Jennifer Michelle Phillips

Jennifer Phillips has worked with animals in various capacities for over 25 years. She has experience working with exotic animals in various settings, from zoos to wildlife facilities. She also has experience training a resource-guarding dog and adopting a Pekingese with a troubled history. She dedicated herself to studying dog behavior, effective training techniques, animal behavior applications, canine conditioning, fear/anxiety/aggression management, ethology, separation anxiety, gait and posture analysis, and much more.

Training Philosophy

Jennifer Phillips believes in using humane and effective methods to help dogs overcome separation anxiety. She emphasizes the importance of understanding the dog's individual needs and creating a personalized training plan. She also believes in building a strong foundation for training and using positive reinforcement methods.

Services

Jennifer Phillips offers a variety of services to help dogs with separation anxiety, including:

• Private Coaching: This is her signature program, designed to give clients a strong foundation for solving separation issues. The goal is to teach clients the skills and confidence to train their dog. Clients that choose to continue working with her after completion of the program will receive customized pricing. This program is 100% online. Access to Zoom and WiFi is required.
• The Puppy Program: This program is a bit different than her standard home alone training program. It focuses on building independence and strong life skills. The program is available as a one-on-one coaching package, or self-study course.
• Dynamic Dog Standalone Assessment: This extensive functional assessment assists your veterinarian in identifying problem areas. This assessment is 100% online. Access to Zoom and WiFi is required.
• Perfect Puppy: Home Alone and Happy (Online Course): This course is in collaboration with Dog Town Dog Training. It shows you the most humane and effective ways to teach your puppy to be happy and comfortable when alone.
• Preventing and Solving Separation Anxiety in New Dogs (Online Course): This course provides over 15 lessons on preparing and acclimating your new dog.
• Self-Assess Your Dog for Separation Issues (Online Course): This course provides step-by-step instructions and an assessment plan to help you effectively evaluate your dog for potential separation issues.
• Gathering Evidence for Your Veterinarian (Online Course): This short course equips you with the necessary tools to collect evidence to discuss with your veterinarian.
• Mini Course About Our Online Coaching: This complimentary mini course explains how her training program works.

Certifications

Jennifer Phillips is a Separation Anxiety Behavior Pro(TM) Consultant, under the tutelage of Julie Naismith, author of Be Right Back: How to Overcome Your Dog's Separation Anxiety and Regain Your Freedom. She is also a Dynamic Dog Practitioner, CAMadvocate Level 1, and Certified Canine Fitness Trainer.

Specializations

Separation Anxiety

Training Methods

Jennifer Phillips uses a variety of training methods, including positive reinforcement, desensitization, and counter-conditioning. She also emphasizes the importance of understanding the dog's individual needs and creating a personalized training plan.

Customer Reviews

Aimee, Christian and Pancake: The process of working with Jennifer made such an unpleasant time in our lives do a complete 180. We went from our dog having horrible separation anxiety while we were still inside the home (just walking towards the door would trigger him) to being able to leave him alone for the usual 4 to 5 hours while he just sleeps and relaxes.
Jennifer truly cares about the pet owners as much as she does about the pets - she is kind, listens, and is very knowledgeable about how to help pets and their owners conquer separation anxiety. We were so hopeless before working with Jennifer, and now it's like we have a different dog. If you're unsure of whether or not to give Separation Anxiety Specialists a try - DO IT, trust me! My family is proof that Jennifer's training and approach are invaluable to not just managing but curing/treating separation anxiety for good.
Thank you for all you've done for us Jennifer, you deserve all the praise possible because you make miracles truly happen! Thank you!!

Aly and Brisket: Jennifer is fantastic. When I first started working with her, I was struggling. I had adopted a puppy during the pandemic. Brisket's separation anxiety was so severe that he would regurgitate if I even touched the doorknob. Jennifer worked tirelessly with us, bringing humor, kindness, and expertise to every interaction. And the training worked! Brisket can be home by himself for over four hours. He snoozes the whole time. My departures no longer fill him with anguish and panic. He is now a comfortable and confident guy.
While Brisket became more independent, he and I became closer than ever. The training strengthened our trust and communication. Jennifer transformed our lives and our relationship.

