Update Review; A year and a whole bunch of classes later, Jessica is still super awesome. She's helped fix problems with in home lessons and the group classes are awesome. If you're interested in having a happier dog and improving your relationship with them, Jessica can for sure help out. Original Review; Jessica is a wizard with the dog training. I brought my girl in for some deep seated dog aggression issues with what I thought were pretty big goals. Jessica was able to help me get there in only a few sessions with the help of her assistant doggo Sampson. I would very strongly recommend Jessica for any dog training needs, she's highly competent and really puts in the effort to share her skills and make you the best trainer possible. read more

The first thing that comes to mind when I think about Jessica and Synergy is comforting and supportive. I have a new puppy and I called Jessica right away. (Of course i was nervous bringing home this new little guy... i didn't know where to start!) We talked on the phone for an hour just discussing the first steps and items I needed for my little guy. I signed up for the puppy package where she comes to your home while you're at work and trains your dog! The best part is that she customizes each package depending on the dog. After she trained my puppy she trained me so I knew what to do! I even asked for typed up notes from the lesson so I could refer back later. After the package came to an end I didn't want to stop the training. So now Jessica and I have specific things we want to work on. I also love that I can contact her anytime with any puppy question! For example, my pup got into the trash and she gave me a tip right then and there-problem solved. I couldn't ask for a better trainer for my pup and I! read more

Instinct Dog Behavior training, in particular Jess Stone, is incredible. The communication is excellent, Jess is extremely knowledgeable and amazing at what she does. Even as 2 dog parents in the veterinary field, there was still so much to learn and understand from a true professional. The home schooling and private coaching sessions are worth every penny. The progress we've made and the improved relationship we have with our "difficult child" is priceless. read more

Instinct Dog Training - Pet Training Near Me

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I adopted my now 2 year old rescue, Kona, about 6 months ago. Within a few weeks of having her, I noticed that she was very dog reactive and was getting more and more severe as the weeks went by. Anytime we'd see a dog on our walks she'd bark, lunge, pull and just act like a total maniac. It got to the point where I couldn't even walk her in my neighborhood anymore. I'd drive to a nearby business park just to avoid running into dogs. She's about 60 pounds and has a really loud/deep bark, so not only was it embarrassing, but it honestly sounded like she was super aggressive. The weird thing is, is she loves my other dog (husky mix) so I wasn't sure if she was dog aggressive or if something else might be the issue. I decided that I needed the help of a professional dog behaviorist. The first trainer I hired focused more on basic obedience and, after 3 sessions, hadn't really addressed Kona's reactivity. In January I decided to find a new trainer who was more familiar with reactive dogs and luckily found Jessica! I sent her a long email about Kona. She was super friendly and even offered to call me to discuss. She seemed to know what she was talking about, so we set up a 2 hour consult. At the consult, we did a quick meet and greet at my house and then we went to a nearby park so that Jessica could see Kona in action. Sure enough, Kona acted like a maniac even when seeing a dog from far away (about 200 feet was her threshold at the time). Jessica informed me that Kona's reactivity was leash frustration, not aggression, and that she could definitely help me. We started with a 6 session package since Kona's reactivity was pretty severe. I won't go into all the details of the training plan, but I do want to mention that we just had our 5th session where Kona was eventually able to get close enough to meet the decoy dog!! I'll be honest, when I first got Kona I thought she was beyond help and we'd just have to live our lives hiding from dogs on walks forever ... haha. But I was wrong! Without Jessica, we wouldn't have been able to get this far. Kona has much better manners and now I at least know how to handle Kona if we do run into another dog on our walks. We still have a lot of work to do, but it's so exciting to see progress. If you have a reactive dog or a dog with behavioral issues, don't hesitate to reach out to Jessica! She really knows her stuff and you can tell she loves her job. I'd give more than 5 stars if I could! read more

