What People Are Saying
“My wife and I cannot say enough positive things about the training that our dog Penny has received from Anastacia over the past month. The experience and knowledge that Anastacia brings to the table is incredible, and her love for her work certainly leaves a lasting impression. Our dog has responded so quickly to the many things she has taught us, relieving a lot of stress and anxiety for Penny, as well as my wife and I along the way. We would certainly recommend Southland Behavior & Training, for the Professional Service that Anastacia provides.”
Tom & Penny“I have to laugh because your behavior plan and your recap summary look almost exactly like what I write for my kids with IEPs! My 4 legged son is on an IEP! I love how thorough this all is and so easy to understand. So thank you for being such a great “special ed teacher” so far for my boy!”
Meghan & Myer
“Anastacia is extremely knowledgeable, calm and very patient. She really cares about the animals she works with as well as their families. After working with her our 5 year old dog Kalli has become much more relaxed and confident. She has also taught us a lot about canine behavior which has been very helpful to Kalli in her adjustment to her new home.”
Jan & Kalli“ I can't recommend Southland Behavior & Training highly enough! My husband and I are first time dog owners, and we worked with Anastacia for the past six months to help our rescue dog acclimate to her new home and routine. The improvement in my dog's confidence and reactivity from our initial virtual consultation to our most recent in-person outdoor session has been incredible to watch, and she wouldn't have made those gains without Anastacia's help. Throughout our time working with her, Anastacia was always extremely knowledgeable and organized. I particularly appreciated her consult recap emails that always included tips for practicing the new skills we learned in each session and how that specific skill will benefit my dog. She was also easily accessible by email or text to answer questions that came up in between sessions. I will definitely reach out to Anastacia if I need dog training services in the future, and I highly recommend anyone who's looking for a positive reinforcement trainer to get in touch with her as well. Both you and your dog will be happy you did!”
Megan & Penny
“Having Anastacia come in to your home is like having a really knowledgeable friend come in to help. She makes you feel so comfortable, and she is so confident in her ability to help you help your pup to be better. You can’t help but be amazed and encouraged by the progress in a mere hour of her time. She is realistic in her expectations and tasks that she leaves you with to work on, and is entirely nonjudgmental if you haven’t worked 100% on fulfilling those tasks. Her excitement over your pup’s improvement is infectious and only encourages you to want to work harder and continue to make strides with your dog’s behavior.”
Jen & Janie“Anastacia is terrific. She not only trains, but teaches about dog behavior at the same time! Our dogs love her!!”
Katey, Brenin & Fenwick
“We have a three-year-old border collie mix (Scottie) and were starting to feel overwhelmed with her anxiety, reactivity, and herding tendencies (especially with a baby on the way). We’d done group and private training and knew that positive reinforcement was the way to go, so we sought out the help of a behaviorist who might be able to sort out what was going on in our dog’s mind and translate that into teachable skills. We are so glad that that search lead us to Anastacia!
First, Scottie loved her right away - absolutely not always the case for strangers, especially in her own home. Anastacia’s initial assessment was comprehensive; we felt like she really listened to us and to Scottie, including a stroll around our neighborhood to look at existing training and reactivity. From there, we talked about the various approaches we could take in situations where Scottie was likely to be way over threshold, including a gentle introduction to muzzling and “place” cues for greeting. Anastacia also helped us understand what was innate/not something we could “fix” and how we could accommodate those tendencies so that Scottie and the people/pets around her could be more at ease. These days, we have a far better handle on Scottie during walks and have several strategies we deploy in settings where she’s uncomfortable around new/scary people.
We plan to work with Anastacia again once our baby arrives to make sure everyone stays safe, happy, and comfortable together. I am so grateful to have found her and I know Scottie is living a happier life because of what she’s taught us!”
Megan & Scottie“I wanted to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude for the incredible support Anastacia provided with Tucker's training.
He was experiencing quite a bit of anxiety around new people, which was affecting both him and me. I was genuinely worried about taking him out in public or having people at our house. Your fear-friendly approach not only equipped me with the necessary tools to help him but also transformed how he interacts with others.
I am thrilled to say that the training has significantly improved his behavior and has really helped to ease my own anxiety as well. I’m excited to take Tucker on more adventures now and having people at our house knowing that he is more comfortable in various social situations.
Thank you so much once again for your patience and expertise. It has truly made a difference in our lives!”
Joanne & Tucker