A Cooperative Approach to Dog Training

After a lifetime of raising dogs, I thought I had the skills and knowledge to rescue a puppy prematurely taken from his litter. This resulted in an amazing puppy that was extremely anxious. My arms were covered in cuts and bruises from his nipping and jumping. After just one zoom meeting with Maria, I had a better understanding on a dog's body language and we were bonding better. Once I met her in-person, with her calm approach and guidance, I saw her techniques come together and his behavior started to improve day by day. She went above and beyond what I expected, the detailed notes she sent after each session were tailored specifically to us. We still have work to put in, but I don't know where we would be without Maria. A puppy class is great for standard training, but if you are looking for more guidance and knowledge to help build a strong bond with an anxious pup…call Plum Point Pooch today! Words can’t express how grateful I am to have found the perfect trainer for me and my pup!

I first met Maria when I enrolled in her course to prep for the AKC Canine Good Citizen test. We successfully passed the test with Maria's amazing guidance. We continued to work with Maria as we prepared for the Pet Partners therapy dog evaluation and passed that, too.

While I've since moved away from Maryland, I regularly recommend Maria to those looking for a trainer in the Baltimore area and I still reach out when I have questions since I wholeheartedly trust her. I really value Maria's knowledge, patience, and overall guidance as I work with my sweet but anxious first dog. She's been an amazing source of information and resources and my dog absolutely adores her. Maria is a truly wonderful human and I'm so very glad I enrolled in that first course with her!

"Maria was the 1st trainer that I worked with when I adopted my GSD mix, Lumi, and has been supportive throughout our journey. Lumi is fearful of people, and Maria has always been kind and tailored lessons to fit Lumi's needs. As Lumi got older and I had additional questions, Maria always got back to me to discuss concerns, management plans, and lessons."

“Maria’s training style is clear and easy for me to follow through with. I especially appreciate her calm guidance that puts me at ease. She has a great way of explaining my pet’s behavior from their perspective. I highly recommend Maria and Plum Point Pooch.”

“My dog, JP, and I would not be a certified therapy team today if it were not for Maria’s expertise, guidance and training. Maria taught me the value of positive reinforcement which I engage in with JP daily. Not only is JP a confident, predictable and happy dog, we also share a very special bond thanks to the techniques I learned from Maria.”

“Sullivan needed more than basic training. Maria taught us so many things, such as how to recognize the signs and signals Sullivan is sending.Sullivan loves working with Maria and so do we.”

I have had the pleasure of working with Maria Montgomery for all of my dog, Miso’s training. He his an almost 4 year old Labrador who did AKC puppy training and All start adolescent training in 2019. In 2022 he revisited Maria for adult dog reinforcement training to complete Canine Good Citizen training.

Marias training methods - positive reinforcement, clear written, instructions on how to train with supporting resources and enough dog behavior theory to understand what the effect it has on a dog’s min - have led to me to enjoy having an energetic 4 year old lab who is supremely loveable with all dogs and people who meet him, well mannered with his daily routines and on traveling to new settings. He is the best training Labrador I have ever had (I have owned 8 during my life), a fact I can attribute to Maria’s skills as a trainer.