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. read more

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Please go with Instinct. We have a dog reactive American Pitbull. We tried other places before finally committing to Instinct and we had horrible advice like "Dropping chains to startle" or "assert dominance". Thank God we didn't listen and found Instinct. Jess Stone was AMAZING. such a caring person and she continued to find us ways to manage our situation. She was great with our very fearful doggo and will definitely find a path specific for you and your dog. All of their methods were cruel free, and I developed such a beautiful bond with my doggie. I will always recommend instinct. Although there are other companies in San diego that offer "lifetime training".... Instincts methods were the best. We saw real progress , we saw different aspects of our dog we didn't consider. And instinct does offer you the tools to continue on with training after the sessions are over. Very educational if you put in the work. Thanks again Jess!! read more

Instinct Dog Training - Bobo - Pet Training Near Me

I've been working with Jessica Wheatcraft for several years now, through the transition from Synergy to Instinct, and she is truly amazing. My dog Nala is a sweetie who is super into training, but also reactive with other dogs, and Jessica is always overwhelmingly positive about her progress while also always keeping her and the other pups comfortable and safe. I love doing the alumni classes with her and with Brandi, it is such a fun thing to be able to work with my not-that-dog-friendly dog in an environment that feels safe and controlled, where Nala can really shine. These classes have made a huge difference in her comfort level working with other dogs around, and are varied enough that there is always more to learn. We've done Group Walks, Fun N Games, Trick class, and Poised in Public and learn something new every time! read more

We hired Jessica last summer to train our two Yorkies, of which one has severe reactivity issues and was " teaching " the other dog to bark. Both had already had some private training, but we were not satisfied with the outcome and wanted to try something else, especially on the reactivity aspect. So we did a lot of research to find the right trainer. We wanted a trainer who would be both Certified Dog Behavior Consultant and Certified Professional Dog Trainer, would have a clear training plan (although flexible depending on the dogs response), and would provide constant and detailed feedback so that we know what we can (and cannot) expect, and where we are heading too. We found all that with Jessica and her assistant Brandi! Before we met with Jessica, we had a conversation over the phone and filled out a thorough questionnaire. Then, she came to our house for an initial consultation. It was good because she already had some insight about our dogs' problematic behavior. She observed the dogs and provided us with useful advice even before we had started training. Given the severity of the reactivity issue, we opted for an intensive 6-week training program (4 times a week with 3 trainings and one debriefing/owner training). Jessica provided us with a detailed training plan. Every session had a training goal, and at the end, Jessica and her assistant would send us a report by text message along with relevant photos and videos to show us the progress made by the dogs. This follow-up was awesome and it used to make us very excited to see how the pups were doing during the training sessions. Sometimes, she would also send us a training tutorial by email for us to continue practicing at home. Once a week, we had a 1-on-1 debrief session with Jessica. We also received a training sheet with instructions to practice with our dog. All in all, we have been very impressed by the high level of professionalism of Jessica and her assistants. They really cared about our dogs. We learned a lot about our pups, how we can train them, how to understand their behavior and work around the reactivity. Even though we haven't eliminated the issue, a lot has been done and we are now equipped with information and methods to continue training our dogs. They helped us set realistic expectations regarding our training goals by understanding various aspects of the dogs behavior, and we are grateful for that. read more

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! read more

This review is difficult for me because Jessica wasn't able to help us with our fearful dog, but she is very nice and collaborative and I can see how her techniques might be helpful for perhaps other dogs and/or people who live in quiet neighborhoods. We have a (roughly) one year old Dutch Shepherd who is scared of people and barks/lunges/growls on walks, which is what we needed assistance with. And we live in a busy neighborhood so it's impossible for us to avoid people. Jessica only believes in positive reinforcement techniques and she has many innovative and creative ideas for instilling positive associations, which is fantastic. She taught us clever and fun training games to play with our dog, which we still use at home. Our dog liked her and she was very responsive to us. However, her techniques for walks actually made our dog regress quite a bit and very quickly (even though they were all about positive associations, go figure). So much so that our dog walker asked me if our dog was attacked or if something traumatic happened to her. We only paid for three private lessons. Maybe if we had more time Jessica could have found something that worked for us. She was adaptable and was trying to modify her techniques to find something helpful, which we appreciated. However, we didn't want to spend additional money not knowing if it would work eventually. Instead, we switched gears and came up with our own tactics for walks and our dog started improving immediately and quickly. Our dog walker can now walk our dog further than she has before and believes our dog is improving now with every visit. Also, be aware that her methods are VERY treat heavy. Our dog vomited multiple times after our first training session. So if your dog has a sensitive stomach, maybe suggest using your treats instead of Jessica's and use treats that your dog might handle okay in bulk (like boiled chicken?). I've never had a shepherd before, so maybe they are just a different ballgame? I'd still recommend you give Jessica a try. Every dog is different. read more

