VERONICA'S DOG TRAINING
PLAY AND RELATIONSHIP-BASED DOG TRAINING
BRIDGTON, MAINE
“Take on only such animals as, under the conditions that can be offered, really live instead of just dying slowly.”
- Konrad Lorenz, King Solomon's Ring
When we, as a species, domesticated a wild animal and brought it into our anthropogenic world, we assumed an enormous moral burden.
In my work, I aim to uphold the implicit promise we made to dogs - to make this an honorable endeavor.
What I Offer
Services include private lessons, boarding, day boarding, and board-and-trains. The place to start for any service is a free phone evaluation so we can discuss your and your dog's needs and come up with a plan. Training is highly personalized and goal-oriented. The work I do is not only engaging and enjoyable, but it is effective and has lasting, sustainable results.
Private Lessons
Private lessons take place either in your home or in public. Each lesson includes a detailed write-up so you can continue the work we do together. Lesson packages include lifelong follow-up support, as well as priority sign-up for group classes, events, and boarding.
Some things that we can work on in training are puppy raising, obedience, leash walking, off-leash reliability, handling and grooming cooperation, and things like reactivity, resource guarding, fear, and separation anxiety.
Phone consultation: Free
In-person evaluation/single lesson: $175
3 Lesson package: $450
6 Lesson package: $780
12 Lesson package: $1320
Puppy Package - 5 lessons (6 months and under): $450
Virtual lesson: $50
Dogs currently living in foster homes or shelters: 60% off
Day Boarding and Overnight Boarding
I offer in-my-home boarding for eligible dogs. Dogs stay in my home with my family, participate in outings, and have access to a private 70-acre wooded property. Walks, hikes, and all daily care are included in prices. Past and current clients are given priority scheduling for boarding.
Overnight Boarding:
$75 per weeknight | $85 per weekend night
Puppies 6 months and under: $100 per night
Holidays: +$10
Day Boarding:
$35 per weekday | $45 per weekend day
Board-and-Train Program
The board-and-train program takes place in my home. Similar to boarding, dogs live with my family and my personal dog and are in a home environment, not a boarding kennel. This comprehensive program includes daily training and detailed updates, training field trips, outings, play, hikes, and whatever care your dog needs. You are able to spend time with your dog during this program.
Go-home lessons are required and write-ups are included so you can learn how to maintain training once your dog goes home. Necessary training tools and lifelong support are included in the cost of the program.
This is not cookie-cutter training; I will structure training based on your goals, but if you are just looking for a well-rounded dog with real-world skills, some things we can work on are:
Play skills
Loose leash walking
Manners in public and in the home
Dog socialization
Grooming/handling cooperation
Sit + implied sit stay
Down + implied down stay
Place for duration
Kennel on cue
E-collar recall off wildlife, people, dogs, and other distractions
Mountain biking, hiking, canicross, bikejoring, and other outdoor adventure skills
Scent work foundations
Therapy Dog and Canine Good Citizen prep
Behavior modification - things like resource guarding, aggression, reactivity
***all training is proofed in a variety of real life scenarios***
$1000/week
4-week minimum required for basic obedience plans, 5-week minimum for behavior modification
Dogs currently living in foster homes or shelters: 60% off
Payment plans available
Income-Based Payment Options for Financially Accessible Private Lessons
I offer sliding scale pricing for private lessons for anyone facing a financial barrier to training. This is not applicable to boarding or board-and-trains.
Here is a rough guideline to help you decide how much private lessons might cost depending on your situation:
Supporter tier - full price:
Full price payments from those who are able to comfortably make ends meet and have room in their budget for auxiliary spending allows me to continue to offer discounted rates for those who are struggling. This makes the work I do financially sustainable. This reflects the true cost of services.
Supported tier - 75-85% of full price:
This is for people who can afford necessities (food, shelter, healthcare, clothes etc.) regularly, and have some savings, but may not have much expendable income. Availability for this tier may be limited.
Access tier - 10-50% of full price:
This is for people who are not regularly able to make ends meet, have little to no savings and no room for auxiliary spending, and may be facing some sort of crisis (housing, car, employment, etc). Availability for this tier may be limited.
For more guidance on self-selecting an appropriate tier, click here.
Bartering
I live in a fantasy world where money doesn't mediate all human interaction. Some things I'm usually looking for are farm goods and crafts like meat, eggs, dairy, produce, furs, and pelts; tools and specialty equipment; skilled services like haircutting, mechanical work, carpentry, and landscaping; large machinery usage; cleaning services; sporting goods; skills teaching, and more. If you'd like to barter for services, even partially, let me know and we can figure something out.
About Me & Lewey
The Dog Who Started It All
I'm Veronica. Some years ago, I got a crazy coonhound puppy I named Lewey off Craigslist. The first thing out of the vet's mouth at our first visit was, "you can NEVER let this dog off leash". After the initial heartbreak of being told the creature I got to accompany me on my adventures in life would always be confined to a leash, I decided that I didn't accept this assessment. I did my research, and dispensed with many styles of training that I thought would limit our potential as a team. I looked for a training philosophy that would let me have my cake and eat it too. I understood that a dog's natural instincts were both enduring and vital, and though the dog in front of me was hard-wired to run miles away into the woods following his nose, I began to get a sense of how to harness my dog's natural inclinations instead of fighting them. After some trial and error and blundering about, Lewey and I found harmony in our life together. The majority of his life is spent off-leash. I got on my first mountain bike to keep up with him, and for that I'll always be indebted to him. We've traveled all over the country to hike, mountain bike, and backpack. We're working on completing the 48 4000 footers in New Hampshire. Together we've done nose work, AKC Rally, bird hunting, barn hunt, Canine Good Citizen, bikejoring, canicross, and many, many trail miles.
Lewey started me on this dog training journey and has taught me more than many people I've met. My professional career began when I started leading off-leash pack-hikes, after which I transitioned to training client dogs in their homes. I haven't looked back since.
My Philosophy
I believe in the power of willful cooperation for both humans and dogs. I work to make training fun and inherently motivating; I use play whenever possible, and I tailor each training plan to each dog (and human) so that we can use the intrinsic motivators dogs are born with. Quite often, training will not involve stopping behaviors, but simply channeling them in a way that can be more easily integrated into one's lifestyle. My training does not adhere to any one style or school of thought, but is dialectical in nature, meaning that all methods, tools, and techniques are assessed so that our approach is ethical, humane, and based on observation of concrete circumstances. Training is holistic in that I consider all aspects of a dog and human's life when problem solving. Diet, life stage, breed, health, and environmental factors are all taken into consideration in my work. My approach has been developed over the years through mentorships, apprenticeships, workshops, seminars, and the sage advice of the dog trainers I'm lucky to call my friends.
I am a Certified Training Without Conflict Professional Dog Trainer.
