2010

 Best Dog Trainer Ever!!
by julie0610 at Citysearch

I just wanted to take a minute and tell you how wonderful Marilyn at Happy Puppy Tutoring is. She is an absolute miracle worker. We have a maltipoo puppy that barked all through the night for about 2 months and would growl at our children. We did extensive research and read several books and nothing worked. Honestly we probably would have given her away if she hadn't been a christmas present for our daughter. We were referred to Marilyn from a lady who said that she did a great job with her dogs. My husband and I were very skeptical but we were so sleep deprived that we were willing to try anything. She actually got our puppy to stop barking after the first visit! We couldn't believe it, we were ecstatic! With all of her bad behavior out of the way we are now working on all the other training like, roll over and play dead and we are having so much fun watching her learn more things. We learned a lot too and are much better pet owners because of what Marilyn taught us. Our puppy is now a close member of our family and owning and training her is just the most wonderful experience and it is all due to Marilyn.

    * Pros: very reasonable fees, very proffessional, really knows her s

 EXTREMELY EFFECTIVE
by MK Evans at Citysearch

My dog is a different being after 2 lessons. I wanted him to WILLING walk his chubby body every day instead of fighting and stalling: ride quietly in his car seat without whining to be held; not beg while I eat, and give the ball instead of growling viciously at everyone.. And, oh yeah, quit barking when I answer the door.

Well, TA DA! I''ve already got my money's worth, and I have 2 more lessons to reinforce this. MARILYN IS MY AFFORDABLE DOG WHISPERER.

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5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended
09/14/09
Awesome Training
by Linnea Danna at Citysearch

Marilyn & her training has made a huge difference in mine & my dogs life in just 4 weeks. I would reccomend her for any training needs. It was a great experience & I'll keep up with her training once a month.

11-20-08

I have known Marilyn Nichols at Happy Puppy Tutoring since last fall. My dog, Princess, and I have successfully completed 3 four-week sessions with her, and are very pleased with the results.

When Marilyn came into our lives Princess was a confused, frightened rescue from one of the local rescue groups. Our family fell in love with her as soon as she came into our home. However, Princess came with issues we had never encountered with the other dogs we adopted. She was extremely shy, skittish, and prone to nipping.

After the vet recommended a personal trainer, I talked to other trainers in the area, and was about to give up when I saw her ad in the North Austin Civic Association (NACA) newsletter. After just a few minutes on the phone and a brief exchange of e-mails, we got together. Princess was as hostile and scared out as she had been with us. Marilyn met her with boldness, patience, and an ability to reassure her.

She taught us so much, and basically served as a family-pet therapist. In the first four sessions we worked on Princess’ basic needs, and then we invited Marilyn back for work on helping Princess adapt to new situations and environments (such as shopping at the pet store), and working on leash training.

I have conservative views, and have never bought into the pet psychic phenomenon. However, Marilyn provided valuable expertise and tools to help Princess become mentally sound by working on the communication between Princess and the members of our family. Marilyn has helped us create an environment of love, trust, and respect. She was persistent (with us and our dog), explained and demonstrated what would work to address the issues, and adapted the basic principles to our particular family.

People who have known our dog since we got her are amazed at how much her behavior has improved. If Marilyn had not helped us, I don’t think Princess would be as happy or as healthy as she is. I am not shy about telling other pet owners I meet that our family is flourishing because of Marilyn and Happy Puppy Tutoring.

Elizabeth “Betty” Posey

09-24-08
My dogs and I were experiencing a specific problem. I turned to Happy Puppy Tutoring for help. That problem was solved after our first session. In the sessions to follow, Marilyn taught me how easy my routine with my dogs could be by limiting some of the silly little things I allowed them to do. I tended to pamper and indulge my dogs, because I wanted them to feel loved and happy. I was amazed by how much more playful and content they seemed with gentle firmness from me. With the knowledge I received from Happy Puppy Tutoring, my dogs and I are even closer than before and my daily routine got much easier. I recommend Happy Puppy Tutoring to anyone who wants to maximize their relationship with their dog.
Holly Horchover
Holly Horchover Design

07-27-07
Marilyn,
Thanks for doing such a wonderful job with our dog, Sierra. I cannot believe the difference in her behavior before your training and after. She went from being unmanageable to a great family pet. She gets lots of complements on her manners from people we know and strangers too. She loves doing all the tricks you taught her.
Thanks,
Anna Elman

11/14/2007
Hi Marilyn,
I have been putting off writing you because I wasn't sure just how to describe how happy we are with your work, AND our wonderfully calm Nada. I thought I would just have to endure her 'skittishness', and barking, and insecurities because that was simply her personality. Yet, lo and behold, once we found you and your techniques, it changed our "family" forever.  She seems to improve and get better everyday.  She has become what we call the "perfect puppy".  We walk her twice a day, and we all enjoy it.  She jumps into her car seat without any hesitation. She will calm down when we tell her to "settle".  And she is no longer scared of anything......maybe we need to work on that! 
Honestly, we can not say enough about what you taught us.....we are forever grateful for finding you and we have referred you to some good friends of ours - the ultimate thank you in my book. I am sure that the only reason Don has not gotten on the computer himself and sent you an email as well, is because he is speechless at how much things have changed around our house.  I am sure you will be getting many more emails from us. 
We hope you are doing well.  We have told everyone about your training, and hope to send you more clients in the future.  Thanks for all that you do. 
Sincerely, Sue and Don Legacy.