"Life before Christina of NY Clever K9: Formal complaints from
apartment neighbors who don't quite appreciate incessant
barking; a tired, impatient, at-her-wits-end
owner who had never witnessed her dog sleep for more
than 20 minutes and who barked whenever he was awake;
crumbs in my bed from a dog who refused to remove
himself from it; never an
uninterrupted eating experience without an entire
turkey or pizza being snatched from the table; a wild
dog jumping up on every table and person; did I
mention the incessant barking? Life after Christina: Compliments from neighbors and friends about my well
behaved, gorgeous 'angel'; a rested owner who
enjoys a full night sleep on her crumb free bed with her
dog on his own bed on the floor; dinners at the dining
room table for the 2-leggeds only; a dog who tries very
hard to sit when greeting people, but in any event, no
longer jumps; a doggie and
owner who happily understand each other! Thank
you, Christina, for making Mac's world less
frustrating and my world more peaceful!"
 LOVE HER!
We thought training would be easy but soon learned we had our hands full with Peanut. Our 4 month old puppy had tons of energy and showed signs of food aggression. We researched a dog trainer/behaviorist and came across Christina Shusterich. Everything we read was A+ so we called and set up an appointment. We were not disappointed. Peanut took to her immediately, and with her friendly demeanor, we did as well. Using her techniques, Peanut quickly learned commands and now shows ZERO food aggression. I recommend Christina’s training for anyone who needs to train their dog."
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Arleen, Norbert Velazquez, Queens, NY
 "Christina is a savior! A few months after we adopted Cesar, a greyhound mix, he developed separation anxiety. He chewed books and pillows when we left the apartment, scratched all our doors, chewed through all the blinds and even broke through our bedroom window screen. As soon as Christina started working with Cesar using her separation anxiety program specifically tailored to his issues he drastically improved. Working closely with Christina we found her to be very professional and personable. Separation anxiety takes patience, time and diligence to treat and we are grateful we found her, not every dog professional can resolve it but thankfully Christina is excellent. Before Christina treated Cesar, he would follow us right to the door and panic when we walked out without him and we were at a loss on how to treat it. Today, Cesar barely notices when we come and go, thanks to his time with Christina, and he even takes the liberty of napping on our bed when we leave. Cesar is calmer and much more confident which enables him to feel comfortable when we leave him alone. He now lives an anxiety-free life...and so do we!
- Jackie & James Mundy, Queens, NY
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 "My name is Moxie. I am a Chihuahua Miniature Pinscher mix. That's a lot of doggy personality for someone my size. I was recently adopted by two amazing women
and their adorable young boys(ages 8 and 10). I am very fortunate to live in a very loving home, but sometimes my family thinks of me more as a toy and not a dog. I know I'm cute, but there's a limit to how much I can take. You see, given my size and my background (rescued from Animal Care and Control), I have lots of fear based aggression. It wasn't until Christina came into our lives that anyone understood my feelings. Christina helped translate my behavior. Christina came in and taught my family how to handle my needs in a very loving and gentle way. Her methods not only showed my humans how to treat me but also reassured them that any behavioral issues could be easily corrected with a firm but compassionate hand, repetition, rewards and, of course, patience. Would you believe I used to bark incessantly when our next door neighbor came home from work? Now, I barely raise an eyebrow when he comes home. I'm so much calmer when we go for walks now. I was a nervous wreck out there with all the sights and sounds of the city coming at me. Christina showed my humans how to manage my walks and navigate the sidewalks. It's not easy being me but with Christina on my side, it's so much better than it was. Some would say the dog is man's best friend, but I would say, Christina is the dog's best friend. Two paws up for Christina!"
