The competitive obedience class was comprised of mostly novice beginners (dogs and or handlers).  Joan was very good at finding the different levels of each team and helping us all; both individually and as a class simulating a competition setting. Kudos…

-Anonymous Post from Survey

A great help for pet owners and competition folks alike. Keep up the good work.

-Diane with Hannah

I want to thank you for everything you have done for Rudy and I.  You have taught us so much that will continue to benefit Rudy and any other dogs in the future.  We will continue with our dance moves, as he just loves those spins!

- Lue Ann with Rudy

I enjoyed the whole experience.  Really appreciated the thoughtful approach to relationship with your dog.  The information about how a dog thinks and reacts to things has helped a lot!  Thanks for being so patient and helpful.  The class started us off in a good direction.

- Deni with Willow

“I went to the orientation for Basic Obedience 1 last night with Jen and Sharon.  I was really impressed.  Having gone to basic obedience 1 at [elsewhere] I can say that you guys are definitely a notch above and I am excited about bringing Lunar next week.”

After finishing Basic 1 Classes, here’s what John had to say:

“Wonder dogs has the perfect combination of friendly, personable staff and excellent knowledge and professionalism.  The instructors really know their stuff and are passionate about happy, healthy, well behaved dogs.  I highly recommend Wonder dogs programs.”

- John with Lunar, Australian Shepherd

I do hope to make it to Joan’s class this afternoon. She has been a very good obedience teacher, I’ve enjoyed her class and would like to continue.

Thanks for your words that gave me some perspective and positive spin on my dog handling and management issues. They were timely and appreciated.

- Cathryn with Remi, Golden Retriever

“We were very impressed with the level of skills of the instructors both in dog management and in teaching the techniques and rationales for them to the owners…We were absolutely astonished at how Julie would take any of the puppies to demonstrate and, with full control, elicit the desired behavior!!!

We were absolutely delighted with the course in every way!  You’ve given us hope!”

–Donna & Ed with Obie, 6 mo.  old Lab mix

“Having  the weekly review is excellent!  This makes sure we don’t neglect to  do each step of the exercise correctly.  You and your helpers make class not only fun but effective.  A very nice thing for those of us oldies who still have some ingrained bad habits.  How can we make sure to get signed up for the next session?”

—Sue P. with 6 mo Whippet, Easy

“Hi Julie, Thank you so much for last night.  You really helped give me a direction and motivation….Mazie picked up on it pretty fast- and it really kept her motivated. We had a blast!

Thanks for all of your support…”

—Ellen F., with 14 month Sheltie, Maizie

“Julie, This was the most useful class I have had in years.  Tried the same method with my horse today and guess what……..it works for him, too!”

—Susan H. with Lacey, golden retriever

“Julie,  Thanks again so much for your class.  Both Jim and I really enjoyed it and learned a lot.  I think that overall we needed more training than Brego!  It’s a different method than we’ve learned before, but very appealing.”

—Karan and Jim with Brego

“We had such fun last Sunday!  Great workshop!  We would love to do that again, sometime.   Julie’s an awesome teacher of both humans and dogs.”

—Ellen D. with Brenna, Black Standard Poodle

“Jen is an awesome trainer! Thank you!”

–Shana C. with Winston, French Bulldog

“Hi, Julie, Jimmy has changed.  The training has showed he can be a different dog.  I want you to know because I came to your class convinced he would not thrive.  He LOVES training.  This is a side I would never have guessed.  He has progressed so much.  He’s doing much, much better about manners with the family and other people who come into the house.

The topper is his vet visit.  I expected the restraint and rabies vaccination to set him off.  He did “watch me” while the vet did her work. Thanks again!”

—Jane with Jimmy

“Hi Julie, I should have written earlier but I was putting your class and philosophy to the extended test.  The very first agility class this year Landry was sensational.  His attention was on me the whole time…A couple of classes ago, we all did some exercises with our dogs off leash.  Landry was in a sit and I was maybe 10-20 feet away about to call him over a jump when one of the other dogs ran over to him, and was licking his face.  Landry maintained his sit and the only movement was to squirm so that he could maintain eye contact with me.  I almost passed out with disbelief.

Thank you so much for your class!”

—Cyndi H. with Landry, Yellow Lab

“Hi Julie, I have Lola in a beginning obedience class.  After the first two classes, it was like something clicked for her.  She really looks wonderful- her heel is lovely!   I’m still hoping to find a ride share. Other classes are simply second best to what you offer.  Thanks again,”

—Beverly with Standard Poodle, Lola

“Hi Julie,  Thanks very much for everything; you have no idea what a difference you’re making in my home.  Take care,”

—Mo with Kumo,

“I love the e-mails after class! Just wanted to let you know that Gus loves his new toy and he says thank you!  See ya next week!”

—Jill & Bill with Gus

“Thanks for the great class, Julie.  I especially appreciate these follow-up summaries/hints to print and refer to in the future.”

—Janet M. with Kobe, Belgian Tervuran

“Hi Julie, What a brilliant variation on the scent rag idea, I would never have thought of that, brilliant.  Best wishes,”

—John Rogerson  (Behaviorist and Trainer at the Northern Center for Canine Behavior Duram, England)

“Hi Julie, This weekend was awesome.  My little Portland group is flying high.  I’m proud to be one of them.

