I am so grateful I found Paula. I was at a complete loss with my dog, Velvet, and truly thought I was going to have to rehome her. From the day I brought her home, I hadn’t gotten a full night’s sleep. I have two teenagers, three cats, and another dog, and I wanted Velvet both as a companion for my dog and as an ESA for my son. Instead, her anxiety quickly became overwhelming—for her and for us.

Velvet couldn’t be away from me if I was in the house. She destroyed carpet by the doors, could open doors herself, and nothing (hampers, suitcases, barricades) stopped her from barging in. She licked constantly, jumped endlessly, and woke me up at all hours of the night because she couldn’t be alone. Obedience training wasn’t the answer—teaching “sit” or “stay” wasn’t going to fix the root issue.

I was doubtful anything would work, especially since I have a demanding job and knew my kids couldn’t fully participate in the training. But I decided to work with Paula for 3 months before making any hard decisions. From the start, Paula helped me see Velvet’s behaviors through a new lens—most of them were fear-based. She suggested small, realistic changes that made my dog feel safe in our home.

I’m only halfway through the program and I already have a completely different dog. Velvet now sleeps through the night, stays calm around the cats, and can curl up on the couch next to me without constant licking. She’s even starting to play with my other dog. The difference is incredible.

If you’re at your breaking point and don’t know what to do, don’t give up—call Paula. She gave me back hope and gave Velvet the chance to be the happy, relaxed dog she was meant to be.

I first discovered Paula and Inspire Canine through online searching for dog training/a dog behaviorist for our Great Dane.

We adopted our sweet guy through a local rescue and soon discovered that he had anxiety and fear that would manifest in several ways. For example, while out on lead in our neighborhood, certain noises would set off episodes where he would either attempt to flee or he would freeze in fear and refuse to move. It was quite challenging for us as he is a 170lb guy. It got to the point where he would not go beyond a few steps past our home. We would become frustrated because we didn’t understand what was going on with our guy and how to best help him. At home, occasionally he would growl at a family member when they would walk by him resting on his bed or would even growl when they would enter the room. This was very concerning as I didn’t want our Dane’s behavior to escalate further towards our family member. Then, these past six months, our Dane’s behavior seemed to become worse. Walks became more difficult and he would growl at other family members.

Reaching a point of desperation, I reached out to our vet who gave us some recommendations for training and the option of meds to help with his behavior. I began researching the vet recommendations, but nothing seemed to click for what I was looking for. The trainers that I looked at seemed to be more concentrated on just getting a dog to stop the behavior. I was more interested in understanding the what or why that was behind the behavior in order to make effective changes, to help our boy be more relaxed, confident, and comfortable in his surroundings. Enter Paula and Inspire Canine!

From the moment I found the Inspire Canine website, a light bulb went off; an “aha” moment. This is what I had been looking for! Paula responded timely to my inquiry, and during our initial phone call, she listened and responded back, not with judgement, but with true care, concern, and understanding. She provided me with knowledge and direction, I was ready to get started!

Right from the very first session, I learned quite a bit. I realized that this wasn’t just about our Dane’s behavior, it was also about our family’s response to it, what we were doing prior to it, and what kind of environment we were creating or allowing for our Dane to be in. In working with Paula, I began to understand the “why” behind our Dane’s behavior, and received practical ways to create an environment for him to work towards thriving, being confident, and comfortable.

Working with Paula over these past few months, she has consistently provided exceptional coaching and mentoring sessions that have begun the transformation in our Dane that we are seeing in real time. Paula provides easily accessible avenues to reach out for support as well as impactful feedback. In my time spent with Paula, it is evident that she is passionate about what she does and her vast experience speaks volumes. As a direct result of our sessions with Paula, I am able to see a noticeable difference in our Dane already. Allowing what we have learned to change our family’s knowledge, approach, and perspective has been a vital key. Since applying that knowledge, approach, and perspective at home and in outdoor environments, our Dane has had a positive and growing shift in how he navigates certain situations and interacts with family members. I look forward to continuing the journey with Paula in equipping myself and family in helping our Dane so that we can all thrive together. For anyone searching, needing assistance, or at a point of desperation like I was, I highly recommend reaching out to Paula!

I first came to Paula about a year ago with my now 3 yr old girl Tessie after I had a scary incident with a neighbor where she almost had a bite incident. On a scale from 1-10 for reactivity, I described Tessie as a 5/6 with her having a particular hard time with people and dogs she didn’t know. I tried a few different training programs before working with Paula, focusing on obedience, learning commands, and even agility, as I attempted to give her some structure to help with her big feelings. Tessie is incredibly quick to learn, super smart, and what I describe as the bravest scared dog I know, all of which lent itself to masking the real issues she was having with being overstimulated and unsure of how to navigate life – the classic “reactive dogs aren’t giving you a hard time, they’re having a hard time” was becoming more and more apparent. That’s when I found Paula. As someone with a hard science background, I wholeheartedly appreciate that Paula’s methods are backed by scientific literature and animal behavior theory and that she regularly works to stay up to date with the latest research. If you’re looking for someone who truly seeks to understand your dog’s behavior and who meets them where they’re at as an advocate for their needs, then you’re in the right place. If you are looking for a quick fix that will promise to solve all of your problems in a set amount of time, know that such a thing doesn’t exist and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. If you’ve ever been to therapy, you know behavior modification is a process that takes time with variable timelines and setbacks, and this is no different, however, if you come ready and willing to be patient and trust the process, you will slowly start to see changes. Paula has taught me so much about reading Tessie’s body language, managing her environment, meeting her needs, and setting realistic expectations. After about of year with work, I’d say Tessie’s reactivity has decreased slightly to about 3/4 out of 10 and she still has her fair share of challenges, but I can see visible transformations in Tessie that may be subtle to most, but for her truly makes a world of difference in her overall quality of life. Both she and I have more confidence in approaching new situations, in handling her big feelings, an in dealing with uncertainty, and I hope in continuing the lessons learned with Paula that I can continue to make her world better every day.