Specializing in training your dog in your Vermont home

Does This Sound Like Your Dog?

•Chews shoes, furniture, garbage
•Guard toys, food bowl, chewies, furniture, kids
•Pulls away, growls, snaps or bites when being handled
•Uses inappropriate inside toilet areas
• Barks at strange people, places, objects, dogs or other animals
•Jumps up on visitors
•Mouths your skin, clothing or hair
•Pulls on leash making walks unpleasant and potentially dangerous
•Freaks out and does damage to your home when you leave (especially doors)
•Is unpleasant toward other pets in the home or on walks

Problem Pets Fall Into Two Categories:

Good dogs with bad habits

These dogs are emotionally well, but have
undesirable behaviors which can be changed.



Distressed dogs with bad habits

These puppies and dogs exhibit some of the same behaviors as above, however their behavior is due to emotional upset – usually fear or aggression. Examples of this include dogs guarding their “things” (food, toys, treats, furniture, people), fear of visitors or other dogs, aggression toward people or dogs, dogs who don't like to be handled or dogs who are destructive when left home alone.

The majority of our clients have dogs with emotional problems. Many dogs have these problems. They are not bad dogs, they are just afraid or stressed. Because of these problems, owners are often unable to take these dogs to trainers or classes outside the home. We visit your home, interview the owners and to see pinpoint the source of stress. Once we have a diagnosis, we prepare a written plan which addresses your dogs needs. The treatment plan is written with the particular needs of each dog and their family in mind.

  © 2004 Follow the Leader Dog Training Services/Jill Halstead · Member: Association of Pet Dog Trainers.

Dog Training Services

Chittenden County Vermont

Follow the Leader, owned by experienced dog trainer Jill Halstead, teaches all aspects of dog training & dog behavior. Clicker training, dog training basics, aggressive dogs, aggression issues, chewing and biting, dog socialization, leash training, puppy training and more. Jill has been training dogs in the

Jill Halstead is a graduate of the renowned San Francisco SPCA Dog Trainer Academy which is directed by author and trainer Jean Donaldson. You may be familiar with some of Jean's books including Culture Clash, Dogs are From Neptune and Mine!.

Through four years of training shelter dogs at the Chittenden County Humane Society, Jill has been convinced of the effectiveness of positive reinforcement training methods - even with the most difficult dogs. Those are the only types of methods we use. They are the only methods proven to train dogs without fallout like aggression and fear.

She was lucky enough to have been the owner of a sweet, well-behaved Border Collie cross named Bailey, who she trained to be a registered therapy dog. Sadly, Bailey passed away in May at the age of about 14. She will be greatly missed by all those who knew and loved her. Bailey was adopted from the Humane Society of Chittenden County at the age of two or three. Mixed-breed shelter dogs rock!