~ Moxie Mintz Killmer - with input from Rachel and Jenni (my humans), NYC
 When we first called Christina we were frustrated and quickly
losing hope with our 7 month old French Bulldog, Hannah. Hannah barked constantly for attention, and we had received several complaints from
neighbors in our NYC apartment who were losing hours of sleep each
night. We had tried products such as the
'citronella collar' to reduce barking, and had
even enrolled Hannah and Sydney, our pug puppy, in basic
group obedience classes. Nothing had helped control the
barking and after 6 group obedience classes, our puppies
had only learned how to 'sit' because when
they were there, all they wanted to do was play with the
other dogs. After the first
20 minutes with Christina, my dogs had learned more than
after all 6 group classes. My dogs greatly
enjoyed these sessions each week and Christina's obvious
passion and expertise made learning fun for everyone. Now
that they realize that I am in control and that
barking is a futile attempt to get my attention, both
Hannah and Sydney's behavior have drastically improved,
and I have found that they
are much happier dogs altogether. I would highly
recommend Christina to anyone. We can't thank you enough!"
- Allie, Sydney, and Hannah Butler, NYC |
"Shortly after I got Heidi she became
more and more frightened of
strangers. She began to
shake and hide whenever a visitor came to our house and
would not come out until they left, even if it took
hours. When I tried to walk her outside, she would be
terrified and shake, pant and lunge back indoors so that
I was unable to walk her. She would also jump and run at
every new noise. Through Christina's behavior
modification program Heidi's stranger
phobia is almost completely gone. She can still
be a little skittish, but no longer hides from visitors
and now looks forward to our walks. The difference is remarkable. Christina transformed
her from a terrified dog who was limited to our house to
a happy and confident one who is now capable of enjoying
life. I really recommend NY Clever K9!"
- Christine Marino, Queens |
"Prior to Christina, Lizzy was in complete control of the house - in one word DISOBEDIENT. She's like a different dog now! We can actually sit on the couch without being trampled. We're even receiving compliments from the neighbors who have told us "Hiring that trainer was the best money you've ever spent!" Thanks Christina!"
- Laura & John Tuseo, Queens
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"Steven and I just wanted to thank you for everything you have
done for Parker. Although we were lucky enough to have a
found a puppy with such a great temperament, thanks to
you, we are now also on our way to helping Parker lead a
happy lifestyle, where he now knows how to communicate with us, and in turn we
can communicate with him. I believe it is this
obedience that will truly help Parker to live a
fulfilling and happy life. We are so
excited for what's to come, and thank you for giving
us all the tools we may need to help Parker along the
way. Enjoy the pictures and we will keep you
posted on Parker's developments!!"
- Erika & Steven Bekoff, Queens |
"Christina really helped us with our dogs. The older dog Sky was becoming increasingly more aggressive towards our younger dog Fen as well as towards myself. Christina showed us a way to incorporate training techniques into our everyday lives that worked for all of us. I was really i mpressed by Christina's understanding of dogs as well as owners. We really enjoyed working with her and appreciate all she has done to help us better understand Sky and Fen so we can all live together in harmony. It was a true learning experience to see her work and how fast she could get them to learn, she showed us our guys have far greater potential than we thought possible. Thank you Christina you have made a big difference in making our lives more rewarding!"
- Joel Lasher, NYC
 It was very embarrassing for us to have our dog Bailey show aggression to other dogs, especially after moving to a very pet friendly apartment building. Needless to say, there are dogs everywhere. With Christina's help Bailey overcame his leash aggression in just a few sessions, he is unconcerned with other dogs, more relaxed and is behaving better every day. He even had a very friendly encounter with another dog yesterday, they were sniffing each other, wagging tails, it was great! He also actually listens to us outside! No more embarrassing days. Working with Christina was a wonderful experience as she made it simple and fun, we highly recommend her!"
- Valisa, Neal & Bailey, Queens, NY |
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" Christina is the best dog trainer I’ve worked with. She uses only positive reinforcement and helped me train my dog to snap out of her longstanding fear aggression to people, something that other behaviorists I’ve seen have not been able to do. We were severely limited in where we could take Flurry and even avoided having guests over due to her constant barking, following and jumping at them. The transformation in Flurry has been amazing, we recently were able to take her to an indoor barbecue full of people all strangers to her. Not only did she not bark at any of the guests (even when they stood up and walked around!) she was really friendly and even bonded with one guest in particular. We're thrilled to say that she's becoming quite the socialite!"
