We first started working with Behavior Vets of NYC when my 5 1/2 month old Golden Doodle started showing signs of Separation Anxiety in March 2022. Our behaviorist was Lauren Novack and shortly into our first meeting I knew we were in good hands. She has a passion for what she does and always goes that extra step. She is knowledgeable, down to earth, caring, empathetic, and extremely supportive. When we meet virtually and she interacts with Shelton he immediately takes to her and she speaks his language. The wealth of knowledge she has given me on dog behavior, body language, patience, consistency and repetition to help Shelton become a happy and well adjusted dog is limitless. She has a heart of gold, cheers you on and gives you the tools to better empower yourself to help your dog overcome his fears.

We were referred to Dr. Emily Franquin since Shelton, after making great strides with his SA had a setback with the behavioral training and was exhibiting other signs of anxiety. We met with Dr. Franquin mid June 2022 in her Brewster office. After our first meeting Shelton sat on her lap on the floor while she was reviewing with me his history, listened and answered my endless questions and concerns, empathized with what was I was going through, eased my anxieties, educated me on how meds can help him make better progress, the different classes of meds that are used  and potential side effects. She's extremely knowledgeable, conscientious, empathetic, and personable and has this warm demeanor.

Shortly after seeing Dr. Franquin, Shelton injured his hind leg that needed rest or else his injury could possibly become chronic. No playgroup, jumping, running, or playing with other dogs until he was fully healed. Dr. Franquin helped me find the right meds to help with the pain and to keep him calm. I do not know what I would have done without her. She was always an email away when I had a question or concern. There were frequent check-ins on what I was giving and how he was doing so that she could further recommend the next step. I always felt that she really cared about both our welfare. Lauren also has been a tremendous help during this stressful time helping me with anything and everything. She spent an hour with me going over walking, feeding, mental games, gates to keep him from jumping, and tethers. After our meeting she sent an email with links that go directly to each website for easy ordering. This was so helpful!

The one silver lining to Shelton's SA is that I had two wonderful professionals supporting me with the behavioral aspects and the right medication to keep him calm and pain free. Any doggie parent caring for an inured or post-op dog should consider Behavior Vets of NYC to guide them through the recovery period. I will be forever grateful to Dr. Franquin and Lauren!

Drew Webster starting working with Willy, my Standard Goldendoodle, when Willy was 17 weeks old.  We met in a puppy class and it was clear from the start that Drew had a magical connection with dogs.  He could read their body language and was tuned-in to the pups.  One of the reasons I chose Drew to be Willy's trainer is that Drew was the Canine Director for the Institute for Human Animal Connection at the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work.  Drew has continued to work with Willy weekly, helping Willy when he has had fears, building Willy's confidence, working on loose-leash walking and excitement barking.  Willy loves Drew.  Willy gets many compliments from other trainers, who are impressed with Willy's demeanor.  I have had many conversations with Drew about dogs and dog behavior and training, Drew thinks about every dog as an individual, and gets to know the dog's family to help them in the best way. Drew is relaxed and easy to work with, he is a very positive person and trainer.  Drew has helped Willy to be the great dog that Willy is, and I cannot recommend Drew highly enough.  But more importantly, Willy cannot recommend Drew enough.  We are grateful that we found Drew.

- Mark R.

I have only the highest praise for Drew Webster, one of the trainers. I brought my reactive (anxious, fearful, hypervigilant) dog to him and he has worked wonders on her. Drew's knowledge and experience with such dogs combined with his insightful observations has enabled our dog to go from being scared of so much that is part of normal life to being confident and playful and eager. He has taught me what to look for so I can do a better job with her. She has bloomed with his care and patience, and so have I as I've learned the specifics on what to do and what not to do with my pupper. If you have a dog that is anything like mine, go to Drew!

- Anu Ponnamma

We got a puppy, and our older dog would get very aggressive with her. We were referred to Dr Christensen (behaviorist) and Ursa Acree (for training).

Dr C was immediately helpful, diagnosing some anxiety issues and referring us to a pain and rehab specialist.

Ursa Acree has been immensely helpful in helping us get our two dogs to be friendly with one another. Ursa is super knowledgeable about dog training and always has great ideas about resolving whatever scenario we are encountering with our dogs, whether it be the behavior modification or just general tips and tricks for keeping our extremely energetic young puppy entertained and engaged. We do mainly remote sessions, and it has been nice to be able to work through these issues in our home, the environment where we care about their behavior the most.

Megan Ramirez has been amazing to work with! We decided to do the at-home hand over leash for our dog who has issues with loose leash walking, listening to commands, and focusing when people/dogs are around. We've seen a drastic improvement with Grizz and he's always so excited to see her. 10/10 would definitely recommend working with Megan!

