Mental and physical well-being are strongly connected. My primary objective is to design a program that suits your dog and ensures that you and your dog can spend as many fun-filled and healthy years together as possible. Good health and even-keeled behavior, proper nutrition and plenty of mental stimulation go hand-in-hand to forge a mutually satisfying and joyful relationship!
Private, in-home body conditioning services are beneficial to all dogs but are especially important for dogs who are predisposed to injury due to congenitally unstable joints, sports injuries, arthritis and cognitive degeneration.
There are so many reasons why increased body awareness can prevent injuries and provide excellent stimulation for dogs of any age. Post injury/post surgery dogs recover better and more completely given an intelligent exercise program. Dogs with arthritis can experience improved range of motion and flexibility through gentle stretching, massage, as well as core stabilizing exercises. Senior dogs love to play mentally stimulating and endorphin-producing games that help prevent ‘doggie Alzheimer’s’ and depression.
Contact me and let me help give your dog a healthier, higher quality of life!
Is your dog overweight? A picky eater? Unmotivated? Did you notice your dog has trouble getting up, or is slow sitting down? Does your dog lack exercise? Is the coat not healthy and shiny?
During the Comprehensive Wellness Consultation, we address all of those issues and motivate your dog to eat with gusto. We do fun enrichment walks and use some of your household equipment to build great obstacle courses inside your home or create puzzles for your dog to solve. They will learn useful tricks to turn them into a “helper” dog!
All of the above will be fun for both humans and dogs. It will enhance your relationship and greatly enhance the quality of life for your mixed-species household.
In New York City, a lot of dogs are latchkey dogs who get minimal exercise while you are at work all day. An alarming number of our dogs are overweight because they have access to food, treats and high calorie biscuits and bones all day long. Carrying around too much weight increases stress on the tendons, ligaments and the tissue surrounding the joints thus increasing the risk for cruciate ligament rupture, hip dysplasia, disc disease and soft tissue injuries of all kinds.
Without question, the best way to combat obesity and restore health is to combine diet change with increased exercise.
At DogRelations NYC, we design a balanced, highly nutritious diet, as well as a sensible and safe exercise program for your dog that allows them to gain healthy, lean muscle tissue while losing fat. Our exercise program includes interval training with your dog to gradually build up endurance and strength for a healthy cardiovascular system, mentally stimulating games to shift the dog’s focus away from food, and core exercises to strengthen joints, increase motion and maintain an injury-free, more active lifestyle!
Give us a call and let’s get your dog back to a healthy weight so they can have maximum quality of life and increased longevity!
We believe that it all starts with food that is free of chemicals, preservatives or cheap and overly-processed ingredients. In other words: dogs as living beings need real food as opposed to extruded pellets that masquerade in a cute package as “dog food”. When it comes to health, we believe that puppies and dogs deserve nothing but the best. We like our clients’ pups to beam with health, shiny coats and a very healthy weight on the lean side.
At DogRelations we have done all the work for you. So if you want to give your dog well-balanced, complete and delicious food choices, contact us and we will design a great menu including treats, snacks and proper portioning for you.
Let us guide you to finding the best and freshest food choices for your puppy or dog to assure they get the best chance to live a very long and healthy life!
The carefully thought out and well-proportioned design of the Haqihana harness guarantees maximum comfort in all situations. Any kind of pressure would be safely distributed onto the dog’s sternum and thorax only, even when the dog is pulling, jerking or being restrained. The harness therefore never causes pain or skin chafing. If properly used in combination with the longer leash the dog feels free of restriction and allows the dog to move naturally. The two buckles on the dog’s back make putting on and removing the harness easy for both the dog and the handler.
