Positive Force Dog Training

Positive Force Dog Training w Lilly has helped our 8lb Yorkie Buster sooo much. He broke his leg when he was little and it lead to a whole host of on leash aggression. We did all kinds of dog groups to help w this and Buster was always the star of the class because his issue is w stranger dogs once in a class these dogs are no longer strangers thus it did not really help us in the real world.
Through the Art of Dog (his dog walkers) they told us about Lilly and at this point we were at our wits ends and had spent thousands of dollars w not much success. Positive Force owner Lilly was very detailed in her research going all the way back to talk to our breeder about Busters parents and his walkers and she interview w us very extensively and she came up w a plan just for buster that spanned 6 weeks about 4 days a week and training w us as well w him.
For him she had also hired other trainers w training dogs to come to our neighborhood to work him. They had walkie talkies and throughout the neighborhood they planned times for these dogs to walk past buster on the side walk they used big dogs, small dogs and every time she used new dogs so they would always be dogs Buster did not know which is no small feat in of its self. She would send us a full report each week and go over our homework and communicated very well w us. Buster was also in love w her every time she came over he was so excited to see her.
We still have work to do but he has done a 150 and that’s mostly we have more work as handlers of him he is fine it’s how we respond to situations we are still learning. Lilly is in high demand so it could take a while to get to you but in all of the time and money and trainers we have worked w I wish we would have known about her sooner it’s worth the time and money and really w the amount of time she puts in and the other trainers and dogs she employees it is pretty cheap actually. Look no further and don’t waste your time or money on anyone else trust me as a researcher we tried everything, Positive Force and Lilly has been a God send

Lilly changed me and my dog’s life. If you have a pup who needs some help, Lilly is the answer.
4 years ago I moved to a bustling part of the city, from a pretty quiet midwestern suburb. My dog Rowan already had a propensity for barking at anything that moved or a strong gust of wind, so she wasn’t adjusting to city life very well. Walking her was almost impossible, and I dreaded it.
I got in touch with Lilly and she assessed Rowan, set some clear expectations for me, and a plan to teach Rowan how to be comfortable in her new environment. Lilly worked with her every day for a few months, and gave me homework so I could continue reinforcing the new good habits Rowan was learning at home. She didn’t promise any miracles but I definitely got one.
Now Rowan goes with me almost everywhere. We go for long hikes, we walk across the city, she runs errands with me, and begrudgingly allows other dogs to approach her at the park. She still gets spooked every once in a while, as can be expected, but Lilly gave me the life I always wanted to have with my furry best friend. Now we get to spend so much more time together, and get to have a lot of fun outside. Rowan is such a happy dog with all of the time she gets to play outdoors now, which is truly priceless to me.
I cannot recommend Lilly enough, she is wonderful.

Lilly is fantastic. We were referred to her through the SF SPCA after our adopted 8 year old male Boston Terrier bit my husband and put him in the hospital for stitches.
We’d had our dog for about a year, and he’s a really sweet little guy — mostly. Unfortunately you never know quite what you are going to get from an adopted dog that has a shady history of ownership and possibly been abused. When he bit the second time with no provocation it was either get help, or put him down.
We had a consultation with Lilly, went over behavior and what we thought his problems were, plus what we’d like to achieve. Over the past 4 – 5 months Lilly has patiently gone through steps of desensitizing him to these triggers, muzzle training and positively changing his bad behaviors (and ours) to make him a much happier little fella.
We still have work to do, but definitely recommend Lilly and thank her for all her help and hard work to get our bitey-​BT back to being a happy doggy who wears his muzzle and spends most of his time upside down waiting for belly pats.

Lily has worked with my dog & she has done a great job. Just like her logo… It’s all positive & he loves her. He is always given complements on his good manners & behavior, thanks to Lily! Thank you. :)

One word to describe Lilly Pritchard’s abilities with dogs: Phenomenal.
When the SPCA gave me her contact information to address my dog’s leash reactivity I tried not to get my hopes up that Lilly would be able to assuage my dog’s anxiety and subsequent aggression considering Ellie’s (my dog) history and older age.
I can say from the bottom of my heart that I love Lilly and so does Ellie. We’ve worked with her for a month on leash aggression and the changes in my dog’s overall behavior have been wonderful. Not only is Lilly extremely knowledgable about dog aggression issues but she’s also able to break down her approach in a easily digestible manner for her clients to continue the training in her absence. Even though my pup and I are still working to modify her behavior on a far-​reaching level I feel confident when I’m out walking Ellie because I have the tools to handle a variety of previously anxiety provoking interactions (both mine and hers!). Of course, we’re already looking forward to our follow-​up session with Lilly so we can show her our progress and simply give her a giant and well deserved hug.
If you have dog aggression issues or simply obedience challenges with your canine buddy I couldn’t recommend Lilly more highly. She’s professional, truly talented, kind, thoughtful, and worth every penny.

We sought Lilly’s help for our dog’s aggressive behavior towards other dogs. By the time we started working with her, it had gotten to the point where our dog was barking and lunging at other dogs even from across the street, and we could no longer board her. This was despite our having gone through multiple puppy school courses and puppy socialization groups. I only wish we had found Lilly first!!!
Lilly’s training program was very thorough, starting with an hour-​long evaluation and screening interview in her home, followed by her contacting (with our permission) the facility where she’d been through her puppy socialization groups and boarding. Over the next several weeks, Lilly worked with our dog for an hour a day, and then «transferred» the new practices over to us at the end of each week. She also gave us homework assignments. Week by week we were able to see improvements, and it’s amazing how much calmer our dog is now, not only with other dogs, but in general.
One of the most surprising things we learned from Lilly was that our dog had fear-​based aggression, which called for a different behavior modification approach than what our previous trainers had been using. Lilly’s focus on positive methods of reinforcement, along with patience and setting realistic goals, made a tremendous difference, as did teaching us how to modify our own behavior, for example, to stay calm and use «happy talk» rather than tensing up every time another dog was in the vicinity or scolding our dog when she barked or lunged. While it seemed counter-​intuitive at first, her methods really worked!
Unfortunately, we no longer live in San Francisco so we can’t work with Lilly anymore, but we still use the lessons we learned from her and can now take our dog out for walks and get «watches» from her when other dogs are around. Most remarkably, we also get rave reviews from the boarders and groomers we’ve used since then — they all tell us what a SWEET dog she is!!!
Finally, as other reviewers have noted, it was clear that Lilly genuinely cared about our dog, but of equal importance, she was also really great with us, very non-​judgmental and encouraging. Part of the reason we had decided to switch trainers was because we had always felt that our previous trainer either didn’t like our dog, didn’t like us, or both. In contrast, Lilly made us feel very comfortable, plus our dog adored her :) In short, I would highly recommend her!

Lilly is an amazing dog trainer who you can turn to for any issue that your dog may be having, big or small. I’ve worked with Lilly for my dog Bea since 2005. She helped me train Bea to be more responsive to commands, not to jump up, and to conquer fear aggression. Early this year, after Bea had unfortunately been attacked by another dog at the park, Lilly worked with Bea immediately to help her get over the trauma. It was truly amazing. Bea’s tremendous fear gradually subsided and she was back to playing with and enjoying other doggie friends. Today, she can meet new dogs with ease and I’m 100% satisfied with Lilly’s training prowess.