- Cameron Stroup

Despite recommendations from two vets, I avoided going to Behavior Vets at first because I was worried about the cost. Ultimately I ended up wasting a lot of time and money trying other trainers and dog schools. My Heeler/pit mix wouldn’t settle, hardly napped, was triggered by everything. No amount of training changed how amped up she was. All the time. It was very, very unpleasant living with and walking our pup. We barely had people over because it was such a nightmare of barking, jumping, etc.

After working with Dr. Sidel and Jaime, pup can walk past people, ignore other dogs from a safe distance, and greet humans. We feel confident enough to invite people over to our house again. I now take great pleasure walking our dog every day. I was always committed to our pup, but the changes I see in her after working with Behavior Vets have helped us bond in ways that weren’t available before.

I urge you to learn from my mistake: if you have a reactive pup, do not waste your time on group classes or trainers that are not working in tandem with a vet. Behavior Vets is truly different than other dog training and more effective for dogs with reactivity.

Eric is one of the main reasons that I decided to keep my puppy. I have a Malinois/Shepherd mix which is not an easy breed combo by any means. After going through a couple trainers, most of who didn’t understand the breed, I ended up feeling defeated because my puppy and I were not getting the help we needed and I left training sessions feeling so judged. After our first group session with Eric I knew I had found a phenomenal and well experienced trainer. He meets each owner and dog where they are at and recognizes that each dog has their own strengths and weakness. He focuses in on your dogs strengths and is there for all the questions and to offer creative ways to fix problems. His training method is so effective and backed in science. If you are someone like myself that likes to know the “why” behind why you are training something the way you are this is the place for you! Eric is so encouraging, helpful, and smart. He creates such a judgement free training zone! I cannot recommend Eric and training at Behavior Vets enough!

- Christina Ross

"I had an excellent experience with Dr. Sidel with Behavior Vets of Colorado. It changed my relationship with my dog (and with all dogs) to learn that there were things I was doing to cause his anxiety and behavior problems/reactivity. She was thorough in her assessment and came up with a comprehensive plan that created a huge improvement in my dog in just over a month. The plan included behavior training with treats, medication, and educational videos that helped me understand my dog's behaviors better. I'm so pleased that my dog is more relaxed, less reactive and much happier."

- Margaret Sharpe

I see improvements daily, and I must say that Patch is dramatically improved. He no longer jumps and runs at the slightest sound or movement. When loud noises like thunder scare him, he has a designated safe place to go where he knows that he will get a treat and affection. He enjoys going on long walks – you should see his excitement when I grab his leash. We have more work to do but Patch is happier than ever, and so am I.

Thank you for working with us- he really has come miles in just a few short months!

It is sometimes heartbreaking to see him struggle on days when he has to deal with something stressful like ordinary vet visits or nail trims, but knowing that Dr. C and her team are there for support makes the setbacks feel much more manageable than they did before. We are so grateful to have her on our side.

I knew Sabané had the training and medication she needed to not panic. Before I left for Australia, I felt confident that Sabané… could handle the stress of the long flights and 10 days in quarantine. Of course I was still a nervous wreck when they left for their flights, knowing I wouldn’t see them for 12 days and so much would happen in the meantime and I couldn’t comfort and protect them, but I knew Sabané had the training and medication she needed to not panic and to be able to handle all that stress.

This is the amazing payoff of all the hard work. Our family is finally all together... and Sabané couldn’t be happier. I couldn’t either. We are so very thankful for Dr. Sidel and all the wonderful people at Behavior Vets of Colorado for making this possible.

First of all, I can't thank Behavior Vets, and Drew enough.  Like many families during this CoVID time we decided to get a puppy to play with our adult male Aussie, and our 11 year old female samoyed- Pyrenees mix.  Unfortunately, our male Aussie is a bit of an..auss-hole and is super dog reactive.  We knew that bringing a puppy into the house was pure CoVidicy and we chose to do it anyway.

We reached out to Behavior Vets (we work with Dr. Elise Christensen for Lily) and she recommended in home training. Drew started working with us even before the puppy arrived, to set our home up, and advocate for our big dogs.  Even as he recommended setting up separate spaces, we naively thought that soon as the puppy was home our Aussie male would just fall in love with the cute bundle of fluff we brought into his house .  Drew was kind enough not to laugh at our misplaced optimism.
The day we brought the puppy home, it was clear that our adult dog, to put mildly, was NOT a fan.  Drew didn't set the expectations for miracles, he was clear:  our job was to do two things:  1.  Build a relationship between the two dogs over time, and 2.  Teach the puppy to read the big dog - teach her his language

Honestly, we (my husband and I) had doubts our Aussie would ever tolerate the puppy, however, with Drew/Behavior Vet guidance and training - for us and the two dogs, we slowly, methodically, and consistently made progress.

