Testimonials
We cannot say enough about Maura from Clear Skies Dog Training and Evaluation. Our family dog, Josie, is a three year old brindle pit bull. She is a perfect family dog for us in almost every way, except that when we added another dog into our family this past Spring, Josie started to become very reactive to other dogs and some people when she was on-leash. This was a very curious development for her because she attends dog day camp weekly and gets along famously with any and all other dogs in the play yard when she's there off-leash.
Feeling a keen responsibility to have a well-behaved pit bull, we looked online for dog trainers to help us address this new concern. We didn't want to give the world one more reason to wrongfully assume she was a bad dog. It was then I found Clear Skies' Facebook page, and I contacted them to set up an evaluation. I didn't realize it at the time, but from the SECOND Maura got out of her car and met Josie, they were evaluating her. Her body language, her mood and demeanor, etc. We went into the house Maura put Josie through a series of (eye opening, for me!) simple tasks to test her level of fear, aggression, and anxiety. They gave me a verbal opinion of what they thought was going on with her, followed a day or so later by a written emailed evaluation that was incredibly in-depth and spot on! These people know dogs. Their opinion was that Josie had confidence issues we agreed that some parallel walking with another dog would address and help to correct her anxiety. We met with Maura a few more times, and on our brisk walks, Maura talked the whole time and pointed out body language, good dog behavior, rude dog behavior, you name it. Every walk was like a crash course in dog psychology. We walked like that through our neighborhood on two occasions, and then we went to a park to see how Josie behaved on different turf. I am happy to say Josie's behavior is greatly improved but more importantly, WE have the keys on how handle her when she gets anxious and we owe that to Maura and Jeff. I would call them again in a second to help address any issues that come up. Barbie, Methuen, MA
I adopted my dog, Petunia, knowing nothing about her previous history or experiences. Although I knew training would take time and be difficult, over time I started to feel defeated and frustrated. Petunia was nervous of new things and situations and in turn she made me nervous when out on walks. Our walks were horrible so I scheduled training with Clear Skies. What I like about Clear Skies is that they offer “real world” experiences when training. We met at the beach or Houghton’s Pond where people would be walking their dogs. Instead of avoiding situations that would upset or excite my dog, we would go places where Petunia would learn to become more confident and accustomed. Clear Skies has taught me to recognize early signs Petunia shows when she is nervous and gave me ways to distract her. Although not obvious at first, Petunia really loves people/dogs and when introduced in a nonthreatening way, she enjoys their company. She can now pass by other dogs/people and continue on her way with less excitement and interest. Our walks are much more pleasant now…much less frustrating for both of us. I would highly recommend Clear Skies Dog Training. Colleen, Weymouth, MA
When I saw that my dog, Clay, was becoming more and more uncomfortable around children, I reached out to Clear Skies Dog Training. I had become so nervous about the possibility of someone getting hurt that I no longer felt capable of working with him on this issue alone. They got back to me right away and we set up a time to meet. I felt better having expressed some of my concerns, but while it was their new and different approach of desensitization and counter conditioning that had attracted me to Clear Skies in the first place, I was worried it may not work for Clay. I was also apprehensive overall - who wants to admit that their perfect pooch has a behavioral problem? We met on a Monday morning and I knew straight away that I'd come to the right people. Maura was everything but judgmental, her openness, love, and enthusiasm was apparent. Clay knew it too, and followed her dreamily throughout the whole process. With Maura, Clay was able to show us that it wasn't children in particular that were upsetting him but more the approach that was sometimes taken. As a smaller dog, the world and people in it can be threatening if not introduced in the right way, and Maura was able to explain this and come up with a plan to help Clay and me deal with approach. So we left with some homework and with great relief that this issue was one we could overcome. I would suggest working with Clear Skies for any issue or concern, their knowledge and understanding of dog behavior will put you at ease and provide you the right steps to move forward. Maureen, Quincy, MA
Feeling a keen responsibility to have a well-behaved pit bull, we looked online for dog trainers to help us address this new concern. We didn't want to give the world one more reason to wrongfully assume she was a bad dog. It was then I found Clear Skies' Facebook page, and I contacted them to set up an evaluation. I didn't realize it at the time, but from the SECOND Maura got out of her car and met Josie, they were evaluating her. Her body language, her mood and demeanor, etc. We went into the house Maura put Josie through a series of (eye opening, for me!) simple tasks to test her level of fear, aggression, and anxiety. They gave me a verbal opinion of what they thought was going on with her, followed a day or so later by a written emailed evaluation that was incredibly in-depth and spot on! These people know dogs. Their opinion was that Josie had confidence issues we agreed that some parallel walking with another dog would address and help to correct her anxiety. We met with Maura a few more times, and on our brisk walks, Maura talked the whole time and pointed out body language, good dog behavior, rude dog behavior, you name it. Every walk was like a crash course in dog psychology. We walked like that through our neighborhood on two occasions, and then we went to a park to see how Josie behaved on different turf. I am happy to say Josie's behavior is greatly improved but more importantly, WE have the keys on how handle her when she gets anxious and we owe that to Maura and Jeff. I would call them again in a second to help address any issues that come up. Barbie, Methuen, MA
I adopted my dog, Petunia, knowing nothing about her previous history or experiences. Although I knew training would take time and be difficult, over time I started to feel defeated and frustrated. Petunia was nervous of new things and situations and in turn she made me nervous when out on walks. Our walks were horrible so I scheduled training with Clear Skies. What I like about Clear Skies is that they offer “real world” experiences when training. We met at the beach or Houghton’s Pond where people would be walking their dogs. Instead of avoiding situations that would upset or excite my dog, we would go places where Petunia would learn to become more confident and accustomed. Clear Skies has taught me to recognize early signs Petunia shows when she is nervous and gave me ways to distract her. Although not obvious at first, Petunia really loves people/dogs and when introduced in a nonthreatening way, she enjoys their company. She can now pass by other dogs/people and continue on her way with less excitement and interest. Our walks are much more pleasant now…much less frustrating for both of us. I would highly recommend Clear Skies Dog Training. Colleen, Weymouth, MA
When I saw that my dog, Clay, was becoming more and more uncomfortable around children, I reached out to Clear Skies Dog Training. I had become so nervous about the possibility of someone getting hurt that I no longer felt capable of working with him on this issue alone. They got back to me right away and we set up a time to meet. I felt better having expressed some of my concerns, but while it was their new and different approach of desensitization and counter conditioning that had attracted me to Clear Skies in the first place, I was worried it may not work for Clay. I was also apprehensive overall - who wants to admit that their perfect pooch has a behavioral problem? We met on a Monday morning and I knew straight away that I'd come to the right people. Maura was everything but judgmental, her openness, love, and enthusiasm was apparent. Clay knew it too, and followed her dreamily throughout the whole process. With Maura, Clay was able to show us that it wasn't children in particular that were upsetting him but more the approach that was sometimes taken. As a smaller dog, the world and people in it can be threatening if not introduced in the right way, and Maura was able to explain this and come up with a plan to help Clay and me deal with approach. So we left with some homework and with great relief that this issue was one we could overcome. I would suggest working with Clear Skies for any issue or concern, their knowledge and understanding of dog behavior will put you at ease and provide you the right steps to move forward. Maureen, Quincy, MA
Our little nuggett needed assistance with his stranger response. Clear Skies gave us some great tools to help us to help him. The tips they gave us have made Fenway's stranger fears all but a memory. Thanks so much for your help. Gail and Tony