We have employed several dog trainers, but Melanie was the first one to produce results without resorting to punitive practices. Her gentle and compassionate approach for both humans and animals is refreshing and encouraging, and shows that her priorities truly lie with fostering stronger bonds between people and their companions. We have struggled with our Maggie’s resource guarding and our Stella’s insecurity towards other dogs and humans. Melanie made sure that we were able to have all the tools we needed, but also that our animals felt safe.

Wonderful work here! Murphy(black dog) had big struggles with reactivity, he would lunge and bark at any unfamiliar dog he saw,out of fear. I myself have a background in training, but I am no behaviorist. Mel’s expertise and consulting pinpointed the behavioral issues which helped so much with Murphy’s reactivity! If you know what your dog is going through it will help so much with modifying the behavior. They are our best friends but they are also animals that act off of instinct. Thanks to the help of Yoders Applied Practice we could welcome a foster dog with confidence that Murphy could handle this change. Mel and Nikki are certainly your best bet if you are like I was,wanting to help your dog yet so lost on where to start! I have seen their work and personally trust their training methods far more than your average dog trainers.

Melanie has been helpful with my dog’s reactivity to people and other animals so far. She made it clear what I can do to help my dog and after each session she sends along a document with detailed instructions so I am not scrambling to try to remember everything during our training session. My dog Daisy is still a work in progress but I saw quick improvement with the skills Melanie taught me. She even gave me my second session free which was really amazing of her.

After one of our dogs kept attacking our others, we were absolutely devastated. We thought we were going to have to make an unthinkable choice. But after 2 sessions with Melanie, our grief turned to optimism and empowerment. Melanie was able to pinpoint the reason for aggression within minutes and suggested a plan that is still working perfectly. The first word that comes to mind when working with Melanie is competent. There are so many “trainers” out there that do more harm than good. But being a Board Certified Behavioral Analyst, Melanie is the real deal. Her personality complements her credentials. You automatically trust her and know you are in the very best hands. We are overjoyed that we get to keep our family intact. And we owe it all to Yoder’s Applied Practice and Melanie’s unique, and always gentle style.

We are dog people, and have had dogs from a couple of breeds, with differing temperaments and personalities. That said, we were probably a little underprepared when we brought home 75 lbs of tall, energetic (and affectionate!) 2 y.o. puppy. We've worked hard to give him all of the enrichment and exercise he needs, but he's been so different from our last dog that we've felt out of our depth at times.

For that reason it's been great working with Nikki from Yoder's. Each hour has covered a lot of ground, but has also felt relaxed and fun. Our dog really loves working with Nikki, and the dynamic has been great from the beginning.

Each session, we've come out of the session feeling reenergized, with strategies to help us communicate and have fun working with our dog, and lots of great tips and tricks. Nikki has provided us with detailed notes that we can refer back to (including some additional tips and tricks), and it's a relief to know that we can reach out for clarifications or further advice (or even just to let her know how things are going). Our warmest thanks to Nikki and Yoder's!