NorthShore Canine Academy ⁩ ⁩ ⁩ ⁩ 0:19 ⁩ ⁩ ⁩ ⁩ ⁩ ⁩ ⁩ ⁩ ⁩ ⁩ ⁩ ⁩ Add a photo NorthShore Canine Academy 5.0 (132) Dog trainer in Wilmette, IllinoisOpen OVERVIEW UPDATES SERVICES REVIEWS PHOTOS ABOUT Google review summary 5 4 3 2 1 5.0 (132) Reviews Alllearned 30 positive reinforcement 26 home 19 patient 16 +6 Sort by Most relevant Newest Highest Lowest PJ 4 reviews a minute ago NEW As the owners of a new puppy, and empty nesters, we wanted to expedite our training process in hopes of reducing our frustration throughout the process. We shared this with Sophie at the beginning and she was understanding and ... More Nicole Muller 1 review·1 photo a month ago As a busy family with 3 young children and a new, very energetic, adopted puppy, Sophie came to our rescue. She provided resources, ideas, and clear and simple training techniques that helped us understand what our dog needed to be a happy, ... More NorthShore Canine Academy (Owner) a month ago Niki, Thanks for the review. Mackey is one gorgeous boy! It was lots of fun working with you all. Kristie O'Neill 1 review·1 photo 2 months ago Sophie is an amazing trainer who utilized force free, fear free training with positive reinforcements to train our very active Vizsla puppy. As new dog owners, we were grateful for Sophie's guidance and advice and we now have a well ... More NorthShore Canine Academy (Owner) a month ago Thanks for the review! It was so much fun working with you all! Eloise Richardson 1 review·1 photo 3 months ago We contacted Sophie when trying to add another dog to our family, which we knew would be extra difficult with our dog-reactive dog. AND SOPHIE IS AMAZING! We never knew this would be possible but our two dogs are now co-existing! From the ... More 1 NorthShore Canine Academy (Owner) 3 months ago Eloise, thank you so much for the review! PJ 4 reviews a minute ago NEW As the owners of a new puppy, and empty nesters, we wanted to expedite our training process in hopes of reducing our frustration throughout the process. We shared this with Sophie at the beginning and she was understanding and extremely helpful throughout the process. Sophie trained us and the puppy so that we're all on the same page and learning the same things. An important part of the training is for the owners to reinforce what was learned and Sophie stressed that to us each time we worked with her. Sophie is passionate about what she does and it shows in the exceptional quality of her work. Sophie is so good , we're thinking of getting a second dog just so we can work with Sophie again. Kidding! read more

We were lucky to get a recommendation for Sophie provide training to our new rescue dog. He's already about one year old, so we didn't know how well he would take to training with a new family and completely new environment. We were very pleased even at our first training sessions with Sophie when she got our dog to pay close attention and helped us to pick up good positive habits in how we train with him. He was focused with Sophie from the moment she arrived and started, which was not something we expected right away. I think we've learned what many good trainers and knowledgeable dog people would tell you -- that training is not only beneficial for the pet, it's also particularly useful for the owners, who learn better habits and ways of communication with their pet. That's certainly true for us, and we have to give Sophie credit for that. Her method seems particularly well-suited to families who have not done training before, since she seems to really adapt to our dog's attention, energy and skill levels and creates a progressive set of lessons and training that build upon each other in a productive fashion. One other aspect of her training methods that seems to work well for us Is the use of a variety positive training tools including a clicker and treats, as well as verbal and visual cues, which build upon each other. Our dog is an active working breed and is smart, but instinctively strong-willed, so training with Sophie helped us to mold his natural behaviors into good, regular habits that work well in our household and everyday life. His energy is channeled in play, but he is calm and attentive around the house and that owes a lot to the training we've worked on with Sophie's instruction. He's now much more relaxed at home and has a good temperament and disposition when meeting new people and other dogs outside the house. We'd recommend Sophie to any dog families who could use training to bring out the best in their pets and themselves. We have become one of those families who feel confident enough to take our dog out to pet-friendly public places, knowing that he can remain calm and controlled as we've developed a good foundation for obedient behavior in our training. read more

We contacted Sophie when trying to add another dog to our family, which we knew would be extra difficult with our dog-reactive dog. AND SOPHIE IS AMAZING! We never knew this would be possible but our two dogs are now co-existing! From the first lesson, we knew we made the right choice. She came prepared with toys and activities to try out with our dogs. After our first session, she sent us a few articles to read (in our case, articles about getting a new dog) and her packet of info, advice, and suggested things to get (toys, training tools, etc.). She listened to all our big concerns and things we wanted to work on in general with our dogs. Our new dog ended up being quite nervous around people and she also helped us navigate that. Sophie was also reachable by text or call between our lessons. It was so helpful to be able to ask questions in moments of crisis with our dogs. She also checked in every once in a while to ask how they were progressing. She uses positive reinforcement and gives you other training styles and tips based on what you and your dog will be most successful with. She is an incredibly skilled dog trainer and a great person to work with. If you choose Sophie, you and your dog(s) will be in good hands and achieve things you might have previously thought im-paw-sible! read more

