These are just some of the things clients have to say about Karen and her services. For each of these testimonials, please acknowledge the hard work and dedication of these dog owners who have proved that the success of learning is dependent upon the commitment of the owner.
Annabelle Doodles • Hershey • Angus, Sabrina, and Ace • Koda • Henry • Stella and Trexler • Regal the Beagle • Bella • Sophie • Clementine • Aspen • Agnus • Oscar • Missy and Bella • Trevor
Annabelle Doodles
I have used Karen’s services exclusively for her testing finesse with regard to “puppy assessments” on each of my litters. Karen is very careful, thorough and truthful in this regard. She is quick to pick out the pups that need more attention or social skills and that is a critical point for a pup to become successfully placed. Karen’s training credentials give her a unique insight to possible placement issues when perusing my applications for each puppy. Because of her suggestions, I have had a very high “perfect home” placement record.
When my clients ever have a question about their puppy’s behavior development, I know that Karen’s expertise will provide the answer. I consider using Animal Manners a valuable asset to my breeding program and my clients are always impressed that I provide this service from such a qualified individual.
Sincerely,
Joyce Tabor and Annabelle Doodles
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Hershey
Hi Karen,
Thank you so much for sending us these pictures. You can see how much Hershey adores you by the way he’s looking at you!
We can’t thank you enough for all that you taught our family and for your patience dealing with new dog owners! You’ve given us a lot of tools, confidence and common sense. We’ll be practicing all summer and looking forward to our next group of classes!
Have a great summer,
Liz, Mike, and Hershey
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Angus, Sabrina, and Ace
I met Karen 9 years ago when we acquired our first Yorkie, Angus. I had always been around animals growing up, even doing dog obedience in 4-H, but it had been a while so I thought I could review how to “train“ Angus. We did a full 6-week obedience course.
Karen not only deals with the training aspect, but educated me on nutrition and manners. Angus has gone on to do many modeling jobs for pet magazines. Talk about an animal’s eyes lighting up when they see someone, you should see Angus when Karen walks in the room. Angus has a sister, Sabrina, and newly acquired brother, Ace (they also model), so Karen and I have an ongoing relationship with my four legged “yorkie kids.” She never ceases to amaze me with her truly natural talent, and because of her my dogs have “Animal Manners.”
Thank you, Karen!
Pam Leibowitz and Angus, Sabrina, and Ace
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Koda
When I first got Koda at 10 weeks, I knew I wanted to get started on a good first step (paw) in training. Working with Karen was the best thing I ever did. Her gentle manner and training with my dog as well as myself was a great start! Bravo Karen! Because of working with you, Koda is one of the calmest Westies in NH.
Thank you,
John Holland and Koda
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Henry
Karen was instrumental in helping me help Henry, my wild Wheaten terrier, learn Adult Manners. He was 10 months old, not neutered, and used to the free and easy “dorm life”—a challenge to say the least. Henry respected Karen from the moment he met her, and responded well to the positive renforcement method of training she taught me. He’s still wild, but in a much more respectful way, and we have the foundation for a lifetime of learning together. We volunteer with the ElderPet program as a Delta Society Team—great fun.
Thank you, Karen!
Nancy Euchner and Henry
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Stella and Trexler
Karen has trained us along with our many dogs over the years. Her calm and consistently even demeanor are marks of her professionalism. I have referred many friends to Animal Manners. This behavior-based training respects the animal and the relationship that animal has with the family, human and canine.
Thanks, Karen!
Lisa Dale, and Stella and Trexler (in memory of Kestle and Halston)
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Regal the Beagle
At fifty years old, my husband and I became first time dog parents. We are so grateful for all that Karen was able to teach us, and Regal the Beagle. This dog is such a delight to the whole neighborhood. I’m not exaggerating—I walk him around the block and children call his name and come running out to him. I love this dog so much, I could have easily spoiled him into a creature that no one wanted to live with.
Karen showed us you don’t have to yell or bark orders at a dog to teach him and discipline him. My 89-year-old father-in-law was so impressed with his behavior. I asked him if he had dogs when he was growing up. He said “Oh, yeah. We had dogs—but nothing like this!”
Karen, you really taught us how to understand the dog, and how to get him to understand us. When there’s a loud noise, like thunder or firecrackers, Regal’s reaction now is to look at us. When we don’t get excited, neither does he.
This dog was returned to a shelter twice before we adopted him. He was not a new dog when Karen came to help us train him, but he learned quickly under care. The money spent on individual training was well spent. I have since talked to many people who said their dog didn’t really learn much of anything in group obedience class they attended. I can’t begin to calculate the value of the increased enjoyment we get from this dog because we can really communicate with him.
If we ever get another dog, the first thing I’ll do is call Animal Manners.
Joyce Rita Malley and Regal the Beagle
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Bella
In July 2000, my family decided to ”foster“ a German Shepard/Husky mix from the shelter. We named her Bella on the way home, need I say more? Our veterinarian estimated her age to be 3 years old and she clearly hadn’t
been trained. We weren’t sure what to do, and Bella needed direction. My
sister told me about Karen because she had two dogs that Karen was able to teach/train compatibility to.