My ex-wife and I have a now 11 year-old Border Collie named Oreo. In late September, 2013 she completely tore her ACL and partially tore the medial meniscus on her left hind leg. Needless to say, we were besides ourselves. She had surgery the next day, and did well in the post-op period. One thing the vet made clear from the beginning was the importance of good physical therapy and rehab starting a few weeks post-op. We did some research, and ended up with two referrals: the physical therapist in the animal hospital, and Elisabeth Weiss of DogRelations. We had Oreo see both, to figure out which one we liked better. Elisabeth started off with a comprehensive evaluation of Oreo and her needs from a very holistic approach. She gave recommendations about Oreo’s feeding and her weight, her general behavior, and her rehab plans. After a few sessions with Elisabeth, we dropped the other PT like a hot potato. What can I say about Elisabeth? She’s phenomenal! She has a great rapport with our dog and is constantly giving Oreo praise and TLC. Oreo responded to her right from the get-go. Over the past three months, Oreo is a changed dog! She’s running around, dancing sideways and is clearly more agile now then she was before the injury. Elisabeth has gone from focusing primarily on the injury, to working on Oreo’s arthritis and even working on some of her “bad” behaviors. Oreo loves to see Elisabeth and is always exhausted after her workouts. Quite simply, Elisabeth is great. You can tell that she truly loves dogs, and is working with a great deal of knowledge in the field. Parenthetically, she’s extremely professional, reliable, and trustworthy. Thanks, Elisabeth for everything that you’ve done for Oreo!!
My experience with Elisabeth of Dog Relations has been consistent and remarkable for 2-1/2 years. It is not my experience. It is the experience of me, my family and my staff – all of whom were trained by her so that we acted consistently to our new puppy. She was empathetic, compassionate and patient with us as she was with our dog.
We met her when we were frustrated by the pup who was not fresh from a litter and being 8-12 weeks old, but rather more like five months old and was accustomed to running with a “pack” of other dogs, all Tibetan terriers who like independence and are not people-pleasers like golden retrievers.
We had a Tibetan terrier and wanted another one and knew that with enough loving, we would make it work. After one month of trying it on our own and with traditional trainers, we called friends for help who had dogs with behavioral problems and they said that she was the “dog whisperer”. They urged us to be in touch.
She met our dog and we watched her in action. Her results were clearly visible and she gave logical and easy-to-understand instructions to us, getting inside the head of the dog to establish “a relationship”.
Our patience had come to frayed edges by that time, however, and although we saw improvement over the next two weeks, we saw that we were not consistent with her counsel and that a lot of different people were dealing with the same animal and he was playing each one of us and he was winning.
We embarked upon a radical plan which was: we left town for close to three weeks. She moved in to our home. Everyone was in boot training who remained in the residence. The dog was the principal being trained.
When we returned to the United States, our dog listened to us (after we were trained by Elisabeth) and has never stopped listening. Sit. Stay. Up. Down. Patience. Restraint. Polite. Give paw. Walks well. All the things a dog could do and should do. He sits when getting to curbs. Doesn’t bark or bother other dogs on the street. Plays well with others. Is friendly with everyone. Does not steal or beg for food. It was magic.
Elisabeth has continued the reinforcement and the dog is constantly learning more and more problem-solving, having greater stimulation and she has become part of his life and our lives.
It has been a revelation and a blessing.
We recommend her to anyone at any time
Elisabeth is amazing. She sees things most vets and trainers don’t see. I’m looking forward to working with her to train my 5mo old puppy to be a therapy dog.
We can only say wonderful things about Elisabeth. We got Sydney, an 8 week old Weimaraner puppy, and didn’t have any of the proper training tools in our pockets. Sydney lived in a rule free house until he was 8 months old. Although we loved him very much, we were getting frustrated with his inability to settle down in the house. We were considering various training methods when a fellow Weimaraner owner referred us to Elisabeth. All we can say is what a blessing! Immediately upon meeting Elisabeth we knew she was the right trainer for us. Her methods are loving and gentle while producing the desired result–a well trained companion! Sydney immediately loved her and responded to her techniques after the first session. He now lives in a home with rules that requires him to use his mind and enables him to settle while in the house. We have been working with Elisabeth for a few months and Sydney is a different dog! He still has his loving, gentle, funny personality while being able to listen and respond to commands. As Sydney continues to work with Elisabeth every week he continues to come leaps and bounds from the rule free puppy he once was.
