Animalbehaviorist

Frania is the best of the best. She is insightful, patient and fantastic to work with. We had behavioral issues with our 3 year old chow and it got so bad that I was ready to give up but thankfully my partner had the sense to look for a behaviorist. Thank God we found Frania and our relationship with our dog could not be better. Frania gave us the tools to be better parents and really understand what our dog was trying to communicate. We cannot recommend Frania enough!

A friend of ours worked with F. (she was highly recommended as an animal behaviorist with a real Masters, most dog trainers have a week end certified degree) to train their new puppy. They were really happy with how it turned out. We had a new cat «Minou» and a dog that had never seen a cat. We knew F. was a cat expert too so we called her. She really knows her animals and makes you understand their «point of view» and how understanding that can make you a better pet owner. Minou and our dog after a slow and challenging start are now best playful buddies. We are totally satisfied with her level of expertise, and were very impressed with her extensive knowledge on animal behavior. We would strongly recommend her for any dog, cats and other pet who are making their owners loosing sleep over a big or little domestic issue.

Terra, the 9 week-​old pup, was dropped in my lap when my wife, Becky, rescued her from Antigua bay. Becky flew Terra back to the states, dropped her off with me, and then split for the rest of the summer on an archeological dig in Serbia. I was left alone with an un-​potty trained, unsocialized, mite-​infested little puppy and I resented it. Most of this resentment and anger got directed at Terra, but I rationalized it by saying to myself that at least Terra was alive, and I wasn’t clubbing her over the head and leaving her bleeding and thrown into the bay. So any force I used to whip her into shape and train her I looked upon as a godsend.
However I did have some doubts on my methods. If I weren’t so angry maybe I would approach Terra more gently. For goodness sakes — the little girl had gone through bloody hell to survive and seemed undaunted, and here I was on the verge of breaking her spirit. I began to acknowledge my inexperience and finally started looking for help. I found it in the person of Frania Shelley-​Grielen.
Frania’s an animal behaviorist, and I got information about her from her website:
. I told her my predicament and arranged for her to visit with Terra and me at our house. When she arrived at our house she immediately identified the problems at hand. She helped me patiently in all areas of training, and even brought along her own dog, Daisy, so that Terra could experience socializing with an older dog. The list of things Frania helped me with is too long to include here. She recommended readings for me and showed me all the various strategies for getting Terra to become a proper young lady. Most of all, though, she dealt with my perceived need to use forceful coercion, rough handling and loud words, and occasional slaps and solitary confinements, shut-​ins and shut-​outs. She worked with me patiently, and finally convinced me I need none of that. Not that I ever could have broken Terra’s spirit. But my own spirit has survived what I entered upon as an ordeal, and I’m surely a better person for discovering how beautifully my gentleness works with Terra. All that, thanks to Frania.