We adopted a 5 year old dog from our local shelter 5 months ago and only knew that she had been picked up in a field and turned into the shelter. Sophie was afraid, lacked confidence, and very shy around us. Our veterenarian recommended Wendi to us as an excellent dog trainer and told us that she had moved to Utah, but was willing to work with people and their dogs online. We were a little hesitant to try this, but then our dentist of 40 years also sang Wendi's praises. We called and set up a time to speak with Wendi and have her meet Sophie. What an awesome and informative experience we had. Wendi observed how Sophie behaved by watching her on our iPad and gave us step-by-step instructions of exercises we could do and how we should behave to develop confidence in ourselves as pack leaders and teach Sophie that we were in control and not her. Wendi could see right away from Sophie's behavior and responses to us that she felt she was in control even when she acted insecure and evasive. After our session, Wendi emailed us detailed notes reviewing what we had done and followup things to do with Sophie to see improvement. She also sent us a list of rules of the house to follow as we worked with Sophie. After working with Sophie for about a month, we saw very positive improvement in her behavior. We made another appointment to have Wendi work with us online to continue making progress with Sophie's training. Again, the experience was excellent. Wendi always gave us positive encouragement and suggestions to help Sophie become more confident, trusting, and a happy dog. An in-person training session would have been nice, but the progress we have made with Sophie by our online visits has been outstanding. We can honestly say that during the sessions it has really seemed like Wendi was sitting right there in our family room. read more

I have taken a couple of trainings with my best bud Ollie and we both learned so much about training and each other through the Paws 1 class. Wendi is gifted when it comes to dogs. She has the ability to build confidence between you and your best friend (pup). After graduating Paws1 Ollie was approved for boarding. This was an unexpected blessing. He boarded in her home for 4 days. Before I arrived home she had already sent videos of how he was adjusting. I chose to board him with training and she send videos/texts and updates on his progress. I came from West Jordan and she met me more than half way for pick up and drop off. At pick up she spent time with me explaining her training with Ollie and what I could continue working on with him. She recommended products that will help in his continue progress to be a good canine citizen. I'm patiently and excitedly waiting to begin Paws 2 class. I can't recommend her class and boarding enough. She's an Angel in the dog world. Hire her immediately it will be the best decision you will every make for yourself and your best friend! ~JJacobsen read more

I was never a pet person until we got our very own pekingese poodle which was so adorably cute but little did we know the little aggressive pup she was becoming .We've had her for 4 years now and she only became more and more aggressive, to the point where we can't have any visitors or company in our home Until finally Wendi from A Heart For Paws came to the rescue. Honestly I wish I would have contacted her the moment we got our pet . She is honestly so AMAZING. And so Good with your pet . one session with her and that's all it took for our little pup to become a totally different pet.I can now open my door and welcome my company without having to worry about my pup running out and attacking them. She learned so much and is such a good pup with just only a few hours with Wendis help. If you have an aggressive dog or need help training your pet in any aspect I Highly Highly recommend contacting A HEART FOR PAWS Wendi is super amazing and I can't express it enough how good she is with your pet. read more

I have had many dogs over the years that were easy to train without professional help until I got a mini Bernedoodle 6 months ago. She is super energetic and unruly. I reached out to a dog trainer who spent an hour teaching her commands and giving her treats throughout. It didn't feel right. I was then referred to Wendi aka the dog whisperer. She spent two hours with us explaining that our dog had a dominant vs submissive personality and she was the leader of the pack. She was our leader ad controlled the house. This all made sense. Our approach needs to be about changing the roles along with commands. Without changing the roles, training would be unsuccessful. She gave us a lot of ideas and tools to use. Since our first meeting, I have received two emails filled with her visit recap and important tips. She obviously cares about all of us. Plan to have her visit again after we take time to practice. I highly recommend Wendi as a dog trainer. read more

We had such a good experience with Wendi! We took a 6 week obedience training group class with our then 5 month old French bulldog. Wendi is professional and always started the classes right on time. She was encouraging and always willing to stay later to address any problems or specific questions. Her classes were a huge help in training our stubborn puppy. She was very generous in supplying treats if we forgot ours and loaning harnesses so we could test them out and see what worked for us. She also encouraged not just me to come to the class but any family member as well so that we would all be on the same page while training our dog. She also sent us home with "homework" each week, something to work on with our dog. It really made a difference in setting the foundation of good behavior and helped us all understand the mindset of dogs and what motivates them. Thanks to Wendi, we have a well-behaved and sweet dog to enjoy for many years to come. read more

