After only 2 sessions with Lea and my dog Shiloh, he is learning not to jump up on me and is learning not to bark viciously at other dogs on our walks. Still more to do, but he's so much easier and calmer to walk. I was truly frustrated and exhausted with the leash pulling and reactive behavior. Now I feel confident our walks will be more controlled and enjoyable. I'm truly grateful for Lea's dog training expertise! If you have an uncooperative dog, you must think of Lea at Canine Centric. read more

Lea is an incredible trainer of all sorts of dogs. She trained our standard poodle (who attained her "AKC Good Citizen Certificate"). I have referred many dog lovers to Canine Centric, and to a one, with a calm, kind, sureness, the dogs learn recall, sit, stay, leave it, walking on lead w/o pulling, and/or specific requests you may have. If you need assistance on training a puppy or an older dog, Lea is the woman for the job‼ read more

Canine Centric - Canine Centric graduate gathering - Pet Training Near Me

We had a great experience with Lea. She was always very professional and prompt and helped our new rescue work on his basic manners and reactivity. We learned a lot from her and would definitely recommend her up anyone! read more

Lea is an absolute gem and has worked wonders with our baby boy who was scared of the world and reactive to most types of stimulation. I am so grateful for her unwavering positive support and coaching. I now have many tools and strategies to better communicate with Khai, to read his body language, and to continue the work of socializing him in a positive, fun, and conscious way that honors where he is in his development. It's a process, and Lea has not only helped our boy navigate the world in a much healthier way but has supported me through the very real ups and downs of having a fur baby with some special behavioral needs. Khai went from being a dog I was afraid to introduce to people or take outside, to a dog that walks beautifully (most of the time) on a leash observing the world and I can now introduce him to new people (using a special protocol Lea taught me). When we adopted Khai, we were told he was about 2.5 years old. We knew he had been a stray but didn't know anything about his history. He was very underweight and had a urinary tract infection. When we took him to our Vet, we found out that he was actually only about 8 months old! The first few weeks/months, he was decompressing from his time on the streets and in the shelter. Our focus was on healing his little body. A few months in, Khai began to display some fear, anxiety and reactivity. He growled when new people came to the house and would lunge at people passing by on the street. He was afraid of unfamiliar sights and sounds and would easily become overwhelmed, fearful, and reactive. He even freaked out the first time he saw a baby seat someone had left on the sidewalk with a "free" sign. After an initial consultation, Lea was very honest with us about the fact that there was no "quick fix," and it would take time and dedication to support Khai in developing the confidence needed to navigate the world in a healthy way. After months of working with Lea, her coaching me, her taking Khai for some intensive 1:1 time, he is now leaps and bounds beyond where we began and he is improving all the time. I am so thankful to Lea for giving us the tools and skills needed to support Khai with growing into the best version of himself. She did more than train Khai, she offered me support, and also taught me ways to build trust with him by being calm, loving, and consistent in our practice (aligning verbals and nonverbals). Lea imparted much wisdom about dog behavior, dog psychology, and setting healthy boundaries. She is calm, supportive and we (Khai and I) adore her. If you need the support in training your fur baby, I highly recommend you start working with Lea. It will be a game changer. read more

Canine Centric - Pet Training Near Me

Lea is awesome! She has helped us train all of our dogs. She uses positive reinforcement and is patient and honest in her assessment of a dogs needs and progress. When we got our pitbull, Rugby, he was an adult and 90lbs and had no leash experience. Lea worked with us and him and he now walks wonderfully on leash. We recently worked with her to help Us train our puppy with basic obedience and it was one of the best choices we have made. I highly recommend working with Lea for any of your dog training needs. read more

Canine Centric - Pet Training Near Me

We had a very successful session with Lea at our home and have been making steady progress with calming our dogs and guiding them through difficult moments. We are now looking forward to tackling the next challenge in our pups' behaviors. Highly recommend Lea! read more

Lea's the best! I initially enrolled our high-strung adoptee pup, Maggie, at 6 months old, in Lea's 3 week day-training program, in which Lea took her out 3 days a week to accustom her to being out in world and practicing basic obedience. We have now (at Maggie's age 8.5 months) segued into several 1/2 hour visits to our home so that we can focus specifically on goofy girl being more calm when people come into the house. It can be quite the chaotic scene. Lea is very knowledgeable about training and about dogs in general, explains things so very clearly, is calm and incredibly patient with the dog and with me. She has concise concrete steps to follow for different situations. She doesn't mind that I forget things and has made suggestions on how I can retain the information she gives me. She also has provided quite a bit of very helpful written information. And she seems to truly enjoy her work! I have no hesitation at all in recommending her for anyone who needs a dog trainer. read more

