Synergy Dog Training

I can’t begin to describe the impact Jessica has had on our family. We adopted a 3 year-​old German Shepard mix in January. Turns out she is quite an anxious little girl, and had likely spent the majority of her time outside before we adopted her. I called Jessica and set up a behavior consultation. Even before she met our dog, she gave some good tips we could implement right away to help with walking on leash and her anxiety when left home alone. We signed up for 6 private sessions, started with clicker training, and built upon each lesson. From eye contact, to sitting, to commands that will stop Dog from chasing our cat, we’ve gathered a lot of tools and insight behind Dog’s motivations to do some of the things she does. Jessica taught us how to communicate with Dog, how to read her body language and how to communicate. I can’t thank Jessica enough for teaching us how to be better dog parents and recommend Synergy Dog Training to all dog owners.

Jessica is a terrific trainer!
After adopting our staffy we begin to notice some behavioral issues. We scheduled Jessica for a consultation, which was very helpful. She also suggested attending a six week joint training session and I’m so glad we did. It has made a tremendous difference in our pups daily routine! Jessica was patient, thorough and a pleasure to work with.
Highly recommend her input and services!

I contacted Jessica shortly before our new puppy Yaqui came home and she took the time to guide us into how to prepare for the puppy’s arrival and she even came to meet her the same day that Yaqui came home. She also worked with Yaqui for several session to train her with basic commands and behaviors, it was amazing to come home and see that Yaqui would offer the behaviors learned without me even saying anything! I also loved getting videos of the training sessions and that she took the time to answer all my questions and to guide us with pet parenting. I highly recommend her and look forward to a small group training session next!

When our 4 kids all went off to college I of course wanted something to care for and then quickly we knew this was going to be work we needed help with. We called Jessica for help with training for our 4 month strong minded Old English Bulldog Hamilton. I honestly don’t know how to thank Jessica enough for her help with him. My husband and I have had dogs our whole lives, but Hamilton was different. Our boy is a food spaz, he wasn’t aggressive with food but he would inhale his food, and anyone else’s around him, in addition to taking it out of our 8 year old boxers mouth. Jessica worked with Hamilton in our home privately and with us together to show us how to get him to be calmer, wait for his food and let our boxer eat treats she is given as well. The first day she met us she gave us some tips on potty training and we have been successful ever since.
Watching Jessica work with Hamilton and seeing how well he responded to her was great, but then she also taught us how to implement those things and let us do them as well and he responded just as well. It was practices that we can do with him in our everyday times.
Jessica listens and helped us to realize things about our dogs that we didn’t even think about. Even though she was there to work with Hamilton she included our older dog as well and helped her and us to do some training that will help both of them.
We cannot thank Jessica enough for the help she has given us and will be giving us with further training in the future.

where should I begin to describe what a difference Jessica has made in our and of course our dogs’ lives. Less than three years ago, we adopted a rescue lab puppy to join our canine family of three older labs. Little did we know that Enzo, our lab pup, was quite a fearful and super anxious little guy who evidently needed much more than just basic obedience training… he needed the helping hand of a positive reinforcement dog trainer who had lots of experience dealing with behavioral issues — Jessica!
Over the past two years, Jessica has helped Enzo evolve from a shy and fearful little pup to an adult lab who is confident in most situations and on top of that he has received plenty of obedience training turning him into a delight to walk on leash and helping him to confidently meet other dogs.
We are all very, very thankful to have Jessica in our lives, she is a wonderfully talented and experienced trainer to humans and canines!

Jessica is one of the finest trainers I know. I recommend her highly.

It turns out that dog training is actually human training, and Jessica is a great human trainer.
After having our shelter dog for a few months, we reached out to Jessica for help with anxiety-​based behaviors that manifested themselves primarily around other dogs. I had visions of our dog learning to play with others within 5 training sessions, but Jessica started far from that, working with us to teach the dog to respond to a clicker, walk next to us, and learn to look away from dogs. She taught us to associate the dog’s bed with food, and now the dog loves relaxing in her bed; «bed» is one of our most valuable, reliable commands now. I don’t know if this her approach in all situations, but I see its importance now. Like any skill, it’s important to master the fundamentals and build on them, and Jessica gives both the owner and dog those skills.
In fact, what Jessica actually teaches is how to communicate with your dog. How to read its ears, its tails, its posture, its whines — these are all things we should know but most likely don’t. I’ve grown up around dogs, but I’ve never acquired these skills until now. We feel much closer to our dog now, and she clearly feels the same. She is much better behaved on leash (whatever the opposite of pulling is, that’s what she does), is very responsive to our voice, is much calmer around humans, and has a much higher threshold around dogs. We cannot introduce her to dogs on leash yet, but we are able to leave her at a daycare, something we could not have fathomed a year ago.
We are very happy that we chose Jessica and recommend her widely.

