Zen Dog Training

Alexis is amazing!! My five year old pitbull mix (40 pounds) is a rescue and is reactive to dogs on leash; her name is Penny. Penny was also protective of our apartment building. This made it difficult to go on walks and even in / out of my own building because she would lunge, pull, bark and basically go ballistic at dogs and people going in/out of my building. I was anxious going on walks with my dog so I looked for a trainer who can help with reactivity problems.Alexis is extremely knowledgeable and taught me about Pennys behavior and how a dogs brain works. I bought the 8 week training pack. Alexis came to my apartment to train with me and Penny. Over the course of 2 months, I have seen a SIGNIFICANT change in Pennys behavior. Penny walks nicely on the leash (with treats and training protocols) and weve built a closer bond. It seems like a completely different dog and Im no longer scared to go on walks with Penny.Alexis is extremely friendly and her training is customized for your dog - no one-size-fits-all training. I loved that she listened to our needs and would recommend training exercises accordingly. I love her approach to dog training!I highly recommend Alexis!!

Alexis has been so great with my leash reactive cattle dog mix - she comes up with training plans that are specific to my dog’s needs but also address the behaviors that I as the owner need to modify. I’ve worked with a few different trainers in the city but hadn’t seen any real progress until working with Alexis. Highly recommend!

We worked with Alexis to help work through our dogs mild separation anxiety. After only a few short sessions we have seen great improvements and are no regularly able to leave him for short periods of time. Whenever we had questions, she always made sure to make time for them even it meant we went over the session for a few minutes.

I’ve had both the free initial assessment call with Alexis and a longer intro ‘behavior assessment’ virtual session with her and I’m very excited to start working with Xander with my dog, who has had some basic training, puppy kindergarten classes and so on already. Alexis is knowledgeable, experienced and best of all, understanding and not judgmental. I enjoyed both conversations I’ve had with her and appreciate the way she was able to distill my explanation of my dog’s behavior and what I’m looking to work on with her into an adaptable training program we drafted together and geared toward addressing my dog’s occasional anxiety and reactivity by building her confidence and working on giving both of us tools to cope in triggering situations, for example. She’s assured me Xander has great experience with this and I already feel like I can trust her and appreciate her style of dog training as well as working with humans. Thank you!

Alexis is an outstanding dog trainer whose wealth of experience shines through in every session. She has a remarkable ability to connect with both dogs and humans, creating a harmonious environment for learning and growth. Alexis has a keen eye for identifying underlying issues and treating behaviors with care and kindness, cutting through the noise to address the root cause effectively. Her expertise instills confidence, and I would trust her with any dog without hesitation. If youre seeking a skilled and compassionate trainer for your furry friend, look no further than Alexis.

I went to Zen Dog after having bad experience with previous trainer who I felt was a little too physical and harsh with my dog. Since that was my first and only experience hiring a trainer I was worried about how it would go with my next attempt. Alexis wasso good with my dog Ziggy I was tempted to be jealous, he took to her right away. She was calm, patient and extremely knowledgeable. It ended up being fun instead of a stressful chore and now Ziggy and I are both better trained. Really, really glad I gave training a second chance and glad I found Alexis and Zen Dog.

Alexis is a very gifted and knowledgeable trainer. She is also kind, patient and a good teacher (for dogs and for their humans). We adopted an anxious rescue dog from the South about two years ago, and struggled for many months to find the right training advice to manage our dog’s anxiety and leash reactivity. We finally met Alexis, who has made a huge difference to our dog’s peace of mind. Thank you, Alexis! Our dog will always be a worrier, but we now know a lot more than we once did about how to help our dog be calm and happy in lots of different situations.

Xander at Zen Dog has been a lifesaver for us and our dog Louise, a lab mix with very high anxiety. We tried many trainers and he is by far the best - the results are amazing. Louise adores him and loves their daily walks.

Alexis helped me and my rescue dog, Fendi, so much. Fendi would have a very big reaction when people came in the door, which was very stressful for me as well as for my guests. Alexis showed me how to modify Fendis behavior to teach her that, instead of barking like a lunatic while jumping all over my guests, she could simply look to me, then go lie on her bed when she hears someone outside. Many of my friends have commented on how much calmer my dog is.Alexis training program had Fendi learning immediately. She was so full of happiness working with Alexis, and the sessions were so much fun! Alexis gives great advice and sets you up with a comprehensive training plan to work on with your dog on your own as well. I feel that Alexis truly had compassion for my dog and wanted to see her succeed. Finally, Alexis helped me unlock Fendis potential and realize how clever she is, instead of focusing on her flaws. Thanks to Alexis, I have a much more happy and fulfilling relationship with my best friend :)

Alexis is an incredible dog trainer and human being. We contacted her because our puppy is fairly shy and fearful and shes given us the structure needed for us to make our puppy more confident. Shes super knowledgable and gave us both the practical support but also explained how to read his body language, how to work with him in different environments. I totally recommend her to anyone who is looking for an expert and honest dog trainer.

