Smart Paws

I was referred to Jenina Schutter by a friend who has 2 rescue dogs. Jenina is amazing. She came to my home, and considering that I’m a brand new dog owner and not familiar with dog training, she explained a tremendous amount of information in a clear way that makes me interested in being a good, responsible owner. Then she sat on the floor with my new dog and miraculously began to train him his first command, almost without saying anything. She understands dogs AND people. I am truly looking forward to our next session!

Jenina is so amazing and made a huge difference in my relationship with my dogs. I found my two dogs on the streets and they each have their own issues. Jenina affirmed aspects of training that I wondered about and taught me so much about how to understand and be the leader of my home, without thinking I was being mean to the dogs. There is a lot of peace and balance now that the dogs are not in charge! I highly recommend Jenina. She is trustworthy, patient, thorough, caring and is overall a special human being. All dogs are lucky there is someone like her to help their people keep them safe and happy. Thank you Jenina! I’ll be sending my friends and their four-​leggeds to you!

I’ve been involved with rescue for years which is how I first met Jenina. A couple had hired her to help them work with their dog because they wanted to bring a second dog into their home and their dog could be dog aggressive. I could not believe the difference in this dog from the first time I met her to when we were able to do a meet and greet with one of our rescue dogs. From that moment on I have been using Jenina for my own dogs as well as our rescue dogs. She does not believe in, nor does she use choke, prong or shock collars. She is all about positive reinforcement, consistency and patience. Jenina has taught me so much about dog behavior and how they communicate. She is a phenomenal trainer and makes it fun for both dog and owner.

I love Smart Paws! Jenina was recommended by a friend and she has been invaluable. We have a black lab puppy that we adopted at 10 weeks old. Jenina’s private training helped our puppy learn basic commands that we continue to practice and build on. Jenina also helped us understand how to be good dog owners. Additionally, Jenina’s dog walkers are fantastic! They have helped us on days when we need a lunchtime walker and also for overnight stays when we go out of town. I highly recommend Smart Paws for training and dog sitting.

Love, love, love Jenina! I’ve had dogs in the past but truthfully never trained them and they were always a little wild. When I adopted two young Ridgebacks, I knew I was in over my head and needed help! Thankfully a friend recommended Jenina. We did six private lessons and they were so helpful. It is so nice to have the «good dogs» when I go places.
Her philosophy is simple, all gain no pain and she lives by it. It’s all positive training. Do not hesitate to contact her, you will be so happy!

My husband and I are both first time dog owners, and we wanted to make sure we were teaching our dog how to be a member of our family in a positive way. Jenina helped us so much. In her group class we not only learned a ton of important commands (sit, stay, down, heel, leave it, go to your spot), but we also learned the correct ways to communicate, reward and teach our dogs. I feel like I learned just as much (if not more!) than my dog did. Jenina has a great teaching style, demonstrating each step carefully with the dogs and also sending us home with a handout so we can make sure we’re practicing correctly during the week. When our dog started having some behavior problems on the leash, Jenina gave us great advice over the phone and met with us early before class to discuss what to do. I’d absolutely recommend her to anyone looking for a dog trainer.

Jenina helped us immeasurably by coming to our house to help us with behaviors of our adopted dog that were beyond our abilities to handle. She made herself so available, even to talk by phone. She is very knowledgeable and loves dogs, but in a very realistic way.

Jenina is an extremely compassionate and intuitive dog trainer. She came to my home for several sessions to work with my two dogs and was able to help me the causes of their anxieties and misbehavior. Her understanding of dog behavior is amazing and her sensitivity and support are superb. I highly recommend her.

Jenina is an amazing trainer. Because of her deep understaning of how dogs process information our rescue pup Nina is gaining confidence and integrating beautifully into our home. She is now pals with our cats, playing with other dogs and her separation anxiety is getting much better. All of this is due to Jenina’s always gentle and sure handed approach. We can’t recommend her highly enough.
We were at the group class mentioned in another review, the dog was very agressive and it’s owner had no control of it. Jenina spent 10 minutes out of a 60 minute class talking with the owners. That dog didn’t belong in a group class. I completely agree with Jenina’s decision to not allow the dog to stay.

Jenina was beyond rude and didnt even give our dog a chance. This was our first time going to see a dog trainer it made us so disappointment and discouraged from even looking somewhere else. I would not recommend her at all.

