Hi, I'm
Grace Owen-Smeltzer
Trainer
I have been an animal lover all my life, and have never lived without a dog or two. I recently retired from a career in nursing and live in York, ME with my husband Tom, our two dogs, two cats, one horse, and at last count, 13 chickens. My passions are reading, tending to my gardens, and caring for all of my critters.
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I engaged Mike’s services to train my extremely reactive rescue pup Micah, with profound results. Mike’s insight and knowledge taught me how to tune in to Micah’s triggers and apply the lessons to our everyday lives. Mike’s calm demeanor enabled Micah to trust and feel safe. I'm excited to be part of Mike's team, and look forward to helping as many dogs as I can.
"Amazing Grace" - Mike Armstrong CPDT-KA
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Grace started out as our client for her adult rescue dogs Micah and Irma. Their story is a model of understanding the root causes of dog behavior, technique, building confidence, and dedication!
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The BEFORE: (I wish I had a video!) Micah’s leash reactivity toward other dogs and people was so severe that he pulled Grace down and she broke a finger! After a year of formal training elsewhere with little success, Grace and her husband Tom felt helpless and scheduled to have Micah euthanized.
I met Grace while she was walking her two dogs and I was training a client’s dog in the same neighborhood. Her dogs began fighting with each other when they spotted my client’s dog, and Micah bit Grace during the fight. Grace was in tears, so I told her that I was a trainer and offered to help.
We quickly began working with Micah, who repeatedly tried to bite me during the first 10 minutes of our first session. Micah’s aggression softened after feeding him just a few pieces of food through a Chuck-It! To protect myself, and the rest is history! We ordered him the right equipment, practiced many different walking drills, and gradually re-introduced him to other dogs and people.
Next up was Irma, her German Shepherd mix who was also reactive on leash. We repeated the process for her, and then began working with them together.
The AFTER: The video here says it all! Grace and her pups are walking right up to the fence of a dog park with no reaction other than tails wagging! Grace’s commitment to rehabilitating her dogs and building her own confidence with them were so impressive that I wanted her on my team. She brings the right combination of compassion, practical sense, skill, and grace (lol!) that is a perfect fit for our business.