My dog has been unable to go on walks until we started working with Zen Dog Training and specifically with Xander. My anxious pup is getting more and more comfortable every walk with Xander. Zen Dog Trainings patience and professionalism has been incredibly comforting as Im also an anxious dog mom 😂

Xander and Aldo from Zen Dog are amazing! Weve been working with Xander for 18 months and the improvements in my dog are immeasurable. We can now enjoy walks with her which we werent able to do before. Thank you Zen Dog!

Alexis and her team, specifically Xander, have been wonderful with our reactive dog! Highly recommend this group.

I have the most handsome dog in the world. But also a super crazy one.Alexis & Zen Dog Training have been miracle workers at educating me so I can educate my puppo.

Alexis is amazing! The difference we are seeing with our dog is night and day. Highly recommend.

Xander is an excellent dog trainer, especially for more problem child dogs. He has a good balance of positive reinforcement along with setting much needed boundaries.

Alexis is very knowledgeable about dog behavior and training. In her sessions, my dog warmed up to her very quickly despite usually being nervous around strangers. Alexis is very available and flexible and shares a large library of digital resources for dog behavior that is very helpful

Alexis has been so wonderful! Shes really knowledgeable, attentive, patient, and very kind. Ive learned a ton about ways to manage my terrier with minimal stress to everyone involved. This has been such a great choice for our family! Weve used other trainers in the past, which were helpful, but with Alexiss help, weve gained so much more insight into raising a dog. Such a great experience! Such great results!

Alexis of Zen Dog Training has literally changed our lives. Two weeks after we adopted our pit bull Freya we were honestly thinking about giving her back. She was a 70 lb, two-year-old dog with zero training and zero self control. Not only were her bad manners really difficult to live with, but she was even dangerous as she barked, lunged and growled at every dog on the street and even broke my boyfriend’s arm. We were on our last legs with her, about to give up on her, and called Alexis as our last hope. She came in and immediately gave us hope and made us feel like change was possible and doable. She broke down the training in ways that we could easily understand and explained things in step-by-step instructions that were easy to implement. We also did a mix of mostly day training, where Alexis came to train Freya while we were at work, and some sessions where we were present, so Freya could make the most progress, and she really did. Now her obedience skills are pretty impressive - she can down-stay and come when called like the best of them. In certain situations, she will still bark at dogs on the street. But my boyfriend and I can both easily manage her now and 9 times out of 10 she is absolutely fine. We are so grateful that Alexis came to us when she did, because now we cant imagine our lives without Freya in it.

Matt really changed my dog

We just finished our first session with Alexis and she is incredibly professional, prepared, and knowledgable. She talked through all of the training we need help with and then wrote out and explained a detailed plan for us. We will update this review after a few more sessions, but we feel confident that Zen Dog Training is right for us and our pup!

I apologize in advance for the lengthy review but I want to fully convey our appreciation for Zen Dog Training. I was at the end of my rope when we hired Alexis. I live with my two young daughters, 4 and 8, my husband and our 4-year-old pit bull rescue, Bella. We love Bella more than anything, but wed been having major problems ever since we adopted her two years ago. From the beginning she would totally lose it when she heard anything at our door - the doorbell, the mailman, a knock, a gust of wind. Alone, thats enough to make a person insane.Another one of her lovely habits was to terrorize our old cat by barking and chasing him whenever she would see him, to the extent that he had to be confined to the top floor of our house. The last straw was when she took to chasing my youngest daughter around nipping at her heels and even growling at visitors. We tried a few other trainers over the years, but none were able to give us results. We were so upset when Bellas behavior actually started to get worse rather than better.Then we found Zen Dog Training on the trainers listing on the Association for Pet Dog Trainers website. Alexis immediately gave us hope - she was empathetic and sensitive to our situation, and treated Bella in a way that showed how much she truly does love dogs. She did a full assessment of Bellas behavior and planned a training program for us. Everything she explained about Bellas behavior and how we should deal with it just made total sense to us. With every visit from Alexis, we noticed Bella not only behaving better, but she was also a happier dog - and she LOVED Alexis. We never thought it would be possible, but Alexis helped us achieve our most important goals. Bella now goes to her bed every time she hears the doorbell ring and stays there until we release her to greet our guests, which she does politely and without drama. And most impressive is the fact that Alexis was able to help us get Bella to a point where she no longer chases the cat! Amazing, honestly. I would encourage anyone looking for a highly capable dog trainer to contact Alexis.

The most knowledgeable, caring and genuine trainers. Highly recommend!