What Clients Are Saying
"Janet is so brilliant and truly delightful to work with. She took the time to get to know our dog and learn the situations we needed help with. Not only does Janet know so much about all different types of dogs and their behaviors, but she is easy to work with. She is friendly, flexible, and hands-on. We love that Janet teaches us how to become the trainers so we can develop positive experiences with our dog. The techniques we learned from Janet have all been so successful and have made such a difference in our and our dog's life. We would recommend Janet to anyone!"
–Quinn, Justin, and Ted
"Janet was clearly born to do this—ML's Yelp reference, 'Mary Poppins for doggies' analogy is spot on. She is everything you would want—highly professional, positive, reliable, trustworthy, kind, thoughtful, and responsive. She provided us with a detailed training plan, based on our goals and initial session, and then provided frequent progress updates (I also love seeing our puppy Sidney on her Instagram feed which has a well-deserved celebrity level following). Sidney clearly loves working with Janet. In just a few training sessions, Janet was able to get our extremely high-energy and distractible puppy to walk calmly on a leash and even maintain the discipline to leave a treat on her paw until she was told to 'take it.' (We were unable to achieve this after months of trying without Janet). We could not recommend her more highly."
–Neel Shah
"Janet became part of the family when Oscar was about six months old. She trained him on the basics and now four years later he still knows all the cues and looks forward to her visits! Even though Janet taught Oscar to ride a skateboard(!), her work with him while I was expecting, and now with a newborn, has been invaluable. I would recommend Janet for all families bringing in a new puppy or baby. She is a miracle worker who truly loves her clients."
–Jen M 1/2018
“Over the years, I have completed dog training classes but I never really 'got it' before. I left those trainings feeling a bit overwhelmed. But, now after working with Janet, everything has 'clicked' for me. I 'get it'! Janet is a very skilled dog trainer; she has a superb gift for explaining and defining tasks in an elementary way. I feel truly comfortable asking her questions when I need more clarification. She is a patient teacher. My dog and I feel very safe with her. Janet brings amazing enthusiasm and energy to her sessions. She is very gentle and loving with animals as well as with humans. I will always seek out Janet's expertise, and will look forward to her future 'magical' training sessions with my current dog, as well as with my future dogs!“
–Wendy Mandel
“When my husband would take our little dog, Peanut, for a walk she always went crazy barking when she saw other dogs. This drove my husband CRAZY. We decided to hire Janet from For The Love of Dogs to see if she could help. She came with both of us while we walked Peanut and gave us the tools to train Peanut not to do this anymore. It all worked! We now take Peanut for a walk, and she doesn't bark when she sees other dogs anymore! It was like a miracle cure. She also gave us other tips to use in the house to keep her engaged in activities at home. Janet is beyond awesome! Thanks for our improved Peanut!”
–Amy Bellingheri
“Amazing. Just amazing. Serious transformation of pup and pup owners immediately. Our rescue, Eilonwy, of course wants Janet to visit everyday. In session one Janet had her leaping on command onto boulders. This in the 'chipmunk' garden that has previously caused Eilonwy to go ballistic chasing varmints and dragging us behind her. We were making Eilonwy crazy and Janet helped us help our pup with humor and respect. We are all smitten by her creativity, her energy, and her 'my darling' trademark pup greeting. Hire her if you can!”
–Susan Zellmann-Rohrer
"Working with Janet has been amazing! Her professional knowledge and expertise combined with endless love and compassion is helping our rescue pup overcome numerous challenges. Beyond working with Cookie directly, Janet takes time to explain motivations and body language reactions so we can learn to provide a higher level of support and reinforcement. While there is still work to do, we have seen wonderful results within weeks. We all look forward to each session with Janet!