After the latest in a string of incidents resulting in our dog exhibiting redirected fear biting, we were fearful that his behavior would escalate. Unsure of what else to do, we contacted Jessica with Synergy Dog Training after finding her online. She gave us some forms to fill out so she could get a good idea of Angus's history and to get to know him before we even met. After a 2h initial consultation in which she got to know us and Angus in person, she suggested we have some one-on-one training classes. During those sessions, Angus improved by leaps and bounds. Since then, we've continued using Jessica for other training to stimulate Angus and keep us all learning. She really knows and understands our dog and has tailored any training to his distinct needs and personality. She is always learning new techniques and trying them to get the best result for both us and Angus. Due to her contacts, Jessica was even able to suggest a vet who would work well with him. We, and Angus, have loved having Jessica as our go-to trainer and she's helped make Angus a much happier dog. She's given us strategies to deal with any difficulties that may pop up with him, and lots of fun things to try that we'd never even thought of to just improve his quality of life. read more

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! read more

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. read more

I have a 1 year old German Shepherd/Lab mix who is anxious about people and reactive on leash (dogs/bikes). He also had trouble calming himself down in the evenings. After just six sessions with Jessica, I can honestly say I have a new dog. He has improved immensely with all the detail-oriented sessions she provides. He is now def more comfortable with meeting new people on or off leash. His reactivity with being on a leash has decreased immensely. Newton and I can't thank her enough for all of her help with him. He has come a long way from the day of our consultation to today (our last session). I HIGHLY recommend her if anyone is struggling with any dog behavioral/training issues. In short, she's AMAZING!! Thank you so much Jessica :) read more

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After trying other dog behaviorists, and using dog trainers all my life, Jessica is by far the most professional, experienced, caring, and knowledgable. She helped us with a new puppy who was very excitable and taught us not just the basics in dog manners, but, how to help Lexi become calmer and more confident. We learned so much from Jessica and continue to use the positive reinforcement training techniques we learned from her. She worked with Lexi in our home, on walks, in the park and during supervised puppy play sessions. I will never use any other trainer and would recommend Jessica and her assistant Brandy for any training needs. They are wonderful. read more

We LOVE Synergy! Our trainer, Brandi, has been an amazing support as we embarked on the puppy journey. In the 3 weeks we have been working with her, our sweet puppy Bailey has grown so much in her manners. Brandi's positive reinforcement training methods really work to strengthen the bond between guardian and dog. We are so excited to see what Bailey can do as she grows, and thank Brandi for working with us! read more

It's been a few months since my pooch and I last trained with Jessica. I emailed Jessica about a recent incident at daycare. Jessica contacted me, patiently listened to my concerns, and gave me her well-thought-out insight about possible causes about the incident and her suggestions to keep my dog mentally and emotionally sound. Jessica's compassion about her clients (both human and canine) and after care are much appreciated. : read more

Jessica was recommended to us by a woman whose dog visits the local library for kids to read to (and he is, of course, perfectly behaved). We took our first dog, Sam, to Jessica and she did a great job evaluating his personality, which included being predisposed to anxiety. Sam is now 18 months and SO well behaved. He can do car rides, dog parks, and interactions with strangers without issue, all of which were very touch and go for a while. Our second dog, Willow, is now in what I call remedial classes with Jessica, because we didn't put the work in up front (as I wish we had) when we first adopted her. Willow has leash reactivity and with Jessica's help I have hope again that we'll conquer this ^_^ It's very clear that Jessica has a gift with dogs and she is a joy to work with. I'm incredibly grateful that we've found her and I recommend her to anyone with a new dog or if you're trying to address established behavioral issues. read more