I had more fun with Rain than I ever imagined…..and a number of people I respect complimented me on our improvement.  And if that wasn’t enough, I just got the WDJ.  It’s all pretty thrilling, and I feel that I owe most of it to you. You’ll deny that of course……but your workshop is what inspired me to begin this journey, and with your help I’ve realized some potential I never dreamed I had. It’s hard to tell you how much this means to me and how much to you have changed my life.  Thanks,”

—Franzi with Rain

“Thanks for all your insight, Julie. You are the BEST!!!!  Love,”

—Sandi F. and the Nubinator (9 month old Long Haired Chi x Doxie)

“Julie, Thank you so much for all your help yesterday!  It makes me feel so much more confident and takes away the feeling of helplessness I was starting to develop.  I know Rowen is a very smart dog and with consistency and patience on our part she’ll come right along.  I will read your notes over carefully and share them with the rest of the family.  Thanks, again!”

—Manuela with Rowan

“Julie, I had a blast tonight and am inspired.  I forgot how quickly he can learn new behaviors.  Thank you sooo much for having this class…I really look forward to the rest of it!  Cheers,”

—Sharon with 20 month old Terrier mix, Finn

“Hi Julie, Ella, Zen and I have made it to our new home in Charlotte, NC.  I still slip into “Ella, No” sometimes.  I pay attention to that and try to brainstorm what other ways I could help her know what she needs to be doing.  Thank you for teaching me that process by example after example after example…I needed every one of them to help recondition my responses.”

Thanks again for the great training.  I needed it!!”

—Heidi B. with Ella, 9 mo. mixed breed

“Hi Julie, I just wanted to thank you for the beginning dog obedience course we took with Misty. I know Misty had a great time and we learned a lot.

Have a lovely holiday season,”

—Wendy J.

“Julie, I just want you to know how much I respect you and your teaching.  Every time I have either a private lesson or class lesson from you I am just amazed what talent you have for teaching.  Please don’t ever give it up!!  You have taught me so much…you have such a great way of getting things across and can see what the problem is when we can’t. Thanks,”

—Dianne T. with Isaiah, Sheltie

“Julie - Thank  you, thank you, thank you.  After this past weekend I have Karmel back in the game. The information you provided made so much common sense to me. You are an excellent instructor with a very wonderful program.”

—Sandra and Karmel Korn, Standard Poodle

“Thanks Julie, You were a great help today. Sophie and I had a good walk this afternoon and she responded very well to me when there was a dog across the street.  We will keep in touch.”

—Molly B. with Sophie, Lab mix

“Hi Jen, Thank you for coming to our house!  The lesson was wonderful.  It’s good to have lessons in our home environment and see how it all works!  You are wonderful at explaining/demonstrating.

Cali slept ALL afternoon.  She was exhausted!  See you Monday.”

—Martha and Evan, with 4 month old golden, Cali

“…the  seminar was fabulous! Julie’s style was upbeat, she kept things moving, and I loved the lecture and the exercises. I would like to get a list of the exercises to add to my training.

Your group is wonderful and very hospitable. Thanks so much. I had a great time.”

—Debbie F.

“I really can’t say enough good things about this seminar. Julie’s approach to training and all the common sense stuff she mentioned was outstanding. I will be applying almost all of them beginning today.”

—Sandra and Karmel

“Lenny, Hadees and I had a good time, wish I could have used Julie’s training on my dogs from the start!!!!!  I will incorporate Julie’s training!”

Thanks,

—jlindy

“I definitely enjoyed the Julie Flanery seminar last weekend. She has wonderful ideas about training in general – I only wish we had promoted the seminar so that people outside the world of freestyle would have realized how much she had to offer.”

—Karen

“I just attended a wonderful seminar by Julie Flanery and one of the things she talked about that really hit home with me was being able to describe- PRECISELY what you think each of your cues means.  I also decided to define what I want competition and training to look like.”

—Chris Puls, Dog Scouts of America, Troop 107

“Thank You So Much, we’ll look forward to talking to you next week. Also we wanted to say we really enjoy watching and learning in your class, knowledge seems has a way of equating to confidence. Thanks again.”

“Hi Julie! I cannot thank you enough for helping me to bond and develop a working relationship with Annie after our initial shock (!) and delight of finding each other this fall.”

“Dear Julie: I had to write to let you know how much I enjoyed your article New Kids on the Block. You really showed how learning can be fun! I love the fact that you gave examples of the way things can be taught. Thank you so much for sharing you expertise with us all!”

“Julie Flanery is a great instructor and an amazing person. She works well with all ages and is always there to help. Her classes are always fun and you and your dog will learn a lot. If you think your dog won’t do anything, Julie always has a way to fix that!”

