This Consultation is an evaluation of your dog’s current skill set for public access and for the actual service provided by the dog. Providing a plan to refine those skills and prepare the dog to perform as a service dog in private and public.
Service Dog Initial Consultation
No matter what job your service dog performs for you, traveling requires a behavior skill set that your dog might not really have. I can help your dog acquire those skills so you can be sure that you are both confident and stress-free when you travel.
I will help you train your dog until I feel comfortable attesting to the fact that your dog can travel with you and can reliably behave in public.
Your dog needs to be:
- Fully House trained
- Able to settle on the floor next to you even with major distractions
- Show no aggression towards other dogs or humans
- No jumping up on strangers
- No barking
- No begging for food
Please note: In order to qualify as a Psychiatric Service Dog your dog needs to be prescribed by a mental health professional, regardless of how well trained they might be. I can only fulfill the airlines’ and Department of Transportation’s (DOT) requirement that the dog is safe in public and well behaved.
Related Services
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Sessions
Puppy Training
Completely customized and expert led developed plan to teach you how to shape your puppy’s skills and behaviors – from house training to polite manners
Behavior Training
Prevent inappropriate yet normal responses such as jumping, leash pulling, barking, and fear aggression while finding solutions to other undesirable behaviors.
Psychiatric Service Dog Training
Train your dog to provide essential support with tailored training for your specific needs. Includes letter of confirmation of those specific service training skills and public access behavior.
Wellness + Enrichment
Promote mental stimulation and a physically fit lifestyle through carefully guided sessions that teach you additional handling skills and enrichment solutions to fulfill your dog’s needs.
“Elisabeth helped me train my dog Moa via online video lessons. With Elisabeth’s precise and motivating method, we made quick…
“Elisabeth helped me train my dog Moa via online video lessons. With Elisabeth’s precise and motivating method, we made quick progress and Moa learnt as much as I did. I probably learnt more, actually. I understood the calm and steady process of training, how to be consistent, and look for responses to progress and challenge her.”
Interdisciplinary Artist & Writer
1000 thanks to Elisabeth Weiss for so positively effecting our home life. we have a beloved, but super rambunctious standard…
1000 thanks to Elisabeth Weiss for so positively effecting our home life. we have a beloved, but super rambunctious standard schnauzer and rebbe’s behavior was starting to dominate our every move.
Elisabeth trained Reb (and me) with patience and humor and affection . she’s made it possible to enjoy our dog with out constantly having to worry about his next outburst. she’s also a great resource when it comes to his health issues – truly a holistic approach that’s made me feel like i’m not going it alone.
“Elisabeth gets great results quickly. The lessons are a happy, fun, experience for the dog and the rest of the…
“Elisabeth gets great results quickly. The lessons are a happy, fun, experience for the dog and the rest of the family. Our dog, Max, is always really delighted to see her and has learned so much in a very short time. Elisabeth is a fount of information.”
Co-Founder and Publisher of Rolling Stone Magazine
My experience with Elisabeth of Dog Relations has been consistent and remarkable for 2-1/2 years. It is not my experience.…
My experience with Elisabeth of Dog Relations has been consistent and remarkable for 2-1/2 years. It is not my experience. It is the experience of me, my family and my staff – all of whom were trained by her so that we acted consistently to our new puppy. She was empathetic, compassionate and patient with us as she was with our dog.
We met her when we were frustrated by the pup who was not fresh from a litter and being 8-12 weeks old, but rather more like five months old and was accustomed to running with a “pack” of other dogs, all Tibetan terriers who like independence and are not people-pleasers like golden retrievers.
We had a Tibetan terrier and wanted another one and knew that with enough loving, we would make it work. After one month of trying it on our own and with traditional trainers, we called friends for help who had dogs with behavioral problems and they said that she was the “dog whisperer”. They urged us to be in touch.
She met our dog and we watched her in action. Her results were clearly visible and she gave logical and easy-to-understand instructions to us, getting inside the head of the dog to establish “a relationship”.
Our patience had come to frayed edges by that time, however, and although we saw improvement over the next two weeks, we saw that we were not consistent with her counsel and that a lot of different people were dealing with the same animal and he was playing each one of us and he was winning.
We embarked upon a radical plan which was: we left town for close to three weeks. She moved in to our home. Everyone was in boot training who remained in the residence. The dog was the principal being trained.
When we returned to the United States, our dog listened to us (after we were trained by Elisabeth) and has never stopped listening. Sit. Stay. Up. Down. Patience. Restraint. Polite. Give paw. Walks well. All the things a dog could do and should do. He sits when getting to curbs. Doesn’t bark or bother other dogs on the street. Plays well with others. Is friendly with everyone. Does not steal or beg for food. It was magic.
Elisabeth has continued the reinforcement and the dog is constantly learning more and more problem-solving, having greater stimulation and she has become part of his life and our lives.
It has been a revelation and a blessing.
We recommend her to anyone at any time
I am not certain it is possible to have a puppy without Elisabeth! To me Elisabeth does what no other…
I am not certain it is possible to have a puppy without Elisabeth! To me Elisabeth does what no other trainer can (or is willing to commit to) and takes customer service to an entirely new level. I secretly think she has Petzi and Cosi trained to answer emails – it’s the only explanation. She has become such a support system providing me with endless skills, knowledge and tranquility through all the magical little “puppy crisis” moments along the way. To Madison, she is playtime!