Thank you, Jenina!
We took our dog to group class and learned so much. The class is as much for the owners as for the dogs, so you can continue to use the techniques long after class is over. Jenina works with each dog’s particular needs. There were a lot of different personalities in our class and Jenina worked equally well with all of them. I can’t recommend this class highly enough. We looked forward to it every week!

Jenina is a gifted dog trainer. Whether it is a group class or one-​on-​one training, Jenina has a unique gift for getting dogs to listen and learn.
She trained our mini dachshund, a breed that is not easily trained, to do things that I didn’t even think were possible. She genuinely loves the dogs she trains, as a result they will do anything to please her.
I wouldn’t take my dogs any place else!

Smart Paws is a great place for dog training. Jenina is knowledgeable and attentive to all dogs. My Scooby loves Jenina. She’s the Dog Whisper of Silver Lake.

Awesome trainer! Jenina (Smart Paws) was referred to us by our vet, after we adopted a young Lab mix from the shelter. We did a private session and the 6-​week course. Both were afforably priced and WELL worth the time and money! Jenina was wonderful to work with, and sincerely cares about the dogs! We are very grateful for all of the training and advice she has given us. We would HIGHLY recommend Jenina and her classes to anyone who is looking for help with their dog.

We had a great experience with Jenina and Smart Paws group classes. She really understands how dogs think and teaches you methods that really get results (as long as you put in the work). It’s all non-​aggressive, treat-​based training, so bring a lot of whatever your dog’s favorite food is – Wallace would go through a couple chicken breasts per class. Don’t worry if you run out, though – Jenina always has extra. It’s been a few weeks since we graduated, and I’m still having great success with her methods. Very highly recommended.

We called Smart Paws after reading reviews here on Unilocal and could not be happier with the outcome! Jenina Schutter arrived with incredible spirit, knowledge and a very loving attitude toward our rescue puppy Maggie. We needed some basics with her as she was really pulling on the leash making it difficult for us and our older dog to enjoy our walks in our neighborhood. We also needed help in having her listen to our commands, etc. What happened was nothing short of miraculous. Within the first ½ hour of lesson # 1, Maggie was sitting on command with hand signal and going into down with hand signal at end of 90 minutes. We just had our last lesson (we had one on one for 4 sessions) and we are amazed at Maggie’s progress. Jennina can get a dog to do anything with her skill, but the trick is teaching you so you can work with your dog implementing the same training rules. Maggie is walking and heeling so beautifully on the leash as we walk it is just amazing and wonderful. Our walks which were a struggle are now joyful again. And for the first time ever as the pizza man rang our bell with a delivery, Maggie sat at door, went into down and then went to her «bed». then we opened the door for our regular pizza guy. Even HE was impressed! Thank you Jenina, we will recommend you to everyone who loves and cares about their dog!

Smart Paws not only does training but has a pet sitting service that exceeds any other pet sitting service I have ever used. Jenina, the owner of Smart Paws, went beyond the call of duty and when my one emotional dog didn’t eat, she went to Whole Foods and bought him chicken which he did eat. Yay! It gave my husband and I such peace of mind that she looked after our large fur family while we were out of the country. I would hire her again in a heartbeat and can not say enough good things about her and her company.

We’d like to testify to the superb service that Smart Paws Training performs. Besides being a trainer that can think outside the box, Jenina has helped us create workable solutions for some of our «behaviorally challenged» orphans so that they can overcome their fears and become loving, adoptable, good canine citizens. Securing a good home for our orphans was so important to Jenina, that she has come over on various occasions, squeezing us in between appointments, so that our orphans can immediately get started on rehabilitation.
Jenina possesses the fortitude, commitment and business savvy to enable rescue groups to help their orphans get rehabilitated faster, through positive training that then gets reinforced with the new adoptive parents in the orphans’ «fur-​ever» home. The net result is saving lives.

If you are looking for non-​aggressive, loving yet effective dog trainer, Jenina Shutters is your gal. If you need a reliable, caring dog sitter/​walker– smartpaws is who I call and recommend. They do one on one and group classes for training (which I love because she teaches you how to communicate with your pets so they know what you want and
you get results). Dog training is all about consistency and about what you are willing to learn so you can teach your canine companion. I already knew this but sometimes I forget due to having so may dogs (I do rescue work) but by observing Jenina’s gentle but direct ways– I am learning to take my leadership role back in my house!