Lauren and Watson: Before finding Jennifer, I struggled with tackling Watson's separation anxiety on my own and could not get him past 45 seconds without a meltdown. Jennifer told me all the resources I used are written for the 'generic dog' and instead designed training plans personalized for Watson's individual strengths and struggles. She was invaluable for helping me to decode Watson's stoic demeanor for subtle signs of stress. Separation anxiety is tough, and I had many days of tears and frustration. But in addition to her technical expertise, Jennifer is also the most wonderful cheerleader. She was with us celebrating every small success and encouraging us during every setback. It was also Jennifer who had intuited that Watson might be experiencing some physical pain that was preventing us from making more progress. Watson indeed ended up being diagnosed with arthritis and spinal pain, which I never would have caught if she hadn't brought it up. It's been a long road, but I am now able to confidently leave him for over an hour and I am so grateful to Jennifer for helping me get my life back!

Anna, Corey, and Sadie: Our dog Sadie joined our family in the middle of the pandemic while we were both working from home, and she had never spent time home alone.
When we started, Sadie couldn't be alone more than a minute before showing signs of anxiety. Now when we leave her, she relaxes and falls asleep. Jennifer was so encouraging, and made us feel confident that we were never making Sadie uncomfortable or anxious throughout training. We are so grateful for her help, and would recommend her to any family that has a dog that's uncomfortable being alone!

Rachel, Rob, and Bodhi: We were HOPELESS and overwhelmed when we first met Jennifer.
Our 6 month old pup could not stand to be alone for more than a few moments before he started crying, whining and barking (and our town house neighbors were a bit fed up too). We couldn't go to the bathroom without him barking at the door, let alone consider going out to grocery shop or to eat together without finding him a babysitter. We felt totally in over our heads. From the very first call with Jennifer, I knew we were in good hands, and we started to feel real hope. The training methods she used were nothing I'd ever heard of or read about online, but we started to see results in just a few sessions. Fast forward to now- Bodhi is a professional chill master, and when we leave, he naps comfortably. We are so grateful to Jennifer and the team at SA&B for giving us back a sense of balance in our puppy parenthood journey. Would 100% recommend!

Sunny, Ankita, and Bali: Working with Jennifer was the single best thing we've done since getting our dog, Bali.
In her patient and methodical way, she helped us go from not being able to walk out of the door for even a second without our dog incessantly barking, to being able to leave her alone for a whole hour. As we continue our training we keep going back to Jennifer's basic principles of below threshold training and learning how to take care of a sensitive pup. We could not be more grateful for Jennifer's help and care.

Terry and Lola: Our rescue puppy Lola would flip out whenever we left the house, bending her crate to escape, scratching the floor by the door, and making a giant mess.
Without Jennifer's help, I am convinced that we would have ended up re-homing her. We felt in over our heads, exhausted, and hopeless. Jennifer helped us turn everything around. She expertly guided us through SA training, including some bumps in the road, and helped us to better understand our sweet girl, suggesting mental games to help tame her endless zoomies and cat fixation. We started training with a baseline of less than 15 seconds (with Lola doing a backflip when we left!). With Jennifer's help, we made it to an hour and 15 minutes (with Lola falling asleep two minutes after we left). As we move to training on our own, we feel confident that we can do it with all of the tips and guidance that Jennifer has provided. Now, we can enjoy our sweet girl and also leave her behind sometimes. (And, Jennifer is a really cool person, who we enjoyed getting to know.)

Vivian and Aelin: My cockapoo puppy has had separation anxiety from her third day home when she was 9 weeks old. I tried from the beginning to train her to be comfortable on her own, but with Covid and my work schedule, she just developed the worst separation anxiety. I could barely leave her alone, and when I did, she would howl and whine and cry the entire time I was out. I went through 3 different trainers before I found Jennifer. All of the trainers gave me different advice, and none of their training advice worked with my puppy Aelin. For months I toyed with the idea of working with a SA specialist but it seemed so expensive and I doubted it could really work. I finally reached out to Jennifer, and all I can say is I'm so mad at myself for not reaching out to her sooner. Jennifer is such an expert at dog SA and she worked with me and my pup to create such personalized and consistent training plans. My dog went from being able to be alone for 12 seconds, to 7 minutes by the end of our 8 weeks of training with Jennifer. She is getting better and better at being alone and can finally fall asleep and relax when I'm not in the house. Jennifer helped us build the foundation we so badly needed for Aelin to be able to be on her own, and she gave me the tools to continue on with our training after our program concluded. And it was affordable and worth every penny. Jennifer provided support and assistance all day and all week long. I couldn't recommend Jennifer enough to any dog owners that are struggling with SA and not being able to leave their dogs on their own. I am forever grateful to Jennifer for sharing her knowledge with us!

