Certified dog trainers in
Mount Vernon, WA
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Learn from the best, certified trainers in

Mount Vernon, WA

Discover skilled and certified trainers with a heart for dogs and a proven track record, ready to help enhance the bond between you and your pet.

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Local & Skilled

Learn & grow with local Trainers

All of our Trainers are certified to have proficiency in all basic, intermediate or advanced skills, are educated in animal behavior and canine communication, and are suited for most pet training tasks.

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Positive Training

Positive Vibes, Positive Training

Meet trainers who believe in kind, positive reinforcement methods, making training a joy for both you and your dog.

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Top trainers

John James

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Amanda Peet

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Julia Styles

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Julie Sharp

US

Julie Sharp

Julie Sharp has been offering private dog training in Seattle for 15 years. She has a history of fostering dogs and has gained hands-on experience in dealing with behavior issues and challenges that come with rescues. She has also adopted three foster dogs who had behavioral challenges.

Training Philosophy

Julie Sharp uses positive reinforcement methods that are scientifically proven to earn your dog’s trust. She believes in a fear-free training approach that fosters a better bond between you and your dog and makes your dog eager and happy to do training. She focuses on teaching your dog what to do by rewarding the right behavioral choice and setting them up to make the right choice during training.

Services

  • Pre-Adoption preparedness
  • Puppy Parenting – Solid Start
  • New Dog – Good Beginnings
  • Basic manners (all ages)
  • Nuisance behaviors
  • Advanced behavioral challenges

Certifications

The Seattle Animal Shelter recommends that you hire a trainer who is certified through the Certification Council of Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT)

Specializations

Obedience training, behavioral training, puppy training, rescue dog training

Training Methods

Positive reinforcement, clicker training, fear-free training

Customer Reviews

Brian & Chaos: Julie Sharp is a gem! When I adopted a very chaotic 15-month-old herding mutt, I didn't have the tools to communicate effectively with him. Working with Julie was a wonderful experience! She gave me those tools to help Chaos. Thanks to her instruction, Chaos overcame his challenges. Highly recommended!
El & Peridot: Julie helped us train our rescue, and I'm so grateful. Not only did she help us teach basic behaviors to our pup and handle reactivity, but she also helped us build a happier and stronger relationship with our dog. We still use the skills she taught us for clicker training, too. Thanks Julie!
Kaela, Andy & Prin: We are so grateful for Julie. She has such great understanding and compassion for our dog, Prin. He is a older, complex little guy with a lot of love, humor and smarts, but has issues with people. Many of our friends and family have tried for years to earn his trust, but it only took a few sessions with Julie! It’s been truly remarkable. She’s the best!
Carolyn & Cosmo: Julie has been a lifesaver for our family. I had no experience with puppies and felt helpless. She was so helpful and so calm! We were able to work on the basic commands to help our dog. It’s been stressful and Julie always stays positive and offers sound advice. We can not say enough good things about Julie!
The Sherensky Family (Jill, Cedar, Isabelle, Derry, Sammy, and Daisy): Julie has worked with us from puppy to maturity with both our sweet, graceful female labradoodle Daisy and our rowdy, loving, and anxious aussiedoodle Sammy. They love her as much as we do! For Julie, each dog is as individual and complex as any human. She takes the time to get to know how your life works and how you and your dog can live and play together harmoniously. Sometimes I want to invent a behavior problem just so we get to hang out. ; )
Maggie & Dewey: Julie trained both me and my dog. She helped me learn how to build a more trusting relationship and reinforce positive behaviors, which transformed my boy from a “problem child” into a mature young adult. Julie helped my boy learn how to be calm for the first time. I never would have thought that such a thing was possible!
Sarah & Ollie: Every skill our dog knows and responds to is a result of our work with Julie. Ollie is uncharacteristically “difficult” for a golden retriever but Julie’s magic touch and support helped us progress from a baseline of regular misbehavior to regular obedience. Julie was Ollie’s favorite person while we were working together - he loved her!
Paige & Holly: We have a very over-excited lab, and Julie helped us tremendously with tools to manage the excitement. She is so much better at walking with a loose leash and we can get her to relax when we ask her to, which has been a life saver!
Melanie & Stanley: Julie was an absolute lifesaver. Stanley was an anxious rescue and was scared of almost everyone and everything, and I was stressed and overwhelmed. Julie observed Stanley and came up with ideas to teach Stanley to be more confident and to help me build trust with him. He slowly began interacting more with me and with others. Stanley has turned into one of the happiest dogs around!
Tom, Kurt, Crouton & Macaron: We adopted one of Julie’s foster dogs, now named Crouton. We were impressed with the calm, loving interactions between him and Julie. We were happy to have a knowledgable professional to guide us. Recently (2023), we adopted Macaron and she came with some baggage. Julie taught us what we could do to address her issues. In just over a month, Macaron is a different dog. Thank you, Julie for letting us know how to help her blossom.
Keir & Jellybean: When I adopted Jellybean, she was a shy little dog that was scared and under-socialized. Before I even brought Jellybean home, Julie met with me to make Jellybean's transition as smooth as possible. The knowledge that I've gotten from Julie has helped Jellybean gain confidence and skills; she's a completely different dog than the one I first brought home. Thank you Julie for your expertise and for helping Jellybean grow to be the sweet, beloved pet she was always meant to be!
Sonja, Eric, George & Nora: Thanks Julie!! You are helping us love our dogs even more. An unexpected perk of training. Thank you!
Cat & Joey: Julie Sharp is an excellent, extremely knowledgeable dog trainer who demonstrates her considerable experience in her training. I adopted a fearful dog and she helped me make him a confident, self-assured dog! I can highly recommend her to anyone looking for a compassionate, positive trainer who will bring out the best in your canine companion.
Jarod, Vaquita & Chiqueline: Julie has been training my two puppies with exceptional results. I highly recommend her. If you want a dog that behaves well, her training is an investment for your family and the quality of the dog’s life.
Carrie & Gracie: Gold stars for Sharp Dogs Seattle! Julie is a gifted dog trainer. She brings a wealth of knowledge to her training sessions. Nothing but positive things to say about her approach and her talent!

