Private Lessons

Privates are scheduled primarily throughout the week in the midday and the evening. They are generally held at your home or at Rockburn Park unless otherwise arranged with your trainer. There is a small travel fee included in your pricing for distances over 15 minutes away.

Generally speaking privates book anywhere from two-six weeks in advance, depending on the time of year. I highly recommend plotting out and booking all the privates included in your session at one time, as this allows for better planning for your practice and generally more accountability and results as you progress!

Following your Session Zero, you’ll receive a personalized webpage with resources specific to your dog and your behavior goals. You’ll also receive a recommendation for further training - whether that’s one of our training packages, board and train, or something more self-led like our online courses with periodic coaching sessions. Once you’re signed up with continued in person sessions, you’ll also have access to an orientation video geared towards your challenges.

Following each in person session, your website will be updated with video and written recaps of your session and what your homework is to prepare for your next lesson. It will also include any additional resources, services or products that might be recommended as part of that session.

In addition to that virtual meeting, Session Zero includes a complementary meet and greet where we can do just that - have you bring your dog out and and meet me in person and let them get to know me.

Due to the nature of my board and train and to ensure a calm environment for the dogs currently in my care, I cannot offer tours of the space they will be staying in, however you’re encouraged to review my social media for photos and videos of the space - and please ask any questions you have about their stay to ensure you feel entirely comfortable!

Generally I recommend setting up a series of consecutive sessions all at once - the more consistent you can be, the more progress you will make, and the more valuable subsequent sessions will become! That said, before scheduling, take a look at your calendar - if you have busy weeks coming up, or periods of time you know you won’t have availability to train, consider adding more time between sessions to give you the time you need to practice.

Our packages are designed for your busy lives - including self-led material, day training, and private training elements to make sure that you can keep things steady even if your personal schedule needs to shift.

Text me! I’ll keep in touch using WhatsApp between sessions and am happy to answer basic questions or take a look at quick videos.

If something is more complex, I may offer a quick management solution and suggest we save a larger topic for our next session, or might recommend supplementing with a coaching subscription if the videos are longer or more involved.

You also might consider signing up for Training Montage as a concurrent service so we can keep progress going throughout the week when we aren’t in session.

Your dog and a lot of energy!

You’ll also want to have your dog on a secure leash and collar or harness, something you typically use and feels comfortable for you. If your dog is a flight risk or may be nervous, I highly recommend a martingale (also known as a limited slip) collar for safety.

Please note, if what feels secure for you is a prong or e collar, that is perfectly fine. I don’t train using aversive tools, and we will not be correcting the dog as part of our training session, but training can only progress if you feel safe and comfortable.

Have with you lots of high value treats and ideally a variety of them - this is the time to break out the cheese and meatballs and freeze dried or raw goodies. We want training to be as rewarding and fun as possible - 45 minutes is a long time to ask for your dog’s attention, and it’s our job to make every minute of it worthwhile.

Ideally, a way to secure your dog. If we are working in your home, make sure there is space to put the dog away for a moment if we need a reset. If we are working in a neutral space, be sure your dog can be secured comfortably in your car (ideally in a crate). If you need crating space, let me know and I can be sure to leave crate space open in my vehicle.

These subscriptions (or sessions for those topics that can be purchased per session) include purely virtual work. They can be used to supplement another training package or entirely on their own.

You send over videos of training or behavior moments for me to review, I’ll review and add feedback directly to the video, and then we meet weekly virtually to troubleshoot and discuss, after which I will review a homework video! All your videos will be uploaded to a personalized webpage to track your progress.

Absolutely! Online coaching is one of the few services you can jump right into without a Session Zero as well, though I would recommend that only for very specific behaviors (email me!). For any broad behavior or manners training, I would still recommend a Session Zero to iron out a plan before jumping into a subscription!

I’ll be using Whats App to communicate with clients beginning in 2025. While I’ve used Marco Polo and Google Voice in the past, changes in needs and functionalities have led me to wanting to streamline things a bit more with familiar software. WhatsApp allows me to keep everything you send me in one spot and easily download videos so they can be showcased on your website as well as on social media.