Sophie is a honest business owner who we highly recommend. She met with our family for three 1-hour sessions to help us adjust to and train our first dog, a rescued 3 y.o. Pomeranian. We had a fourth session scheduled to continue to work on Sprinkles' dog reactivity when Sophie called us in advance of the appt. and recommended that we instead take Sprinkles to dog reactivity classes which would provide a controlled environment to expose her to other dogs. Sophie explained that she believed that would be a more effective use of our money. How's that for honesty? She gave us the contact info. of her former co-worker that now owns a training center and we have been pleased with their classes. We are grateful for the 15 typed pages of Basic Training that Sophie gave us at our first session. It's great to have it as a resource between lessons and even now, two months later. Finally, Sophie saw first-hand that Sprinkles does not like to be brushed so in her phone call she shared grooming tool ideas that she obtained from her local pet store when she inquired on our behalf. That's going above and beyond, in our opinion. We're very grateful to have met Sophie and appreciate her continuing to text us re. Sprinkles' progress. It shows how much she cares for her clients. read more

I am extremely grateful for Sophie! I am a first-time puppy owner and felt like a deer in headlights the first week I brought a new puppy home. A friend referred Sophie to me and I am ever grateful. Sophie came over and completely educated me on the best setup in my home for most success. Her suggestions made my life SO much easier. She is extremely knowledgeable on what works best for the puppy from chew toys, to yummy distractions for brushing him etc. I learned so much on puppy care. Most of all, Sophie knows her training, and was very effective in training my puppy. Thanks to Sophie, my puppy knows his name, will stay and come on cue, and is completely potty trained. Sophie also identified that he might have a tick, and sure enough he did. If Sophie hadn't seen it, I would have been clueless. Thanks to her, I got the tick off before it could do harm. Sophie has introduced my Apollo to other dogs close by for playdates and socialization also. My Apollo loves Sophie and gets excited just hearing her voice around the corner. I highly recommend Sophie as a very knowledgeable, effective and loving trainer for your dog! Attached is a photo Sophie took of my new puppy...she is a great photographer too! read more

We worked with Sophie Amphlett to teach us how to train our 4-month-old miniature goldendoodle and would recommend her. She came to our house and also gave us a written training guide as well as recommendations on what treats and toys would motivate him. He likes all of them and her techniques really work. As soon as she arrived, it was immediately obvious that she is extremely knowledgable and has a way with dogs. It was remarkable how quickly our pup responded to her. Specifically, she showed us how to get him to walk nicely on leash without pulling (my primary goal), how to stop counter surfing and stealing off a table, getting him to drop something he has stolen, and how to come to a mat and stay there. After an initial session primarily going through her written guidebook and answering questions as we went, she asked us what our specific concerns were and addressed those particular behaviors and commands. When we for stick or forgot how to do something, she answered our questions via text in between sessions. Sophie's hourly rate is on the high side ($150/hour) but I think it is justified by her high level of skill and expertise. It's worth it in my mind but something to be aware of going in. read more

When we acquired Rosie, our 1 1/2 year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel earlier this year, we quickly understood that from a training standpoint, we were actually getting an untrained puppy. Due to her circumstances earlier in life, she had missed out on virtually all usual puppy training. As we had previously had two Cavaliers, we assumed we could handle the task without professional training assistance but soon realized that this might not be the case. Enter Sophie at Northshore Canine Academy (aka our savior!). In the month that Sophie has been working with Rosie and us, we are so pleased with the progress which we all have made. Sophie and Rosie hit it off immediately. While this is not unusual with this loving and eager- to-please breed, Sophie does possess a special touch. Her patient and always positive approach produced immediate results. Perhaps just as important is her ability to train Rosie's "parents" . Sophie has introduced us to effective training techniques, and we are doing a better job with Rosie's training. An added bonus of working with Sophie is that she is a delightful individual. Susan and Steve Balsamo, Glencoe read more

