Rachel at Leash and Learn was absolutely fantastic. Leash and Learn was recommended to us by our…read morevet directly, and we were specifically looking to work on better boundaries/strategies/positive interactions between our (quite old) dog and (quite young) toddler. Rachel was patient and professional, and our training process was very effective and really put us at ease - I can't say enough good things. I feel like she trained my kid as much as my dog! I also really appreciated that the relationship began with a very thorough assessment of our unique situation and needs, and the training package that was ultimately presented was not an oversell/upsell in any way, but rather, just what we needed.

Working with Rachel enabled us to keep Quinn. We hired her to help our newly rescued dog from…read morelunging and barking at other dogs on the street. She did that in 2 sessions. Only after our neighbors and building manager complained did we realize that he had a more severe problem - acute separation anxiety. He would howl for the duration of the time that we left him. Over 5 months Rachel worked with us and Quinn and our vet, who also prescribed medication. We can now leave Quinn alone for as long as four hours without a howl or a whine. Without Rachel's help we would have had to rehome Quinn and, instead, we are now a happy family.

Inna was super helpful in setting up a framework to deal with my dog Ellie's reactive behaviors…read more Through gradual exercises and follow-ups, the difference for my pup in just two months is impressive. Definitely recommend!

She's really amazing at what she does. We have a reactive dog and she was patient and kind and…read moretaught us a lot of ways to redirect. I appreciate her positive reinforcement training style as well. We have come so far in our first five lessons.

We had an amazing experience with Natasha, and cannot recommend her enough!! If you're looking for…read morea dog trainer that is super comfortable with animals, very knowledgeable, takes on a positive reinforcement training style, and gives you concrete steps to implement to help change your dog's behavior issues, Natasha is the one! We found Urban K-9 through a neighbor, who couldn't recommend Natasha enough. Our neighbor has a dog who was scared around kids, and Natasha helped the dog go from reactive to calm in difficult situations with kids. We had a similar issue with our dog, so we reached out. Natasha helped us with a few different things, including our dog's reactivity around kids/strangers, our dog's tendency to bark at the door and jump on strangers to greet them. Natasha helped us understand our dogs psychology, and was able to help us see where our dogs behavior was coming from. For instance, we didn't realize that barking at kids was a sign of the dog being scared, rather than being angry/aggressive. The main take-away was that the more our dog feels like she can rely on her owners to take her through a difficult situation safely (aka not let a random stranger pet her, but be her leader/protector), the less our dog would feel like she needed to take care of the situation herself (aka bark/lunge/etc.). Natasha shared a lot of concrete steps and methods to implement in order to create a more clear dynamic between us and our dog. We learned a number of things, including how to get out of a difficult situation, how to desensitize our dog to her fears, how to train patience, how to show stronger leadership with leash walking, and so on. Our dog has become less reactive around kids since seeing her. I highly recommend you check out their website and book a session with Natasha if you're looking for a really great dog trainer!!

Drea is a FANTASTIC dog trainer and person and we truly don't know where we'd be without her!…read more We rescued our dog Otis in September 2019 from hurricane Dorian. He's a 2 year old American Staffie/Basset Hound/Chow/Terrier mix from Florida--a sweet, cuddly, goofy, hunk. Otis was SO ready to be loved and properly cared for, but as he settled into his new home it became clear he had never been socialized, showed physical and emotional signs of severe abuse, and had major anxiety/fear of strangers. We felt in over our heads, and worried Otis might harm someone out of fear (no fault of his own) but felt committed to giving Otis every chance we could to thrive. We found Drea on Yelp and were drawn to her experience with rescue dogs in particular. We contacted her right away and had an appointment set up within days. Drea came to our apartment to meet us and Otis and it instantly felt like the stars had aligned. She had total confidence upon meeting him-- no fear, and a great openness and connection with him and us. The first thing she said when she met Otis was "ok, you guys got yourself a real southern hound!" We knew we had found the right person. Drea observed right from the start that Otis is a pack dog and how important it was going to be for us to grow his pack and take steps to build both his and our confidence. Drea's training method focuses on the role that both owner and pet play and how those roles need to be established and reinforced through commitment, repetition, and positive motivation as the key drivers of success. Over the last 10 months we've learned how to use our voices, bodies and body language to do everything from solidifying Otis' basic obedience skills to being able to take Otis and ourselves out of our comfort zones and introduce new people, places and experiences into our lives. The results are tangible--a traumatized rescue who used to cower and tuck his tail between his legs on walks now barks with enthusiasm to go outside and wags his upright tail like a helicopter. Otis' behavior with, and fear of strangers is also noticeably different. His default reaction used to be aggression, but he's learned to control those urges, be calm and put his trust in us that all is okay. While we and Otis still have work ahead of us, the tools Drea has and continues to give us have provided invaluable confidence, patience, and a keen understanding of what it means, and what's needed to own and love a rescue pup. We couldn't love our Otis more and we are so grateful to Drea and know she will be a part of our pack for the long haul.

