Hi. I’m Susan Kelly.Your version of a great dog is yours to define.
There is no single picture of the “perfect dog.” There’s the life you want with yours. You define what that looks like. I build the training around it.
I’m not here to impose my idea of the perfect dog on your family. Want your dog sleeping on the couch with you? Great. Prefer your dog stays off the furniture? Also great. Want reliable off-leash freedom? A dog who can relax while friends visit? Travel with you? Walk comfortably through town or settle beside you at lunch? You tell me what a good life with your dog looks like. We build toward that.
images/about-susan.jpgWhy I do this
My path into dog training began while volunteering at a shelter, where I saw families surrender dogs they loved because of behaviors they no longer knew how to live with. What stayed with me was how many of those problems could be changed.
I wanted to help before a family reached that point. That is still at the heart of why I do this: helping people understand their dogs, keeping dogs in loving homes whenever possible, and giving dogs the skills and freedom to live bigger, better lives.
images/about-shelter.jpgI look at the whole dog.
One of the foundations of my training is simple: meet the dog’s needs. Dogs need appropriate physical activity, mental stimulation, communication, guidance, rest, and opportunities to experience the world.
Sometimes what looks like a training problem is partly a dog whose needs aren’t being met. Before deciding how to change a behavior, I want to understand what is driving it.
images/about-whole-dog.jpgWhy “Problem Solved”?
Because the answer is different every time.
Thousands of lessons have taught me that no two dogs—and no two families—are exactly alike. Sometimes the answer is teaching a new skill. Sometimes it’s directly changing an unwanted behavior. Sometimes it’s management. Sometimes a dog’s needs aren’t being met. Often, it’s a combination.
My job is to figure out what is getting in the way and find the solution that fits the dog, the humans, and the life they want to build together. That’s why I called the company Problem Solved.
images/about-problem-solved.jpgFrom Chicago to the Space Coast
I built Problem Solved in the Chicago area before moving to Florida. Today I work with families throughout Florida’s Space Coast in person and with clients anywhere through virtual consultations.
Since 2012, I’ve continued refining not only how I train dogs, but how I teach people to understand and train their own dogs.
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