“Jersey”
“My husband and I have been working with Shelley for many weeks now. She has helped us immensely with our huge, lovable Doberman! Shelley’s expertise with dogs is evident every time we meet. But besides her knowledge and experience, she has a friendly, gentle manner that is absolutely wonderful toward both dogs and humans! Never condescending, but always professionally assertive, Shelley has taught us so much and we will always be grateful that we met her.”
– Frank and Betsy Fonseca
“Shelley provided invaluable advice in managing our dog’s on-leash behavior. She came up with great exercises to desensitize him and introduce him to a variety of situations. She had so many simple tips on how to handle different situations and even put together tip sheets and additional exercises to try outside our normal lessons. It’s given us much more confidence in handling him – it’s made a huge difference for all of us!”
– Ian W.
“Shelley is a truly gifted trainer. She understands dog behavior and just as important she understands what a dog owner goes through when trying to train their dog. She makes training fun not only for the dog but for the humans as well. Since working with her at the SF SPCA behavior and training department she has helped rehabilitate some of the dogs with behavior issues. She then follows up with the client to makes sure the dog is thriving in the home and there to support the owners if they have questions. She has helped me extensively in my Reactive Rover classes and provides superior one on one coaching with owners in the class who are living with reactive dogs. She truly is a bright light in the dog training industry!”
–Kim Moeller, Canine behavior specialist at the SF SPCA
“Davey”
“Shelley has been “walking” (the word does not begin to encompass all the help she provides) my 2-year old dog, Davey, for almost one year and a half, ever since I adopted him from the SF SPCA. I met Shelley there while she was volunteering. Shelley is fantastic, she cares deeply for Davey and his well-being, and he always comes back from his adventures both exhausted and happy. She provides feedback on his behavior, has helped reinforce his training, and provides great pictures of him just having fun with his buddies.
I have nothing but positive things to say about Shelley. Please feel free to ask her for my contact information, as I would be happy to directly answer any questions you may have about my experiences or this recommendation.”
– David C.
“Shelley is awesome. Very patient, knowledgeable and positive. We needed help get our new rescued dog Weston to trust us and be comfortable in the city.
There is so much conflicting information on how to care for a dog and it was nice to have Shelley make sense of it all. We were able to create a plan to follow and form simple goals to achieve. Shelley came to our place in the city and walked with us and Weston around the streets to get a sense of how best to manage him.
What stood out most about Shelley was her dedication to helping us succeed. She definitely went above and beyond, sending us emails with detailed notes overviewing our last session and specifying our present behavioral goals for the week. Shelley sent us links to many training videos and websites directly related to our behavioral goals. Utilizing resources from well-established findings was an important part of our training that gave us confidence about the right method to use in training our dog.
Working on behavioral problems with any animal can be extremely overwhelming. Shelley greatly improved our confidence in being able to meet our dog’s needs while reducing the frequency of the concerning behaviors. Having a dog can be hard work and Shelley is a terrific resource to help one succeed in meeting these challenges.”
-Nik & Michael
“Zeke”
“Shelley has been caring for my dog going on 4 years now. I trust her completely with my dog, and having had other dog walkers, I know this is not always the case. I can tell my dog always looks forward to her visits by the way she sits by the door when Shelley is due to arrive. Shelley takes her out for long excursions, sometimes to the beach, and always brings her home clean and dry, which is very important to me. Shelley is also very knowledgeable in dog training techniques and has worked with my dog on her leash pulling problem. Shelley has also cared for my dog overnight on occasion, which was great.
I recommend Shelley wholeheartedly and without hesitation.”
– Claire F.
“Clementine”
“Shelley has been taking my dog, Clementine, out for walks and playgroups for about a year. Not only does Clementine absolutely love her fun afternoons with Shelley and the rest of the pack, but I’ve also seen her become less shy, more confident, and better behaved. We both just love Shelley and Bright Lights Dog Training & Walking!”
-Annessa Piper
