Does your dog have behavior problems?
We have behavior solutions
EVEN IF YOU’VE TRIED EVERYTHING TO ALLEVIATE YOUR PET’S AGGRESSION, FEAR, OR ANXIETY!
“Pet Harmony was instrumental in helping me navigate the world of dog behavior when I first brought my sensitive girl home. I was just an average dog owner beforehand and like most, thought I ‘knew’ dogs. How very, very wrong I was.
Pet Harmony taught me far more than I ever knew was possible to know about dogs and their behavior and it was pivotal in helping me to accept my girl as she is and start to build a relationship with her on her terms and not mine. It’s also worth noting that they are incredibly understanding and supportive of the human end of the leash as well. Loving and working with sensitive pups is incredibly hard and yet also incredibly eye opening and rewarding. Whether you are a new guardian of a sensitive pup or an experienced one, the pros at Pet Harmony will support you and set you up for success every step of the way.”
ERIN, PENNY’S MOM
Let's face it. This isn't what you expected when you brought your dog home.
Whether you brought your dog home last week or 7 years ago, you were likely dreaming of Saturday Farmer’s Market trips with everyone stopping you to say how cute your pup is, and weekend getaways with the whole family—including your newest addition.
What you didn’t expect was to wind up here, looking for help with your pet’s behavior problems.
Problems like aggression, anxiety, fear, compulsions, and even nuisance behaviors can leave you feeling scared, frustrated, embarrassed, ashamed, hurt, confused, and sad.
Add to that all of the time you’ve spent reading, researching, listening, and even working with other dog trainers with little to no success- hopelessness is pretty high on the list, too. That feeling of failing your dog stings like no other.
The good news: No matter how many trainers and methods have failed to make a difference, we can still transform your dog's behavior and your life with them.
You and your pet deserve relief.
The worst part about being a pet parent is that our pets are only in our lives for only a short amount of time. You and your dog deserve to make the most of the time that you do have together. You both deserve the happy, healthy life together that you envisioned.
The kind of life where you can’t wait to come home to see them, and maybe even make an excuse to leave that party to hang out with your dog instead.
The kind of life where your dog is your best friend, your confidant, and the four-legged love of your life.
… Did we mention that we work with other species as well?
“Cortez is doing amazing, with utilizing the positive reinforcement training, counter conditioning, and shaping he has improved so much!! His reactions to kids and other dogs has decreased by a landslide, I am a proud mother!! Just wanted to let you know I referred one of my friends to you.”
CORTEZ’S MOM
Behavior Problems We Specialize In
NUISANCE & ANNOYING BEHAVIORS
- Stealing things from counters
- Jumping on and mouthing people
- Chewing furniture
- Having accidents in the house
- Barking out the window
- Pulling on walks
- Bouncing off the walls (literally or figuratively)
- Not listening
- Digging
- And more
SAD, SCARY, OR DANGEROUS BEHAVIORS
- Barking at certain things or everything
- Growling
- Lunging
- Biting or nipping
- Destroying your home
- Chasing the cat
- Unpredictable behavior
- Territorial or protective behavior
- Cowering, scared, frantic, or skittish behavior
- Fear aggression
- Anxiety and separation anxiety
- Resource guarding (items, food, space, people, etc.)
- Going nuts on leash
- Aggression towards other animals, including prey drive
- Issues at the vet, groomer, or day care
- Compulsive behavior
- Noise phobias
- And more
What You Get When You Work with Pet Harmony
A SOLUTION AS UNIQUE AS YOUR SITUATION
It’s hard to get an individualized answer when working in a group setting. Our consultants provide one-on-one sessions so your situation gets the attention it deserves and a solution that best fits with your household, lifestyle, and constraints.
EMPATHY AND RESULTS
Our team cares about both you and your pet equally. That means we won’t sacrifice anyone’s needs to get you results. We get that true behavior solutions often require a village and that means we’ll work with your vet, groomer, pet sitter, and anyone else involved in your pet’s care to come up with options that work for everybody.
