My little rescue Maurice can be a handful! He is weary of new people and can get very territorial. I was worried he'd never stop trying to bite my friends. But then I met Alexis! She helped me turn my little guy around. Alexis's methods are safe and easy to learn, and Maurice absolutely adores her! With hard work and Alexis's expert guidance, Maurice is now much calmer around new people and he continues to respond well to positive reinforcement. And he even knows a few fun tricks too :) I can't wait to continue seeing what my little guy can do with Alexis's help and compassion. read more

Zen Dog Training - undefined - Pet Training Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

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I have the most handsome dog in the world. But also a super crazy one. Alexis & Zen Dog Training have been miracle workers at educating me so I can educate my puppo. read more

When I adopted my dog Cleo five years ago, a local rescue group had brought her up from Georgia. Cleo had recently undergone surgery for a broken bone in her hip. Whatever trauma she had experienced as a puppy had made her nervous and timid around new people, men mostly, and passing cars frightened her. (It makes me emotional just remembering this.) Cleo gradually got comfortable with me, and her gentleness and sweetness started to come out. However, she was very reactive to dogs on the street, which made walks through Brooklyn a challenge. I contacted Alexis to see whether training could help. Alexis is extremely patient and thoughtful. Her love and commitment to the dogs she trains are palpable. Her visits were often the high point of Cleo's day. Her techniques tend to emphasize positive reinforcement. She always had new ideas to try with Cleo. Over time, she was able to improve Cleo's confidence and impulse control. Sadly, Cleo and I had to move away from Brooklyn last year for my job, so we're not able to work with Alexis anymore. But it would not be an exaggeration to say that if Cleo and I ever move back to Brooklyn, Alexis will be one of the reasons why. read more

We got our dog, Wall-E, as a 10-week old rescue puppy from Tennessee; he is an absolutely adorable ball of fluff, loves to play, and who also happens to be incredibly intelligent. We taught him the basics quickly, but he was always distracted and wanted to play and not listen. We realized we needed professional help to get him better trained. Through a friend we were referred to Alexis, and couldn't have been happier. She has a very disarming and comforting approach, for both the dogs and their humans. We were stressed about training our dog, getting it right, and the training sticking with him; Alexis needed to train us as much as she needed to train our pup. She worked closely with us, teaching Wall-E new commands and getting him to follow consistently, while teaching us how best to interact with him as his alpha. Thank you Alexis! We couldn't be happier and we will continue to refer people your way! read more

**Alexis' original comment accused me of extortion. She has since deleted it, but sent me an email (photograph below) threatening to sue. Classy response from Alexis. She offered to give me my money back. I said I would amend my review for good customer service if she gave me my money back, as she offered. She sent me several aggressive emails telling me that I was jeopardizing her business by writing an honest review. I did not jeopardize her business. She jeopardized it by being a bad dog trainer. She has no instincts or creativity in training dogs. I tried to be nice. She was only aggressive. Entire interaction, including her response, was petty. Highly recommend avoiding this woman. I have added pictures of our email exchange in which she offered me money, and I said I would change my review for good service. read more

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Anyone who knows Cecilia knows that she is highly leash reactive. This is something we've been working on basically since we adopted her. After another trainer actually made her reactivity worse, we were desperate to find someone who could help. Cece was always excited to see Alexis (the "treat lady") and our little weirdo proved to be a challenge since she's such an individual. Alexis was knowledgeable, science based, patient, and adaptive. She gave us a lot of tools and we continue to implement the best we can. Today on a walk, Cecilia had her first good interaction on leash with a dog she didn't know! She wanted to go up to the dog, but not in a way where he body language was tense; she was barking a little, but not snapping or growling. The other owner was patient, but it only took a few seconds for her to calm down and for the dogs to sniff each other then go on their way. This is something that seemed impossible two years ago. We thank Zen Dog Training so much and it gives us hope that she'll continue to get better with time and training! read more

We've hired other dog trainers to help with our poodle's separation anxiety and other fearful behavior, but none have been as effective as Alexis. That is likely because Alexis's approach is science-based and she genuinely loves what she does and approaches problems holistically. She spent time researching our dog's history, and even consulted with our vet about medication, as well as taking an in-depth approach to getting to know our dog and his history. Then, over the course of many months, she assisted with efforts to use positive-reinforcement clicker training to get our buddy on the right track. Many of the fearful behaviors have departed. The separation anxiety has improved, but is still a work in progress. Our dog is so much more "polite" and self-confident than he was before -- which means he's a happier dog and we are happier owners. Alexis followed up with instructions after each session and is easy to reach with follow-up questions. I'm so grateful to her for her expertise and her kind, patient, professional manner. I highly recommend her. read more

