Testimonials

We have 2 dogs, Spike and Macy. When Spike was a puppy we used a different training group (before we knew Jen) and the training sessions involved a lot of growling at him and throwing chains, which inevitably led to him hiding under the couch when the trainer came over. I didn't like the fear-inducing nature of that training method. So when Macy was a young puppy, we started training with Jen, and training has been a lot more positive and enjoyable for all of us. Macy looks forward to training and loves learning new things. Jen has been invaluable at helping us through various problems (people are asking if she's been debarked...NOT!). And although at a year old, Macy's training is still a work-in-progress, she is more advanced than many dogs her age. She is confident and brave, which is important since she is only 4 pounds. Best of all, we have a great relationship built on trust, not fear. I would highly recommend Jen for training your dog (and, mostly you!), whether you just need to brush up on basic obedience or if you have specific issues that seem unsolvable. She is a great resource, and best of all, her emphasis is on having fun with your dog.

We asked Jen to help us with our first dog Rain and then our second dog Koi. Rain used to be afraid of stairs, was difficult to take on walks, and she avoided our calls when we were outside. In addition, we found that she was not very motivated by training with food. Jen was great and was able to pinpoint Rain’s true motivation. All Rain needed was her own personal cheerleading squad, which involved an exuberant amount of enthusiasm. Once this was figured out we were able to get her running up and down the stairs with tons of excitement in her eyes. Her most favorite trick she learned from Jen is to go to bed. She likes to show this off, which has been extremely helpful when friends have visited. Whenever Rain and Koi get a chance to visit with Jen they don’t want her to leave. They just love her!

Callie is a 3-year old Border Collie (mix?) that we adopted from a neighbor. The neighbor had lots of friends coming and going, and Callie was very aggressive to the strangers. Callie was kept in a crate most of the time when strangers were in the house, but she would bark incessantly. She was making life miserable for her owners, dangerous for their visitors, and they didn't know how to fix the problem. We offered to take Callie, knowing that she'd need help getting over her aggressive behavior. Jennifer was recommended as a trainer who specialized in behavior modification, so we made an appointment. When Jennifer arrived, Callie did her aggression thing (on lead), complete with barking, growling and bearing teeth. But with Jennifer's quiet communication, Callie soon calmed down, and eventually walked over to visit and get a treat. Jennifer "trained" Callie not to be afraid of her, but more than that, she trained us in ways to introduce Callie to strangers so that Callie would not feel threatened. After putting Jennifer's suggestions in to practice during the last several months, Callie is much more relaxed around strangers -- not completely over her problem, but much better, and getting better. Jennifer understands canine behavior -- dogs intuitively trust her, and she can communicate to us humans what is triggering the behavior, and how to control the situation to initiate behavioral change.

Jennifer is truly amazing with dogs (and their owners!). When we became the owners of a highly energetic and clever Welsh Terrier puppy last Christmas, we had no idea how many challenges and rewards the next few months would bring. With Jen’s help, Monti was crate trained and house broken in less time than we imagined possible. And at just six months old, he was waving hello, rolling over, and crawling on command. But most importantly, Jen taught us how to lay the proper foundation for leadership with our very sweet but rather domineering dog. Starting off on the right foot with Jen’s help was the best move we could have made!

When the vet first met my Border Collie pup four years ago, her first reaction was “call Jen”. Thank goodness I acted on the referral! (Without professional assistance, the ordinary human is no match for even the dumbest specimen of that breed). Not only did Jen succeed in teaching me how to manage the headstrong puppy, but during Border Collie coaching sessions, she taught me how to behave with my other dog, an exuberant, Frisbee-playing Lab mix. I also recall (with undying gratitude) the training instructions Jen emailed me a couple of years ago in response to my SOS; the Frisbee dog and I had temporarily moved from our house into an apartment, and he was barking aggressively at the other tenants we encountered in the hallways. Jen’s emails detailed a technique that worked to calm him down. Most recently, Jen came to our rescue yet again, when the Border Collie refused to ascend a ramp leading to the pet tub I installed in my basement. Jen showed me how to cajole the dog up the steep incline and into the bath. Jen’s the best! She comes up with most ingenious and compassionate responses to bizarre canine behaviors. I recommend her without any reservations whatsoever.

Jennifer was asked to help start my 7 month old puppy, Oso, in dog obedience. Oso is a great dog but needed "something to do" or he would invent "something" on his own and it was most often not good. Jen introduced a fun, positive, and effective approach to dog training. Oso and I took to it immediately. We loved the classes with Jen and loved doing our daily homework. My older dog, Emmy, who had been trained the "old fashioned" way (choke chain), pretty soon decided that she was not going to be left out of all the fun. Jennifer was completely fine with that and soon had two very attentive dogs in the class. And, then there was our cat, Polly. She wasn't about to be left out either. Our classes ended up looking like a menagerie but somehow Jennifer managed to keep everyone's attention, using Emmy and Polly as decoys to Oso's training. It demonstrated to me how adaptable and effective Jennifer can be but also how much animals just enjoy and gravitate to her. After a 6 week program, I ended up with a puppy that is not only very adept in basic dog obedience but who also has a wide range of tricks. The dog obedience was my primary goal but the tricks were unexpected and just plain fun. Now Oso can bring a whole room to laughter doing his tricks. He has become an instant celebrity at parties and just loves being a ham. We have moved beyond basic obedience to explore dog agility now. I have to keep this dog busy. After that, I fully expect that Oso and I will be back working with Jennifer again to enhance Oso's obedience training and to add some new tricks to his repertoire.