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Judith Lynn Bardsley

United States

Judith Lynn Bardsley

After completing a B.A. in Zoology at the University of Washington in 2003, Judy Bardsley started professionally walking, running, caring for, boarding and training dogs while raising two daughters. After years of part time professional experience training and caring for dogs, Judy was accepted into the Professional Dog Trainer certification program with Karen Pryor Academy, which she completed with distinction. Judy went on to become a Certified Professional Dog Trainer, Knowledge Assessed, through the internationally recognized Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers. In addition to experience, Judy strongly values current research, education, training and certification in this evolving field, and she continues to add to her own body of knowledge and experience through continuing education, including her most recent certification as a Fear Free Training Professional through the Fear Free Organization, and completion of Behaviorwork's Living and Learning with Animals course.

Training Philosophy

“Redirecting unwanted behavior by asking for and reinforcing wanted behavior is much more enjoyable than punishment for both people and their dogs, and so it works better.”
My training philosophy is based upon scientifically proven positive reinforcement training methods, including clicker, or marker training. Reinforcers can include treats, toys, playtime, praise, and anything else your pup LOVES. Of course it all starts with the basics: good food, secure home with a warm place to settle, plenty of people and dog socialization and respectful affection. I teach dog people the importance of physical exercise for their pups including walks, chew time and play time as well as mental exercise, such as training, games and puzzles.
Redirecting unwanted behavior by asking for and reinforcing wanted behavior is much more enjoyable than punishment for both people and their dogs, and so it works better. Training our four-legged friends is framed within consistent, kind and respectful treatment which they love, and which earns their trust. When they love training, and they trust us, they are engaged, focused, and ready to be, go, and train with us anytime. They are well mannered and relaxed in the home; confident and calm on walks, around other people and dogs, and are much easier and more enjoyable to live with.

Services

Happy Pup Training offers positive reinforcement dog training classes and private dog training services in the Anacortes, North Whidbey, La Conner, and Mount Vernon areas. We also offer online video conferencing options for private and group coaching sessions.

Dog Training Classes

  • Puppy Start Right Preschool Program
  • Basic Manners 1
  • Basic Manners 2
  • A.K.C. Canine Good Citizen Test Prep Class
  • Doggy Quaren-Tricks & Enrichments Zoom Sessions!

