Denise was amazing to work with. I wasn’t feeling great about Jiggly’s progress after going through a series of classes with another trainer and, knowing that Shiba’s are notoriously hard to train, I was disheartened. After five sessions with Denise, I am amazed by the progress Jiggly and I have made. Jiggly used to be so fearful of his harness and leash that taking him for walks felt out of the question. Even though he always had a good time going out for walks, I could barely get his harness on without it being a traumatic experience for us both. In a couple sessions with Denise, I was able to change the whole experience. I’ve had great success on walks with Jiggly, practicing the loose-leash skills Denise taught me as well. I learned so much in my time with her - about how to keep him busy/out of destructive habits, what motivates him, how to reinforce the behaviors I want to see, etc - and I feel that my relationship with Jiggly has improved so much as a result of my training with her.
I will say, on the days I had dog training, if I was having a hard day, a session with Denise would always turn my day around. I never felt judged for asking too many questions or asking for clarification on something. And even though I felt bad about my past experience with another trainer and my lack of progress at the time, she only had positive things to say that really turned my outlook around. She is a joy to be around, is fantastic at what she does, and I am really looking forward to additional sessions with her in the future.
Courtney and Jiggly
1/16/23
I will say, on the days I had dog training, if I was having a hard day, a session with Denise would always turn my day around. I never felt judged for asking too many questions or asking for clarification on something. And even though I felt bad about my past experience with another trainer and my lack of progress at the time, she only had positive things to say that really turned my outlook around. She is a joy to be around, is fantastic at what she does, and I am really looking forward to additional sessions with her in the future.
Courtney and Jiggly
1/16/23
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I loved working with Denise. She is incredibly knowledgeable and insightful. My dogs love her!... Penny, Charli and Andi 11/14/21 |
Cute pic of the pups getting love from Hallie…with Gigi on the bottom while Tex checks out what he’s missing. I was convinced when we first started training that Hallie sitting at eye level with Gigi would never happen. Thanks for all of your help making us a better dog family for the pups and making them more family friendly for us. We love seeing Hallie getting to love on the pups!
Sabrina, Melissa, Hallie
Gigi and Tex
11/8/21
Sabrina, Melissa, Hallie
Gigi and Tex
11/8/21
I was in tears when Denise started training with our Buddy. He is a sweet dog but very hyper. He is a big dog but still played with my son like he was a little puppy. He would jump on my son and would have a hard time calming down. My son and dog were just not getting a long. Denise not only worked with my dog but helped trained my son to work with Buddy. Her patience, care and knowledge helped my family so much! I highly recommend her!
Julie, Ryder and Buddy
9/27/21
Julie, Ryder and Buddy
9/27/21
Loved working with Denise! She’s fun for the humans and the dogs. Her passion for helping them shines every single session. Thank you, Denise!
Erin, Chris, Bruno and Rocco
9/2/21
Loved working with Denise! She’s fun for the humans and the dogs. Her passion for helping them shines every single session. Thank you, Denise!
Erin, Chris, Bruno and Rocco
9/2/21
Good morning Denise!
You came to my house back in January or February sometime to help me out with my very insecure dog, Roxy. Not sure if you remember us because I’m sure you meet a lot of dogs, but, I wanted to extend a huge thank you for your help!!! Roxy and I have been practicing what you showed us and for the last week or so I have seen amazing progress in Roxy and am just brimming with happiness for her.
Two days in a row we were able to walk past a cat that was only about 20 ft away and Roxy was able to NOT react, and instead looked to me for a treat and then kept moving forward. This is insanely brave for her and something I worried she’d never be able to conquer, but here we are! Also, we had a street sign fall down in our neighborhood along her normal morning walk route. When we walked by it, she saw it in her periphery and was initially startled. We backed off from it about 4 ft or so, and then I told her to “go say hi”. She walked up to it, gave it a quick nose boop, and returned to me for a treat. We then walked by it and she was not stressed anymore in the least. She’s also able to be near the ex-pen that I use to keep the puppy Farley in the kitchen with and she’s no longer scared of it where she used to be terrified if it made any noise or was moved and she would walk a huge radius around it when it was up.
