NY Clever K9 Inc. Dog Behavior Expert, Dog Training

Christina literally saved our dog (and us)!
Since moving to NYC, our dog Blue became very frightened and skittish on walks but worse she soon became very anxious when left alone, something that had never happened before. She would completely panic, circling us when we tried toleave and barking non stop when we were gone. This became a huge problem as several neighbors complained and we got a warning from the Board and were new to the building. We tried a trainer who put a citronella collar on her which she just barded through and told us to crate her - she injured he mouth (a vet trip) trying to chew through the crate. As we couldn't move again we became desperate as to how to keep Blue, who we loved dearly. A coworker recommended NY Clever K9 and Christina Shusterich, (the owner) who immediately started working on both problems, making changes almost as soon as she walked in - no crate! It seems miraculous but with sessions and practice we can now leave Blue alone and she is so much calmer on walks. Christina is not only intelligent but very compassionate, quickly acting as a mediator with our landlord to give us time to work with Blue, clearly loved Blue and was very kind and patient with us as we were extremely stressed. We really can't thank her enough!

My husband and I are forever grateful for meeting Christina. She helped both of our rescue dogs so much. One of our dogs was abused and as such is very fearful of pretty much everything, especially strangers. She would lunge and try to bite every person on the street during walks and had unfortunately bitten many of our friends when they came over to visit. Christina was a miracle-worker for Stella. Stella really liked Christina and slowly began to regain trust in people. It has been over two years and she hasn't bitten anyone since. We use all of the tools that Christina gave us to help rehabilitate her and couldn't be happier. Christina also helped our other dog, Shoko, with her guarding issues and her reactivity. I only wish that we still lived in the city so that we could continue seeing Christina!!

Not a day goes by when my husband, pup, and I don't appreciate all the incredible things we've learned from Christina. We adopted an incredibly sweet, yet reactive and abused dog about a year ago from the Animal Care and Control Center in NYC. Our dog is very high energy and showed some signs of aggression and we were quite overwhelmed. She is incredibly strong, and we felt like we were walking out in public with an animal we weren't sure we could safely control, yet we cared so much for her and were committed to her. Christina to the rescue. Her intelligence, sense of humor, up-beat attitude and brilliant insights helped us understand our dog and provide her with what she needs to be happy and healthy, and safe. Christina also clearly cares about our dog. We feel like we had a big therapy session as a family that lasts after each visit. And we are doing so well with our dog now, and always getting better. What a gift to those of us in this challenging situation. We are looking forward to our next bunch of sessions and I can't recommend her enough.

In September of 2014 we contacted Christina Shusterich of NY Clever K9 Inc. to help us with our now 14-month-old dog Ella that we adopted from North Shore Animal League. After paying Christina almost $1,500.00 (one evaluation at $299 and 7 one-hour sessions at $170 per session) Christina told us our only option left was to euthanize Ella. She told us that keeping Ella would be selfish because she's suffering, giving her away would end up in her being abused and ultimately killed, and giving her to a shelter would be worse than killing her because no one would adopt her and she would either be killed or condemned to a life in a shelter. Two days after Christina told us to euthanize Ella we met with another trainer who evaluated Ella. He told us that he has successfully rehabilitated cases much more severe than Ella and euthanizing her is unconscionable. Since meeting with the new trainer Ella has made amazing progress and is on her way to being a well-behaved and balanced dog. When we contacted Christina to request a refund not only did she deny us, but she went on to make a number of false statements about our conduct throughout our time working with her, which even if they were all true, would not begin to justify Christina telling us to euthanize Ella. During the course of our 7 sessions with Christina Shusterich of NY Clever K9 Inc., she began pharmacological therapy for Ella with Fluoxetine, the generic form of Prozac. She repeatedly, both verbally and in e-mails, gave us instructions on what medications to use and not use, dosage instructions, told us what to tell our veterinarian about the use of medications, and even told us to change veterinarians when our veterinarian would not follow Christina's dosage instructions. After doing some research we found out that it is both illegal and unethical for a trainer who does not have a veterinary license to recommend medication. The furthest a trainer can go is to say: "Many of my clients have had success in improvements in their
dog's behavior with medications x, y, z that their vet has prescribed".
Christina said how she is often people's last hope before they either give away or euthanize their dogs. She also told us on more than one occasion how incredibly patient and dedicated we were with Ella to the point where other people would have already given up on her. There are many honest, ethical, and knowledgeable trainers, as well as different training methodology out there, so don't give up hope if one does not work. Anyone can create a website and claim to be an expert, so please do your research on people before you hire anyone and put your dogs life in their hands.

Per The Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT),-Many persons employed in the dog training field use the title "behaviorist" incorrectly. While there is no legal standard, it is generally accepted in the industry that a behaviorist is someone who has a doctorate level graduate degree. A Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist is a behaviorist who is certified through the The AnimalBehavior Society."

Per The Animal Behavior Society (ABS),-"The term "behaviorist" is not protected so many people abuse the term and mislead the public. The term "Certified applied animal behaviorist" is protected and can only be used by ABS Board Certified Professionals."
"There are only 2 Board Certified Behaviorists. ABS certifies PhD Behaviorists and The American College of Veterinary Behaviorists certifies DVM Behaviorists. All other applied animal professionals should be using other terms such as dog trainer or counselor."

You can go to The Association of Professional Dog Trainers' (APDT) website to check if a trainer is a member. You can go to The Animal Behavior Society's (ABS) website to see if someone is a Certified applied animal behaviorist. You can go to the ACABC Member Directory to check if someone is a CBC (Canine Behavior Counselor). However please keep in mind a CBC is not a Certified applied animal behaviorist.
Based on our experience, we do not recommend Christina Shusterich of NY Clever K9 Inc.

I adopted a heavily abused puppy who had a number of issues to work through. I went to 4 different trainers who all used the standard alpha method and they all failed miserably. One even told me that my dog needs a muzzle and a shock collar. I felt beaten down thought there was no hope and then someone recommended Christina and NY Clever K9. At first I was not a believer but over time she gave my dog and I the tools needed to be successful and my dog overcame all of his issues. He is a changed dog and I would recommend her to anyone having any issues with their dog no matter how severe. Seriously, look no further! Christina performs miracles and I can not tell you how many compliments I get on how well behaved my dog is. THANK YOU!