Private Dog Training

  • Puppy Start Right Preschool
  • Private Day Training
  • Private Coaching

Other Services

  • Initial Consultation Session
  • Online Video Conferencing Classes

Certifications

Judy Bardsley, BA, KPA CTP, CPDT-KA
* B.A. in Zoology from the University of Washington
* Certified Professional Dog Trainer - Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA)
* Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner (KPA CTP)
* Fear Free Training Professional
* Certified American Kennel Club (AKC) Canine Good Citizen trainer and evaluator

Specializations

Puppy training, socialization, leash manners, anti-jumping, recall, basic manners, anxiety issues (dogs, people, separation), tricks, enrichment

Training Methods

Positive reinforcement training methods, including clicker, or marker training. Reinforcers can include treats, toys, playtime, praise, and anything else your pup LOVES.

Customer Reviews

“Truly, Judy is one in a million! We loved she came to our home to meet our dogs in their environment and watched them function within our family dynamics to access individual training needs. Within minutes of the initial greeting our incredibly spunky puppy was miraculously sitting and then shortly after in a down position with her positive training approach. She has a unique train/play philosophy to keep the dog’s attention during each session. We were amazed with the connection she had with our dogs, knowledge, support and professionalism. Honestly, our puppy sits by the front door and waits for her when she leaves after the session. We are fortunate to have crossed paths with Judy and highly recommend her.”
-Katie and Brad Reading

“I worked with Judy in private sessions with my challenging standard poodle puppy. We had multiple sessions together and, with her alone working with my pup. She was very knowledgeable and skillful especially with a number of puppy difficulties. She was easy to work with and communicated well with me and especially with the puppy. Her way with dogs is gentle, magical. She was one of the best trainers I have worked with in my many years of having dogs.”
— Helen, Oak Harbor

“Judy Bardsley worked with our two Shiloh Shepherd puppies for two months. They presented quite a challenge because there were two to train. Judy’s “Happy Pup Training” was well organized and she gave us a “Reminder for Happy Pup Training” at the end of each session. Her training is based on kindness and lots of rewards/treats. She understands the markers in doggie body language for their mood and temperament. For example she knew Rainbow did not want to be petted at first so she gradually built up the level of trust between them.
Her techniques are consistent and based on years of study and education. She also did a great job with her human trainees. That might be her biggest success, training the humans how to interact correctly with their dog. She went the extra mile for us and we recommend her highly. She knows her stuff!”
— Judy and Wayne Thompson

“Just as if we brought home a new baby, we discovered that we knew nothing about having a puppy. Fortunately for us, we soon found Judy Bardsley to train us. Her system works! Daisy was soon sitting, lying down, coming and going to her “place” on command. She stopped whining and crying in her kennel. She’s getting good at walking on a leash without pulling. Everywhere we take her, people comment on how well behaved she is. We were able to avoid ruining our little sweetie, even though she has a bit of a stubborn streak. Now when that shows up, we strap on a treat bag, get out the clicker and put her through a training session. She’s soon back to that lovable, playful and happy Daisy that is a joy to be around.”
— Annie Johnson

“We recommend Judy’s training at home because our whole family was able to learn the best ways to have our dog behave. She could see how we live and our challenges with space, time, and kids coming and going. Judy was able to give us several great tools that we have incorporated into our daily lives. Our dog, Bailey was eager to please Judy because she expects good behavior and ignores bad. We look forward to taking more classes with Judy.”
— Carrie Worra

“I’ve know Judy for a few years now and found her to be the kindest and most patient of souls. With the dogs and with the owners! She always makes a nice, effective connection with both.”
— D. Exley, retired dog trainer

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Peter Joshua Barinski

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Jechyl James

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Mushita Babilon

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What’s essential in choosing a Dog Trainer?

Looking for professional dog trainers in Mount Vernon, WA? Look no further. We provide a comprehensive list of experienced and certified dog trainers in the area. Whether you have a new puppy, a rescue dog, or an older furry friend, these trainers offer tailored solutions to help you and your dog build a strong and harmonious relationship. With their expertise, you can address behavioral issues, improve obedience, and develop a deeper understanding of your canine companion.

Personalized Training

Each trainer offers personalized training programs tailored to your dog's specific needs and your goals.

Expert Guidance

Benefit from the knowledge and experience of professional trainers who understand canine behavior and psychology.

Effective Communication

Learn how to communicate effectively with your dog, building mutual understanding and trust.