Julie, Sean and Nala: We have loved working with Jennifer! She has always been available to answer any questions, review footage and help take our plan one day at a time based on Nala's progress. We have seen significant improvements in Nala's progress working with Jennifer for one month, and she has helped us stay encouraged through this tough time for us. When we first found Jennifer, we were really feeling lost on how to help Nala built confidence alone. We had worked with previous trainers and techniques without much luck and were starting to feel discouraged. From Day 1, Jennifer helped us feel encouraged and recognize the small wins. She is extremely patient and truly cares about each pet and takes the time to get to know us personally. It's great to be able to wake up each morning, see notes and a personalized plan for the day that Jennifer has left us based on Nala's performance the day before. We have been working with Jennifer for over a month and have been happy with the progress and change we are seeing from Nala. We're looking forward to continue work with Jennifer and prove to Nala that being home alone is a safe space.

Kait and Morrison: After adopting a puppy during the pandemic, I quickly learned he had separation anxiety through many actions including breaking a window, chewed door knobs, and the costly and painful surgery of having a canine tooth removed that he damaged on his wire crate. I was taking advice from other trainers and online programs for almost a year, and was still at square one. Now I've been working with Separation Anxiety Specialists for a few months, I can leave my totally relaxed dog at home alone, and the duration of his alone time is getting longer and longer by the day. Jennifer's program works if you commit to it - ask anyone who knows me and my dog!

Michelle and Walnut: Jennifer is great! She is very knowledgeable, responsive and accessible. She's also super organized and on top of it. Every morning I had a plan written and waiting for me. She is also easily accessible via WhatsApp throughout the training process. She's also super supportive. I honestly don't know how I'm going to survive the rest of the training process once we are done with our time.

Margaret, Jerry and Phos: Jennifer works with everyone - human and animal alike - to address the fear that lies at the root of Phos's separation anxiety. Thanks to Jennifer's expertise, and her gentle and compassionate guidance, Phos has made amazing progress with learning how to feel confident and relaxed when on his own! Thank you Jennifer!

Courtney and Elle: Jennifer is an experienced reputable trainer who helped me get my life back! Separation anxiety was extremely stressful for both my dog Elle and myself. Jennifer broke training sessions down into very easy to understand steps and made the training very reasonable/attainable. Now instead of screaming Elle sleeps when I leave the house. I can't say enough how great Jennifer and her training program are!

Ryan, Briggitte and Louie: We had a great experience with Jennifer! She worked with us in great detail and provided a very strong foundation for us to continue working on our dog's separation anxiety. Very valuable assistance, insights, and feedback including very detailed training plans. We never would have been off in the right direction with separation anxiety training without Jennifer's help!

Megan and Finley: Jennifer has saved me and Finley's life. I got him right as covid hit and from the very beginning he showed signs of SA (which I didn't know at the time). I did a TON of research and found Jennifer. We started from not being able to stand up without Finley being anxious to 7 minutes. It is a lot of work but Jennifer is so responsive and is so great at what she does. Do not look anywhere else, the time and money with Jennifer is worth it 1000%!

Ale, Joe and Juno: Jennifer is amazing! Her passion and dedication to the animals wellbeing is unreal!
Really professional and always ready to answer any question besides being always responsive throughout the process. Our puppy will grow with no fear of being alone because of her training.

Shaylynn and Travis: Jennifer is fantastic! She developed a plan customized to my goals with achievable steps ensuring we always left training sessions feeling encouraged on our progress. I was so pleased not only with the foundation Jennifer set, but how available she made herself in times of serious need! I would recommend Jennifer to anyone with a dog needing to establish or reestablish confidence at home alone!

Andi, Ali and Sadie: Jennifer is very knowledgeable and there to support you every step of the way! She helped to make this process easy on our puppy and on us! Jennifer created lesson plans that were unique to our puppy and our situation, making sure that we could practice real life situations. She also was always available whenever we had a question or concern.

Meredith, Charlie and Tompkin: We had the best experience with Jennifer! Our COVID puppy had developed severe separation anxiety a few months after we got him - we couldn't go anywhere without him or else he would have a huge meltdown. Jennifer worked with us for over a month and he slowly got used to us leaving. After about 2 months of training, he turned a corner and we have our lives back! Jennifer was a pleasure to work with and couldn't be more happy with our results.

Stephanie, Jeffrey and Cooper: We contacted Jennifer (who was highly recommended to us) for a separation anxiety issue with our rescue boy, Cooper. Initially, we thought it might be difficult to have a trainer on the West coast with us here on the East coast. Not so! Jennifer is extremely responsive to emails and is a great communicator. Every interaction we've had with her has been delightful.

Cara and Guinness: Jennifer was patient and informative while helping my 16 year old pug and I. She was always willing to answer questions and was honest about the limitations we would have based on his age and health.