Sensitive Dog

Julie was amazing ... passionate, smart, insightful, and SO experienced. I learned so much about the mind of a dog (and of our dog in particular) in our session, and I cannot wait to get to work on what we discussed and practiced. I loved her approach, perspective, and suggestions. Looking at the whole pup--diet, habits, temperament--makes so much sense. Sensitive Dog offers so much more than a "regular" dog training class.

I scheduled a consultation in February and a follow up in April of this year to help refine my goldendoodle's challenges around settling and leash walking. Julie did an amazing job breaking down a dog's psychology to provide more context as to why certain behaviors were happening and how to tackle them at home. Just within those 2 sessions, we are already seeing a great improvement. Thank you so much Julie!

My session with Julie was life-changing—and I mean that quite literally. Upon our arrival, she welcomed my dog and me into her space and invited both of us to get comfortable. For me, that meant taking a seat wherever I wanted and getting a complimentary beverage; for James, that looked like his sniffing around the entire room obsessively looking for food. I appreciated her making space for both of us to show up how we wanted, and it definitely set the tone for the session. Julie started by addressing my primary concern with my dog. She presented a three-pronged approach to mitigate/eliminate my dog’s undesired behaviors around food. She had clearly pored over my intake form and remembered small details about my dog that helped her facilitate the session with a great degree of intentionality and thoughtfulness. She provided countless tips, tricks, resources, and product recommendations throughout the session that I am excited to try! She asked open-ended questions and guided our time with curiosity, compassion, and knowledge. She was incredibly responsive. By this, I mean that she promptly answered the email I sent her a few days prior to the session in which I asked if we could change one of my main focuses for our time together. In addition, she sent me a detailed email follow-up only an hour or so after the session. She was also incredibly responsive in that she made sure to check-in partway through the session and ask what concerns I wanted to address for our remaining time. When she had me walk through the steps of the search game as well as (teaching my dog) leave it, she gently corrected me if I did something improperly or forgot a step. She did so by modeling as well as by providing helpful reminders and encouragement. I never felt embarrassed or uncomfortable practicing on the spot and sometimes making mistakes. Lastly, she accommodated my learning style, and specifically what I shared with her about learning best through reading and writing. She gave me a notebook and pen to take notes with, and she provided me with ample print-outs and step-by-step guides that I am looking forward to reading and digesting. I truly can’t overstate how adaptive she was to both my dog’s and my needs during the entire session. In sum, Julie is one-of-a-kind, and her approach to working with people and their dogs is well-rounded, adaptive, and full of passion and knowledge. She is phenomenal at what she does, and I look forward to sharing progress updates and attending additional sessions with her in the future!

We can't recommend Sensitive Dog highly enough - Julie's thoughtful and insightful approach to training has led to significant improvements in our dog's behavior (and our behavior with him) in only two sessions. Unlike other training experiences we've had, Julie really takes the time to understand dogs and owners holistically and tailor strategies to each unique situation. This training goes beyond what and how to the why underlying behaviors, which is really helpful. We're so happy to have found Sensitive Dog and will continue to train with Julie for our future dogs as well!