Behavior Modification

Address and correct unwanted behaviors such as jumping, barking, leash pulling, and aggression.

Socialization Skills

Help your dog develop healthy socialization skills to interact positively with other dogs and people.

Personalized Training

Gain the tools and techniques to maintain the progress achieved during training for a lasting impact on your dog's behavior.

Professional dog trainers in Mount Vernon, WA offer a valuable resource for dog owners seeking to improve their pet's behavior and strengthen their bond. With their expertise and guidance, you can experience a more fulfilling and rewarding relationship with your furry companion. Whether you are dealing with specific behavior issues or simply want to enhance your dog's obedience and social skills, the trainers listed here can provide the support and training necessary to help you and your dog thrive.

Unleash the full potential of your canine companion with expert dog trainers in Austin. These seasoned professionals bring years of experience and a deep understanding of canine behavior to every training session. No matter the breed or age, we tailor our approach to suit the unique needs of your furry friend.

Personalized Training

Each trainer offers personalized training programs tailored to your dog's specific needs and your goals.

Expert Guidance

Benefit from the knowledge and experience of professional trainers who understand canine behavior and psychology.

Effective Communication

Learn how to communicate effectively with your dog, building mutual understanding and trust.

Behavior Modification

Address and correct unwanted behaviors such as jumping, barking, leash pulling, and aggression.

Socialization Skills

Help your dog develop healthy socialization skills to interact positively with other dogs and people.

Personalized Training

Gain the tools and techniques to maintain the progress achieved during training for a lasting impact on your dog's behavior.

Ready to embark on a transformative journey with your dog? Contact trainers today to schedule your first session. Our team is here to support you and your canine companion every step of the way.

We've got the answers for your questions

What qualifications should I look for in a dog trainer in Mount Vernon, WA?

When seeking a dog trainer in Mount Vernon, WA, consider their certifications, experience, and methods used. Look for trainers with certifications from reputable organizations and experience working with various breeds.

Are there specialized dog trainers in Mount Vernon, WA for specific breeds or behavioral issues?

Yes, in Mount Vernon, WA, you can find trainers who specialize in particular breeds or behavioral issues such as aggression, anxiety, or obedience training. Some trainers also offer specialized services for service dog training or therapy dog certification.

What training methods are commonly used by dog trainers in Mount Vernon, WA?

Dog trainers in Mount Vernon, WA may use a variety of methods including positive reinforcement, clicker training, obedience training, and behavior modification techniques. It's important to discuss training methods with potential trainers to find the best fit for your dog.

How can I find affordable dog training services in Mount Vernon, WA?

To find affordable dog training services in Mount Vernon, WA, consider looking for group classes, package deals, or trainers who offer discounts for multiple sessions. Additionally, some trainers may offer sliding scale fees or occasional promotions.

Are there dog trainers in Mount Vernon, WA that offer in-home training sessions?

Yes, there are dog trainers in Mount Vernon, WA who provide in-home training sessions. This option can be beneficial for dogs with behavioral issues or for owners who prefer the convenience of training in their own environment.

What are the average costs for dog training in Mount Vernon, WA?

The cost of dog training in Mount Vernon, WA can vary depending on the trainer's experience, the type of training, and the number of sessions required. On average, group classes may be more affordable than individual sessions, and specialized training may cost more.

What is the recommended age to start dog training in Mount Vernon, WA?

In Mount Vernon, WA, it's recommended to start basic training for puppies as early as 8 weeks old. However, dogs of any age can benefit from training, and it's never too late to start working on obedience and behavioral issues.

Can dog trainers in Mount Vernon, WA help with socialization for puppies?

Yes, dog trainers in Mount Vernon, WA often include socialization exercises in their puppy training programs. These exercises help puppies become well-adjusted and comfortable around other dogs, people, and various environments.

How long does it typically take to see results from dog training in Mount Vernon, WA?

The time it takes to see results from dog training in Mount Vernon, WA varies depending on the dog's age, behavior, and the training methods used. Some basic obedience training may show results within a few weeks, while behavior modification may take longer.

Are there dog trainers in Mount Vernon, WA who offer advanced training for activities like agility or scent work?

Yes, in Mount Vernon, WA, there are dog trainers who offer advanced training for activities such as agility, scent work, and competitive obedience. These specialized programs can provide mental stimulation and physical exercise for dogs.

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