Wendi is a legend in Southern California as a dog guru. She knows everything about dogs and how to train them with complete positivity and set the dog and their humans up for success. Our faithful dog trainer and dogsitter, we were crushed when she moved to Utah. So we had her help us choose a puppy in Utah and when he was 5 months old, sent him up for training. Really, there's is no one better at it than Wendi. Now he's back and after 6 sessions with Wendi training us again too, he can sit, wait, stay, go down, leave it and all the other important skills. Wendi has a generosity of spirit that is special. We highly recommend training and boarding with Wendi. Absolutely worth every penny. read more

Wendi is absolutely amazing!! In a short time she had our 80 pound Rottweiler so much happier with himself. She taught us how to handle him when we have visitors at our door without going crazy excited to see someone. She understands so much about how dogs react naturally which teaches us how we need to interreact with him-so much different then human behavior. I never expected to have this change in behavior of DJ so quickly. He will be so much happier and so will our family! We love DJ and now will be able to relax more knowing he will be better behaved when we have family and friends over to our house. Wendi is so nice!! Thank you so much Wendi She was an answer to our prayers!! read more

I heard about Wendi via word-of-mouth while searching for someone who could help me with my rambunctious Golden Retriever, Honey. Wendi did a fantastic job of training both Honey, and maybe more importantly, me. She uses consistency and rewards based training to get your dog to pay attention to you and willingly follow your lead. She was up front telling people that if they were mean to their dogs--they were gone. I like that! We took the group class, but individual lessons are available. The classes were fun for both the dogs and the owners. Sadly, I was in the last class. Wendi is moving to Utah. Our loss is Utah's gain. read more

Wendi and her team are miracle workers. My gut reaction was to correct my dog Miles with negative feedback, saying "No." Wendi only uses positive reinforcement, saying "Yes" when they win, and it works so amazingly well. My dog Miles is so eager to connect with me as a pack member, letting me be a leader. After his two weeks with Wendi on the Board and Train program, I can barely believe it. Equally important is how she trains you to be a better leader for your dog. She goes so far above and beyond to get your dog comfortable in training with the right appliances and love, I really can't say enough good things. read more

Wendi Okabayashi is an absolute miracle worker! She came in to help train our three corgis, and in just an hour and a half session, she completely turned their bad behaviors around. What impressed us the most was that Wendi uses only nonharmful, gentle techniques, ensuring that the dogs are comfortable and happy throughout the process. She has an incredible ability to explain how to 'speak dog,' helping us better understand our pets' needs and behaviors. Our corgis are now more obedient, calm, and happier than ever. Wendi has been the best thing that has happened to our dogs, and we can't recommend her enough! read more

Wendi is a life saver! She has a very calm and kind personality. Humans and animals warm up to her very quickly. She is extremely knowledgable and could help with any scenario we shared with her. The tools she gave us made all the difference in the way our Lab puppy interacted with us and our other dog. She gave us hope that we could all be one big happy family and that our dogs could coexist without causing commotion in our home. Even my six-year-old can take our Lab on a walk without being pulled, because of the tools Wendi gave us. With all my heart I recommend Wendi to everyone!! read more

WOW. Just wow. I cannot even begin to describe how great Wendi is! Our Mini Aussie has been having some territorial issues, especially when we have visitors, and in the couple of hours Wendi was at our home, she taught us how to take control and become the pack leaders. Her understanding of dog culture is amazing. it was so cool to watch her interact with our dog and know exactly what his responses meant. We feel so empowered and excited to move forward! She also sent us a very detailed summary of the lesson so that we can refer to it and not forget anything. Thank you, thank you, Wendi!! read more

Wendi is amazing! She evaluated our dog before we brought him home to make sure he was the right fit for our family. Wendi is extremely knowledgeable and very responsive. I would highly recommend her for any and all dog behavior needs or questions. Our puppy, Bronco, also just completed a basic obedience course offered by Wendi. I didn't think a puppy could be so well trained and behaved, but Wendi proved me wrong. I cannot speak highly enough about Wendi. read more

Like night and day. I have two one year old puppies half English setter and some Shepard mix. They are young and like to jump on you and chew pretty much everything in sight. One visit from Wendy and they were different dogs. We have a long way to go but Wendy returned several weeks later and with her great advice they again changed for the better. It was dramatic, I mean she is the dog whisperer we were looking for. I highly recommend her. Terry read more

We have worked with Wendi with two of our dogs and on both occasions it was a wonderful experience. Wendi is warm, friendly, and calm, and provides clear instructions that get immediate results. Positive reinforcement and relationship are the magic ingredients in her system and she quickly helps her clients "speak" language that dogs understand. HIGHLY recommend! read more

A heart for Paws is an amazing dog trainer! She has helped my dog and I have a much greater bond of trust between us and has helped our walks and time at home be much more enjoyable! She is also very responsive with any follow up questions I have. I recommend Wendi to anyone who loves dogs and wants to build their relationship with their pup! read more