She still has a lot of room to grow and gain even more confidence but the progress is so impressive and her resilience is increasing every day. We will continue to work at it and I can’t wait to see what else she is able to conquer.
Now that we are making strides on this with Roxy, I plan to schedule another couple sessions with you to work on some areas with Farley that I’m finding is going slower than I’d expect. I will be in touch for that as soon as my schedule opens up at the end of the spring academic semester.
Thanks again so very much!
Caitlin (and Roxy and Farley) 4/9/21
You came to my house back in January or February sometime to help me out with my very insecure dog, Roxy. Not sure if you remember us because I’m sure you meet a lot of dogs, but, I wanted to extend a huge thank you for your help!!! Roxy and I have been practicing what you showed us and for the last week or so I have seen amazing progress in Roxy and am just brimming with happiness for her.
Two days in a row we were able to walk past a cat that was only about 20 ft away and Roxy was able to NOT react, and instead looked to me for a treat and then kept moving forward. This is insanely brave for her and something I worried she’d never be able to conquer, but here we are! Also, we had a street sign fall down in our neighborhood along her normal morning walk route. When we walked by it, she saw it in her periphery and was initially startled. We backed off from it about 4 ft or so, and then I told her to “go say hi”. She walked up to it, gave it a quick nose boop, and returned to me for a treat. We then walked by it and she was not stressed anymore in the least. She’s also able to be near the ex-pen that I use to keep the puppy Farley in the kitchen with and she’s no longer scared of it where she used to be terrified if it made any noise or was moved and she would walk a huge radius around it when it was up.
She still has a lot of room to grow and gain even more confidence but the progress is so impressive and her resilience is increasing every day. We will continue to work at it and I can’t wait to see what else she is able to conquer.
Now that we are making strides on this with Roxy, I plan to schedule another couple sessions with you to work on some areas with Farley that I’m finding is going slower than I’d expect. I will be in touch for that as soon as my schedule opens up at the end of the spring academic semester.
Thanks again so very much!
Caitlin (and Roxy and Farley) 4/9/21
“I absolutely enjoyed working with Denise. I could tell right away she has an exceptional knowledge of animal behaviors during her assessment with my dog Sassy. Denise has wonderful energy and fun to be around. She was as excited as we were during the in-home training sessions. At first I thought my 2 year old labradoodle was too old for additional training, but Denise assured me she wasn’t. I was amazed how well Denise worked with Sassy and I to improve our relationship and communication. Denise showed a lot of patience with me as first time dog owner while giving me detailed directions and guidance with Sassy.
Denise customized training plans and handouts to help stop Sassy from jumping, running out the door and also improve in her loose leash walking. We continued to work with Denise for 4 weeks and I saw constant improvement in Sassy’s performance. One of Denise’s training techniques was teaching Sassy how to go to the “Tower” (the stairs) as we performed a training simulation of someone coming in and out the door. Sassy continues to go to the “Tower” even when not told when we have visitors.
I looked forward to each of Denise visits to witness Sassy’s learning ability. Our in-home training may be complete as I continue to work with Sassy, but I plan on contacting Denise again for “out and about” training. Denise comes highly recommended. I guarantee you’ll see a difference in your pet’s performance and behavior. I just wish I would have contacted her sooner.” Pam Rathers 12/11/20
Denise customized training plans and handouts to help stop Sassy from jumping, running out the door and also improve in her loose leash walking. We continued to work with Denise for 4 weeks and I saw constant improvement in Sassy’s performance. One of Denise’s training techniques was teaching Sassy how to go to the “Tower” (the stairs) as we performed a training simulation of someone coming in and out the door. Sassy continues to go to the “Tower” even when not told when we have visitors.