I can't say enough great things about Drea, both as a person and as a professional dog trainer…read more I adopted my dog, Max, earlier this year - he was a cute and friendly little guy and I knew immediately that he was the right dog for me. Max was described as a high-energy but friendly dog by the shelter. He was high-energy for sure, but one by one, the other problems started to come out. Hyperactivity, separation anxiety, chewing, barking, biting - you name it, Max was doing it! I found I was quickly in over my head with this dog. Drea was recommended to me without hesitation by both my vet and one of my girlfriend's good friends. That she was immediately mentioned by two unrelated people said a lot to me about her reputation. Though she is a busy and well-known trainer in the Bed-Stuy area, she listened carefully when I called her and found time to meet with me right away. Drea's "intake" is thorough. My GF joined us so that we could take turns demonstrating how we handled Max and describing his history, steps we'd taken with him and what we hoped to accomplish. The advice came right away, in the form of adjustments to his daily schedule and some exercises we would complete as "homework" before the next session. Drea worked with the both of us to make sure we understood both the how and the why, and to make sure we could properly execute the commands to improve consistency for Max. The advice was simple but had a huge impact on Max's wellbeing. Drea sought to teach him that indoors is a place of relaxation and self-control, and following our instructions led to safety, fun and rewards. Within 2 weeks I had a completely different dog - the sassy, goofy, yet sweet and loving companion I knew Max could be. Drea's methods were positive, with rewards tailored to the dog's individual preferences (treats, toys, or whatever they like best). Communicating with a dog is a physical skill, and she teaches you how to use your voice, hands, expressions and body language to help the dog understand you. She was always available via text whenever we had questions or needed some help. In the end, I got 2 great things from Drea - the perfectly-behaved Max I had dreamed of, and the great sense of confidence that I know how to fix anything that might come up with him. The only other thing I wish for is that I had hired her sooner! I recommend Drea to anyone looking to solve behavior or obedience issues in their dog, and to anyone looking to get their first dog or puppy and wanting to start on the right foot. You can't go wrong with her!

Dog trainer Phyllis Couvares, founder of Follow My Lead, is well known on the UWS--and for good…read morereason. She is not only knowledgeable and experienced, but is warm, kind, generous with her time and attention, and truly invests herself in guiding dog owners to enable their dogs live their best possible lives peaceably together. We reached out to Phyllis for help with our very enthusiastic (some might say maniacal!) young puppy, who was not progressing as well as we'd hoped based on our own training methods. We realized we needed help--so Phyllis was our go-to expert. We arranged for a 3-lesson pack of sessions held at our apartment and also outside, each about a week apart. Each time, she brought new insight into our puppy AND into our ways of working with her. She is very attuned to small nuances in human and dog body language and tone of voice that, with practice, can redirect a bad habit without harsh or needless punishment. She is a strong proponent of positive reinforcement, redirecting "naughty" behaviors, and adjusting strategies as needed. And our pup loved and responded beautifully to her! Thanks to Phyllis, our puppy is now listening and learning better, making more progress than she had made with us alone, and is growing into the sweet, smart, and lovely pet we dreamed of. I highly recommend her for any of your dog training issues. WOOF!

Phyllis is the best, most reliable trainer in UWS! Our…read morecrazy, wild puppy learned so Much and got much better after each session with her! She's very gentle and kind, you could not go wrong with her!!

We recently rescued a two year old dog and we're looking to teach them some basic manners and cues…read more Jen has been awesome from the start! We started with a 20 minute consultation over the phone where she walked through her training process and the specific areas she could help us. Jen meets us in our home for sessions which have been structured specifically for our dog's needs. Every area we've worked on (leash walking, sit, stay, leave it...) we've seen major improvements and she has also helped boost our confidence as dog owners. She's always providing helpful tips and insights. After every sessions she sends us detailed recaps so that we can practice on our own! Highly recommend her services and she's a pleasure to work with. Plus, she may just be our dog's favorite person on the planet!

Jen is great and will be missed! I got my Beagle at 3 months and she's now 6 months. She has…read moredefinitely come such a long way! So grateful to have found Jen because it was difficult to locate someone, specifically in the 11233 area. So if you're also having issues, Jen is the way to go. I highly recommend her.

I enjoy working with Maddie who is wonderfully knowledgeable, kind, and helpful. A terrific…read moretrainer!!!!

Maddie and Erin are absolute all stars!! I adopted my sweet crazy Poppy (5 yr old female corgi)…read morefrom a rescue last August. Her personality began to fully emerge ~2-3 months post adoption, resulting in severe separation anxiety (this was obvious right away) plus leash reactivity (took longer to appear). She has VERY big emotions and after me working with a more generalized trainer for a few months in addition to doing a lot of my own research (lots of conflicting information out there)... my vet finally recommended a vet behaviorist, who then recommended Paws for Thoughts. I began working with Maddie, on leash reactivity and noise sensitivity, and Erin, on separation anxiety, late last fall (Nov / early Dec 2026) and have already seen tremendous progress on both fronts! I've had many moments of complete despair and Maddie and Erin have truly pulled me through, sometimes serving as MY therapist ha (as it's important I learn to regulate my emotions while on this journey as well). They've provided so many helpful tips with clear instruction and guidance on how to continue executing and perfecting on my own. I am SO happy that I have been able to resume a bit of freedom outside of my apartment (from 10 sec departures in late Nov '26 to 50 minute departures now in Apr '27, outside of unavoidable departures with extra meds + sitter). Additionally, I've gained much more confidence and resilience when on walks with Poppy due to her ability to now fairly consistently disengage without being prompted and much faster recovery if/when she does react. It's been a long journey and the work is far from done, but I'm incredibly happy with the results to-date and am motivated to continue -- all because of Maddie and Erin's personalized curriculum, attentiveness, communicativeness, and just overall fun and friendly demeanor :) They make what is otherwise an incredibly stressful and life-altering situation into a *dare I say it* enjoyable one!

Chelsea isn't just an amazing dog trainer she is an educator. Not only does she personalize…read moretraining for your four legged baby, she personalizes an education plan for the very stressed and confused humans. Chelsea is a pleasure to work with and is committed to your babies success. Her methods are humane and solely based in positive reinforcement methods - something not so common in the crazy market of dog training. If you're looking for a well educated, responsible, and effective dog trainer Chelsea is your go to!

The owner of this site is such a pro! I was so impressed with her abilotys training this very…read morenaughty little pup of mine. We had almost given up, Chelsea is miracle worker! I highly recommend her for training, shes very talented.