Adopted Dog Behavior Specialist — Reactive & Anxious Rescue Dogs in Broward and Palm Beach County
★★★★★
5 Star Google Client Reviews with 100+ Reviews
Adopted a Dog and Feeling Overwhelmed?
No one told you how hard this would be.
You wanted to give a dog a better life. Now you’re living with stress, unpredictability and a dog you don’t know how to help.
Your dog is anxious, reactive and can't settle. Walks are chaos.
Home is tense.
Now you’re overwhelmed, frustrated...
and wondering if you made a mistake.
I’ve worked hands-on with hundreds of shelter and rescue dogs.
This isn’t basic obedience.
This is real behavior change.
I understand what these dogs have been through and how to fix it.
I step in and show you how to lead your dog the right way.
Confidence built through trust in you, step by step.
Calm structure inside your home.
Clear communication your dog understands.
Serving Broward and Palm Beach County
(954) 900-9013
"At One Dog at a Time Dog Rescue, we’ve seen his compassion and skill transform the most anxious and reactive dogs.He doesn’t just train, he connects. Dogs once labeled "aggressive" are now calm and thriving."
Kerry Giacomino - Founder
One Dog At A Time Dog Rescue
"Avi is incredible with even with the most difficult dogs. UFAR rescue has some of the most challenging dogs with major behavioral problems that other trainers wouldn't take on and he has worked miracles with them.
He will transform your dog!"
Wendy Betulia - Director
UFAR Animal Rescue
What Clients Are Saying
★★★★★
Our 2 year old rescue pitty Tilly, struggled with pulling on the leash, barking, reactivity, and listening. She also had no door manners when guests arrived.
We saw results during Avi's very first visit, where we focused on confident loose-leash walking and door manners.
Avi gave us the tools and knowledge to master skills. Avi is kind, humane, and clearly passionate about what he does--we affectionately call him "the dog whisperer."
Ellyn Bresinger
West Palm Beach, FL
★★★★★
Avi is an exceptional dog behaviorist.
He truly understood our recently adopted rescue dog’s insecurities and approached her with patience, kindness, and respect.
Avi didn’t just work on behaviors—he helped us build her confidence in a way that felt safe and empowering for her.
We’ve seen real, meaningful progress, and our dog is happier and more secure. We’re incredibly grateful for Avi and we couldn’t recommend him more highly.
Carole Usdan
Boca Raton, FL
★★★★★
Avi is hands down the best dog trainer out there.
He truly understands my dogs behaviors and needs.
I've seen tremendous improvement in Copper the hound mix we adopted.
I cannot begin to thank him enough for his help and support through training.
I highly recommend Avi to anyone who needs a kind patient experienced and all around amazing dog trainer. Thank you avi from both me and Copper!!
Stewart Salzman
Coral Springs, FL
I work with the dogs that didn’t respond to other training.
Shelter Rehab Training
These are the questions I hear most from people who just adopted a dog and are realizing it's harder than they expected.
Not textbook answers — what I actually see working with real adopted and rescue dogs throughout Broward and Palm Beach County.
What makes you a "certified shelter dog specialist" instead of just a regular dog trainer?
AVI'S ANSWER:
Most dog trainers work with dogs that have known histories a puppy from a breeder, a dog that's lived in one home its whole life. Adopted and rescue dogs are different. You usually don't know what happened before they came to you, and a lot of general obedience training doesn't account for that.
My background is different because I didn't start by training well-adjusted family pets. I started by volunteering hands-on with shelter dogs the ones labeled aggressive, unadoptable, or too far gone. I'm the official trainer for four South Florida rescues (UFAR Animal Rescue, One Dog at a Time Rescue, POPO Pit Bull Rescue, and Chesed Dog Rescue), which means I work with these dogs constantly, not occasionally.
That experience changes how you train. A general obedience trainer teaches commands. A shelter dog specialist knows how to read fear, trauma, and survival behavior and how to build trust before you ever ask for obedience.