I happened to come across Zen Dog Training and it was probably the best thing to happen me and my Golden Retriever, Bengy. Bengy was a year old when Alexis began working him. She had great attention to detail and the wealth of knowledge she possesses shows after the first session. She worked wonders with Bengy and he absolutely loved her. I didn't think anyone could get him to stop jumping.. she did. Walking him went from a tug of war to an actual walk. I really could go on and on about all the great things she did but I'll say this.. if you're looking for a dog trainer, you've found the right one. You will have no qualms about leaving your dog in her care knowing that he or she will be getting safe, caring, effective training from a great dog trainer who will yield the right results. read more

Alexis is AMAZING!!!! My American Bulldog, Midas has separation anxiety. He had been doing really well, but regressed quickly when his regular dog walker moved, his best friend (the German Shepard upstairs) had to have a hip replacement and his previous trainer passes away all within about ten days. Alexis came in, formed an immediate bond with him and got him back on track. With lots of creative ideas and positive reinforcement. She was there for us again a year later when we realized part of his anxiety is seasonal, and again with creative ideas was able to get him back on track. She has great resources and shares information openly. I highly recommend her! read more

We found Alexis after some harrowing attempts with other trainers who really couldn't meet the needs of our rescue dog. Alexis' behavioral background and understanding of separation anxiety has put our dog on an encouraging path to trust and confidence. She is wonderfully supportive, a good listener, and creative in working with us on experimenting with different solutions. She also connected us with an amazing fear free veterinarian. All we can say is -- hire Alexis! read more

I don't take the time to write reviews often, but Alexis (Zen Dog Training) worked wonders with our new French Bulldog, so here it goes - Alexis was calm, kind and professional every step of the way with us and our new puppy. She managed to teach her to get used to the crate, the carrying bag, many commands and most of all, helped us achieve success with house-breaking. At 6 months, our puppy is better trained that our last one was over a lifetime. She was on time, responsive via email and a pleasure to be around. We highly recommend her. read more

When we started working with Alexis of Zen Dog, we were very close to having to find a new home for our dog. His behavior was impacting our whole building. He had been barking throughout the day, hours on end for months. Urinating inside on household objects...he was not a puppy. He suffered from separation anxiety and aggression towards other dogs since we rescued him. He was also clawing and chewing door frames. After talking with other trainers and trying buckets of devices and strategies to calm him down we finally started working with Alexis last October. She has created such a transformation In him, and he is thriving now. He now can participate in group dog walks and go off leash without acting aggressively. More importantly he stopped barking, clawing and chewing up door frames!! Alexis was very responsive to his reactions and was able to teach us how to clue in on when to push his boundaries and when not to. She gave us specific weekly training practices adjusted to maximize his trust and reduce his anxiety. The trainings built off each other and always came after her assessing and spending time with him. It was never generic or pre-choosen. I personally appreciated how she would explain each part of the conditioning to me, so I came to better understand how to cultivate positive behaviors in him. She was very patient with our dog and us, as we muddled through a very tense few months dealing with his behavior. I can't even do justice to all the ways Alexis helped us get through those tough weeks. She brings myriad training treats, training tools and strategies to the table each week. She talked to our vet and had knowledge of local dog walkers who could support and not contradict our training practices. It is clear Alexis cares deeply for the dogs and families she works with. We are so grateful she helped us through that crisis! I highly recommend Alexis to those who are seeking a knowledgable, positive professional to train their pup! read more

Alexis was an enormous help with our high-energy Portuguese Water Dog puppy. She worked with us for months and both we and Kyper are better for it. I recommend her unreservedly. read more

Alexis of Zen Dog Training has been a godsend to us. As first-time dog owners, we were completely unprepared for the fear-related issues that our ten-month-old rescue, Georgie, presented to us. Alexis came recommended by a friend and from the very beginning has been amazing. She wrote up a full diagnostic of Georgie's behavior and presented us with handouts and a customized training plan. She followed up each session with a summary email which was incredibly helpful to us. If we had any training-related questions, she was more than happy to respond to emails and texts. She is gentle, patient, and persistent with Georgie, and explained each training step to us fully. Georgie is now doing very well, he no longer barks at bikes or children and is becoming calmer and more comfortable with his new life every day. She obviously cares deeply about making positive changes in the lives of dogs and their owners and has been more than generous with her time and advice. When I asked her for advice about vets, she called several vets in our area for us, which I thought was very kind. I highly recommend Zen Dog Training and Alexis for anyone who has a pet in need of help! read more