Sensitive Dog

Before coming to us, Mikey experienced significant trauma in his first year of life, including malnourishment, surviving in the wild and losing his leg. Understandably, adapting to home life was extremely challenging for him. We struggled for over a year with basic training to allow him to safely and happily navigate his new environment while working through severe anxiety and reactivity issues. After multiple unsuccessful attempts at other training programs, we were at our lowest point, questioning whether we would be able to provide Mikey with what he needs to inhabit and thrive in a home life. Working with Julie at Sensitive Dog was a breath of fresh air. Her progressive approach to establishing boundaries and expectations for both Mikey and us immediately began producing results. She taught us the means to effectively communicate with Mikey in a way he can absorb and respond to, as well as tools to help him (and us) navigate situations he finds stressful. All of this was done in the context of showing Mikey love and creating an environment which provides him necessary structure and enrichment. We all benefitted from this program and found ourselves bonding in a new way with Mikey as every step of his progress felt like a team win for us all. At the end of his program, Mikey had gone from a place of not being able to leave the house without meltdowns to enjoying walks in the neighborhood with his brother Earl in the presence of other dogs and people. Where we had previously been unable to leave him for more than a few hours at a time, Mikey now has the tools to successfully stay with our boarder, and we were able to do our first overnight in over a year. I can honestly say Julie and Sensitive Dog changed our lives. Thank you!

We had a wonderful experience working with Julie to help with our truly sensitive boy, Cosmo. Our dog is 3 and a half and while he's overall a very, very good boy, he struggles with reactivity and sound sensitivity. We took Sensitive Dog's Intro and 4-week reactive leash training courses and have already seen vast improvements in his temperament. Here are some of the things we appreciated the most about our experience working with Julie: - Clear communication - Reasonable expectations on what the training can do for us and Cosmo - we don't expect him to become the bravest, friendliest dog ever, but he'll improve, which is great! - Teaching practical, tangible skills that help us better understand how to communicate in Cosmo's language - Helping us understand the "why" behind the method - A calm, poised demeanor that made us feel like we were in the hands of someone who knows what they're doing - Very convenient location for us living in South Seattle - A genuine appreciation for how handsome our boy is - we swelled with pride every time Julie commented on it! Thank you so much to Julie and Darcy for providing such a great service to the community. We will definitely go back for booster training sessions as Cosmo progresses!

I have a cattle dog puppy (now 10 months old), and around the 6‑month mark I desperately reached out to Darcie and Julie at Sensitive Dog feeling pretty in over my head. Charley was starting to show some typical but less ideal cattle pup behaviors and I knew we needed support. Even though they were booked, they were so gracious and made room for an initial session. We ended up booking a 4‑week coaching program shortly after and I’m so grateful we did! What I love most about Sensitive Dog is their balanced approach to training. We had previously taken a positive‑only puppy class elsewhere, which was helpful to a point, but working one‑on‑one with Julie gave us clearer communication tools and a better understanding of how to support Charley. We saw immediate improvements after that first intro session, and it felt like a much better fit for our pup. Julie taught us ways to help Charley feel more confident and more relaxed, and a huge part of that was mental stimulation, not just physical exercise. Julie introduced us to toys and enrichment ideas we could easily use at home, things like scent detection and problem‑solving activities that really engage Charley’s brain. It's been eye‑opening to see how much these mental exercises have helped her regulate and build confidence. Julie is incredibly knowledgeable and walked us through a wide range of training topics, always answering questions thoroughly and no question felt too small or silly. I genuinely enjoyed our conversations and felt supported the entire time. Most importantly, Julie gave us tools we can continue using as Charley grows into the best girl she can be. After our coaching program, we feel well-equipped to continue the work together and I’m so excited to keep watching Charley grow into the great dog she already is, and will keep becoming. Having a well‑adjusted, confident pup is priceless! You truly can’t go wrong working with Sensitive Dog, especially if you’re navigating life with a 'sensitive' dog and want thoughtful, compassionate guidance. Highly, highly recommend.

We adopted a timid Australian cattle dog. The organization, Dog Gone Seattle, provided us a list of recommended trainers. Sensitive Dog was on that list. We reached out to them and they were very responsive and immediately helped to put us on their waitlist. We were able to get in to see them within a month or so. Julie did an amazing job to be patient with everyone involved. We as owners probably came in very green to the breed and she did such a good job of letting us know what to expect with Australian cattle dogs. They are not for the faint of heart. She was so knowledgeable, we were and are very impressed. We did not feel rushed and spent a good 3 hours having her observe our new dog and giving us hands on training to address his severe timidness. We now continue to routinely apply the training we learned, especially the “box game” in our place so our boy gets the mental stimulation he needs. Although they are very pricey $5XX, we have no regrets. Our dog is worth it. We cannot recommend this trainer enough. 6 months later, he’s settled in so nicely and now we have a wonderful, loving dog added to our family. We couldn’t be happier! 🐶

Julie Forbes of Sensitive Dog is a very skilled dog behaviorist with an excellent teaching approach for humans and dogs alike. We recently adopted a wonderful high energy, intelligent shepherd mix puppers and benefited immensely from the well laid out frameworks by Julie Forbes. With Sensitive Dog training (with Julie Forbes and Darcie Boltz), it felt very doable in how to find different ways to implement training and structure our communication to nourish and cultivate a loving relationship without reinforcing unhelpful patterns. Our favorite is “All Done” and scent games. At every step of the way, Julie provided broader education about how to think about dog behavior and experiences, ways humans can unintentionally miscommunicate and how to effectively mitigate these challenges with visual aids, written instructions, and follow up evaluations. The training was very well organized. What we also loved, was through training, we were able to learn enough to start troubleshooting training challenges on our own which is paramount moving forward. Julie also offers follow up sessions which is so helpful. Very grateful for the warm and effective approach, professionalism, and the myriad skills available for learning to positively shape our human dog relationship.