Canine Behaviorists & Trainer
Training & Insight into the Canine Mind
 

Thank you for all your amazing work with Keno. He is doing so awesome!!
We love you
Keno, Roger and Debbie xoxo

Hey Shari! just wanted to let you know that bailey is doing well. he sits and waits to go out the door, front and back doors. when my grandchildren were here and eating at the table bailey would come into the kitchen and then lay down when I told him "down". he didn't bother them for food. outside in the yard he comes more often than not when I call him to come. he doesn't bark for peanut butter when he throws his bone. now he will lay down next to the bone and I will only give him the peanut butter when he loses interest in it. he is great on the leash, even though we haven't been able to walk as often as I'd like due to the heat. (neither one of us tolerate it well!). we are practicing in the yard to sit stay, down stay, down and then sit, stay and come. he is doing well with the commands and I am still learning as we go along. thanks so much for everything you did and thank cj too. she taught bailey well. our friend brought their Sheppard over and we introduced her to bailey. he treated her with respect just like he did CJ. I loved it!!!  Say hi to Dan, hope all is well with you both. please stop by sometime just to say hi!

Shari - Dimitri is amazing, 1/2 hour into the car ride home he became a different dog. I have had shepards since the age of 9, my entire life, I have never had one this loving and affectionate - especially in the first 24 hours... I brought him to my house first and we had a blast - he walked beautifully on the leash, listened to ever single command, ate nicely from the bowl that I held and was completely fine with the 5 new people (neighbors) he met. We ran around my yard for over two hours - I took him to Maz's later in the evening and he spent the rest of the night laying at our feet on his back, rubbing up on us like a cat and licking our faces..he is a mush- a pretty well mannered one at that thanks to you...I have a few pics that I'verr posted from today...there will be plenty more to come...thank you again - he is an absolute joy and I couldn't be happier to have him  (even if its joint custody!) He finally fell asleep on my lap, literally in me arms like a newborn baby. We couldn't have asked for a better dog.

Arda, Itez
Paramus, NJ
 

A Second Chance- Please Read by Arda Itez on Wednesday, July 6, 2011 at 9:14am Hey FB peeps- just wanted make a suggestion for any of you that are considering a new pet- Before going to the pet store or a breeder...please think about adopting from a shelter first- there are too many loving animals that need good homes- my Dimitri is a perfect example, a diamond in the rough that just needed a little patience and extra attention. Honestly, I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful dog. The right training will make all of the difference in the world and Warwick Valley Humane Society uses Shari Forst, an amazing trainer and behaviorist...she rehabs dogs into loving, well behaved pets- she did it for mine. Dimitri was uncontrollable and very aggressive when he arrived at the shelter- no attention span, wouldn't make eye contact, lunging at people- even attempted to bite a few... if you were to see him now- you would tell me I was full of it- he is an entirely different dog, thanks to Shari. Again- the right training is invaluable- so don't always be deterred by what you see in a dog when they've been abandoned and are living in a pen or cage surrounded by hundreds of other animals - they're scared, lonely, out of sorts- and just need a little love and proper direction to unveil the loving, faithful companion they're meant to be. If you aren't in the market for a pet right now, then please donate to your local shelter- it takes SO much to house and care for these animals- they need ALL of the help they can get. Check the website of your local shelter to see how you can help today. Consider adopting a pet, save a life... they know, these animals- you can see the love and gratitude in their eyes, I promise you.

Dear Dan and Shari: Canine Case Squad.

We just wanted to express our deep appreciation for your fine work with Kobi.  When the animal behaviourist we were working with locally, stated that they were not able to correct his aggressive behaviour, and suggested that our best chance was to travel over 900 km to visit you for some compressed training, we were a little hesitant to make that kind of trip.  However we love Kobi, and wanted to try anything to get him to the level where he could meet someone new without trying to attack them. 

Before we visited you, the trainer who we had worked with for 10 weeks was still not able to even touch Kobi, and our behaviourist was also very afraid of him and uncertain of how to proceed.   Lucky for us she had heard about the success Canine Case Squad had with aggressive dogs including German Shepherd’s.  Within 2 hours of meeting him, Shari had Kobi to the point where he was obeying her commands and eating out of her hand.  We were extremely impressed by this.  

After working with you just two days, we decided to venture into New York City and drive around Manhattan since we had some time off and we were so close.  We were cautiously optimistic of how Kobi would behave to the multitudes of people on the streets, but we were shocked at how well he behaved.  He didn’t bark or get anxious at anytime.

By the time we completed the hands on training with you, he was able to walk close to other aggressive dogs without paying much attention to them. 

Since we have returned home, Kobi is much more relaxed and happy and we are elated with the complete change in his personality.   We know that the time and money spent on the trip to visit you was an incredible bargain based on the quick and very effective results.

As we told you, Angelica’s sister and her family had been staying with us for Christmas and after living here for just over a week, Kobi was starting to accept them before we left (not biting or attacking, but wearing a muzzle or gentle leader whenever he was in the same room or area as them).  Within minutes of us arriving home he was treating them like he treats us.  The next day he was playing with them without his collar on.  They were so impressed and pleased because they are dog lovers too and they really wanted to enjoy him.

We had my parents over for a visit us 2 days ago and he was calm and gentle with them.  He was actually eating out of my Mom’s hands with in 30 minutes of their arrival.  They had been afraid to enter the house before unless he had his muzzle on and was on a short leash.  They were very impressed by his apparent transformation.

