SIRIUS Puppy & Dog Training

Our adoption counselor at Humane Society Silicon Valley recommended SIRIUS dog training to us after we adopted our 9 mon old shepherd/​cattledog mix. We took two classes — beginner and intermediate, which were both led by Sterling Chu. Thank heavens for Sterling! From class #1, I knew we were in expert hands. Here’s why:
— Sterling is an incredibly talented dog handler herself. When Sterling demonstrates, the dog follows her lead. Every time. I’m not a natural when it comes to dog training, so it was really helpful and important for me to see what works for our dog and how it was accomplished.
— Sterling has depth of training experience. If training option A doesn’t work, Sterling has options B, C, D, E, and F ready to try. So helpful for us!
— Sterling is chill. A funny word, perhaps, but the best one I can think of. Sterling handled a class of new pup owners easily, even encouraging us to bring our family so everyone in the household could learn. The class was still productive and not at all chaotic because Sterling knows how to manage her class. Yet she isn’t a command-​and-​control type of leader, which I’ve experienced with other trainers. I love this! Sterling cares about dogs and families being successful in real world situations, not just the confines of the classroom. That means training the whole family! It was great and so appreciated.
It’s uncommon to find puppy and dog training with an instructor who is equally compassionate and capable working with people as they are with dogs. Sterling is this rare gem. Highly recommend her and SIRIUS!

When my two «problem» dogs and I met Sterling Chu, I was in awe after talking to her for 20 minutes. I described one or two issues, and she proceeded to ask about all kinds of specific behaviors that were *exactly* what my dogs do. Since then, having worked with her for a while, I’ve come to understand that she «gets» dogs in a way that only the most insightful and understanding humans «get» other humans. It’s uncanny how comfortable and clear her explanations are, and how easy it is to understand what to do, now that I understand what’s happening for my dogs. She is so loving with the dogs and helpful, encouraging, and pleasant with me. I feel so lucky to have found her!
I’ve worked with Sterling as a private trainer for my dogs, but now that they’re more able to co-​exist with other dogs, I’m looking forward to taking one of her classes.

Sirius puppy classes have a great curriculum and cover lots of great skills, but by far the best thing about the Palo Alto Sirius puppy class is the instructor: Sterling Chu, dog trainer extraordinaire.
It is commonly said that the job of a dog trainer is to train owners, not dogs. At this, it’s hard to imagine anyone better than Sterling. Sterling is patient and kind to owners/​guardians, just as she is patient and kind to dogs. She employs a positive reward training system for dogs, and in our experience as owners we see the positive reward with the effectiveness of her techniques.
We adopted an AussieDoodle puppy (Trillian) in the summer of 2014 as an emotional support animal (ESA). I have a medical disability, so training Trillian well was incredibly important. Sterling has helped us through both Sirius group puppy classes and private sessions in our home. Be it basic skills (sit, down, heel, bite inhibition, etc.), training Trillian to not bark at passers by, preparing Trillian for her first flight in an airplane cabin, and some early issues with aggression when over-​stimulated, Sterling has always been positive, attentive, and constructive in her advice. For example, when we wanted to prepare Trillian to fly in the cabin of a plane for the first time (not exactly a normal request of a trainer), Sterling was full of thoughts, like having her ride at my feet on a bus for a while, and visiting an airport before flying to socialize her to the environment. And when we had some persistent issues with aggression when Trillian got overstimulated, Sterling kept suggesting new tricks (try not picking her up when you calm her; try intervening before she gets too wound up; practice on a more regular basis) and providing us with encouragement when we got frustrated.
In addition, she’s also incredibly knowledgeable about legal issues surrounding animals who serve medical needs (both physical, mental and emotional), and has been invaluable in aiding us in navigating the world of dog certifications and disability rights. Her advocacy on the issue helps us to feel empowered to have our legal rights with our ESA met.
But what makes Sterling most exceptional is not the specific skills she has taught us and Trillian, but the emphasis she puts on teaching owners to understand how their dogs see the world, making her lessons not merely situation-​specific, but generalizable to a variety of new situations. It is this generalizable knowledge that has helped us to better understand our dog, and to be effective trainers and owners when new situations arise. For a given new issue, the first thing we ask is «OK, what would Sterling say we should do?» Almost without fail we’re now able to deal with behavioral issues that arise with our dog without actually asking Sterling for help. And as a result, we are constantly receiving compliments on how well trained our furry little friend is.
So in summary: you really can’t do better than Sterling. She’s improved our relationship with our dog more than we can describe, and frankly has probably shaped the way we’ll raise our kids more than we’d like to admit. We cannot recommend her highly enough.
Nick, Adriane, and Trillian