About Paw In Hand, LLC

Family pets and fearful dogs in Dubuque

Paw In Hand, LLC is a pet training company based in Dubuque, Iowa, serving the surrounding Tri-State area. Trainer Mel Heber specializes in family pets and fearful or reactive dogs, and also helps with cat behavior. She began training professionally in 2007 at the Dubuque Regional Humane Society and has trained on her own since 2011. Her memberships include IACP since November 2015, and she has been an evaluator for the K9to5 National Therapy Dog Registry since 2012.

Method

Mel uses marker training, telling the animal when it gets something right and when it gets it wrong, with the positive marker often paired with something the animal wants. She emphasizes patience, body-language communication, classical and operant conditioning, low stress, mental enrichment and mutual respect between dog and owner.

Services and prices

In-home private lessons start at $110 per lesson, with no extra charge for multiple pets and a 5% discount for adopted pets. Day training, where Mel works with a dog an hour a day three times a week, starts at $300 per week. Intensive stay-and-train, three in-home visits a day with a final transfer lesson, starts at $900 for 5 days. Puppy socialization packages, structured exercise walks and Hiking Hounds adventures are also offered. Mel wrote two training manuals, Dog As A Second Language and Puppy, Translating Your World.

What to ask

Ask about scheduling and mileage charges outside the Dubuque area.