Experience

Services and Fees

“I wholeheartedly, unreservedly recommend Dr. Megan Maxwell to anyone with a need for pet behavior help. Megan helps owners establish good behavior habits through puppy or dog training classes and helps other owners find solutions that work for difficult pet behavior problems through her professional consultation services. Megan has a great understanding of how pets learn and think. Her puppy classes are fun, informative, gentle, and very effective in helping owners to establish a sound basis for a lifetime of learning and positive training habits. She has helped many of my patients with a wide range of issues from anxiety problems to compulsive behaviors to inter-dog aggression to inappropriate urination in cats. I have had the good fortune to have been working with Megan for over two years. She has helped many of my clients find solutions that work for their pet's problematic behavior issues. I learned from and enjoyed her Puppy Preschool behavior class with my own puppy, Sparkle. My entire staff has learned a great deal from her through observing her work and also from her effective presentations at our staff training meetings.”

Amy McAlister of Washington, PA, owner of Tucker (right), had this to say:

“Megan was hired to help us with our 2 year old Havanese. We got him as a puppy and had noticed he had severe fear issues. He was afraid of other dogs, people, just about anything with which he was not familiar.
As he got older, his fear turned into aggression. He would bark and lunge at other dogs if we were walking. If someone came to the door he would go into a zone and jump and bark. If he did not have a leash on it was difficult to get him under control. We enrolled him in an obedience class at our local pet store which helped with some basic commands but not with the issues that were bothering us the most.
After a biting incident, we tried 2 different individual trainers in hopes that they could help us control his aggression. There were small improvements but not enough to make us feel like we had accomplished our goal. We were feeling like prisoners in our own home. He was getting walked everyday and we had implemented every technique we were taught, yet we were still having major problems. Desperate for answers and not wanting to have him put down, we found Megan. She was our dog’s last hope.
Even though she lived 45 minutes away, she travelled to our home so that she could see our dog in his own environment. After discussing his history and what we hoped to accomplish, she came up with a game plan. I have to admit that after several unsuccessful attempts at improving his behavior, we were not optimistic. However, Megan gave us a plan with specific instructions. Nothing she told us was difficult to implement. Within just a few days, we noticed a huge difference with his behavior at the door. We also started walking him with a collar that she suggested. What a difference! We could not believe it. He was no longer pulling or lunging at other dogs. If someone leaned down to pet him he just sat there. He was like a different dog. Of course, we continued to work on things daily, but we were finally seeing huge improvements.
“We are so thankful that we found Megan. She took the time to listen to our concerns and shared her knowledge to customize a plan which made all the difference.”

Genevieve Larimer, owner of Taki and Toby (right, respectively), from Morgantown, WV, wrote:

“I have 2 dogs, both of whom were having behavioral issues. Megan was amazing working with them and with me to help us resolve these problems.
My first dog, Taki, is a rescued German Shepherd, who came from a neglectful and abusive background. She did not trust anyone but my family, and became very aggressively defensive toward anyone whom she saw as a potential threat. I couldn't have people over to my house or take her anywhere with me because she would lash out at people.
Megan helped us out so much! She developed an excellent plan, which included working with rewards around people so that Taki could develop a new behavior pattern and more positive associations. After only a couple of sessions I was able to safely take her on walks through my neighborhood with no problem. After about a month of using Megan's techniques, Taki made huge improvements and even showed friendly behavior to my neighbors, allowing them to pet her, which was amazing! With continued work I am now able to have friends over to my house as well. I have not had any problems walking her in the last two years and she lives a much happier life now since she is not stuck in the house all the time.
Toby is my other dog. He is also a rescued dog who came from the animal shelter at 4 months old. He is a border collie/lab mix. He was a wonderfully sweet puppy and I was able to take him everywhere with me. However, as he got older I noticed that he started to display some concerning signs of fear around people. He would bark at people when they approached sometimes, and I couldn't figure out why, because he was generally friendly. I called on Megan for help in dealing with this problem because I wanted to stop any such behavior before it became dangerous! She developed a plan of working with Toby around increasingly large groups of people with rewards, to create positive associations for him and boost his confidence being around people.”
“ The plan worked really well and Toby is a very happy, friendly dog! Thanks, Megan!”

