All dogs must be current on rabies and distemper for training.
Note: Due to chronic migraines, Mel has not been able to begin group classes yet, and she may need to reschedule individual private lessons on short notice. For our new walking opportunities, if Mel is out that day, one of her specially trained assistants may complete the walk instead (with owner agreement) (daytraining and Hiking Hounds excluded).
We want you and your pet to succeed. As such, we offer a variety of types of services so that you can pick the one(s) that best fit your needs and help you transform troublesome behavior into a harmonious relationship.
Click to expand and see more details:
I have a cat that needs training!
Contact Mel! She may be able to coach you through fixing the issue over email, text, or phone call–many issues are fixable without a lesson. In-person lessons last up to one hour.
Among the issues commonly addressed are litter-box issues, inappropriate scratching, or trouble introducing a new member to the household.
I’m having trouble training my own dog and I just need some guidance.
Private lessons are for you!
You might also find Mel’s training manuals useful for an even more affordable option.
I’d like a professional to train my dog for me or give me a jump start on training.
Day training and structured dog walking packages are our solution for you! Your dog stays with you–no boarding required–but Mel comes to work with your dog on whatever you need worked on.
Puppy socialization packages are also available to help with that short socialization window and set your puppy up for success in life.
I have a puppy and need help setting them up for success!
Private lessons can help, as well as Mel’s puppy training manual.
Or, puppy socialization packages are also available to help with that short socialization window and set your puppy up for success in life. Mel will train your puppy in manners as well as working on socialization targets.
I need help exercising my dog.
Our structured dog walking packages are our solution for you! Choose from exercise walks or Hiking Hounds for a more intense adventure.
Training Manuals
Having trouble with obedience skills? Read Dog As A Second Language, Mel’s training manual, available in ebook or paperback form. Mel designed this book to go right along with her basic obedience classes, supplemented by videos in the Behavior Education Center. Buy now!
Got a puppy? Read Puppy, Translating Your World, also available in ebook or paperback form. This book was designed to go right along with Mel’s puppy classes, supplemented with the handouts and information on the puppy page of the Behavior Education Center. Buy now!
Private Lessons
Sometimes it can be hard to apply what one learns from classes, books, or online. Other times, behaviors that trouble owners are specific to their lifestyle.
Fearful and reactive dogs especially benefit from beginning skills to decrease their anxiety in a familiar environment with controlled distractions before going out and attending something like a group class.
In-home private lessons can help you find ways to manage your pet’s behavior while you work with them to create new, more desirable behaviors. Learn to apply techniques specifically for your home situation. For the vast majority of cats, training is best done in the home, in their territory.
Mel highly recommends all family members be present at the lessons so that everyone gets the same information at the same time, in order to increase consistency.
There is no additional charge for multiple pets in the house. To aid you in working with your pet, Mel offers several packages. Since Mel loves rescue pets, all clients will receive a 5% discount with proof of adoption of their pet from a shelter or rescue.
Day Training
If you don’t have time to train your dog, or if you are afraid you don’t have the techniques to train your dog properly, Mel can simplify your life. Day training involves Mel coming to your house to train your dog for you, or you can drop your dog off at Paw In Hand for about an hour. She will work with your dog for an hour a day three times a week on basic manners, obedience, and problem areas. At the end of each week she will meet with the family to show progress and teach you how to keep up on the skills learned. Call for a consultation and price quote!
Structured Dog Walking
If you don’t have time to exercise your dog, or need a supplement or substitution for doggy daycare, our dog walking packages might be just what you need! We come to you, pick your dog(s) up, and drop them back off at the end. During each hour long walk, dogs will practice leash manners as well as good behavior around people and other pets we pass.
Choose from:
Exercise
Are you having trouble meeting your dog’s boundless energy? Are you struggling with poor manners on walks, such as pulling on the leash, barking or poor manners at people or dogs passing by, etc? Don’t want to do doggy daycare but also want to give your dog an opportunity for supervised entertainment while you’re at work?
Our structured exercise walks are our solution for you! Since Mel is a professional dog trainer, your dog will practice leash manners and good behavior around people and dogs passing by.
We will come to you, pick your dog(s) up, and walk them for 1 hour, practicing skills as we go. Opt for solo walks, household walks, or group walks—whatever fits you and your dogs’ needs best. This is a fantastic option for those times when you need a little extra help with an outlet for your dog’s energy, or while working on leash manners or reactivity.
Like private lessons, you pay per walk, not per pet!
What’s the difference between this and daytraining?
While Mel can come to you and work on walking related issues for both exercise and daytraining, exercise walks are more affordable walk-by-walk. Exercise walks come in a package of 5 with a punch card to keep track of the walks used, and you get a summary of what we worked on/encountered during the walk at the end, but not a transfer lesson. Daytraining is more intense, with 3 lessons with just Mel and your dog, plus a 1-hour private lesson at the end with you to help transfer the training to you and give you the tools needed to continue the training on your own afterward.