- Suzanne Flannery, Queens, NY
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"I brought home to NYC the cutest 11-week-old puppy, Ginger. However, I found that when I tried to walk Ginger outside she would not even leave my apartment to go out into the hallway. Ginger was petrified, terrified of leaving my apartment and much less the building. Enter into my life Christina Shusterich. Christina began with Basic Obedience and then developed a desensitization program to build up Ginger’s confidence and reduce her fear of outside by bringing successful obedience, exercise and fun games into the hallway that I could do with her. Slowly but surely Ginger found the hallway to be the best place ever, she became curious about the noises from other apartments and she got used to the ones that frightened her. We worked our way to the lobby and then to the sidewalk. Ginger has been taking long walks with ease for about 2 months. Not only does she takes walks, she loves them. It was a difficult time for me as I thought it was the strangest thing to have a dog that didn’t want to go for a walk, but I am so glad that I stuck with the training program that Christina provided. Ginger brings so much joy to my life and we love to spend our days together strolling through the park. I whole-heartedly recommend Christina and NY Clever K9 whether it is for Basic Obedience or working with your fearful dog."
- Stacey Giunta, NYC |
"Christina is fabulous. I’m handicapped and needed someone to work with my reserved standard poodle and train her as a service dog. Christina worked wonders and turned Hanna into a fabulous mobility dog. Christina is not only my dog’s trainer, she’s also become a friend and even though Hanna’s intensive training has come to an end, Christina makes it a point to visit us once a month and take us out on field trips, going to local stores, restaurants or just to the park, making sure Hanna is up to par. She’s an excellent trainer and I can think of no other person or place that deserves the honor of being named the best in Queens!"
- Judy Hartfield, Queens, NY |
 "Christina is a magician. Kate and Ginger try really hard
but aren't able to always understand us. Granted, we
have some issues: Izzy is blind and barks to try to communicate and Jellybean has
some submissive urination issues. With kindness
and patience Christina determines, develops and
translates for us what we can really do (a lot!) and how
to effectively communicate with us. If you need your
linguistically challenged humans to learn 'The Ways
of the Dog,' training, leadership skills and make
your life less stressful and better all around give
Christina a call, you won't be disappointed. An extra
benefit we got from the confidence we gained through
Christina obedience program and our improved
relationships is that Izzy no longer needs to bark
constantly to try to get his point across and
Jellybean's urination problems have really decreased. Christina
we love you!"
- Izzy, Jellybean, Kate & Ginger, Brooklyn, NY
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"Christina is amazing. My black Labrador/Chow mix Gina
was like the Tasmanian Devil before Christina began working with
her. I don't know how she does it but she is able to connect
with my dog on a level I've never seen before. In
just a few sessions Gina was following commands and her
behavior in general was really improved. Christina
is so great because she doesn't just train the dog and
have you sit there, she makes sure you are involved so
when she leaves you know exactly what to do and what to
practice on. She is on time and great with scheduling
and I would recommend her to anyone. Thanks Christina
for the great investment!"
- Brad Mitchell, NYC |
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~Pluto and I are so glad Christina came into our lives! Pluto had a big problem with other large dogs whenever we went on walks. He would pull, bark, stare and even cry if he could not get close to the other dog. Christina took the time to evaluate Pluto, by talking with me and by observing him carefully. She worked with him (and myself) gently, consistently and effectively. She helped me to understand my dog’s anxiety, its origins and how to treat it. She encouraged me to keep practicing with Pluto, and to not be discouraged by minor lapses. The result: a calmer, happier dog, who is complimented on his beautiful walk and nonchalant attitude toward other excitable dogs. I love to walk him now! Christina truly helped develop a stronger bond and mutual respect between Pluto and I. - Nicole and Pluto Hernandez, Queens, NY
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~"Denver", a Blind, 12 year old Labrador
mix. Re-Housetraining in new home and reduction of
anxiety. "Remarkable. Denver is more comfortable here than
he ever was in our old home. Thanks so much!" - Jim Palefe, Queens, NY
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~"O'Brien", a 2 year
old Golden Retriever. Trained for the AKC Canine Good
Citizen test. "Christina is a superb trainer
with a very intelligent and constructive approach, she
is a pleasure to work with. O'Brien was trained in a
very short time frame."
- Charles Scherer, NYC
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