I don’t know where to begin! I’ve known Jessica for 5 years now and have seen her work with all kinds of behavior issues using only effective positive reinforcement methods. It’s truly amazing watching her work with dogs that have intense anxiety or fear and gradually see them become more confident and calm. She has done so much to strengthen the bond between owners and there dogs by making life more harmonious for everyone. I’m convinced there is nothing that would intimidate Jessica and nothing that she doesn’t already have some experience with. She is a true expert in her field. Her calm and patient demeanor with both owners and dogs always makes training fun and never stressful.
In 2009 I began pursuing my dream to work with dogs, and in 2010 Jessica became my mentor. Lucky me!!! She took me under her wing for the next several years teaching me everything she knew. I witnessed her knowledge and understanding of dog behavior first-​hand and the methods she used made so much sense to me. I learned so much from her and just wish I could’ve retained more of it!
Last December my husband and I adopted a Great Dane and you better believe Jessica was the first one I called for guidance! She was so willing to help in any way she could and really gave us some great tips on some behavior issues that we were experiencing with our dog, Bentley. Since then my husband and I have taken a Loose Leash Walking class and an Impulse Control class, both of which were very helpful. Bentley has learned that if he focuses on me good things happen, like sniffing a bush, getting to play with another dog, getting a treat etc. He’s also learning how to be calm around other dogs even though all he wants to do is play! Jessica’s expertise has been invaluable for me and I would certainly recommend her to anyone that is struggling with behavior problems or just want to have more fun with their dog.
Thanks for everything Jessica!

I walked into pet co about 5 weeks ago looking to buy 2 muzzles for both of my pit bulls. The trainer there recommended i get in touch with jessica so i called jessica the following morning. My male had been attacking my female often over the last year and it was becoming more and more frequent I was afraid to go home because they’d fight in my bed in the middle of the night and I had no way to separate them. My boyfriend has a lab and our long term goal was to get all 3 of our dogs together but first we needed to get my 2 to get along. We tried to introduce my female and his lab (f) last December and they got into fight over a bone. Over the last weeks working with jessica we now have all 3 dogs under the same roof. My male is in a crate (never been in a crate he always slept with me) at night and both my boyfriends dog and my female are besfriends. We are still working on my male but we have come so far in just the short time jessicas been with us. She uses positive reinforcements to reinforce behaviors she wants to see vs using punishment. This teaches the dog what to do vs the emphasis on what not to do. I don’t know about you but I’d much rather be loving and giving my dog treats rather than making my dog afraid of me. I’ve learned so much from her and i would recommend her to anyone with any breed of dog!!! Thank you jessica you are an answered prayer!

Our experience with Jessica of Synergy Dog Training has been nothing but positive. We reached out to Jessica after rescuing a middle-​aged coonhound Dash who had minimal training, was highly distracted by every scent he found interesting (which is pretty much anything that catches his powerful nose), and was very reactive towards other dogs when on a leash (but not at all reactive off leash at dog parks). Jessica spent time getting to know Dash in an initial consultation so she could formulate her suggestions for a training program. At her recommendation, we started with private sessions where Jessica worked with both Dash and our black lab Olive. Olive responded to the training so quickly that we decided to focus the training on Dash moving forward.
We were amazed with how successfully Jessica was able to elicit desired behaviors with Dash with utmost patience and calm. From the get go, she has been extremely tuned into Dash’s actions and reactions and continually incorporates that information into her training suggestions as we progress. After a series of private sessions, we were ready to enroll Dash in Jessica’s class for reactive dogs. We have been equally pleased with how much progress Dash is making in this controlled setting, and Jessica is showing us how to raise the bar bit by bit so we can build on our successes and begin translating the classroom learnings into the real world. I am already looking forward to the next series of classes, as they are not only a great setting for practice and skill-​building, they are also a lot of fun.
I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that Jessica is not only an expert in training dogs, she is an expert in patiently training humans how to train our dogs. Jessica has an upbeat personality and delivers her knowledge in a very clear and positive manner while keeping the training sessions and classes fun and productive. We have recommended Jessica to friends who have been equally thrilled with her work, and we will continue to recommend her with total confidence to anyone in need of a dog trainer. Thank you, Jessica!

I can’t say enough amazing words about Jessica. Not only are we seeing incredible progress in our dogs (so much more than we could ever have hoped for so soon), but our pups absolutely adore her. Her talent in training is obvious, and the way she is able to pass on her knowledge and techniques to us dog-​parents is truly phenomenal! We are learning so much about our Pit Bulls, from signals to recognize to how we can better teach and understand them. We are looking forward to training with Jessica for years to come. We love the one-​on-​one training sessions right now and are excited for when the time comes that both of our dogs are ready for group classes to take their learning even further! Thank you so much, Jessica!