We were getting a dog and we knew nothing about how to take care of a dog. Luckily, my husband found Sophie by reading reviews. I didn't know what to expect of a dog trainer but I knew I was going to need one since I never had a dog growing up. Thank goodness Sophie entered our lives since she helped us start training our shepadoodle since day 1 and its been sooo worth it! Sure, I can watch videos and read books on puppy training but Sophie's got a way of teaching you and your dog that is so enjoyable and rewarding for all. Honestly, I found that watching videos was not even close to what you get with Sophie as your dog trainer. Everything she teaches, she demonstrates it and then has you try it out in front of her so she can give you feedback. By the second visit, it felt Sophie was doing magic tricks with our dog just with training lessons. She discusses when to reward/praise your dog. Sophie also provides you with a book of how to train your dog. With lots of practice and repetition, it now feels like we are doing magic tricks too! We have highly recommended Sophie to 2 other good friends who just got puppies as well. read more

While visiting my son's family and their rambunctious ten month old golden retriever, I was desperately looking for a dog trainer . At the local park, some moms told me about Sophie (owner of NorthShore Canine Academy) who is an amazing dog whisperer. I ran home, found her on Google, and booked a session for the next day. Unbelievable what this woman can do. We have had two sessions with her, and already the dog knows Sit, Stay, Come, Leave it, and Mat. She quickly figured out that the dog is not getting enough exercise and is chewing up everything in sight because he is bored. She recommended going to Wilmette Canine Center, where we got some some cool training tools and toys. After our session today, she offered to meet us at the Forest Preserve with her amazing dog. Of course we joined her and our dog had the happiest day of his life. He ran and played with her dog OFF LEASH and came when called! Sophie gave us detailed instruction sheets for the training, and I am the happiest person alive today. Sophie is as good as it gets! Mary F. read more

There are just some people who know what they are doing when it comes to dog training; Sophie is one of those people. Her kind, calm and quiet manner is exactly what my sweet but stubborn English bulldog needed. It is all about trust and Sophie is able to gain that trust in an amazingly short time with all positive reinforcement. I have had English bulldogs for 30 years and several trainers but no one has been like Sophie. I have as yet not used Sophie's services for a puppy but I can imagine that if she can be of so much help with an older dog that her puppy training would be fabulous. Sophie has become like part of our family as she is also able to care for our dog when we travel and keeps us continually up to date on his daily routine. This has been a true blessing after all the years of stress and worry while being away. Besides being so knowledgable about canine issues Sophie is a woman of character, kindness, humor and responsibility. We love her, our dog loves her and you will too. Make a call to Sophie a New Year's Resolution. Kathy V. read more

We hired Sophie as our trainer before we brought our puppy home based on the positive experience a friend had with her. It was one of the best decisions we could have made - she came over for a pre-puppy session and gave us all the advice we needed for supplies, bringing the puppy home, and our first few days with the puppy. We started off on the right foot immediately because of the information she was able to give us! We ended up having her come for one followup session several days after bringing our puppy home; she taught us how to do some basic training with our pup and answered any and all questions we had. She was always available by phone or text as well - I had quite a few questions in the beginning, and she was always quick to respond with helpful advice. We had planned to use her for more sessions, but she got us off to such a great start that we ended up not needing to do any more sessions! Everyone comments on how well-behaved our 3-month-old puppy is, and we owe a lot of that to Sophie. We would recommend her to anyone! read more

Sophie s an amazing dog trainer and her knowledge of dog behavior really helps you understand how dogs think and act. Simply understanding some of our anxious dog's behavior went a long way towards addressing problem behaviors. In our first session, I went from being afraid to walk my out-of-control dog for fear that I would not be able to control him, to walking him quite easily and mannerly on leash. Sophie was a god-send to our family; she gave us hope to save our wonderful-but-badly-behaved dog when other experts had suggested we had no hope. Sophie is warm, patient and has a true gift for teaching both dogs and their owners (As everyone knows, obedience training is as much about training the people as the animals, but while she's training YOU, Sophie makes it seem like she's actually training the dog ;-). Sophie's passion for her vocation is palpable and her extremely personable manner along with her wonderful sense of humor makes the training experience a pleasure. read more

Sophie is an extraordinary trainer, both for dogs and their owners! I was looking for a trainer who used an exclusively positive technique, both for Petunia, and for me. I am so fortunate to have found Sophie, who is exactly that person. She is extremely knowledgeable with a calm, low key, nurturing and positive personality. She creates a trusting relationship with the pets. Petunia was immediately listening attentively and following Sophie's encouraging directions. I felt optimistic and inspired when she left. When I had questions, Sophie returned my texts that same day, with advice and the willingness to return if I needed help. Sophie came a second time to work on different behaviors, and even though her days are filled with so many clients, she remembered all that we had discussed weeks before. I can't say enough wonderful things about Sophie and her unique ability to understand dogs (and owners!) and guide them with positive reinforcement. read more