Joyce and Regan

“Regan was surrendered by a family in Georgia and spent 2 months in a shelter before Atlanta Lab Rescue pulled him from the shelter.  He was vetted, neutered, and placed with a foster home for a few weeks when we met him and immediately decided to adopt him.

He was a calm and gentle Labrador Retriever, except when we took him out to walk and he saw other dogs.  Not every dog, but most dogs elicited a negative reaction from Regan. He would jump straight up in the air, spin, snarl, and growl.  Quite frightening to me and the other owners and dogs.    

I contacted a trainer who told me you cannot train that out of a dog and to just realize that Regan would not have any “doggy” friends.  When I told my veterinarian about this, he referred me to Dr. Lisa Radosta, a veterinary behaviorist.  She came to our house and spent several hours with us and with Regan and taught us how to deal with his reactiveness.  We worked with him and did what she suggested and in a very short time, Regan turned around and became calm and friendly around other dogs.  He also reacted to golf carts and we were able to correct that behavior as well. 

Recently, I took Regan to an orientation for Share-A-Pet, a pet therapy organization.  The room was full of people with their DOGS!  He was fine with all of them.  He was so well-behaved that they suggested he take the test to be a therapy dog and see how he did and HE PASSED on the first try!  Regan is now a therapy dog at Broward Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. He visits the residents at least once a week and brings joy to a lot of people. I am grateful to Dr. Radosta because Regan now has the confidence to go anywhere and it is a pleasure to be able to take him with us and know that he is well behaved!”

Jennifer and Bella

“We have “special needs” dogs:  Bella is a five-year-old Boston Terrier who is afraid of feathers, balloons, fireworks, thunderstorms, is a resource guarder, has a history of fighting, and not so keen on her newest housemate,  Basha, who is our two-year-old pit mix rescue with reactive dog issues (she had to be sedated for her first vet appointment) and separation anxiety (over $300 worth of damage to items in our house).   The primary catalyst for contacting Dr. Radosta however was due to sibling fights:  Bella (our Boston) would initiate fights over toys and treats with Basha (our pit mix).   Even after a number of fights, and Bella losing all of them (not to mention the $500+ vet bills per each fight, and me getting injured in trying to break up the fights) we were left with three options: 1) Re-home one of the dogs; 2) euthanize the pit, or 3) get professional help/recommendation.  The first two options were out of the question, especially after having just lost our Yorkie the month prior.

Dr. Radosta provided us with a diagnosis and treatment plan with really clear instructions for training the dogs in a positive manner. I felt overwhelmed at first with all the re-training but determined to make positive changes. It took time, consistency, and commitment.  For a while, I had a vocabulary of six words: Sit, stay, down, watch, and leave it. My husband and I had to implement new house rules for the benefit of our dogs. Basha was enrolled in Dr. Radosta’s Reactive Dog class. She did fabulously, and I am much more confident walking her in our community and keeping her aggressive side at bay. [Recently while walking Basha we were charged by two other pit bulls. I was able to remain calm, and we averted a dangerous situation.]

Although not thrilled with the idea of medicating my dogs to help them with their individual anxiety issues, after trying an array of natural products, conceded to the medication; WHAT A DIFFERENCE!  Neither dog has lost her personality, both have a much more calm disposition, and a better quality of life.  And, the best part:  the dogs have gotten along!  We are at 6 months (and counting) of amicable housemates!!

Howard and Marie

“Please, help us, we can’t go on like this anymore!”  I believe that summarizes our initial panic call to Doctor Radosta.  Our family rescued a troubled dog who was suffering from just about every anxiety and aggression you could imagine and her fear of thunderstorms repeatedly left her and our home physically scarred.  We were on the brink of giving up ourselves when we received a lifeline from our vet.  ‘Go see Doctor Radosta’ he said.  “If anyone can reach this dog, it’s going to be her” he advised.  We were skeptical…for about 2  seconds!  Her work with our dog was life-altering for our entire family.  She gave us the tools we needed to bring our dog out of her fear-based world and into a world where wonderful things were waiting for her.  The process was long and hard for such a troubled pooch but she started to respond almost instantaneously to Doctor Radosta and her techniques.  Our dog is completely different today.  She is relaxed, happy, trustful of others and her aggression went out the door with her fears.  Our vet was right, Doctor Radosta is a miracle worker!”

Angel Wasserman

“I have referred numerous clients from my busy dog training business to Dr. Radosta.  Without exception, they have raved about her strategy for handling their aggressive or fear-filled pooch.  Dr. Radosta has an easiness about her that infuses both pet and pet owners with the confidence they need to succeed.  Her ability to reach even the most troubled canine student is nothing short of miraculous.  She consistently shows me that both dogs and owners are exceedingly receptive and responsive to her instruction.  Whether you’re a professional or a pet owner, Dr. Radosta is one resource you should keep in your rolodex.”

Penny and Vinnie

“I truly believe that Dr. Radosta saved my dog’s life.  At the time that I consulted her, Vinnie was a two-year-old puppy (a Doberman) who was sweet, funny, lovable, and beautiful.  However, he had bitten me on three separate occasions.  He’s the fifth Doberman I’ve owned and this had never happened before.  Most curious was the fact that he was in no way an aggressive dog and each time he bit me, it almost seemed to happen without his knowing it,  and he would run off to another room and sit in a corner shaking. When it happened for the third time. I was devastated, felt betrayed, and feared I’d have to give him away (but to whom after he had bitten me) or worse —  would have to put him down — unthinkable.  

My vet told me about Dr. R. and the kind of work she did.  I myself am a psychoanalyst and the thought of going to her was both fascinating and gave me hope. I was impressed by the detailed and very long questionnaire I had to fill out before seeing her and further impressed by how apparent it was that she had read and integrated all that I had written into her thinking — even before seeing the dog.  Vinnie, Dr. R. an assistant, and I spend two and a half hours together, during which time she observed Vinnie and thought out loud about what she was observing.  She modified her thinking several times as she gathered more data and finally indicated that he was essentially a dog who became hyper-reactive when overstimulated and not given enough personal space.  While my interaction with him had been fine with my previous four dogs, it was wrong for Vinnie.   She gave me a long list of recommendations, two books, and a video.  In the past year, I’ve carried out all of the recommendations (which were challenging to me) but have been rewarded with a calm dog whom everyone loves.  While Dr. R. told me that he would never become cuddly (that was OK with me as long as I could keep him) he surprisingly has become like velcro with most people.  At least once a day, I look at him, alive and in my house and I silently thank Dr. Radosta for making it possible for me to keep the best dog I’ve ever had.”

Teddy and Danny

“I adopted Teddy when he was about a year old.  Soon after I adopted him, I noticed that he would become very reactive around strangers (barking, growling, lunging, etc.).  We went through some basic obedience training, but over time his reactivity began to intensify and he started becoming very aggressive with other dogs (and he had played great with all other dogs when I first got him).  The trainers at Very Important Paws recommended I contact a veterinary behaviorist and I found Dr. Radosta online.

Dr. Radosta diagnosed Teddy as having fear-based reactivity and recommended a number of training exercises to help me have better control over Teddy and also help counter condition Teddy to be less fearful around certain stimuli.  Although the training really helped me control Teddy better, he was still becoming highly aroused to the same stimuli so Dr. Radosta recommended we try a medication to help Teddy.

Between the training and medication, Teddy has improved dramatically.  We can walk past people without Teddy reacting and Teddy doesn’t bark and growl at people in the elevator in our building anymore.  We have had 2 appointments with Dr. Radosta and participated in one of her 6-week reactive dog classes and I am very pleased with the progress Teddy has made.”