Lea helped us with the training of our rescue puppy- from basic obedience, leash training, socialization to addressing some resource guarding and reactivity issues. Lea is an attentive listener who checked in with us at each of our sessions, and systematically addressed each of our (many!) questions. She provided clear guidance and practical positive reinforcement exercises (also emailed us training handouts) that helped us not only modify our dogs behavior but also bond with our puppy and learn to engage her in various distracting environments. I'd recommend Canine Centric to anyone looking for a patient, and knowledgeable trainer and I'd myself love to work with her again in the future! read more

Lea is Amazing! She is personable, professional and easy to communicate with. She has been walking our Collie for 4 years now, and the sound of her car brings him more excitement then his food dish ever could. Thanks to her continued steady hand he is as responsive as any ranchers first hand. Recently we added an adolescent Husky mix and he was incorporated into her pack with no issues and has helped all of us manage his stubbornness without breaking his unique spirit. I would recommend Lea for any level of canine supervision, from breaking in a new puppy to making sure your old friend gets around the block a couple times a week, her presence will be noticeable in your dog. read more

I am absolutely not exaggerating when I say that Lea helped us from being a statistic (of number of folks who get a puppy, are overwhelmed, and return them). I was at my wit's end and nearly about to do what I consider the un-thinkable: send back my rescue pup, when I contacted Lea for help. Lea is an incredibly knowledgeable and intuitive trainer who *understands dogs* so well - and, specifically, helped me understand my puppy and what she needed to be a happy, confident dog. So much of dog training is actually teaching the human and Lea is an incredible teacher; I chose her specifically because she said things that absolutely changed my thinking and helped me to understand how best to guide my pup. If you are struggling with "puppy blues," I highly recommend getting help from Lea - she's an incredibly knowledgeable professional who knows how to partner with you to get the best outcome possible for your doggo. We were honored to have her work with us and we look forward to working with her again! read more

I was referred to Lea by a trainer my family uses. Lea was super accommodating and wonderful to work with! My pup absolutely loved her and he made very good progress throughout our sessions. She was able to answer any questions i had and drove all the san ramon for my pup and I! Very professional and easy to work with. I hope to work with her again in the near future ! read more

So, while I don't have dogs of my own, I work in the biz, and have seen first hand Lea's amazing skills. So here is what a "non-recommended review" says... All of hers are all 5 star, BTW. Yelp doesn't seem to care that someone had such a great experience that they literally got a yelp account in order to write a review, but I do, and you should, too. 'I did a lot of searching to find a dog trainer who could really target my dog's anxiety and reactivity issues, and am so glad I found Lea!  She is a highly effective trainer.  My wonderful, sweet dog who had previously been in dog training classes, has issues with separation anxiety, leash reactivity (to dogs as well as people), and fearfulness (certain noises, movements).   Lea had the expertise and knowledge to create a plan that addressed all needs. Here are some of the qualities that impressed me about Lea: She is an effective communicator: I especially appreciated her after-session notes, as it can be hard sometimes to remember every piece of advice given 'in the moment'.  Lea was flexible and responsive to schedule sessions based on my needs and my dog's progress - -we got the help we needed, when we needed it.  Lea has a deep and broad knowledge base of dogs and effective training practices.  Whenever I wanted more information, resources, or problem-solving solutions, I got them.  I especially appreciated the sessions when Lea would walk with us and shape my behavioral responses as well as my dog's!   Lea was always available for emails or consults as well.   She gave me the support I needed to make those interventions work.The best thing of all, EVERY intervention that Lea gave me and I faithfully implemented WORKED!   Thanks to Lea, my dog and I are handling the stressors much better: her reactive behaviors are lessening, and I am improving at reading my dog's behaviors.  People have noticed a change in my dog: that she's calmer, more socially tolerant, and occasionally interactive with others.  Changing a dog's fears is not an overnight fix. My dog and I are still working to improve our trust and relationship with each other.  Thanks, Lea!' read more

Leah is a wonderful dog trainer. I asked her to help me with my two twelve month old dogs. Each had his or her own issues, all of which Leah was able to deftly manage. She has a calm, gentle yet firm way with dogs. Always patient (with both dogs and owners) she makes her lessons and advice easy to understand. No judgements. In addition, I want to say that she is calm under pressure. During one lesson, she and I were walking my terrier on leash, when a Rottweiler off leash wandered up the street toward us. My dog was nervous, I was petrified and the Rottweiler had its ears back. Even I knew that was bad. Leah handed me the leash and raising her arms got between us and the Rottweiler, calmly yet effectively diffusing a terrifying situation. I've never been so thankful to have a professional at hand. Needless to say I highly recommend her. And so do Jo and Walter! read more

