Friend To the Furry

My rescue dog Ralph & I have been doing training with Jenn for the last few months & I couldn’t be happier. Ralph is more confident, much happier, less anxious, and his former «bad» behaviors have been mostly transformed through positive reinforcement. Not only is he happier, but I also understand more about why he acts how he acts & understand how to read his body language. Jenn is always timely, responsive and goes above and beyond.
She has been such a huge help. And also, she really cares about dogs which makes a huge difference!

We have been patrons of Friend To The Furry for a few years now. Jen is a fantastic certified trainer and I recommend her to anyone looking for either training or dog walking services. We originally contacted her regarding our rescue dog who had some anxiety issues. Jen taught us how to recognize the signs of anxiety, spot the triggers, and how to help curb his behavior. Since then we have been a much happier family.
Jen encourages positive, reward-​based training and it is amazing how she helped change our lives. She is incredibly attentive and attuned to your dogs needs and is willing to take the time to really help you AND your dog. After every session (walking or training), she sends over an incredible synopsis of the time she spent with your pooch. Those are awesome to have as references to mark your dog’s progress. She does the same if you utilize her dog walking/​sitting services while you are out of town.
Overall, we couldn’t have asked for a better experience and I totally recommend her to anyone whenever I get the chance!

My puppy and I just finished Puppy Kindergarten with Jen and it was a wonderful experience. She has a very positive, rewards based approach to training and was infinitely patient with all of the pups and owners. Her lessons were very useful, direct and clear. Each week she sent us home with handouts and homework so we could continue learning on our own, and her approach has made training a fun way for me to spend quality time with my new puppy. It’s very empowering to know that there are ways to predict and prevent all kinds of bad behavior and it’s great to get started early before bad habits can develop.
I learned something invaluable each week, sometimes just from an off hand comment that Jen would make. She truly knows and loves dogs and it shows in her work. I would highly recommend her!

I really wish I could give this place 0 stars. I don’t think the trainer, Jen, really knew what she was doing with our dog (our dog has separation anxiety and would chew through doors) Jen has good intentions but gave us some pretty bad advice. We ended up going to another, more experienced trainer who told us our dog needed more structure and obedience and to stop these «fake» exits, which worked. I think Jen would make a better dog walker than trainer.

We brought our new puppy home and even though we knew intellectually what we were getting in to, nothing could prepare us for the reality –not being able to take him out for the first 6 — 8 weeks was proving challenging, getting up in the middle of the night, the constant redirection, the «accidents», the nipping, all that typical puppy behaviour… While we love our puppy and want to make sure he has the best life, we quickly realized that we could all benefit from some professional help. Jen came by our house in Greenpoint and spent an hour with us and Taco. It was like something magical happened. She showed up and he was instantly enamored. She was able to carry on a conversation with us while simultaneously handling Taco. He went right up to her and did everything he was supposed to while she subtly guided him. Besides being a patient handler of the dogs, she is just as adept at handling the parents, which is at least as important! She gave us really good advice, demonstrated strategies for keeping him on the right path that we could practice, and showed us some games to play that are fun for him, keep him focused, incorporate some training, and give him exercise. We enrolled in puppy-​K with Jen. Even though he’s a handful thanks to his limitless energy, we see improvements every day. We couldn’t have done it without Jen. We highly recommend her.

After several bad experiences with dog walkers and trainers (one of whom got great reviews on Unilocal,and turned out to be COMPLETELY untrustworthy) Jen is heaven sent. Our rescue dog Lucky, has completely changed after just a few hours spent in her company. He doesn’t pull at his leash, bark at other dogs, and went from a fearful creature who wouldn’t leave the building with anyone but us, to a relaxed well adjusted doggie. The change is remarkable, and we owe it all to Jen and her wise way with animals, patient nature and loving approach. All her training was done with positive reinforcement and distraction techniques, while other walkers/​trainers were saying he needed a choke collar. There is something really special about her, and we could see it immediately. Lucky jumped right up on the couch and put his head on her lap! He adores her, but most importantly, TRUSTS her.
Jen is a true friend to the furry – and I can’t recommend her enough, especially if you have a dog with trust issues!
Update 3÷13÷13: Jen has more business than she can hande – yeah! – and has hired Kanad who walks our dog. He is simply wonderful, and Lucky took to him immediately. Kanad is super reliable, sends detailed texts after their walks, but most importantly really enjoys Lucky’s company as much Lucky does his!