SUSTAINABLE ACTION ITEMS
THAT FIT INTO YOUR LIFESTYLE
It doesn’t matter if we can get your dog to behavior a certain way- only that you can! We’ll provide you with step-by-step action items so you know exactly what to do and how to do it to make progress in your day-to-day life.
BETWEEN-SESSION SUPPORT
WITH SOMEONE WHO GETS IT
(Even when your friends and family don’t)
Whether it’s through the curated resources you’ll receive or email support with your consultant, you will receive support even in between your sessions. That means you can get your questions answered sooner to make sure you’re on the right track and to get results faster.
“If you’re expecting a training session where the trainer does all the work for you and then have your dog do just whatever YOU please, then Pet Harmony is not for you. But if you’re looking to learn more about how you can advocate for your pet better, fulfill their needs while addressing your own from them, and actually building a trustful partnership with your beloved companion then you’ve come to the right place!
Turning to Pet Harmony to help us manage our dog Bao’s diagnosed [Generalized Anxiety Disorder] and have him get along better with our other dog Noodle has been one of the best decisions we’ve made as pet parents. Ellen has taught us to read both of our pets’ cues and devise a management plan that has greatly improved ours and our pets’ quality of life. We’re truly grateful!
You’re getting CERTIFIED trainers who are very empathic to you as guardians of your pet, AND who train with science-based methods to get you and your pet where you need to be.”
KEIDEE, BAO’S MOM
How is Pet Harmony different from what I’ve already tried?
Regular dog training isn’t the most effective tool to solve behavior issues, whether it’s nuisance behaviors and especially for more serious issues like aggression, anxiety, fear, or compulsions. That’s because behavior problems aren’t only a result of your dog lacking skills. There’s a whole lot more that goes into it!
We look at the whole picture- from your dog to your household to your environment and beyond- to figure out the root cause of your dog’s behavior problem so we can provide you with a long-term, sustainable solution that fits into your lifestyle.
And, here’s the rough truth if you think you’ve already done that with another professional. Dog training and behavior is an unregulated field. That means professionals do not need any qualifications or education to become a dog trainer, consultant, or call themselves a behaviorist… And yeah, it grinds our gears too.
When you go to school or send your children to school, you expect the teachers to know the fundamentals of their field inside and out.
You trust them to stay on top of the latest research on their subjects and grade levels so they can provide you or your child with the best education possible.
Why should we accept less for the pets we love—especially when we’re investing our hard-earned money into getting real help?
OUR CERTIFICATIONS
PET HARMONY IN THE PRESS
“My dog was having tons of problems with extreme anxiety, (growling at men, specific women, kids, etc.) and when she bit my friend despite multiple trainers, I decided it was time to get some specialized help. I used Emily through their intense behavior rehabilitation program and I cannot recommend her enough! I have a completely different dog now. She used to not be able to be around my fiancé without growling, now she cuddles him and is excited to see him when he comes home. It is truly amazing.
Emily was extremely knowledgeable, patient, and helpful. After the 10 weeks I could not believe how much of a difference there was. Pet Harmony focuses on teaching the owners how to deal with problems as they arise as well so I feel well equipped to handle any future behavior concerns. I tell everyone who has any kind of problems with training to talk with Emily and the Pet Harmony team!!”
NICOLE
What's the next step?
- Select your Behavior Solutions service option below
- Choose between online or in-home services (worried about how effective online training can be? Click here.)
- Select your preferred Pet Harmony consultant then the date and time for your initial 90-minute consultation. Check out, pay, and you’re in!
- Celebrate the commitment you just made to bettering you and your dog’s life together.
- Keep an eye on your inbox for login details to our on-demand Beginning Behavior Modification course and your Initial Consultation prep info. (Don’t forget to check Spam and Promotions folders!)