–C&M
“I cannot express enough how highly we recommend Janet. After only a few minutes, Janet had nailed Hina as not just dog reactive, but generally fearful. Janet set realistic expectations and began work immediately. She helped us identify Hina’s triggers, speak her language, and work as a team. We have made more progress in the last six months than we have in two years! Janet helped Hina gain her confidence while subtly training her humans to be more patient, better informed, and more supportive, and most importantly, more fun.Janet works holistically—she is super sharp and notices everything. We have made many adjustments, large and small, based on Janet’s observations, not just for Hina’s behavior, but also for her safety and health. Janet also helped us build Hina’s team of advocates, and she’s like the cherry on top. I believe without a doubt that Janet loves Hina as much as we do, and it shows. The true embodiment of fear-free training, Janet is your gal, and we are so grateful to have her on our team.
–Tree
"My training sessions with Janet and Pooch are the high point of my week! Pooch and I look forward to them all week, and always exceed our expectations. The sessions are fun, positive, professional, creative, and individualized for your dog. I am always left feeling that Janet's work with dogs makes the world a better place for all of us."
–Hope R
"Janet is wonderful! We just got a puppy from the shelter who is very sweet, but also very fearful of the world. From the moment Janet stepped into our home, she has helped us with strategies and techniques to help our dog develop confidence. Literally, in our first session we saw considerable improvement, which is a huge relief to us. I'm excited about all the ways we will continue to build on these first positive steps and help our dog acclimate to her new environment, and overcome her fears! Thank you, Janet!
–Sharon D
“I reached out to Janet for help with my 8-month-old puppy’s reactivity to meeting new people, seeing dogs while on walks, outside sounds, etc. At our consultation Janet was greeted by a hesitant Piper and (what felt like…) a 90-minute barkfest, sorry Janet! At each session (six total), Janet assessed Piper’s mood and progression, and we worked on new techniques and exercises to lower her stress and reactivity. Janet explained the concepts and reasoning for each activity and there were many 'aha' moments for me along the way. It’s truly fascinating to watch Janet do her thing. She knew how to handle Piper’s personality, and Piper seemed to just 'get' what Janet was doing and saying. Personally, this was a much better fit for us compared to the traditional obedience classes. Curbing Piper’s reactivity is a work in progress, and I’m now armed with a variety of exercises, tips, and tricks to help ease anxiety. Meeting new people no longer an overwhelming experience for either one of us. Thank you!!” –M.B.
"Janet has provided evaluation and training/behavior services to our rescue organization, working with several of our rescue dogs that are awaiting adoption. She has been a great resource for us, and it has been inspiring to watch her work her magic with some of our more challenging dogs. Most recently, Janet worked with a high-energy, anxious coon hound that had issues with trusting new people. She was able to help him expend his physical and mental energy and become a calmer, less stressed and more confident dog, which will make him much more manageable for his adopters. Janet has a great way of working with people, who also need to be 'trained' in order to help their dogs learn new behaviors. She is personable and offers constructive suggestions in a positive and supportive manner. We highly recommend Janet and her positive-based training methods. We consider her a valuable member of our rescue team."
–Ann L
“Janet has been a godsend! The rescue that I volunteer for hired Janet to help with my foster dog who has had a lot of fear reactive behaviors. She would growl, snarl, bark, and sometimes lunge at strangers. After only three sessions, we have seen a huge difference in our foster dog! She no longer growls, snarls or lunges. She glances at the stranger and keeps walking. Janet has taught myself and my family different strategies that are helpful for our foster dog as well as our resident dogs. We love her!"
–Maureen T
"Janet clearly loves what she does. After our first session, we noticed a significant change in our puppy’s behavior, and in ours! On our second visit, Janet was met by Joey at the door with an enthusiasm that we’ve never seen before—wag doesn’t even begin to describe it! Janet has taught us how to think about things differently, and Joey’s response has been phenomenally quick. And, he behaves well in situations where he hasn’t yet been trained. Thank you to Janet from your three friends in Waltham.”
–Juli, David, & Joey
"Janet has helped us turn our high-driven, stubborn, adorable puppy Juneau into a relaxed and calm dog. We loved her approach which focused on enrichment, creating calm default behavior, and managing her excitement level rather than simple obedience. Now we don't have to ask Juneau to be well behaved—she just does so on her own.”
–G&C
Clients and Friends
