Paws & Progress LLC

Welcome to Paws & Progress

After 4 years in the United States Marine Corps and a 33 year career in law enforcement (retired July 2021 as the Deputy Chief of Police – North Wildwood, N.J. We adopted a German Shepherd (8-10 month old male) November 2020 from the Cape May County Animal Shelter and Adoption Center Cape May Court House, N.J.. We had previously owned German Shepherds (from puppyhood),

but this was the first shelter - “juvenile” dog we brought into our home. Being a fearful dog of questionable breeding, likely lacked proper early socialization, and spending a few months in a shelter I felt confident that I knew how to deal with his “issues.”

In the early months with us I failed to “fix” Cash’s issues and exacerbated his “fear and reactivity” by not knowing how to properly deal with what he was going through (following advice from some questionable “dog trainers” on YouTube didn’t help). This led me to begin a journey of education in Canine Training, Behavior, Enrichment, Health, and Nutrition as well as have taken an extensive course on “Shelter Dog Training” (by Robert Cabral). Cash has been able to learn how to cope with many things that used to cause him to be afraid or hypervigilant and his reactivity has markedly improved. Learning how to help a fearful dog gain confidence, how to manage stress and build mental resilience has certainly improved his quality of life (and ours!). Structure, Leadership, Relationship building and Consistency of proper training will help almost any dog to be able to show progress which will help lead to a better life for you and your pup! I look forward to working with dog owners who are seriously committed to their dogs and truly wish to make their lives (dog and humans) better.