We understand that we need to stay the course and continue to work on all the techniques you demonstrated and identified so that he can continue to improve, and we will.  The improvements in him are incredible.

From the bottom of our hearts, we want to thank you for making the time to see us and work with us, and especially for making Kobi into the lovable dog that we knew was in him.

You have our undying gratitude.

Ken, Angelica and Kobi.
Windsor, Ont. Canada

Shari;
Dimitri is amazing, 1/2 hour into the car ride home he became a different dog. I have had shepards since the age of 9, my entire life, I have never had one this loving and affectionate - especially in the first 24 hours... I brought him to my house first and we had a blast - he walked beautifully on the leash, listened to ever single command, ate nicely from the bowl that I held and was completely fine with the 5 new people (neighbors) he met. We ran around my yard for over two hours - I took him to Maz's later in the evening and he spent the rest of the night laying at our feet on his back, rubbing up on us like a cat and licking our faces..he is a mush- a pretty well mannered one at that thanks to you...I have a few pics that Ive posted from today...there will be plenty more to come...thank you again - he is an absolute joy and I couldnt be happier to have him  (even if its joint custody!) He finally fell asleep on my lap, literally in me arms like a newborn baby. We couldnt have asked for a better dog.

Arda, Itez
Paramus, NJ

When we moved to Warwick we noticed that Cha Cha was incredibly fearful of strangers.  And that Sammy was becoming very territorial of both our property and the two of us.  Cha Cha would bark at a person she didn’t know continually and would run at them then turn away.  Sammy would bark at people we walked past during our walks for no reason.  When I walked both dogs on my own it was really difficult to control them (100 lbs of dog is tough to handle for one person) We weren’t sure what to do – and decided we should call upon a specialist in dog behavior to help.  Canine Case squad was recommended to us by a number of people including our vet.  So I called Shari and set up our very first appointment – which was a 2-hour behavioral consult and observation at our home.

Right away we noticed Shari’s confidence and leadership over our two dogs.  In that first two hours we learned more about a dogs mentality, history, and our role as pack leaders than we had learned ever before.  From this first session we were given a number of pack leadership tools that are alleviating both dog’s dominance and fear.  Her knowledge and ability to convey it to us was absolutely outstanding.  Her love for dogs is obvious and our dogs absolutely love Aunt Shari. 

We then decided to sign both dogs up to 5 weeks of obedience training.  Shari came to our home each week and spent 45 minutes to 1 hour with us on what we’ve deemed our daily training walk.  The dogs now heel when we walk, sit when a car is passing on command, will submit to a down position upon command and have great recall. 

All of this training takes work on the dog owners’ part – a lot of work.  However the results in seeing our two dogs develop into healthy, stable and happy dogs is well worth all of it.  We highly recommend Canine Case Squad to any dog owner for behavior or obedience training.  To be honest any dog owner regardless of their dog situation would benefit from the tools provided by Shari and Dan.

Barbara, Greg, Sammy and Cha Cha

Dan and Shari:

Shannon and I wanted to let you know how valuable we feel that your training has been for us. When we got Madrid, our Doberman puppy born in June 2008, we felt it would be very important for us to know how to work with her so that by the time she was full grown, she'd be well-behaved - no biting, aggression, dominance, out-of-control walks etc. Your training has given us the knowledge and skills to establish our family-pack where Madrid is learning her place and where we have a framework to address whatever behavior issues present themselves. Madrid is a very high-energy puppy and tests us constantly, but as we apply your direction we're seeing that she's responding to our lead: she amazes our friends with how long she's able to hold a 'stay' with all kinds of distractions (including treats placed on her paws!); she walks with us in a heel position on a consistent basis and when she does buck against it, we're able to restore order relatively quickly; and in all sorts of every day situations we're able to get her into a calm-submissive mindset where we can work with her as needed. We look forward to off-leash training in the future and would whole-heartedly recommend your services to everyone!

Warm regards,

Pat & Shannon M.

Hi Guys!
Tye continues to do very well.  We are slowly taking him off the Prozac and he hasn't had any negative behaviors. He approaches other dogs in a friendly manner and eagerly seeks attention from people.  Aside from making new friends at the Senior Residence, he recently accompanied me on a "rally" to fight for my health benefits at my place of employment.  Tye wore a placket and attracted much attention.  It's hard to believe that our neglected, abused, anxiety ridden Standard Poodle is now so calm and friendly.  Thank you for helping us to become a "pack" and teaching us how to be the "alpha" that Tye deserves since his rescue.  We will never forget our experience working with your "pack" and truly thank you for the wonderful family you have helped us to create.

THANK YOU - Ginny and Eric
 

Bode is our young, rescued border collie.  He loved to chase anything that moved fast.  One day he tried to chase a school bus while on a leash.  I tripped over him which led to a bloody knee and elbow. I felt it was now time to correct the behavior.  My vet recommended the Canine Case Squad and a few days later Shari (after evaluating our needs) and her dog CJ began educating both Bode and me.  She helped us communicate with each other. Dan helped us resolve a difficult question we had about Bode's reaction to strangers that cropped up during training. I now understand my dog and he understands me.  We enjoy a 2-3 mile walk almost daily and have developed a wonderful relationship.  He heels, sits, stays, lies down and comes on command.  He no longer chases anything that moves!  He remains focused. What a wonderful dog!  What a wonderful instructor! 

Amy and Warren Greher