- Attend your Initial Consultation, ready to learn.
- Start working through your training worksheet activities and schedule your follow-up sessions.
- Work with your consultant(s) until your pet graduates.
- Celebrate your new and improved lifestyle with some extra snuggles!
Your Behavior Solutions Options
CHOOSE THE OPTION THAT BEST SUITS YOU & YOUR PET
(We work with species other than dogs as well!)
Initial
Consultation
Best for: dipping your toe if you're not sure you're ready for the process
*Additional travel fees may apply*
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90-minute initial consultation (remote or in-person [IL])
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Actionable, personalized training plan
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Enrollment in our Beginning Behavior Modification course
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Additional curated resources for you
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Follow-ups available for purchase separately
*Additional travel fees may apply*
Learn More: Remote & In-Person
4 Session
Consultation Bundle
Best for: pets who have 1 or 2 primary issues to work through
*Additional travel fees may apply*
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90- minute initial consultation (remote or in-person [IL])
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Actionable, personalized training plans
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Enrollment in our Beginning Behavior Modification course
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Additional curated resources for you
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Email support between sessions
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3 60-minute follow-up sessions
*Additional travel fees may apply*
8 Session
Consultation Bundle
Best for: pets who have a lot of different behavior issues
*Additional travel fees may apply*
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90-minute initial consultation (remote or in-person [IL])
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Actionable, personalized training plans
-
Enrollment in our Beginning Behavior Modification course
-
Additional curated resources for you
-
Email support between sessions
-
7 60-minute follow-up sessions
*Additional travel fees may apply*
Learn More: Remote & In-Person
Still not sure?
“We adopted a rescue dog that we loved but he had some significant behavioral problems (separation anxiety, resource guarding, fear-based aggression). We managed them as best we could for several years before we learned about Emily Strong and the rest of the amazing team at Pet Harmony. We will be forever grateful we found them! We have learned so much and are much better equipped to understand and manage our dog’s behavior. Cannot recommend this team highly enough!”
KATIE B., REESE’S MOM
Pet Behavior Training FAQs
Email info@petharmonytraining.com with any additional questions
About Our Services
Yes! Our team has seen it all and can help you with whatever issue you and your dog are facing. There will be times that we recommend seeking additional help from a professional in a parallel field (like a Veterinary Behaviorist or Neurologist) if we think that will be helpful, but for all things dog behavior modification – and other pets! – we have you covered.
Additionally, our team is a real team: we often work together and collaborate on a case to make sure our clients get the best support we can offer. If your behavior consultant doesn’t have the answer they will ask another team member for support. That means you get our collective knowledge without the hassle (and cost) of being referred out to another consultant.
Yes! A healthy and communicative client-consultant team is certainly capable of making progress and we are committed to helping you through your pet’s behavior modification journey. That said, there are some things that you will need to bring to the table to ensure that your pet does make progress, including a willingness to:
- Learn new information that potentially conflicts with what you already know
- Adhere to your entire training plan and homework, not just the parts that are convenient or fun–or let us know when you’re having difficulty doing so, so that we can help you troubleshoot
- Communicate with your consultant: the triumphs, the setbacks, the confusion, and the frustration
- Treat our relationship and services as a journey, not a one-time thing
Please note that progress and goals may look different than what you originally thought it would look like. That’s because there are several factors affecting behavior that are beyond the scope of our control including but not limited to: prenatal environment, age, health, and genetics.
Yes! The majority of our clients come to us with pets who already have a bite history. For extreme cases (I.E. many stitches, mauling, death) we will recommend you work with a Veterinary Behaviorist alongside our team.
Collectively, our team is able to work with any pet species. There is no additional fee for working with different species.
FUN FACT: Our very own Emily Strong- who oversees all of our team’s cases- has worked with PLENTY of fun and unexpected species. Click here to see the full list!
