Chopper

“Recently our 7-year-old shepherd/lab mix was scolded for stealing food from the kitchen counter. Unfortunately he responded by growling and a bite. We were on the verge of finding him a new home, as we did not know how to control this behavior, and were deeply concerned due to expecting our first baby in a few months. This was a heart-breaking decision to face. Luckily, Helen Nicholls was referred to us as an excellent behavior specialist for aggressive dogs. She quickly responded and determined that our dog Chopper was actually acting out of fear and anxiety. We hadn’t even considered that possibility since he’s such a big strong guy, and we gave him plenty of affection up to that point. Why would he be fearful or anxious? But after hearing Helen’s explanations and learning to read the signs, it became quite obvious.
Helen helped us create a clear, simple, and thorough training plan to remove Chopper’s food-guarding and separation anxiety. Her patience, caring, and dedication is unsurpassed. After only a couple of months the food-guarding has disappeared; we can even pet Chopper while he’s eating! Helen’s techniques have also helped reduce Chopper’s barking-

jumping-freak outs whenever we have a guest at the door.
We expect to see even more improvements as we continue to practice, and with much common-sense advice from Helen we’re now preparing Chopper to meet our first baby. Helen’s assistance with the new baby protocol has been a godsend. We feel very grateful and relieved to have her as our dog behavior consultant and trainer.”
– Tony, Kate and Chopper