In the summer of 2018 we got our puppy, Beacon. An adorable puppy who was full of energy and exuberance. We were in Boston at the time and we struggled with living in an apartment in the city and tried to teach our Beacon to adapt to human ways. We did not have much progress. In the early fall we went to Florida at which time we learned about Rachel from a friend. We had had many recommendations in Boston, but they did not prove to be very fruitful.

We went to Rachel’s and got a tour of her property and an introduction into her philosophy about dog training and socialization. For humans it was understandable and even Beacon seemed to agree.

What followed was sheer perfection. Rachel had an almost magical way with Beacon, encompassing patience, knowledge, understanding and experience in her training sessions. We knew from our time with Beacon that she was learning and digesting her teachings. What was truly great to see was that as we got within about ½ mile of Rachel’s, Beacon became excited to be going to Rachel’s. Upon arrival, Beacon would bound out of the car and go running into the arms of one of the staff or Rachel without looking back. Beacon’s introduction to socializing both with people and dogs proved to be a wonderful gift. Rachel had informed us early on about the need for socialization and it, like the other parts of her philosophy proved to be right. Beacon’s ability to get along with people and other dogs making it a treat to be with our pet.

Along with all this, we needed to learn what Rachel was doing, how to do it ourselves and how to continue in other areas of training so that we could carry on her work and enhance it. We were informed that Rachel would come to our home and train us in the process of teaching our dog. She came and was just as patient and clear in her instructions with us as she obviously was with Beacon.

So, in summary, we give Rachel the top grade-an A+ in all categories. And we might add her staff our delightful and gentle with the dogs. We cannot recommend Rachel and her facility highly enough.

Barbara and Peter Sidel
2020 Jupiter & Boston

I cannot rate Rachel highly enough. Rachel has been working with my puppy, Dilly, since she was 3 1/2 months old. From the moment she entered our home there was a noticeable difference – literally. The slightly manic, over excited (but adorable and loving) puppy that was causing some in home agnst, immediately responded to her very kind but firm insistence on good behavior…AT THE FRONT DOOR. ON THE FIRST VISIT. From there we progressed such that Dilly kindly meets guests, enjoys cuddles from children and adults, comes when called, responds to her name, curtails jumping, walks on a leash, and sits, lies down, and stays on command. Dilly isn’t yet six months, so we are not batting 1000, but she is learning, doing so, so we’ll, and importantly, enjoys the training process. Potty training is a non issue. Dilly so loves when she sees Rachel at the front door.

Critically, Rachel has taught me to be a good puppy Mom…she doesn’t just train and go, she engages me in the process so that I can continuously reinforce good behaviors. She leaves print outs outlining simply what we have learned, and how to keep it going. She tells me, kindly, what I’m doing wrong and how to do better – I.e. modifying my tone, body language, treat frequency, etc. Everything is positive…and even a VERY skeptical family member aknowledged how Rachel’s positivitve, reward based training yielded very quick results.

As a busy professional, I appreciated Rachel’s like professionalism…in terms of scheduling, promptness, invoice clarity, and follow up. I also now understand that she invests in her own development, so to stay current on dog training techniques. But when I phoned the first time it was a bit of a Hail Mary…

It is aknowledged that in home training is not inexpensive – we actually opted for training vs. a short get away this year – but we viewed it as an investment in a new, loved family member that will pay dividends for years and years. Sort of like the decision to send your child to pre-school: a given. Rachel’s rates are fair – if someone had asked me up front “what would you pay for a well behaved companion?” I’d say we got more than our money’s worth. Rachel laid the ground work for our puppy early, and we now see that it creates an aptitude for and interest in ongoing development. Friends with a puppy the same age that have opted to spend a bit less for group training at a pet store have commented on the marked difference in how our puppies are developing.

Rachel’s ancilary services in terms of day care and boarding are convenient and terrific. Her facilities have the warmth of a home, and are immaculate and well suited.

Dilly is happy, as she has clear boundaries, and we so enjoy our well behaved, joyful puppy that is wonderful with clients, friends, family and strangers.

Hire Rachel. You and your dog will not be disappointed.

A caveat…I do not give out many five star reviews.

Kim L. on March 7, 2015

I have known Rachel since my dog was a little puppy at 2 months of age. I remember being so desperate at times thinking I would not be able to train my dog Penny and even regretting getting a dog! I went to Rachel classes on Saturdays and also took Penny to the socialization classes and Rachel would always give me advice on how to train Penny and told me to be patient! I took all of her advice and methods and today Penny is a completely different dog. She is 15 months and very social, loving, very very smart dog and she can do all sorts of fun tricks. Even though I have moved from the area where Rachel is, she is still the only one I trust and I will gladly drive to where she is. Most recently I left Penny with Rachel for Board and Training as I will be going out of the country soon and I was truly impressed with the organization of her place and I have zero concerns of leaving my dog there for the times I will travel. Rachel only uses positive reinforcement when training the dogs and she has a special connection with the animals. Penny always comes back an improved dog when she comes back from Rachel’s home! Thank you Rachel you are amazing! Penny is looking forward to her next Board and Training with you!

Rachel is wonderfully sweet, patient and clearly loves dogs! (Sort of important qualities in a dog trainer.) Her positive, gentle approach — and her ability to laugh — makes her super easy to work with. We also boarded our puppy with her for 3 days and she took GREAT care of our girl. She sent lots of pictures, too, so we knew our baby was being well cared for. We’re done with our  training package (for now), and I’ll truly miss seeing Rachel each week — and so will our puppy who jumped for joy whenever she arrived!

Hello Rachel, Hope you are doing well.  I just wanted to give you an update on Bailey.  She is doing much better with dogs we see.  When a dog is behind a privacy fence and barks at her it scares her and  she barks back but is pretty easy to get under control with hot dogs.  In fact, she will calm down and walk away even if the dog is still barking at her.  Tonight on our bike ride I accidentally spilled the hot dogs.  We were almost home and two dogs without leashes started running up to her.  I stopped and made her sit and called to the owner to get her dogs because Bailey was still in training.  However both dogs came right up to her and even smelled her. I had a hold of her collar and had no hot dogs to offer but kept praising her and saying “Puppies!”  She barked once but never crossed the threshold or was out of control.  She seems to be gaining confidence and not experiencing so much fear.  The harness is working great!  

Thank you so much!