I looked forward to each of Denise visits to witness Sassy’s learning ability. Our in-home training may be complete as I continue to work with Sassy, but I plan on contacting Denise again for “out and about” training. Denise comes highly recommended. I guarantee you’ll see a difference in your pet’s performance and behavior. I just wish I would have contacted her sooner.” Pam Rathers 12/11/20
Hi Denise! I just wanted to gush to you a little bit because all of the training we've done with my dog Sadie Rae has been such a huge help. You might remember she was really struggling with socializing with other dogs, to the point that just seeing another dog while we were on a walk would make her go crazy. Well, I have a friend whose dog is super sweet but Sadie has always acted really aggressively toward her, but we reintroduced the two of them a little while ago and Sadie was SO well-behaved and friendly and it blew our minds!! We're also able to encounter dogs on walks without her barking or making a fuss (though I still guide her in the opposite direction just to be safe). And she's even gone up to sniff new dogs without getting wigged out. Which might seem like small things but honestly it's been amazing.
Sorry for the rant but I just wanted to let you know about all the progress we've made. Sadie's come a long way and it's been a huge relief to me to see her doing so well. I hope when all of the Covid-19 situation is over, we can come to more workshops. :)
Anyway thank you so so much!! I hope you and your family are staying safe and healthy during this crisis.
Makali Kline 4/14/2020
Sorry for the rant but I just wanted to let you know about all the progress we've made. Sadie's come a long way and it's been a huge relief to me to see her doing so well. I hope when all of the Covid-19 situation is over, we can come to more workshops. :)
Anyway thank you so so much!! I hope you and your family are staying safe and healthy during this crisis.
Makali Kline 4/14/2020
We loved working with Denise and our dog Sadie absolutely loved Denise. We couldn't have been anymore please with the training and love that Denise showed us and Sadie. Sadie has become a very well mannered dog most of the time, she has a little of the 'tan tornado' that sneaks out every once in a while. Denise's methods are very good and rewarding.
Shelley Hale 6/20/19
We loved working with Denise and our dog Sadie absolutely loved Denise. We couldn't have been anymore please with the training and love that Denise showed us and Sadie. Sadie has become a very well mannered dog most of the time, she has a little of the 'tan tornado' that sneaks out every once in a while. Denise's methods are very good and rewarding.
Shelley Hale 6/20/19
"My husband and I had just adopted a puppy when he was put on the night shift rotation - everything was going great until our puppy, Stanley, decided that at 10pm every night he was going to run around the bedroom at full speed and not want to go to sleep. I was tried everything but I could not get him to listen without my husband home - so I asked if we could get a trainer to help me find a better way to work with our dog (and get some sleep!) Finding Denise was the best thing that happened for me and for Stanley. She helped show me different ways to interact with him using body language and positive reinforcement so that not only did he listen to me but enjoyed it! She was so patient with me while I learned how to go over different skills with Stanley and provided extra material to have a better understanding of what we were doing. From the first day, Denise listened to what we'd like to get out of our training sessions, offered great recommendations, and came up with a plan to execute. My husband and I are so pleased with the progress Stanley has made and cannot thank Denise enough - she is truly amazing!"
Jessie Donahower 6/10/19
Jessie Donahower 6/10/19
When I adopted my current dog Monroe, what I didn't want was for her to become a shy little thing who screamed whenever strangers approached, and could only sit and hongi (a Polynesian greeting) like I taught to my previous dog. So I searched for a trainer who could help continue some of the training Monroe had begun in the shelter. Denise is so helpful & a delight to be around. Not only has she helped Monroe become a more obedient dog, she helped us become closer as a pair. One of the best things about her is that she's incredibly patient. Not just with the dogs, but with me if it takes me a few times to get a movement or command correct, and with my niece and nephew who are usually around, trying to distract us by showing off, as kids will do. My family loves her and her work so much, we're definitely bringing her back for my sister's family's new puppy!
Cheers,
Lynsey Parsons
1/21/2019
Cheers,
Lynsey Parsons
1/21/2019
Denise has helped us train our Golden Retriever over the last two months. My family and I love the training and education she provides. Denise is very easy talk to and scheduling was effortless.
One session was held in public with many distractions for Our puppy.
I would highly recommend Denise and look forward to scheduling more lessons in the future
Rick Mahan
2/16/19
One session was held in public with many distractions for Our puppy.
