PRIVATE TRAINING · SAN DIEGO
You shouldn’t dread walking your dog.
The barking. The lunging. The fear of what might happen when another dog rounds the corner. I’m Mary, and I work with you and your dog personally—so you learn what to do when real life gets hard.
Start with a $250 private assessment90 minutes in your home · A personal plan · You train directly with me
Training for the dog you have
This program is for owners dealing with leash reactivity, fear, anxiety, aggressive behavior, or difficulty settling around everyday triggers. Those behaviors can look similar from the outside but require an individual assessment. We start with your dog’s history, the situations that cause trouble, and what you need to be able to do safely in daily life.
You and your dog train with me directly. I don’t send you to another trainer or take your dog away for weeks and return it without you knowing what happened. I teach you what to watch for, how to handle challenging situations, and what to practice between lessons, so the skills belong to both of you.
What we work on
- Recognizing triggers and choosing manageable training setups.
- Building clearer communication and handling skills for you and your dog.
- Practicing focus, leash skills, and calmer responses around distractions.
- Creating a realistic plan for home, neighborhood walks, and other relevant settings.
We adjust the work to the dog in front of us. A fearful dog, a dog frustrated by barriers, and a dog with a bite history may need different starting points. An evaluation helps determine an appropriate training plan and whether a particular environment or group activity is suitable.
START WHERE YOUR DOG IS
No one-size-fits-all playbook.
Fear, frustration, and a history of difficult experiences can look similar on a walk. An evaluation helps Mary choose a realistic starting point and teach you how to practice safely between lessons.
FROM A GOOGLE REVIEW
A rescue adopter and a lunging shepherd
Sabrina Swerdloff, who runs a rescue, describes Mary meeting an adopter and their new shepherd at a park when lunging made handling difficult. Mary showed the adopter how to handle the situation and had them practice. Sabrina reports that the issue improved in that case. Every dog is different; the assessment sets an appropriate starting point.
Read Sabrina’s original Google review ↗FROM A GOOGLE REVIEW
Finally, someone who understood his reactive dog
Joseph Avelar says Mary understood his dog’s behavior when other trainers had not. He says her approach made sense, that he is still working on it, and that finding someone who could help felt like “one of those moments where the skies cleared.”
Read reviews on Mary’s Google Business Profile ↗Assessment first, then a six-week plan
We begin with a private, in-home assessment so Mary can meet your dog, understand the behavior and your goals, and recommend an appropriate training plan. The assessment is required before behavior modification lessons.
Initial in-home assessment
$250
Approximately 1.5 hours with you and your dog. This is a separate first step.
Behavior modification program
$1,200
Six private lessons, one each week, if the program is a good fit after the assessment.
Cost if you continue with the six-week program: $1,450 total ($250 assessment + $1,200 program). The assessment fee is separate from the program fee.
I bring more than 20 years of dog-training experience, hands-on work with Southern California rescues on challenging cases, and Professional Membership in the International Association of Canine Professionals to your training. Meet Mary and read about her experience.
Serving San Diego dog owners
Private, in-home training serves San Diego and nearby coastal communities. Mary works with clients in Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, Ocean Beach, Point Loma, La Jolla, Del Mar, Solana Beach, and Encinitas to the north, and Coronado, Chula Vista, and Imperial Beach to the south. She also serves Clairemont and other San Diego neighborhoods. Tell us where you live and what situations are hardest for your dog so we can confirm travel availability and whether in-home training is a good fit.
Ready to talk about your dog?
Tell Mary what is happening and what you would like to change. Ask about the $250 private evaluation, or contact Mother of Beasts K9 Training to discuss the next step. You can also review the current training programs.