“Hi Julie: I thought Becky’s and my lesson with you yesterday was topnotch. You excel at knowing how the dog perceives the various (and sometimes conflicting as well as baffling) messages that we eager but maybe incompetent owners try to send. Now to follow your very clearly set forth instructions….. The improvement I am already seeing has me a much happier person. ”

“Your classes have been a joy for me as a participant and have provided my service dogs a priceless opportunity to build outstanding foundation skills that help each of them to become focused, loving, generous, competent, talented working dogs and excellent problem solvers.

I have 35 years of training experience and titles on companion dogs, competition obedience, herding, tracking, carting, and now specialize in training Collies for Mobility and Support Service dogs. I love your classes and recommend them to everyone I can! I recently had the pleasure of attending one of your Freestyle events in Corvallis. It was a Joy! I now feel inspired by several of the behaviors I saw. I would like to add them to my Service Dog Training protocols. Would you help me with that?”

—Leslie R.

“You have gone above and beyond for our “problem dog” and are always willing to try different methods to suit her needs.”

—Tracie R. with Lucky, 3 yr border collie

“Julie’s calm and patient manner aided us at least twice during the first week after we brought home our puppy. We don’t know what we would do without her! Julie is a marvel to watch when training dogs and seems to have an effective solution for every problem. Puppy class helped our puppy learn confidence around other dogs and people and gave us an excellent foundation for beginning obedience and training for our dog. We learned the basic idea behind training so when we had a problem we were able to think out the best way to positively train her.”

“Dear Julie, Thank You for coming over last night and helping us with Sadie. She did terrific today – we ran into mountain bikers, joggers and walkers and even OFF leash, she came right to us, sat and watched the people go by…”

“You may certainly inform Julie that we were the ones who had referred R.B to her. He told us after his first visit with her how impressed he was by her professionalism in dealing with him and his Westie puppy. Of course, the referral was easy, as we thought she did such a great job as trainer and presenter at your workshop this past summer. Warmest Regards,”

“Hi Julie, Thanks for the extra materials. We were very impressed with you and your training methods and techniques. Maybe it’a L. and I who have figured things out (not Emma) thanks to your help! I’ll be recommending you!”

“After classes with Julie Flanery at Wonder Dogs, Tess is a family member pet in the truest sense of the word. She is trustworthy with my grandchildren, plays well with other dogs and behaves like a lady in public. I would recommend Julie and the Wonder Dogs experience to every dog owner.”

“Hi Julie, Wanted to let you know that Polo and I are enjoying our new class so much! I can already see changes in his attention and focus. And even the grooming sessions are easier for both of us.”

“Thanks for all your help. Now I know how all those lame parents feel after Super Nanny has set them straight. What a relief!”

“Hi Julie, thanks so much for braving the rainy weather and coming out to teach Bear and me yesterday! Your lesson was outstanding! I have begun to study the written material…Bear did very well waiting for his evening meal. I only needed about 4 downs and ups before he got the idea. Waiting at doors is working also. I actually left it open the entire time I got his food ready and he just sat there – outside – and watched.”

“Anyway you are a super dog psychologist and also I greatly enjoyed meeting you. Thank you again. We will begin working with Bear daily and we will look forward to our lesson on Monday.”

“Julie: Just wanted to let you know that we’re having fun with our training, and Sheila has made great strides already. Our daughter was visiting from out of town this weekend, and she commented on how much improved her behavior is!”

“Hi Julie, I just wanted to thank you (and your assistant) again for taking so much time to talk with me after class on Monday, and also for the information via email. Both have been a tremendous help in understanding the situation and how to approach it, as well as the issue of what’s best for her long-term. My desire is to keep her and keep working with her.”

“I just wanted to share a proud moment with you. Today at Willamette Park, I released Kenya to go play with some other dogs. As two other dogs went off chasing birds and rabbits, Kenya of course went full speed with them. We had been working hard on our recalls all week and even though she was probably 150 meters away I called her name, she looked and then I said “come” and she came full speed back to me! The owner of the other dogs said “I wish mine would do that”. I was very excited and just wanted to share that with you and give you all the thanks!”

“Take a high level of knowledge about canine behavior, combine it with exceptional enthusiasm, loads of experience and an outstanding ability to motivate people and dogs and you have Julie Flanery’s recipe for seriously enjoyable learning. Even better, Julie de-mystifies the process of dog training so that neither you nor you dog need to have Ph.D. to understand how to work well together. I highly recommend her challenging and rewarding classes”

“Hi Julie, Dennis, Walter, and I just want to thank you for a great 1st class. You probably hear this all the time, but we just want to let you know how much we appreciate your enthusiasm, knowledge, gentle attitude towards all of the dogs, and your wonderful organizational skills. We are very pleased to have Walter under your tutelage, and we are having FUN!! I think we can expect great things, even with our energetic little monkey!! ”

“Thanks again for the advice, and also for the experience we had in your classes, as your teaching style made it very comfortable and enjoyable for us and Barry. Take care”
—Steve A and Barry, 9 mo Airedale

“Also I want to say how much I enjoyed your classes & method of training. Itis a new style for me. Beasley sure responds to rewards for good behavior, better than corrections for what we don’t want. I now find myself focusing on the behaviors I want out of him. He is such a great guy. I learned a lot & we both had fun. Thanks for your help”
—Brenda  B. with 1 yr old Lab, Beasley