I would highly recommend Denise and look forward to scheduling more lessons in the future
Rick Mahan
2/16/19
I have not owned a dog in the past 20 years, so when I got a 2 year old, 65 pound pit bull/boxer mix dog from the dog shelter, I knew I was going to need some help. Because of Denise, Tiger and I learned how to work, walk and play together. The bond I now have with this incredibly intelligent animal would not have been possible without her exceptional knowledge of animal behavior. Tiger is now 75 pounds and we are able to walk down the street together.
Thank you, Denise, for teaching me how to teach my new best friend.
Debra Metcalf 4/5/2018
Thank you, Denise, for teaching me how to teach my new best friend.
Debra Metcalf 4/5/2018
"We are so happy that we switched to Out and About Dog Training! Our only regret is that we didn't find her sooner. I recommend her to everyone. Moose is thriving under her guidance. He has a lot of fear issues and his confidence continues to grow as the weeks progress."
Kristal Chance 10/13/2017
"Out and About is the absolute best for training your dog! I had tried another trainer who provided incorrect information in one lesson and then I heard about Out and About and found Denise's techniques to be awesome! My dog is now a joy to be around but I also understand him and get that he likes to "work" and is very smart!"
"Denise has a way with dogs and really understands how dogs think. I appreciate everything Denise has done for our family!
Sincerely,
Joanne Childers
8/4/2017
"Denise has a way with dogs and really understands how dogs think. I appreciate everything Denise has done for our family!
Sincerely,
Joanne Childers
8/4/2017
Denise was patient, used good reinforcement techniques and taught us a number of things that we could do better or differently wit our headstrong G. Shepherd. It was great to have a trainer come to our house for the sessions. 6/1/2017
-Denise is fantastic to work with. Not only is she a knowledgeable instructor but she is also a skillful teacher. She explains and demonstrates techniques clearly and encourages her clients all throughout the training. I love the fact that she gave me real world applications for our training. She trained both me and my dogs so that we could develop a wonderful relationship. Both of my dog's adore her and our loss in Ohio is your gain down in Texas.-
Michelle Terlep
Michelle Terlep
Denise is an outstanding trainer. Her patient, intuitive, and totally positive training encouraged both our dog and us; she builds on success. We gained not only a well mannered, even more pleasure to be around pet, but also our dog is confident and competent both at home and out in the world. We and our beloved dog looked forward to and thoroughly enjoyed our time with Denise.
Ed and Mariyln
Denise is an outstanding trainer. Her patient, intuitive, and totally positive training encouraged both our dog and us; she builds on success. We gained not only a well mannered, even more pleasure to be around pet, but also our dog is confident and competent both at home and out in the world. We and our beloved dog looked forward to and thoroughly enjoyed our time with Denise.
Ed and Mariyln
I met Denise from Out and About at a busy outdoor shopping mall when I noticed her well behaved dog sitting calmly at her side amidst all the hustle and bustle. I said to her “I wish my dog was that well-behaved” and she immediately responded, “she can be!” I was at a point where I dreaded time spent with my energetic GSP (Macie) and wondered if I had made a mistake in adopting her. We worked with Denise both in class and in a private setting. She is an amazing trainer and I have learned so much. Denise made me feel as if my dog was her most important and favorite client, which made me more confident in my work with Macie. Macie is now a confident, fun (still energetic) dog who loves a quick training session and a loose leash walk. Our time spent together is no longer stressful but enjoyable. I would highly recommend Denise to anyone who wants to enjoy a relationship with their dog. - Laurie Zahar
Denise is so professional and always has a great attitude! I love her positive approach with training! She was amazing! So glad Sadie and I were able to work with her!!- Erica Steele
Having taught several different types of classes with Denise, I can truly say that she is a wonderful teacher. Her level of knowledge is impressive and she has the practical skills to put it to good use. Denise has the ability to connect with her clients as a group and also to tailor her teaching to best fit individual needs. She wants to help the owners and their dogs to build a great ,lasting relationship built on love respect and trust. Her classes are always fun, upbeat, and geared to help you and your dog succeed. You couldn't find a better instructor ! Gail Wittmass - Fortunate Fido