Puppy socialization
The socialization window for puppies is extremely narrow, and yet, pivotal to your puppy’s confidence as an adult dog! To best set your puppy up for success as a confident, secure adult dog, your puppy must meet 100 different, non-family-member people between the ages of 2 months (or when they come home) and 4 months of age. This window closes by 5 months! After this, anything the puppy wasn’t properly introduced to is much more likely to cause fear and anxiety, which can cause a host of behavior problems. See our socialization handout or checklist for what we look for, or see this handout from another organization for more information.
Paw In Hand can help prepare your puppy for confidence throughout their life with our puppy socialization packages. Each package comes in a batch of 5 or 10 outings, and we work with you to target the socialization categories you’re having trouble meeting. Each outing consists of 1 hour “social scavenger hunts” including walking, rest, socialization, and laying the groundwork for great manners, with each socialization goal marked for your benefit, along with any notes.
During these outings, puppies are carefully introduced to people, animals, structures, noises, handling, and more. Strict health and safety measures are followed to help keep your puppy safe, and every encounter is introduced as a fun game to keep stress down. Puppies who need socialization with dogs can optionally be paired with either Zelda and/or Carrot so that their dog encounters will be friendly and safe, and their outings will provide them with a good role-model for how to interact with the objects and situations they encounter.
Because of our expertise in handling fear and anxiety, we’ll take puppies up to 6 months old for puppy socialization outings. Puppies must be current on distemper, and once they are old enough, must be current on rabies.
Hiking Hounds
Does your dog want to go above and beyond the normal walk? Do you want to send your pup on an adventure? Hiking Hounds is your answer!
Mel will pick your dog up for an approximately two-hour adventure with up to 4 other furry friends. Your dog will get a Hiking Hound Passport with pages for various trails in the Dubuque area (Heritage Trail, Little Maquoketa Indian Mounds, Pohlman Prairie, Miller/McGrath Wildlife Area, Swiss Valley, Mines of Spain, Interstate Forest Preserve, Bergfeld Pond Trail, RiverWalk, Horseshoe Bluff, Bee Branch Trail, etc).
Each time they go on a hike, they’ll get a paw-print stamp on the page for that trail. After about an hour of hiking and exploring, we’ll wind down and each pup will get a pupsicle (be sure to inform Mel of any food allergies!) before being dropped back off at home.
These come in a package of 5 hikes per punch card! (Owner’s punch card get stamped + dog’s passport gets stamped for each adventure.) Your pooch will likely nap hard after each hike.
Notes and Procedures for Structured Walks
All dogs must be current on distemper and rabies (as age appropriate for puppies) for walks, and also must be current on bordatella for group walks or Hiking Hounds. Dogs who are feeling ill will not participate in group activities, nor will puppies who are ill be socialized, to prevent further stress and illness or contagion.
Any dog walks/hikes where Mel picks up dogs from an empty house require a meet and greet beforehand, where owners can give her means of entry to the house, let her know where the dog will be (in a kennel/in a room/loose in the house), let her know where any cleaning supplies might be in the case of a mess, and so she can get to know the dog and the dog can get to know her while the owner is present.
What you need to provide:
- collar with identification (just in case)
- harness if necessary (Mel will teach the dog not to pull on the collar, but in cases of a collapsed trachea or damage to the throat, she will walk them on a harness and teach them not to pull on that.)
- dogs must be current on rabies, distemper, and bordatella
- dogs must be healthy and able to enjoy a walk (or a rigorous hike, for Hiking Hounds)
- notification of any food or environmental allergies
- social history on your dog (whether they need to walk solo, with other dogs in their household, or on social walks)
- any behaviors you’re struggling with and would like worked on
What Paw In hand provides:
- a 6-ft leash for the walks/hikes
- treats as needed
- transport to walking/hiking location (optional for exercise walks)
- a summary for you on how the hike went as well as any social notes your dog had (for puppies, this will include what socialization goals your puppy met during that outing and how they did with those experiences).
- if Mel is picking the dog up and dropping the dog off from an empty home (ie: everyone is working so Mel has been provided a key (as in the case of a pet sitter)), she will also refresh the water and check the kennel/bedding if necessary to clear out any messes/refresh bedding if needed
- cool, distilled water and multiple collapsible water bowls to keep hydrated during the walk/hike
- pupsicles for the end of the walk (Hiking Hounds only) — these are handmade by Mel, fresh for each hike)
- In the case of emergency, Mel will take your dog to Colonial Terrace for treatment.
Other services:
Lost Pet Recovery
If you’ve lost your cat or dog, call Mel in the first few days for a consultation. She can advise on where the best places to search for your pet might be, how best to search, what flyers would best look like, and aid in getting the word out. The more people that know about your lost pet, the more likely you are to find him/her!
AKC CGC Testing (currently not available)
If you would like to get your CGC, simply call Mel to run a test for you! Tests are only $10 each, and test items can be found by clicking here.
Therapy Dog Testing (currently not available)
Is your dog ready to be a therapy dog? Mel is a certified evaluator for the K9to5 National Therapy Dog Registry and would love to help you get your dog certified! Your dog must have their CGC and have taken therapy class in order to test for the registry.
While classes aren’t available right now, do check out our therapy page for more information. Mel can also help to guide you individually on your path.