We had Karen come to our home for one-on-one training, which I must say is incredible! It is stress free for your pet, and being in the home is perfect because this is where all the training happens. Karen’s positive training techniques coupled with her insight and calm demeanor were exactly what Bella needed and responded to. She learned quickly and easily because of Karen’s patient, reward-based methods. Sadly, our beloved Bella passed last summer…a truly heartbreaking experience. When I informed Karen of Bella’s passing, her compassion, kindness, and understanding was genuine, and it was a comfort to me.
In fall of last year, we found ourselves ready to take on adopting another dog, Sophia. Sophia came from Alabama, is 3 years old and had no training at all…she wasn’t even housebroken. We tried to train her at first, and this only led to frustration and anxiety for us and Sophia. I called Karen. Once again, Karen’s techniques have been 100% successful! Sophia is a great little girl and we have become a family together. I would not hesitate to recommend Karen to anyone. Regardless of what is needed for training, she has the answers—they are kind, respectful and proven successful.
Sincerely,
Michelle Genovese
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Sophie
As a person that has never had a pet, I hired Karen not only to train my new puppy but to train me. Karen’s soft-spoken and gentle way with Sophie, my Shih Tzu, was such a surprise to me. She managed to teach Sophie many commands with a soft, subtle way. I wanted to have a good experience as a new dog owner and Karen was able to make that possible.
Paula Slattery and Sophie
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Clementine
Karen,
You were wonderful helping us with our baby Berner Clementine. As first-time dog owners, you provided us with the necessary answers to understand our newest family member. When we met, she was about a 14-pound 10-week-old puppy trying to figure out how to keep her legs under her. It was a pleasure having you guide and train us with her and you did it with your knowledge, TLC, and humor. Your expertise and helpful tips worked well. In addition, you were just a phone call away, available when we had questions between sessions in your reassuring manner. As the youngest member in our family, she’s grown to be a 75-pound, well-mannered Berner.
Thank you again for helping us better understand our youngest four-legged “baby!”
Take care,
Joan Lyons and Clementine
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Aspen
Karen not only teaches you how to train your dog but she teaches you about dog behavior and the human-canine relationship. This gives you a greater understanding of training techniques, which helps you train your dog more efficiently and build a great relationship with your dog. Thanks to positive reinforcement training, my dog Aspen loves to train and learn new things.
Karen and Brad Boisvert and Aspen
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Agnus
A few months ago I got the most adorable little Chihuahua, against the advice of many. I immediately called Karen at Animal Manners, and in 6 easy lessons I now have the sweetest, completely socialized little puppy. She is like a little dream, very well behaved. We got through all her little annoying puppy stuff so easily. I really enjoyed working with Karen because her approach is gentle and positive and I think my puppy learned faster in that environment.
Martha Murray and Agnus
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Oscar
I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your work and how much Oscar learned from you. Keep up the great work. I wish you trained for show. As Oscar enters his teens I’m sure I will be begging you for help….I’m keeping my fingers crossed that he won’t be that bad. Anyway, thank you again for a job well done.
Take care,
Debra Boutot and Oscar
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Missy and Bella
We were hiking at Diana’s Bath with our two Beagles (Missy and Bella) when we met Karen and her family. We stopped for a few minutes to chat and I was immediately impressed with Karen’s kind, gentle manner as she spoke to two frisky Beagles in the woods!
Karen asked if she could photograph our Beagle girls, then much to our surprise we learned that she was a professional dog trainer! We were very excited when she asked if she could use the girls in a photo shoot modeling dog clothes.
Creativity is the key to keeping Beagle girls happy and with all the snow this winter Karen’s email for the photo shoot arrived at the perfect time.
We did not know what to expect when we arrived at the studio, but my heart and mind were open. It was one of the best afternoons I have had in a long time! Watching Karen work with Missy and Bella brought pure joy to my afternoon. Karen’s God given talent was evident from the beginning. Her professional and gentle manner had the girls eating out of her hand within moments, and as they followed her around the studio their tails could not stop wagging! They were having a blast!
Beagles love to work and Karen worked them with gentle guidance. I never heard her speak to them, if she did it was in a whisper, and they obeyed her every command. She dressed them in many different outfits and different poses, each outfit and pose more precious than the one before.
I had no idea how much work was involved putting together photographs for pet catalogues until I watched the crew at work!
Karen took time to teach me a few new tools to give Bella a little more direction. I have enjoyed putting these new techniques to work and Bella has responded beautifully.
Meeting Karen Gordon Betournay of Animal Manners, Inc. and watching her work with our Beagles has been one of the nicest experiences I have had in a long time. She treated our girls with respect and they responded in kind.
Karen is a true credit to her profession. I highly recommend Karen, her compassion, kindness and understanding of our dogs was genuine.
Thank you Karen, it has been our pleasure.
Ginny, Missy and Bella Boutchie
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Trevor
When we first got our Jack Russell Terrier (Trevor) a close friend recommended the services of Animal Manners. Karen was such a welcome help when it came to training Trevor, as he has a lot of energy. The tips and techniques that Karen provided during the in-home training made all the difference. When the course had come to an end I do believe that Trevor missed seeing Karen each week. We can’t thank Karen enough for showing us that speaking calm and confidently goes a lot further than screaming and yelling. Trevor is turning into a wonderful Jack and we Karen to thank for getting us off on the right foot!
Elliot and Callie Shultz
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