The Balanced Dog

Joanne is everything we were looking for, she is living her purpose and is doing exactly what she was mant to be doing. Our fearful rescue is a confident man now and we have learned how to feel confident taking both dogs in public. She was so patient with us and the fact that we were learning too. Joanne is proessional and timely, she listens to understand and is good at finding out the finest tweaks to set you and your dog up for success. She weaves in humor and grace while teaching clearly and safely and is genuinely a wonderful human to be around. We have nothing but praise for this lady, she set us and our dogs up for success in this world. We love you Joanne!

Joanne did an incredible job taking my 9-month old Shepador from a dog that was inconsistent in his obedience and definitely not safe to be let off leash into a dog that is highly consistent, happy, and safe to hike off leash with me (using an e-collar). I also very much appreciated her willingness to carefully evaluate my needs and to communicate with me throughout the process, sending videos of my dog's progression and also showing me the dog-friendly rural environment in which he was being trained. Joanne was also good at training me on how to get the best out of my dog. She spent several hours at the end of the training working with me at my home on use of a prong collar and e-collar and on some practical issues. I've found great success and enjoyment using these techniques over the past month. My dog will "place" on command and stay for as long as I reasonably need, will recall consistently when off leash, and will at least try hard to show restraint when cheerfully greeting strangers. I very much feel like I got my money's worth. Also, when I had a family emergency after training that took me out of town for a few weeks, Joanne stepped up and on essentially zero notice accepted my dog for boarding and did a little refresher work on jumping.

Willow is a rescue that I adopted about six years ago. When I got her, I tried several dog trainers, two animal communicators, and still had a very reactive dog who was not well trained. And a few months ago I heard about Joanne. She came over to my home to meet my dog and do an assessment. We talked about the various options, including private lessons and board and train. I decided to do the two week board and train. It’s the best investment I’ve made! Joanne kept me updated with pictures and videos so that I could see how Willow was doing and what she was learning. The most amazing thing was that she had Willow around other dogs, and she was doing fine. She even took her to a brewery to try out her new skills. After two weeks, Joanne brought Willow home. She spent hours training me and my best friend on everything Willow had learned. She taught me how I was contributing to Willow’s behavior. I am absolutely amazed at the difference in my dog. One of the things that Joanne offers is six week obedience classes in City Park and Spring Canyon Park. Attending those is included in the board and train package. Today, Willow completed her first six week session. She has gone from a dog who would go into what I used to call “terrier hysteria“, barking and lunging at dogs, even across a field or down the street, and now, Willow can be in a class with 15 dogs, and it doesn’t phase her one bit. She is excellent with sit/stays, down/stays, and all of the basics. I can’t even believe this is my dog. I can tell her to go to “place“ and she will stay there until she is released. Joanne truly knows and understands dogs. She is also able to train their humans so that they can support their dogs. I cannot imagine a better dog trainer. She is truly gifted and customizes everything for exactly what the dog needs. It is obvious how much she loves and cares for my dog and the other dogs that she trains. I cannot recommend her more highly. I only wish I had found her six years ago when I first got my dog. But I’m glad I have found her now.

Two words: life changing. Even before I got my dog, Kristoff, I dreamed of getting to take my companion with me everywhere I could. Unfortunately, I didn’t do the best training job while he was still a tiny puppy, and next thing I knew, I had a 100 lb dog pulling me all over the place – and let me tell you, I’m not very strong. Due to being a COVID puppy, he also started barking and growling at new people when they’d come over. If I took him in the car, he’d whine and cry, and growl if a person walked along the sidewalks. I began reaching a point where I felt hopeless. Then my brother recommended Joanne and The Balanced Dog. Through private lessons, not only did Joanne help Kristoff become the dog I needed him to be, but she helped me become the owner he needed me to be as well. If you want a well trained dog, you need to do work too – this is a partnership. But if you’re patient with your pup and yourself, you’ll find yourselves in that perfect world you dreamed of. One of the biggest things she taught me was to have confidence in myself. A big reason Kristoff was acting the way he did was because I lacked that confidence and self-assurance, so he thought he needed to take the reins. But as the owner/ parent, you need to be the one in control, and let your dog know that you’ve got it handled. One of the days that shocked me most of all was our “graduation”, where Joanne took Kristoff and I to walk through the busy and bustling Old Town. If you would’ve asked me to do that when we first started, I would’ve laughed and said it was impossible. There’s loads of people, other dogs, loud traffic, lots of smells, etc. But after all that hard work, I found myself walking with my dog as casually as we would in our backyard. Between that and the group classes, Kristoff and I can now go anywhere and do anything. He stands right by my side, pays attention to my body language and movements, doesn’t pull, doesn’t growl or even huff at other people walking by. We don’t get people over very often, but when we do, I no longer worry about him ballistically barking – there’s the normal barks of warning me someone is there, and excitement to see them, but now I feel calm and in control. If he starts to have a problem, I can confidently calm him down, and then we can enjoy our visit. In the car, he has a blast and enjoys seeing the world. We’re at the point I always dreamed of being at. I can’t thank you enough Joanne!