Having grown up in a house surrounded by horses and dogs I was reluctant to get a trainer, as I clearly knew what I was doing.
Think again! Madison was a far cry from the “I’ll do anything for you” labs I grew up with. She was a pint-sized ball of nervous fun with so much enthusiasm that needed directing. From the day we first met Elisabeth I knew this would be the best thing I could do for myself, and my dog.
Before Elisabeth I was worried I would be evicted because my little Pomeranian screamed and barked as soon as I walked out of her line of sight. After 2 sessions and a couple emailed instructions Madison learned that sitting, not screaming, gets her everything she desires.
It is amazing to watch Elisabeth interact with Madison because you can see how she listens to the dog and tailors the training to them.
In the beginning of our training when Madison was literally bouncing off her, she used that energy and made her focus on tricks that played to Madison’s innate ability to spin around. Once trust was gained she progressed to more “serious” games and now I can proudly say that my pup will sit still whenever she needs to; something I know would not have happened without Elisabeth.
Maddie and I are so grateful a Google search placed her in our lives and can’t imagine life without her!
“We love Elisabeth and her amazing talent, we’re so grateful for the astonishing difference she made in our lives. Our…
“We love Elisabeth and her amazing talent, we’re so grateful for the astonishing difference she made in our lives. Our hairy kids adore her. 100000% yes!”
Co-Founders, The CORE Club
My ex-wife and I have a now 11 year-old Border Collie named Oreo. In late September, 2013 she completely tore…
My ex-wife and I have a now 11 year-old Border Collie named Oreo. In late September, 2013 she completely tore her ACL and partially tore the medial meniscus on her left hind leg. Needless to say, we were besides ourselves. She had surgery the next day, and did well in the post-op period. One thing the vet made clear from the beginning was the importance of good physical therapy and rehab starting a few weeks post-op. We did some research, and ended up with two referrals: the physical therapist in the animal hospital, and Elisabeth Weiss of DogRelations. We had Oreo see both, to figure out which one we liked better. Elisabeth started off with a comprehensive evaluation of Oreo and her needs from a very holistic approach. She gave recommendations about Oreo’s feeding and her weight, her general behavior, and her rehab plans. After a few sessions with Elisabeth, we dropped the other PT like a hot potato. What can I say about Elisabeth? She’s phenomenal! She has a great rapport with our dog and is constantly giving Oreo praise and TLC. Oreo responded to her right from the get-go. Over the past three months, Oreo is a changed dog! She’s running around, dancing sideways and is clearly more agile now then she was before the injury. Elisabeth has gone from focusing primarily on the injury, to working on Oreo’s arthritis and even working on some of her “bad” behaviors. Oreo loves to see Elisabeth and is always exhausted after her workouts. Quite simply, Elisabeth is great. You can tell that she truly loves dogs, and is working with a great deal of knowledge in the field. Parenthetically, she’s extremely professional, reliable, and trustworthy. Thanks, Elisabeth for everything that you’ve done for Oreo!!
Dear Elisabeth, David and I read your wonderful and enlightening letter. We cannot thank you enough for taking the time…
Dear Elisabeth,
David and I read your wonderful and enlightening letter. We cannot thank you enough for taking the time to care and relate your experience and wisdom to our problem.
When you said “Fear Aggression” the biggest lightbulb went off. We always thought that Zeus was over protective of David, but I think you absolutely have nailed it. Now we have an entirely different perspective.
We also are thankful for you excellent description of Schutzhund training and why that would not be a good option for Zeus. And most of all in one simple sentence, you have explained to us the importance of the positive reinforcement training. When you said that it is much better to do something because you want to do it, than worrying about some terrible thing happening if you don’t, again the sky actually parted for us. I never knew that was the reason for that kind of training. When we worked with the folks at Santa Fe Tails previously, no one ever said that. We just thought it was a newer, more modern way to train dogs. And we worried that they gave far too many treats. And finally your wonderful explanation of deferential behavior gives us such hope for Zeus’s future. I could not bear the thought of living a life of constant fear about him and for him and you actually have lifted a terrible and ominous weight off of the situation. Our only challenge now, is can these folks train us to understand and work in this way with Zeus?
Could I ask you to recommend a book or DVD that would be appropriate for us to learn to work with Zeus in this manner?
I am ever grateful to Freddie and Myrna for discussing our problem with you and I am ever grateful to you for your amazing expertise and for being so generous in sharing this with us.
Warm regards,
Roberta Remy and David Shields
Thank you so much for your knowledge and kindness. I don’t know what we would have done without you!!!!! I…
Thank you so much for your knowledge and kindness. I don’t know what we would have done without you!!!!!
I mean that!
Winky is a very, very sweet fellow and quite well behaved thanks to you.
Everyone, everyone, everyone is so in love with him and ALL say: Wow, what a calm and well behaved puppy he is, so charming, sweet and happy.
I cannot thank you enough for having gotten Winky to this point. I take him with me wherever I go and you have really made it all possible. Grazie mille!
Founder of RODIN Olio Lusso
RODIN Olio Lusso