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! read more

I work from home and knew that I wanted a companion dog for a long time but wanted to do it right and was a bit hesitant. I contacted Jessica Wheatcraft at Synergy Dog Training and she gave me fantastic advice on adopting a rescue dog. With that confidence, I adopted my pup and set up an in-home consultation with Jessica. She had us started with socialization and training in no time. I continued with several more training sessions, which were highly loads of fun and my pup caught right on. Jessica's skill at dog training is easily apparent and she is great at adapting the lessons to my dogs needs and personality. She is a great teacher and was also able to help me learn about myself and my dog. We also attended several of Jessica's group classes which were fantastic and lots of fun. She keeps the classes small and makes sure that the dogs are all a good fit for each other. I highly respect Jessica's professionalism. Her training is force free, using positive reinforcement which is important to me. I am happy to say that I have the perfect dog! I give my pup all of the credit but Jessica set us up for success! read more

I can not think of a more compassionate, knowledgeable, friendly, patient, and down to earth dog trainer than Jessica Wheatcraft of Synergy Dog Training. I met Jessica when she was volunteering for a Pit Bull training program at the County Animal Shelter In Oceanside. Not only did she help me with my human reactive/anxious rescue dog, Rodney, but she also taught me so much about dog behavior as it was something I was pursuing for a career. Jessica has years and years of experience and is a true expert in her field,continually learning new methods and expanding her knowledge. I currently have a dog daycare/boarding business and I refer ALL my clients looking for training to Jessica and they all come back happy! HIGHLY RECOMMEND Synergy Dog Training. read more

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. read more

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! read more

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! read more

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. read more

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

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. read more

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! read more

I can't say enough good things about Jessica of Synergy Dog Training. I have a 110 lb Lab/Great Dane mix, Mona, who is (or I can almost say was) anxious...about most things. After the birth of our son, her general anxiety went through the roof. She was barely sleeping, watching over everything, couldn't be left alone for 30 seconds, lunging at other dogs on leash, and generally freaked out about every noise or new thing. Needless to say, walks were also tough. We called a vet who specializes in behavioral issues. She wouldn't let him get within 5 feet of her. Thankfully, I listened when 2 dog trainer friends of mine recommended we call Jessica. Mona took to her immediately, a little warily at first, but she let Jessica into her space and we have all been getting calmer ever since. Jessica exudes calm and strength and you can see that she truly listens, both to dogs and humans. She is wonderful at quickly taking in the environment, finding the key issue, and then efficiently getting to work. Somehow, though, that efficiency isn't unfriendly, and our sessions almost feel more like meeting a buddy for a chat with some pretty amazing results at the end. With a mixture of private and small group classes, we have all learned a lot. Mona's confidence and calm have both increased and she shows minimal stress when left alone now. Even skateboards aren't the evil doers she once thought. She showed off by pawing a skateboard last week! My husband and I have so many tools now to read her signals and better communicate with her and respond appropriately. Things have progressed so far in our time working together, that, even though Mona will likely always be more anxious than other dogs and we'll always have to spend a sizable portion of our training time doing calming and BART exercises, I'm having trouble searching for behaviors that we need help with, beyond just finding the time to practice all the skills we've learned. Mona loves her training time so much, though, that we'll be continuing on with group classes to add some distraction and who knows what else...nose work, tricks, the sky's the limit. I'm so grateful to Jessica that I can feel that hope again. I wish I had more than 5 stars to give. read more