Jan Roth, owner of Siamese cats Rob and Laura, from Fallston, MD, had this to say:

“In 2004 my mother came to live with us, bringing her three elderly Siamese cats. My husband and I already had a pair of 9-year-old Siamese, who are very high-strung. As soon as my mother's well adjusted Siamese came, my two retreated to our bedroom and hid under the bed, refusing to come out. They were very fearful. Every time my mother's Siamese approached, they would have no parts of it, and fighting would ensue. We moved food and a litter box upstairs, divided the house with barriers, all the while fearing that they would never come back downstairs.
Having been a teacher, I immediately purchased every book I could find about how to cope with this problem. One particularly helpful book was called "Is Your Cat Crazy?" written by an animal behaviorist. I didn't know there was such a person! I researched animal behaviorists on the Internet and found that Megan Meginley (now Megan Maxwell) was at West Virginia University - my husband's, mother's, and step-father's alma mater.
Approaching desperation, I contacted Megan. She devised a personalized treatment plan to train Rob and Laura to come downstairs which worked beautifully. Although our cats and my mother's never became friends, Rob and Laura realized that they didn't have to be afraid to come downstairs. When my mother's Siamese reached the end of their long lives, Rob and Laura returned to their own personalities very quickly with no lasting effects.”
“My family and I are most grateful for [Dr. Maxell's] invaluable help and sympathy for all involved - human and feline. She provided professional expertise and compassion throughout a very difficult time.”

Elsie Eastman, owner of Trudy, Sasha, and others, from St. Clairsville, OH, had this to say:

“I was a heartbroken dog owner when the name of Megan Meginley (now Megan Maxwell) was given to me by the head of the English Cocker Spaniel rescue organization. I wanted to contact the most knowledgeable person concerning animal behavior possible, so I was looking for a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist; someone who would be acquainted with most, if not all, of the known written material concerning animal behavior. It was also important to me that this person have love and intuitive feeling for, and rapport with, animals. I found all of this in Dr. Maxwell with a big plus she also wanted to help the person involved, to get the most out of the human-animal relationship!
I had a big problem. My two female seven-year-old dogs, who had lived with me for over seven years, wanted very badly to kill each other! The problem had developed slowly over the years, and by the time I called Dr. Maxwell, the two dogs had to be separated. I thought that I would probably have to find a new home for one of the dogs. But which one? Where? Who would want an older mixed-breed dog or high-strung spaniel? I was desperate! Talk about hard choices and grief!
Then I talked to Megan Maxwell. She listened very carefully as I told her all that I could about the history of the dogs' lives together. She said that, although it was not a sure thing, there was hope! She met the dogs twice (on leashes), at the Animal Medical Center in Morgantown, and in my home. She gave me things to do, explained clearly how I should do them, and helped me to understand what was going on between the dogs.
Everything that she said rang true with me, and her suggestions were possible to carry out. She also provided alternative behavioral strategies should they be needed. In several follow-up conversations I was assured and encouraged by clear explanations of what was occurring. It was helpful to know that there might be setbacks and that things weren't going to happen all at once. We were dealing with living creatures with minds of their own, but love and hope are powerful things.
In the end, it took less time than I expected. Things will never be perfect between the two dogs. They never were. This is an ongoing process, with one important factor being that I keep myself in the driver's seat. The wonderful thing is that I still have my two dogs, together, all of us (I have one other dog and four cats), most of the time living enjoyably and peacefully. Thank you Dr. Maxwell!”
“[Dr. Maxwell] gave me things to do, explained clearly how I should do them, and helped me to understand what was going on between the dogs.”

Pet Behavior Change, LLC | 2008 | E-mail MeganMaxwell@petbehaviorchange.com | Phone (304) 280-8543

Pet Behavior Change

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