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David Adams

Aug 7, 2026

Dog Trainers

Susan Aceti

Dog trainer in Maryland

#662 in United States, #31 in Maryland

United States

https://challengingdogs.com/

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For 15 years, I shared my life with Molly, a black lab mix. She was my first dog and I adopted her at six months from a local animal shelter. I knew her history – that she had been locked in a basement for the first six months of her life, but I didn't know how much it would affect her. I didn't know that she would react to any new dog or person with a scary display of hostility. You can see more of Molly's story here. I learned how to work with her to develop a calm response to the things that scared her and she lived a wonderful life with a few human and dog friends. Molly died in 2017 and I still miss her. But I decided to put off getting another dog and started a dog boarding business in 2018. Not having a dog of my own, I figured I could provide a place for owners whose challenging dogs couldn't be around other dogs.

Soon I found myself constantly turning down requests for bookings because the nature of challenging dogs inherently limited what I could do. Usually, I could only take one dog at a time (unless they already lived in the same household). Out of this came the idea for Challenging Dogs Boarding and Daycare – to increase my capacity by contracting with a small pool of other sitters who would follow the same stringent guidelines I do: carefully helping fearful dogs in a positive, safe way and ensuring a comfortable safe space for them.

Dog training services include

  • Board and train

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David Adams

Aug 7, 2026

Dog Trainers

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