Client Comments

Stuarts Draft, VA

I first contacted Cindy Smith on the recommendation of a friend for help reassuring my maiden broodmare Savvy about the upcoming changes in her life when the foal came. Her accuracy in each of Savvy’s issues amazed me, and the way she described her personality made me laugh. Cindy was wonderful in connecting to her, and it was very comforting to be able to prepare her and address her concerns.

Then, after the foal came, I asked Cindy to help me prepare Savvy and her son, Tyler for weaning. Well, Tyler is now weaned, and everything went so smoothly. The horses never stopped eating or lost weight – just a bit if mild calling back and forth, but they have weathered it beautifully. Working with Cindy has made a big difference in how I handle my horses – I feel like I have much more insight into their personalities. Cindy’s style is great!

S. Korea

Ah-ra Cho and her dog Ever have been longtime clients of mine from Seoul, South Korea. Sometimes we have e-mail consults and sometimes, in spite of a 13-hour time difference, we talk on the phone. Ah-ra called because she was leaving to go on vacation and Ever was going to stay with her parents. He had done this at other times and really enjoyed spending time with them. They previously owned a pub and Ever went there with them every day, enjoying the social life and a celebrity status. He was friendly and appropriate with the patrons. Ah-ra’s parents now own a restaurant and Ever had been very distressed with the transition. He barked incessantly, disturbing the guests and disrupting work for her parents and their employees. He had become so noisy that they often shut the door to the storage room where he stayed. Ah-ra called me because if he didn’t change his behavior, the only option would be for him to stay home alone for the long hours while her parents worked.

Ever greeted me with alarm, ”What’s going on? Why can’t I see my friends? It is so noisy! I’m frightened! I’m afraid I will be forgotten!” Ever explained that he was afraid he would be forgotten when shut in the storage area and that is why he barked and barked. He said that occasionally Ah-ra’s mom would burst into the room, grab something from the shelves, and rush back out ”forgetting him again”. Ah-ra translated that statement to her mom who confirmed that she did frequently burst into the room and rush back out. Ever was very distressed. I first explained the differences between the pub and the restaurant, and that his “job” at the restaurant would be different. Instead of greeting the patrons, he could keep an eye on everyone working in the kitchen. He would now be the ”kitchen manager”.

Ever requested that the door stay open so that he could watch what was going on. Ah-ra and her mom agreed that they could tether Ever in the room with his bed and food and water. That way he could watch the activity in the kitchen and be assured that he had not been forgotten. Ever also requested a small cardboard box that he could choose to get in to take a nap. He wanted a contained and quiet setting and the cardboard box would muffle the sounds. He explained that the kitchen clatter and shouted instructions were unsettling to him. He interpreted the kitchen noise as a constant emergency happening, and that in all the excitement, his people would leave him behind. We explained that the emotional voices were not about danger, but rather about preparing meals for people who are hungry and in a hurry.

Ah-ra set him up with all of his requests and he immediately settled down. She later e-mailed me from her vacation and said that her parents reported that Ever had stopped all the barking and seemed quite relaxed as he watched them from his cardboard box. Ah-ra’s father took Ever on errands so that he could see all of his old friends from his pub days in the village.

Frankfort, KY

Cindy Smith has helped me solve a lot of issues with my pets. I currently have 5 Boston Terriers – all rescues – and rescues come with their problems. Up until a short while ago, I also had a sheltie/chow mix (Rusty) and a terrier mix (Tracey). With Cindy’s help, 12 year old Rusty and 16 1/2 year old Tracey were able to die with dignity.

In desperation, I asked for help with my latest problem – mice. With no cat here for the first time this winter, I think every mouse in the county moved in. They had eaten every bit of food in my house and were working on my clothes. Cindy told them they had worn out their welcome and it was time to leave. We suggested an area to them where they might find a barn. I feel like there were hundreds here and now they are gone. Cindy is now The Pied Piper of Frankfort!!

My first conversation with Margo was about Katie, her Bearded Collie, who was having some health issues. Throughout our talk, someone else kept popping into the conversation. Margo identified that personality as her other dog, Zeus. She said, ”Zeus is a little Bischon with a BIG personality.” She asked me to tell him that he would get his turn in his own appointment, and that right now we needed to focus on Katie’s health. With that explanation, Zeus graciously backed off and just listened.

The next week we spoke to Zeus. Zeus is 11 years old and had always been leash aggressive to dogs and people, but only when he was with Margo. Zeus was playful and nonaggressive at doggie day care, the kennel, the groomer, and displayed good social skills when Margo wasn’t around Zeus. During these times he was, in his words, “off duty”. He was also often, but not always, very appropriate on leash around small, white dogs, but he was always aggressive with medium and large dogs. Zeus communicated very clearly that this 11-year behavior was to protect Margo from all dogs and people. He saw this as his job.

We first explained to Zeus that it was Margo’s desire for Zeus to choose a different job. In Margo’s words,“Zeus questioned every behavior change we asked for and was very clear that he would need a lot of help learning the new behavior since he had practiced “warrior dog” behavior for 11 years. I started using clicker training as well as releasing him from his leash when he was around small, white, non-aggressive dogs with the command “go play”. He caught on very quickly and generalized to non-white dogs as well as medium sized dogs very quickly. Within less than a month, he had, in his words, adopted his new job of being “friendly dog”.