Related reading:
My adopted dog is shutting down, hiding, or won't come out of his shell. Can that actually be fixed?
AVI'S ANSWER:
Yes, this is one of the most common calls I get. A dog that hides, freezes, or avoids the family isn't a lost cause. It's a dog that hasn't yet learned that this home is safe and predictable.Shutdown dogs need something different than a reactive or hyper dog needs. They don't need more space and time alone that just lets them stay stuck. They need calm, low-pressure structure that gently proves, day after day, that nothing bad is going to happen here.
Decompression comes first. Trust comes next. Obedience comes last.
I've watched dogs that wouldn't leave a corner of a room go on to walk calmly through Home Depot or sleep in the middle of the living room floor. It rarely happens on its own
it happens with the right guidance, at the right pace, for that specific dog.
Related reading:
Do you only work with dogs from the rescues you're affiliated with, or any adopted dog?
AVI'S ANSWER:
Any adopted dog.
My work with UFAR Animal Rescue, One Dog at a Time Rescue, POPO Pit Bull Rescue, and Chesed Dog Rescue is where I get hands-on experience with some of the most difficult cases in South Florida but the majority of the families I work with adopted their dog from somewhere else entirely: a different shelter, a private rescue, a family that could no longer keep the dog, or even off the street.
The principles are the same regardless of where your dog came from.
What matters is understanding that this is an adopted dog with its own history, not treating it like a puppy from a breeder with a clean slate. If your dog came from anywhere other than a breeder, this is exactly the kind of case I specialize in.
Related reading:
My adopted dog was perfect for the first few weeks. Now he's reactive, testing boundaries, or having accidents. Did I do something wrong?
AVI'S ANSWER:
No, and this is something almost every new adopter goes through. Dogs are naturally quiet and cautious during the first few weeks in a new home. That's not their real personality settling in that's decompression. As they start to feel safe, they relax, and their real temperament, insecurities, and habits start to show up.If a dog doesn't have clear structure and leadership by the time that happens, it can start to feel like it has to manage the house, the walks, and the guests itself and that shows up as barking, pulling, guarding, or testing boundaries. This is one of the most common adopted-dog situations I work with, and it's genuinely a good sign it means your dog is comfortable enough to stop holding back. The fix is giving your dog clear guidance before that phase turns into bad habits.
Related reading:
How soon after adopting should I start training?
AVI'S ANSWER:
Sooner than most people think but not in the way most people expect. I'm not talking about drilling commands the day you bring your dog home. I'm talking about starting the right structure and communication from day one, even while your dog is still decompressing. Waiting until problems show up resource guarding, reactivity, separation anxiety means you're fixing habits that have already formed.
Starting early means you're building the right habits before the wrong ones have a chance to take hold.
There's no universal timeline that fits every adopted dog, which is exactly why I evaluate each dog individually instead of applying a generic program. Some dogs are ready to start real training within days. Others need a little more decompression first. Either way, earlier is almost always better than waiting to see if things resolve on their own they usually don't.
Related reading
I already tried a trainer and it didn't help my adopted dog. Why would this be different?
AVI'S ANSWER:
Because most training isn't built around what adopted dogs actually need.
A lot of programs teach commands sit, stay, heel without ever addressing the fear, trauma, or insecurity underneath the behavior. Your dog can know every command perfectly and still be a completely different dog the moment something scares it, because commands were never the real problem.
I specialize in the dogs that other trainers couldn't reach it's what I do every day as the official trainer for four South Florida rescues, working with dogs that were labeled aggressive or unadoptable before anyone understood what was actually driving the behavior.
If you've already tried training and your dog is still struggling, that doesn't mean your dog can't be helped. It usually means the approach didn't address what was actually going on. That's exactly the conversation worth having with me.
Related reading:
South Florida's Adopted Dog Specialist
Official trainer for 4 South Florida rescues · Serving Broward & Palm Beach County ·
Free phone consultation (954) 900-9013