It's been two months since the puppy came home and the puppy and the big dog are romping, chasing, barking, and playing in the back yard.  It wasn't an easy fix, and its incremental progress- but it is progress every day.  We are are much better at speaking "dog" and our older dogs are much happier and more engaged today than before we started.

We are utterly convinced without Behavior Vets, Drew, and Dr. C we couldn't not have been successful, and more importantly, our Aussie and puppy wouldn't have the foundation to build a solid lifetime relationship that gives us peace within our home.

We are still working with Behavior Vets and are so grateful that Drew and Behavior Vets are in our lives.

Maddox is very sweet and has enjoyed people since his earliest days, but he's never really liked to be picked up. After a few failed attempts at nail trimming, we stepped up the restraint as we got more desperate. He turned into a little wild man, a crazily thrashing little sausage, and it became impossible to do any kind of handling with him other than voluntary snuggles.

Maddox also displayed serious food and environmental allergies while very young, and we quickly realized that the nails were a small issue compared to the necessity of injections. Dr Sidel and Evie bonded quickly with Maddox at his initial consult and he was comfortable working with them within 2 visits. Evie trained me (and Maddox) on creating a happy treatment station; and with regular practice of careful touching exercises and pre-medication, Dr Sidel was able to begin giving Maddox his monthly shot with less drama each time.

Maddox is 2 now, and has undergone dental work and vaccinations. I had been so terrified that, in cases of necessary treatment or even a medical emergency, we would be unable to sedate Maddox; now I know we have a routine and partners who can help get Maddox any care he needs.

We're now working on teaching Maddox to shorten his own nails on a scratchboard (honestly-it works!) and will continue to work on his veterinary and at-home handling. He loves his treatment mat so much that, even at therapy sessions, he lies down on it in protest of getting off.

I think it's easier to imagine larger dogs having behavioral issues, or that it's not a big deal to force a dog into medical treatment. But small dogs can be really difficult, too, and a wonderfully sweet pup can become an angry ball of terror in an instant. Maddox may be a sensitive little guy, but having partners like Dr Sidel and Evie reassures me that he will always get the care he needs.

[Dr Sidel’s] treatment for Zoey, and her support for me, have allowed our family to keep a troubled but loving dog in a home that loves her. Every walk was/is a training session, but with Dr Sidel's help and support, Zoey and I are now able to walk happily and confidently, passing other dogs with no conflict. She will never be as easy as all the previous dogs in my life, but she has a good home, is happy, and makes us happy. Three years ago I never would have believed that was possible.

Zeus was quick to teach me how unique he is and the team at Behavior Vets helped me figure out how we were going to be a family. I can’t thank Dr. C and her team enough for evaluating him and talking to me about strategies to try to help him find calm.

If you have a dog who is fearful or anxious visiting the vet, I would highly recommend spending time with Behavior Vets. At 18 months my dog began to develop anxiety during any procedures at the vet office…. Knowing she had a lifetime of vet visits ahead of her and wanting her time at the vet office to be as positive as possible, I… booked several sessions with a behavior vet tech. Using techniques practiced with the vet tech, working at home, and coordinating with the vet during visits has allowed my dog to cooperate with her care. The result is a less stressful experience for the dog and me, and I know any procedures needed during a vet visit can be completed.

We had a great time in class and learned a lot!... Thanks!

We are incredibly grateful to Dr. Sidel and her team for their guidance and support. Highly recommend their services!

I rescued Boomer when he was about a year and a half old. He is the most laid back dog I've ever owned - unless he is alone. We discovered early on that he had a pretty bad case of separation anxiety.

As a mental health professional - I am aware that medication can be very helpful for people. Especially when combined with therapy/behavior changes. I contacted Behavior Vets of Colorado early in my search for solutions. I also started working with a trainer who uses positive reinforcement methods.

Dr. Sidel and her team were amazing! I am very grateful that we have them here in CO as a resource!  They were great at communicating with me about what to expect, making adjustments when needed. Working with the team to get Boomer's anxiety under control has allowed him to flourish.

Eric and Drew are the best dog trainers we have ever used! We have been seeing Eric and Drew for the past 4 months and we are so impressed with how much progress our dog, Zoe, has made. We started seeing them for anxiety and dog / stranger aggression this past summer. We have seen a ton of progress and Zoe has even made her first real dog friends! Owning an anxious dog can be frustrating / isolating, but they have been tremendous advocates for us and Zoe. They have taught us so much about dog behavior and how to be better owners. They consistently go out of their way to help Zoe excel in difficult situations and have given us numerous tools to help Zoe navigate the outside world. I can’t recommend this office or these trainers enough. I’m constantly impressed by their knowledge, understanding and application of dog behavior. Many thanks to this team for everything!