The Right Steps

Cindy’s positive teaching style is based on the science of applied behavior analysis which has thousands of studies to support it’s efficacy and is the style of teaching used for children with autism as well as animals of all types. There is no reason a particular breed would not respond since we all work for reinforcement, it is our paycheck for humans and a variety of rewards for the dogs. The initial rewards are food based since that is what motivates most dogs and if the reward is t motivating then it isn’t a reward. Later you move into spacing out the rewards and using secondary ones such as praise and belly rubs, etc in lieu of food. This type of training requires consistency and a lot of work from the owner but it builds a bond that is stronger than just having someone else train your dog. this is my second dog to go through the right steps and my first one was an absolute joy to have around and a great loss when she passed. I highly recommend the class, but know that it requires a lot of work on your part, she shows you how and you practice. Ultimately it is you who has to have control over the dog, not some remote trainer.

Cindy Smith is not only a wonderful dog trainer, she is truly a caring and knowledgeable person. I admire her honesty, and passion for teaching people about cats and dogs in general, and not just focusing on training alone. Expect positive reinforcement only, & common sense training tips. You will learn a lot, have fun with your pet (s) and can pick from a variety of classes! I love her Canine Nose Work class, and so does my Boston Terrier Shakira! Highly recommended.

I took my willful, hyper, excitable, and fearful mini Australian Shepherd puppy here for the Surviving Adolescence class. I have (currently) 3 Australian Shepherds that I have taken to professional training (in a different area as I moved up here about 2 years ago) and I like that The Right Steps is positive reinforcement based. It helped my pup to come out of his shell and be excited about working. I think the trainer gave us the tools necessary to work with our dogs… ultimately its the owners responsibility to train the dogs and your results depend on how much you work with your dog. When I was having difficulty with a problem behavior from my pup the trainer was easy to talk to and offered very effective suggestions.
In response to the previous review stating this training is good for the elderly that want to spoil their dogs… that couldn’t be further from the truth. There was a wide range of dogs and owners when I took the class. I myself am a young and active person that has studied dog behavior and I know that all studies indicate that positive reinforcement is the correct and most successful way to train a dog (or horse, cat, bird or monkey for that matter) I would never allow sometime to tell me to train my dog using abusive or aversive methods, maybe some people are OK with that, but I am not.
I would definately recommend the Right Steps for dog training and I am signing my young dog up for another class (agility for fun) with this trainer.

Attempted to get some basic training for my hound puppy, but turned out to be a rather huge disappointment. The woman trainer was simply a one trick pony. She only uses one technique of strong positive training with treats. So many treats they you will likely be left with a pup with explosive diarrhea. At first her techniques seemed fine, but none of which worked well with my breed and a few others in the class. I asked her to help us try out her methods, she attempted then quickly gave up and becoming frustrated. She seemed to give up if the puppy did not fall into place quickly.
This class would be fine for little toy breeds like a shih tzus, maltese, or labs and goldens, but for anyone who has a more willful breed like a hound or terrier ought to look elsewhere for someone more serious. She was a positive approach and has one of those excitable voices that gets a dogs attention, but her techniques and games will unlikely truly set the stage for a basically trained dog. More likely a dog who comes to expect treats in order to behave and inevitably becoming obese.
Perfect class for seniors with little dogs they want to spoil to death, there is certainly a place for that, but for everyone else I highly recommend exploring elsewhere. Check out