No. Our services are charged by the hour, not who we’re working with. We’re happy to work with multiple pets (and people!) in one session, and often need to in order to see success. Plus, many times we’re working with behavior problems that impact more than one of your fur kids and will need to work with everyone to see results.
Here’s an example from Jennifer: “We have two Boston terriers who started displaying aggression towards each other after 3 years of being raised together. We were at a loss of what to do and were referred to Pet Harmony for help.
First, my initial contact with Pet Harmony was very warm and reassuring. They have experience and understanding in knowing how stressful these situations can be and they responded promptly and with resources to help us manage the situation while we waited to schedule our first consult.
The ease of registering online and being able to have access to resources on their website was incredibly helpful. The resources helped us understand what was occurring and that we are not alone in these situations.
Second, our trainer, MaryKaye, is the most generous, compassionate and validating trainer I have ever encountered. She walked into a situation where not only were the fur babies at odds but I was a ball of anxiety. Right off the bat she reassured me that this is something we can manage and with the right training can better control the situation. MaryKaye empowered me to take control of the situation better, relax enough so I was not projecting and allowed the dogs to interact with each other in way that lessened the likelihood of them having conflict.
I had a total of 4 sessions, used lots of cheese, and am elated to say that the training and enrichment therapy done has created a home in which the dogs are able to co exist, free range without any more incidents. While I know this is not common and MaryKay always gave me the good and the bad in what outcome could occur, I am confident that without her support and skills we would not be where we are today! I highly recommend Pet harmony/MaryKaye as a resource not only for the pets but for the humans as well who need the support to navigate situations like my own.”
About Our Processes
That’s okay! That’s a normal part of the process. Check out our blog, our socials, like Facebook, and Instagram and our team’s bios to learn more about us and what we’re about. We’ll be here when you’re ready. You can also listen to our pet enrichment podcast to learn more about our expertise and hear us in action.
And of course, you can always book a discovery call if you need guidance on which service is right for you.
A behavior modification journey is about so much more than just training your pet. It requires dedication in the form of time and work from the household members as well, and the humans are as much a part of the process as the pets are. There’s a reason we call it a journey!
More specifically, your pet behavior training will include history taking, considerable discussion with your consultant to create a plan that is sustainable for you, management, education, and skill-building for you and your pet.
We will use scaffolding– splitting more challenging techniques into smaller steps and building upon already-learned skills– in order to help everyone learn successfully. That means we will not make you jump into the deep end until you’re ready.
That depends on a lot of factors: the complexity of your pet’s case, your training skillset, how much time you’re able to devote to training throughout the week, how much back and forth is needed between parallel professions like your vet, and more. We typically can’t provide an answer until we’ve started working with you and gotten to know you and your pet.
No, we do not have a facility. In-person sessions are offered in your home or an agreed-upon public space. Click here to see our teams’ travel radius in the Chicagoland area.
And, if you’re not in our travel radius, no worries! We’ve helped pets and their people live harmoniously all over the world through our online services.)
Our team has been there, done that, and seen it all. Scared of leaves blowing by? Yep, solved it. Separation anxiety so bad that your dog has jumped out the second-story window? Yep, we’ve seen that more than once. Barking at your guests when they get up to go to the bathroom? We’ve solved this so many times that we’ve lost count.
So, unlike other companies, we know that we can handle your pet’s behavior whatever it might be. That means that we don’t require much information prior to booking to determine if we can help your dog or not.
After scheduling we send you a questionnaire that has all of the questions we’d like answered prior to meeting. Your consultant will comb through that questionnaire and then spend the first part of your initial consultation diving even deeper based on your answers. That way you both
get the information you need right from the get-go in that very first session.
Our in-person consultants have different travel radii. Check out our team page to see each person’s travel radius: http://petharmonytraining.com/meet-your-consultants/
Check out our Western Cook County travel radius here.
Check out our Naperville travel radius here.
Check out our O’Hare travel radius here.