Our 20 month old shepherd mix, Finnegan, was in need of some training. He started to show some mild aggression and pretty serious anxiety whenever we would have visitors come inside our house. He also was refusing to obey the command «come» whenever at any off leash park. We wanted to take care of these issues before they became bigger problems, and after much research we decided that we would give Jessica with Synergy Dog Training a try, and I’m glad we did!
Jessica came over for our consultation and immediately saw how anxious and stressed out our dog could be. She was very calm and patient with Finn and taught us some ways to help Finn relax in stressful situations. We saw results after our first meeting! We decided Jessica would be a good match for us and chose to sign up for 4 more private training sessions.
Jessica listened to all of our concerns and was able to adapt the training to Finn’s personality. Finn is so smart that more times than one he would out-​smart some of the training techniques, but Jessica ALWAYS had another trick up her sleeve. She found ways to train Finn that were very effective and gave us the results we were looking for. After just 2 sessions (and lots of practice on a long leash), Finn started to come when called, and would even come and lay next to us at the park, which he has rarely ever done.
As far as Finn’s aggression towards visitors in our house, Jessica taught us that it is most likely a result of Finn’s high anxiety. She taught us how to decrease his stress level and which behaviors to reward, ignore, or intervene with when having people over to our house. She even brought her boyfriend over during one session so we could practice with a stranger. Now, as far as we follow the guidelines that Jessica gave us, Finn is much more relaxed when people come into our home and it is a much better experience for everybody!
Finn’s stress level, and ours, has greatly decreased since working with Jessica. I can’t express enough how grateful we are for her help! If you have a stressed out, difficulty dog, call Jessica!

Jessica is a fantastic trainer and I would recommend her services to anyone, with any breed. Last year my boyfriend and I, unexpectedly, became first-​time dog owners. Kado, who is now 1 year and 3 months old, is a Dogo Argentino with a very unique and BIG personality. I found out about Jessica in the parking lot of Petco from a woman who had heard of the Dogo breed and recommended we immediately begin training because Kado was going to be a very large dog (smart woman ;)). She gave me her phone number and I am so glad we called!
Jessica really takes the time to understand your dog and his/​her unique personality. She noticed that Kado, while loving and energetic, was also very nervous and easily overwhelmed and distracted when he went outside. She then made it a point to tailor her training methods to his specific situation. We gradually socialized him to his surroundings and worked together on leash training. This is one of the qualities I truly admire and appreciate about Jessica and the work that she does. Not all dogs have the same personality traits and capacities, and she definitely understands this.
Training is a slow process that takes time and commitment, however it is absolutely necessary if you want a happy life for you and your dog! We would have honestly been lost without Jessica’s guidance, tips, and sincere commitment. She obviously really cares for dogs and values the relationship and bond that a dog and its family will share together.

Jessica is such an awesome trainer! I chose her because she specializes in pit bulls and I have a pit mix. She’s an advocate of clicker training and in just 3 months she’s helped me train my puppy to:
Sit
Down
Stay
Come
Stand
Crawl (like army crawl)
Jump (like jump up for a treat or toy)
Up (like up on the couch or up in the car)
Off (like off of the couch)
Paw
Drop it
Leave it
Roll over
and walk nicely on a leash!
My puppy learned his basic obedience in just a few short weeks, but I continued to work with him on more advanced techniques. I still do training with him just to reinforce those behaviors, but I learned the training techniques from her! I am so grateful!

Jessica was recommended to me and I’m so happy she became Winston’s trainer. We had attended the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) classes with the goal of becoming a therapy dog team, but Winston was having trouble with 2 parts of the test. We tested twice and after he didn’t pass, I felt it was time to call in an expert. I’m certainly glad I did. Jessica gave me lots of pointers in working with Winston and after many hours of practicing on my own and with Jessica, we passed! I know that without her help, we’d still be in the practicing mode. I bought a package of lessons. Jessica thoroughly evaluated Winston’s strengths and weaknesses and gave me lessons tailored to our needs. Jessica’s very experienced and knows how to builds success on subsequent lessons.
After passing the CGC classes, I felt confident enough to be supervised/​evaluated by a therapy dog organization and Winstonand I passed with flying colors! It wouldn’t have happened without Jessica’s help.

My English Bulldog, Matilda, started to become aggressive towards strangers, would try to eat every plant or stick in sight on our walks, and began aggressively resource guarding in my home. My relationship with my dog was splintering and I needed to save it. Upon a recommendation, I got in touch with Jessica and the results have been extraordinary.
I first committed to an initial consult with Jessica and, after interacting with my dog and asking a host of questions about my dog’s history, Jessica was able to outline a training regiment that would address my dog’s specific issues. I felt that was incredibly important; that a trainer tailor our sessions around my dog’s needs and our agreed upon goals.
After the initial consult I signed up for a package of sessions. Week after week, session after session, Matilda’s erratic behavior lessened and our relationship grew stronger. In our sessions, Jessica would first talk me through a specific training technique and how it could help the targeted issue, demonstrate the training tactic herself several times, and then had me take over so that she could guide me through the process. This allowed me to learn first by seeing, and then by actually doing. Each session was predicated on what we learned in the last session, so I made sure to take copious notes during our time and then practice with Matilda at least once a day. The result is that I know my dog’s motivations, how I can channel her negative behaviors into positive ones, and how I can have a more loving, fun relationship with Matilda. Jessica is fun, knowledgeable, a pleasure to work with, always punctual, and was malleable to my work schedule. Perhaps most importantly is that I trust Jessica with my dog.
If your relationship with your dog is stressed because of behavior issues, I strongly recommend the services of Jessica Wheatcraft’s training services.