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. read more

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! read more

I highly recommend doing Zoom lessons with Jessica. We had only two lessons in person prior to beginning Zoom with her, and the transition has been seamless. We are working on mat training and crate training as avenues to calm our sometimes challenging dog, as well as improving loose leash walking. Jessica is excellent at detecting small nuances that make all the difference in whether or not training is successful, and it's no different on Zoom. A typical lesson on Zoom has included conversation with her about our dog's behaviors as well as her observing us interacting with our dog. An added bonus is that we have a recording, so we can go back and review what was covered in the lesson. As she is in person, Jessica is knowledgeable, upbeat, encouraging, positive, and insightful. She definitely knows her stuff, and that comes through on Zoom just as it does in person. Bottom line: our dog has made dramatic improvements after just three Zoom lessons. read more

Jessica is amazing! I would recommend her highly. My Labradoodle Luna had major anxiety issues with me leaving her and being around other dogs. I had tried a number of different trainers. Jessica was the only only who got through to Luna (and I). I am happy to say that Jessica even helped Luna and I pass our AKC Canine Good Citizen. Jessica has a lovely way about her that makes both dog and trainer feel comfortable. Thanks for all your help Jessica. read more

We could not be more pleased with the wonderful training Jessica Wheatcraft gave to our rescue dog, Samantha, and to my husband and me. We adopted the cutest little dog who was petrified of everything. As much as we wanted to help and care for Sammi, she did everything she could to keep us away from her. We were unable to even touch her for the first two months or so that we had her. We knew fairly quickly that we needed professional help if we were going to become a happy family. We were not new to raising a dog; we raised three dogs who lived very long lives, but we were new to raising a "fearful dog," and had never before even heard of that term. Jessica was referred to us through another dog trainer who, after listening to what we were dealing with, admitted that she did not have the expertise we needed. We will forever be indebted to her for recommending Jessica. Despite the fact that Jessica did not get home from her dog training until after 7:00 p.m. the first day I called and left a message, Jessica called and spent a long time on the phone listening to all we were going through and our concerns that we might not be able to even keep this little pup since she was so very afraid of us. Jessica made an initial appointment to visit our home to evaluate Samantha. She was completely honest with her assessment. Jessica was sure she could improve the situation, but she also said that we might not be able to do those things we have done with our previous dogs, i.e., go to restaurants, travel in the car on trips, spend days at the beach--basically having a dog that wanted to be part of our life experiences. We needed to think about whether we wanted to invest time and money into a dog that might not improve to the point we had hoped to experience with her. Jessica sent us literature to educate us about fearful dogs and to assist us in making a good evaluation. We did proceed with a series of training sessions with Jessica. We went from having a very fearful dog who did not trust any person or any other animal to a confident, loving, cuddling dog who is now an integral part of our family. Her interaction with other dogs is more appropriate, and rather than being afraid of new surroundings, she shows healthy inquisitiveness. After six sessions we are now taking Samantha on long walks in busy locations, going to crowded events, dog festivals, restaurants, Balboa Park and any place that allows dogs. Every day Samantha looks for signs that we are going on an outing. Our friends and neighbors and even her foster parents are thrilled with Samantha's progress. We have learned so much from Jessica--how to interpret Samantha's actions and reactions, how to protect her when she becomes fearful, and how to be very patient with her progress. Truly, we could not be happier with the results of our initial sessions of training. We are feeling like proud parents whose "child" has just received an outstanding education and graduated with all A's. We highly recommend Jessica Wheatcraft of Synergy Dog Training to train a dog from being very fearful to one who is very happy, content and joyful to be around. Jacque and Dave B. of Lakeside read more

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! read more

My Pitbull/Boxer mix Boomer was out of control! He barked at the wind, chased everyone and everything. He jumped on people, ran them down and was a menace out in public. With Jessica's help and training us how to work with Boomer, he is much calmer, obeys more often than not and we are now learning to walk him without the pain and struggles we had. She is amazing trainer, finds great qualities in the dogs and shows by example how to work and play with the dog. We are about half way through our package we bought and I just love every minute with her and all her suggestions. Thank you Jessica for allowing us to see Boomer as he can be. read more