No one ever wants to admit that dog training can be very dull for the dog and for us. Not so with Elisabeth! She turns training into a fascinating exercise! The dogs can’t wait for her to walk into the room. Elisabeth sees the world from the dogs’ perspective and she will give you a whole new view of your canine friend. She views “training” as education. This is a significant distinction. Suddenly, with her help, you and your dog are speaking the same language, learning and playing on the same page. I make sure that Elisabeth meets every new dog who walks into my life. She’s helped me solve what appeared to be unsurmountable behavioral problems. She’s a brilliant and sensitive trainer. Get her in as early as possible!
Thank you so much for your knowledge and kindness. I don’t know what we would have done without you!!!!!
I mean that!
Winky is a very, very sweet fellow and quite well behaved thanks to you.
Everyone, everyone, everyone is so in love with him and ALL say: Wow, what a calm and well behaved puppy he is, so charming, sweet and happy.
I cannot thank you enough for having gotten Winky to this point. I take him with me wherever I go and you have really made it all possible. Grazie mille!
If I could give more than 5 stars, I would! Elisabeth is a gem. When we decided to add a new pup to our family I was very nervous and overwhelmed by all the options for training, diet, grooming, etc. From the start, Elisabeth eased my nerves and provided me with the tools to really set up our pup for success. Our puppy’s transition from the breeder to our home felt seamless because of Elisabeth’s guidance. As a trainer, Elisabeth is the best. Not only does our pup LOVE her, her style of training is exactly what you would hope for. She is patient, kind, understanding and fun! Her energy and demeanor is something that cannot be replaced and is why she is so talented and successful. With Elisabeth, our puppy learns quickly and retains easily. Its so fun to watch her work! Our puppy consistently looks forward to Elisabeth’s visits and knows her by name. Beyond training- Elisabeth has become my go-to for all pet care questions and issues. She truly values and cares for her clients and is always there for questions or advice. I cannot recommend her services enough!
Dear Elisabeth,
David and I read your wonderful and enlightening letter. We cannot thank you enough for taking the time to care and relate your experience and wisdom to our problem.
When you said “Fear Aggression” the biggest lightbulb went off. We always thought that Zeus was over protective of David, but I think you absolutely have nailed it. Now we have an entirely different perspective.
We also are thankful for you excellent description of Schutzhund training and why that would not be a good option for Zeus. And most of all in one simple sentence, you have explained to us the importance of the positive reinforcement training. When you said that it is much better to do something because you want to do it, than worrying about some terrible thing happening if you don’t, again the sky actually parted for us. I never knew that was the reason for that kind of training. When we worked with the folks at Santa Fe Tails previously, no one ever said that. We just thought it was a newer, more modern way to train dogs. And we worried that they gave far too many treats. And finally your wonderful explanation of deferential behavior gives us such hope for Zeus’s future. I could not bear the thought of living a life of constant fear about him and for him and you actually have lifted a terrible and ominous weight off of the situation. Our only challenge now, is can these folks train us to understand and work in this way with Zeus?
Could I ask you to recommend a book or DVD that would be appropriate for us to learn to work with Zeus in this manner?
I am ever grateful to Freddie and Myrna for discussing our problem with you and I am ever grateful to you for your amazing expertise and for being so generous in sharing this with us.
Warm regards,
Roberta Remy and David Shields
Working with Elisabeth is the best decision I’ve made to help transition into life with a new puppy. She is incredibly helpful, responsive, and made an impact in my puppy’s behavior immediately. Elisabeth has been an incredible support as I’ve managed being a brand new dog-mom–I don’t know what I would do without her! Cannot recommend her enough for new puppy parents or any dog owners alike.
This is the perfect story of why training helps a dog be a good dog and makes life easier for them. I received a call from a woman who said she needed help with her six-month-old Malamute. Read more!
Why does your puppy need to wear a leash in the house? This blog post tells you all there is to know about this