Check out our Northside and Near Northside travel radius here. *There is an additional travel fee for Downtown Chicago sessions*
If you’re on the cusp or not sure if you’re included in a travel radius, email us at info@petharmonytraining.com. And if you’re outside our travel radius, no worries! We offer our full range of pet behavior training online.
Yes! We have the same success rate with our remote sessions as we do with our in-person sessions. As we say, it doesn’t matter if we can get your pet to do something; it only matters if you can.
We understand that many people are skeptical about how remote sessions can help them. We’ve addressed the most common concerns in this blog post about remote pet consulting. And more information specifically about why we don’t need to see the behavior to help can be found in this pet training blog post.
About Our Training Methods
Positive reinforcement, force-free, fear-free, LIMA, science-based: whatever you call it we believe that learning should be fun, empowering, and empathetic for all our learners, human and pet alike. That means that we do not rely on pain, fear, force, or intimidation to get results.
No, it is impossible and unethical to provide a 100% guarantee on future behavior. There are several factors affecting behavior that are beyond the scope of our control including but not limited to: prenatal environment, age, health, and genetics. A competent, ethical, and knowledgeable behavior professional should never guarantee results.
If you are looking to dip your toe in before committing to the process, then the Initial Consultation is for you. This 90-minute initial consultation will get you started on your positive pet training journey. Initial Consultations with follow up A la Carte sessions provides the most scheduling flexibility.
If you are looking to address 1 or 2 behavior struggles with your pet, and you are looking for accountability through every other week sessions for 2 months, then the 4 Session Consultation Bundle is the way to go.
If you are looking to address multiple behavior struggles with your pet, and are looking to meet with your consultant at least once a week, then our 8 Session Consultation Bundle is what you are looking for.
Book a discovery call here to get personalized recommendations for the right package for you.
Absolutely! Many people within our travel radius choose to start online to build foundation skills before switching to in-home services. Honestly, we think it works better for you and your dog to start online! Because our team works together, we can easily collaborate on cases in situations where a client is looking at services that different consultants offer.
Here’s an example from Kelly: “We have used Pet Harmony for over a year. We started with online session but eventually moved to in-person training session with MaryKaye. We were so impressed and happy with our experience with her. She was so kind and came up with a lot of ideas to making our household work. She was excellent with the dogs. We really changed our perspective on how we interact and spend quality time with our dogs, and how that does not look the same in each household. We got a very detailed written summary after each training session with links to continue growing our skills. We will absolutely be back when we need a refresh or if things change in our house. Thank you so much MaryKaye!”
The pet behavior and training fields are unregulated. Unfortunately, that means that anyone can use the terms “dog trainer”, “behavior consultant”, and “behaviorist” as they please without any qualifications or education to back it up. Sure, parts of the industry will reserve certain terms for people with certain qualifications, but that’s not a hard and fast rule and certainly is not consistent enough to trust title alone.
We call ourselves “behavior consultants” because we feel it best describes what we do. We consult on animal behavior. The certifications we’ve received are primarily called “Certified Dog Behavior Consultant” certifications.
Did a court or animal control tell you that you need to work with a behaviorist? Ask them what they mean and have them give you very specific qualifications. A “Veterinary Behaviorist” is often who they are referring to; this is a licensed veterinarian who has additional board certifications in behavior (the only title with consequences if used without the necessary credentials).
Book a Discovery Call if you’re not sure if our team will meet the requirements required by a court or animal control edict.
DON'T WAIT FOR SOMETHING TO HAPPEN
Start your dog's behavior modification journey now
We’ve heard it too many times. “I’ve been meaning to get help, but after last week’s incident, I
know I need to do something about Rover’s behavior.”
Don’t wait for something bad to happen. Choose your Behavior Solutions option and book your initial
consultation to take the next step towards the life that you and your dog deserve together.
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Results are not guaranteed because behavior- human, canine, or otherwise- is not guaranteeable.