Sadie's Rules K9 Training

Jess and the team came HIGHLY recommended by several friends in the Charlottesville area. The recommendations were consistently impressive, their social media presence (multiple posts daily, Youtube videos, etc.) was something we had never seen, and Jess' immediate interest in trying to help after we messaged her are a few things that set Sadie's Rules apart from the jump. For example, after we expressed our interest, Jess offered to come to our house to meet our dog and give us a few early training tips to practice at home before his actual board and train! We couldn’t be more thrilled with our experience working with David, Jess, and family! We recently adopted our dog, Pip (Husky/Pyrenees mix), from CASPA, and he attended the 4+ week board and train program after about 6 weeks at home with us. We loved that Jess worked to better understand Pip's personality, any reactivity, fears, tendencies, socalization habits with other dogs, etc. What truly makes a difference is Jess' commitment to coaching YOU. The resources Jess shares highlight the importance of the human/owner component of dog training. She ensures the dog and family are set up success by sharing resources to read, her online presence, and her commitment to ongoing assistance via email or in-person after completion of training. Sadie's Rules provided all the necessary tools and guidance so that we could continue reinforcing the training at home. The focus on making dogs great family companions, rather than flashy show dogs or working dogs is exactly what we wanted. Jess and David took the time to understand our specific goals and tailored the program to meet the needs of both our dog and our family. We loved the social media posts and communication throughout the process, and it’s clear they care deeply about the dogs in their program. Our dog is now more confident, well-mannered, and a joy to have at home. We highly recommend Sadie's Rules K9 Training to anyone looking for a professional, thoughtful, friendly, and effective trainer. Thank you for giving us the tools to build a better bond with our furry family member!

Our sweet but high energy Wirehaired Vizsla puppy, Rozsi, had become unmanageable, and our life was chaotic. After going through Sadie’s Rules’ 6-week program, she now has the training, and we have the tools and knowledge to live a peaceful and fun life together. Jess (and family and trainers) puts her whole heart into ALL the dogs and works with them 24/7. