videos 10 minutes or less
• $75.00/video or set of videos 15 minutes or less
• Contact me for pricing on other custom video lengths

Prerequisite for a Video Review Consult: At least one in-person initial consult
    Benefits:
    With a video review I can provide you with second by second information about what your dog does and provide you with recommendations about what to do, how best to respond
    You can film your dog's behavior at the time it occurs
    I do reserve the right to make some assumptions with the video that may not be true, if you tell me that something is present in the environment that I am not able to see clearly
    I do reserve the right to turn a video down and request a better visual if your video cannot be interpretted