Paula has been a real lifesaver for our dog Maggie, formerly known as Maggie-the-Monster.

We adopted Maggie last year, only to realize she was a difficult dog to handle, and had serious issues to be worked through and managed; mainly aggressive behavior towards dogs and humans alike. After trying to work through the behavior on our own for several months and making little progress, we realized we needed professional assistance in helping Maggie.

We selected Paula after researching several trainers in the area. It has been the best decision we could have made for Maggie's well being, as well as our own sanity! Paula has been absolutely wonderful and has exceeded every expectation we had of her. Paula is very knowledgeable, patient, positive, and always respectful and professional to both canine and owner. The one-on-one environment enables her to focus her undivided attention on you and your dog. She works extremely hard to find and utilize techniques that work for your individual dog, customizing the training as necessary.

Since working with Paula, Maggie's turn-around has been phenomenal! After just one session, we could already see a difference in Maggie. Due to the Maggie's personality and the depth of her issues, we will always have to be vigilant and consistent with her training and socialization. However, Paula continues to be there for us; eager to assist and support, answer questions, provide suggestions, and come up with innovative training techniques to continue our progress forward. Maggie was, without a doubt, a large liability and would have been a candidate for euthanasia had we given up on her. She was only a year old and we were already her third owners! Now, Maggie is a happier, more confident, and manageable dog whom we feel comfortable walking around our neighborhood and nearby parks.

Before working with Paula, Maggie was only comfortable around our other two dogs, me and my husband. Unfamiliar people or dogs would usually cause intense anxiety, aggression or both. Now, we can once again invite our family and friends over without worrying about how Maggie will respond. Working with Paula has truly been a wonderful experience for us and has enabled us to keep, love, and provide for a dog that otherwise would have been unable to function appropriately in society. Our only regret is not finding and seeking Paula's help sooner!
Erin Taylor - March 2007

We have two Labradors and put them both through Paula's obedience classes. Our older dog went through a dog class as a puppy, but the class was very large in size. We really enjoy the fact that Paula sets limits on how many people\dogs she will allow in a class. We got much more advice and individual attention with a smaller class. When we got our 2nd lab we knew we would go straight to Paula. She helped me detect a shoulder problem he had, and was great about letting us stop course part way through, take care of his shoulder with surgery, let him heal properly and pick back up where we left off. Both our dogs as well as us learned a lot from Paula and have recommended her to all of our dog friends. Thanks again Paula!
Jenny Furuya

Paula is a great dog trainer. She is very sensitive to the needs of the owner and the behavior of the dog. She is very patient working with all types of dogs especially rescued dogs and offers advice on how to handle their particular needs. She has helped me train a dog that could have been a candidate for euthanasia because of extreme shyness and fear. Her methods are never cruel and always treats the dog (and owner) with respect. She works with you until you get it right and helps you to understand dog behavior. My German Shepherd changed from a dog I had to carry into class because she was too afraid to walk, into a more confident, obedient gal who has is not afraid of her own shadow anymore! More importantly, she helped me understand why Katy acted like she did and how to improve her behavior. I would highly recommend Paula to help you train your dog.
Lisa Nightingale.

My dog and I completed both Beginning and Advanced Obedience classes with Paula. Paula was always patient, calm, kind and amazingly well-informed about canine behavior. She is the reason we were able to turn a problem dog into a dog that had wonderful house manners. Honestly, if it weren't for Paula's classes we wouldn't have been able to keep our dog, who was very difficult to handle for a variety of reasons. In a nutshell, Paula knows dogs. She is able to intuit what is really going on inside of a dog that is causing the behavior. I never refer people to professionals unless I can do so without any reservations. With Paula, I am honored to recommend her to anyone because I respect her work so much. I'm taking our new dog to her for training soon and consider myself very fortunate to have Paula as a resource.
Leila Goldsmith

Lucy and myself really benefited from the training and we were able to keep it up at home. Knowing how to expect Lucy to behave, allowed us to establish some practical methods to deal with her when visitors came.
My daughter was married this past summer and our house was filled with a dozen family and friends, and Lucy became adjusted very quickly. Everyone just loved her!
The training you provided was precisely customized for Lucy's situation. It gave us the ability to control her aggression toward strangers and your advice helped us understand her behavior. Afterward, she became easier to handle at home as well as on our walkies.
Ray and Shirley Weisgerber

My dog Tui, a standard poodle and I both took Paula's class. The instruction helped us both to realize who was really in charge. With her help Tui is now a lot better behaved on our walks and safer because he knows his commands as do I. The classes were fun and Tui learned to socialize with other dogs. I can recommend Paula's classes to anyone that wants to have a well behaved pet.
Gail Massengale

Tui is a "Tacoma native"

Paula Hook's Dog Training and Obedience School is the best around. Paula is extremely knowledgeable about all types of dogs and can train dogs of all levels. When we first started classes with Paula my dog and I had never had any training. Because of Paula's excellent skills "Lucky" became a certified therapy dog.
Dan Elliot

Jordan is a 1 1/2 year old female Labradoodle. We went to Paula for her fear aggression (Big Dogs). I had gone to many other trainers in the area. Paula is the only one who helped me understand why Jordan was this way. (No more Dog Parks for her.), and how to solve the problem. All the other trainers said, "Oh, that is how dogs say, 'Do not do that!' " Sure that is true but Paula help us solve the problem. Basic obedience is not good enough! You need to have complete obedience. She trains with out treats, which took me a day to get over. LOL Jordan and I learned so much from her. Paula answered all my questions and I had a lot. She treats you and your dog with kindness. I whole heartily recommend her classes. I could not say more wonderful things about her. She is my Godsend!
Gaetane and Jordan Puyallup, WA