Maggie is doing great. We've continued to work with her using the clicker and treats, and she's come a long way. Now we get compliments on how well behaved she is! She still has some sporadic fear of other dogs on leash and at the dog park, but we can pretty much take her anywhere with us now. It's really been a great experience watching her grow. Thanks for all your help!

I worked with him maybe 2-3 days or more per week for a long time, letting him in the house just to have a few minutes of fun "treat time" with the cats to embed the idea of positive experiences whenever he saw them and they saw him. I made him sit and behave while they all got several rounds of treats together. The cats are very good at dog-training, since they just aren't scared of him and rub under his chin and on his chest lovingly. He got excited but I made him "leave it" and rewarded him with treats for ignoring them. I praised him heavily for ignoring them altogether and gave him tons of treats. He would sit and stare intently at me, understanding that my wish was for him to ignore them and he would be given food. Then, on a day when I was painting for my art classes, and particularly calm, I let Charlie in the house to hang out with us for maybe 10-15 minutes. He was excited and whiny wanting to chase the cats. He tried to sort of excitedly chase them around and I calmly told him to leave it, watching very closely. I let him outside when he got too excited. I did this all day, for many hours, letting him in after a few minutes, and was able to lengthen the time he was inside with the cats and shorten the time outside. I was also able to watch him less and less closely throughout the day. Then, by early evening, Charlie was just plopping down on the floor with the kitties running around. He was totally noplussed by them after only a day.  Then, as expected, when we let him in with the cats the next day, he got excited at first again, but the time it took him to calm down shortened each day he was exposed to being inside with us and the cats. He is VERY smart, so he picked up on that first day, that if he left the cats alone, he got to BE INSIDE with all of us, which gives him the social stimulation and attention he craves--a HUGE reward he was willing to behave for. So, this has been about 4-6 weeks he has been in with us and the cats much of the time. He barely notices the cats and he is always happy to see them.  One day, he even laid on the couch with the cats on the top of the couch and didn't get excited. He even gives Scooter (the boy kitty) little kisses on his head--very gently. Pretty awesome. I am just waiting for the day they are found curled up sleeping together. We still put the cats in their little room at night to sleep so we avoid any accidents. Charlie can get a little excited at times, and forgets to look out for Scooter and stepped on him a couple times. He hasn't done that in a while, and perhaps we can stop locking the cats up at night pretty soon. But I think they kind of like the peace they get, and we don't have to worry about Charlie eating out of their cat box this way--that gives US peace! (I will never understand the attraction for dogs to cat litter! Blecch!) As a follow-up: They also stay in the house together at night now and Charlie just sleeps and the cats sleep wherever they want. We no longer feel we need to put the cats in a room at night to keep them safe. Charlie and Scooter are loving brothers now, and Scooter rubs up under Charlie's chin, and Charlie gives him little kisses (licks) on his head. One night when I was working in the office, Scooter brought his toy in to show Charlie and batted it around in front of his face to share it with him. Charlie lay there wagging his tail and nudging the toy with his nose, sharing the toy with the cat. How cute is that?

Loki is doing amazing - such a great dog, and we give so much credit to you. He continues to be one of the best trained dogs we have ever had.

The work you did with Annie has made a real difference - she is much, much better at coming when called, and she seems proud of her new found ability. I praise her a lot when she comes when called, and she seems really thrilled to get the loving and the attention. So, thanks again - great job!

Sassy is doing GREAT! Our walking is amazing now. We go miles and miles a day and I never get crazy frustrated like I had been. You were absolutely right when you told me that if I stuck with it, even if it took a year, that would mean 10 years of good walks! So true. She doesn't dive after bunnies anymore, even if she sees them first. She does exactly what you said to watch for her to do - she looks at me to see what she's supposed to do! I give her a treat or an "atta girl" and we keep right on going.  She's about 75% improved with other dogs when she's on-leash (off-leash without me she is no problem). We still don't approach other dogs face to face but she's good to sit off the path a little bit and let other dogs pass or see them up ahead or on the other side of the street without reacting. I continue to work with her almost every single day to make sure she's working on new things. I finished up a walk yesterday by taking her leash off and keeping her in a heal...without a leash and with my husband in sight about a half block away in our yard! She really wanted to run to him, but she didn't. That is truly amazing when I think about the first year of trying to get her to understand what I needed from her. :)

We adopted a male cattle dog pup, Sterling. We signed up for training classes with the best intentions. Instead we ended up with a very untrusting and now fear aggressive pup. Not to mention some very odd behaviors. Arvada Vet reccomended Jens Training Services. From Day One, miracles took place. We went from an OCD, fear aggressive pup ruth o the Sweetest And Most Attentive dog! I would say that 90% of his OCD like symptoms have vanished! Were talking pecuilar patterns have just abated! Jen taught Us how to Redirect And Reconnect with him. We are now able to Touch And Love him without any Fears... Thats Huge! Sterling has Loved, Trusted And Listened to Jen from the first time he laid his Paws on Her! Jen has taught All of Us how to understand And Teach each other. Jen will always be a Part of His And Our Lives. She saved Sterling And Us from a Very Sad Ending! Thank You Jen! You've been a Blessing...