Raising a puppy is hard. Raising a puppy during quarantine felt infinitely more daunting. Level Up Pup gave me clear goals to focus on, and skills that could grow with the maturity of my puppy. Beyond that, Level Up Pup gave me a sense of accountability and community at a time when I was otherwise isolated
Kayla and Wren
We got in touch with Sheena when Bennie, our cairn terrier, started drawing blood if we tried to get tissues from him. His guarding behaviour was starting to get way out of hand.
Our time with Sheena was invaluable. The first lesson defused the tissue guarding situation (no more biting opportunities) and we learned not just how to distract Bennie but WHEN. Understanding that when Bennie gets wound up he blanks out has been especially helpful is decreasing our frustration levels and keeping our response at a quiet level. Getting the information as a family helped get us all on the same page..
Bennie could have turned into an aggressive dog prone to random biting.
Sheena helped us change that guarding behaviour as well as minimizing its occurrence. Our sessions were tailored to our needs and we’ve been able to use what we learned in new situations.
Cass and Bennie
I fricken love this puppy class!! LEVEL UP PUP has been a great reminder of knowledge I had forgotten the last time I was at the puppy stage of life and I have learned so much more! I know I can achieve so many thing and have a calmer, more enjoyable home!
I even managed to do yoga in my living room, without my dogs kenneled, and not once did I have a dog face or butt near me!! They calmly laid in front of the tv the whole time!
I have a multidog home which can have lots of issues to begin with, we have needed to figure out a few solutions for behavior issues and Sheena has helped me solve and manage existing problems and avoid or quickly fix any new ones that pop up.
She is never judgmental on how those issues started, which is so wonderful!
Janna, Persephonie, Mia, Newt, Callie
Working with Keystone Training has been the best decision I made after we adopted our rescue puppy, Locksley. I really wanted to do my best to raise him to be happy and well behaved and a good boy with no idea of what that sort of training would look like.
Finding Sheena, who focuses on positive reinforcement and force-free training was amazing. She taught me the things I knew I needed to learn — like the basics of stay and recall and potty training — but also worked with me specifically on my dog’s needs and finding solutions to help me shape his quirks into positive behaviours. She didn’t teach Locksley to obey — she taught me to understand more of what he was trying to communicate and what he needed and how I could ensure his needs were met in a positive and healthy way that works for us both. We have a stronger relationship and better communication because of her help. He wants to be a good boy and I know how to show him how.
When people find out that my pup is a shepherd-collie-husky-malamute-chow chow-staffy mutt, they always comment on how hard he must be to handle and how difficult he must be to train and I never understood why they’d say that.
He’s smart and happy to learn and learns so much more quickly than I expect and he loves showing off the things he’s learned. I realized it’s because I’ve been working with Keystone from the beginning and somehow, Sheena made it easy for us both.