Lea has been walking and training our dog, Charley, for 3ish years and she's the best. We've worked with other dog walkers but she really takes Charley's needs into account. Charley is and oddball and doesn't get enough exercise just playing with other dogs, so Lea goes out of her way to make sure she's walking with her enough. Lea is fantastic to work with. She always shows up when she says she will, and she cares deeply about the dogs she takes care of. If you need someone to take care of your doggie, I'd can't recommend her enough. read more

Lea was awesome with our puppy, who had been under-socialized in the shelter before adoption. We met her for a training class, where our dog was immediately receptive to her training, which covered both skills and manners. Lea was always positive in her approach, and our puppy Rumo was always so thrilled to see her that we hired Lea to follow up with some dog walking when we were out of town. She gave us options for walks around the neighborhood, or off leash hikes with her own dogs, and not only did our puppy come back better behaved than ever, Lea sent us photos and walk reports of her time with Rumo. Without a doubt I'd recommend Canine Centric/Lea's training and walking services to any dog lovers in the East Bay! read more

I did a lot of searching to find a dog trainer who could really target my dog's anxiety and reactivity issues, and am so glad I found Lea! She is a highly effective trainer. My wonderful, sweet dog who had previously been in dog training classes, has issues with separation anxiety, leash reactivity (to dogs as well as people), and fearfulness (certain noises, movements). Lea had the expertise and knowledge to create a plan that addressed all needs. Here are some of the qualities that impressed me about Lea: She is an effective communicator: I especially appreciated her after-session notes, as it can be hard sometimes to remember every piece of advice given 'in the moment'. Lea was flexible and responsive to schedule sessions based on my needs and my dog's progress - -we got the help we needed, when we needed it. Lea has a deep and broad knowledge base of dogs and effective training practices. Whenever I wanted more information, resources, or problem-solving solutions, I got them. I especially appreciated the sessions when Lea would walk with us and shape my behavioral responses as well as my dog's! Lea was always available for emails or consults as well. She gave me the support I needed to make those interventions work.The best thing of all, EVERY intervention that Lea gave me and I faithfully implemented WORKED! Thanks to Lea, my dog and I are handling the stressors much better: her reactive behaviors are lessening, and I am improving at reading my dog's behaviors. People have noticed a change in my dog: that she's calmer, more socially tolerant, and occasionally interactive with others. Changing a dog's fears is not an overnight fix. My dog and I are still working to improve our trust and relationship with each other. Thanks, Lea! read more

In a few short sessions, Lea helped me learn the skills necessary to take control of my puppy's education. Lea is professional, compassionate, and positive. She met me at home and in parks near my house, which made sessions extremely convenient. I'd recommend Canine Centric to anyone. read more

Lea is awesome! I have an extremely sensitive and hyper reactive border collie who needs a lot of patience and management. She was really great working with him and helping me to understand what she was doing and why it was working. She didn't trick me with any energy philosophies but explained the psychology and why it worked in a way that I could really understand. After a few private sessions Lea set me up with a training plan to follow and even a year later she still makes herself available if I have any questions. And my dog loves her! read more

Lea is AMAZING! My 2-year-old pitbull Jax was very leash aggressive and overall excited beyond containment before we started seeing Lea. After only 4-5 sessions I was equipped with the tools necessary to handle Jax's outbursts and leash issues. The most important thing I learned from Lea was that Jax's behavior is not something that goes away overnight, but rather something that needs to be worked on little by little everyday to help him gradually erase his old habits and learn his new and improved habits. I would highly recommend Lea to anyone with similar dog issues. read more

Lea helped us with training our 3.5 year old pup with welcoming people into the house. She gave us some helpful, clear strategies to follow to get him to calm down when people came inside and answered our many questions. She was alsways professional, on time, and really understands dogs. read more

Lea has a magic touch with dogs, and we cannot recommend her highly enough as a trainer--particularly if you value positive reinforcement. As new dog owners, we quickly realized we needed guidance on raising our nearly 1-year-old puppy. Lea is patient, encouraging and very professional, and she put us at ease immediately. She cares deeply about dogs and has a huge amount of knowledge, and our canine adores her. We've done indoor training sessions and on-leash and off-leash walks, and each session is tailored to respond to our dog's needs at that moment. Lea takes the time to consider each situation that arises and offers creative and effective solutions. read more

Brooky loves Canine Centric! Brooky took her Canine Good Citizen test with Lea. She was extremely helpful and truly passionate about dogs. Brooky does some watchdog barking that sometimes interrupted class and she never gave us a hard time about it. She understood it was her schnauzer tendencies. read more

I was at the end of my rope when I called Canine Centric to help with my hyper-sensitive standard poodle. Everything others have written is true. Lea is a real professional, knowledgeable, compassionate, and willing to go to great lengths to help fix the problem. She gave me great advice and laid out exactly what would need to get done in order to properly train my dog. I highly recommend her. read more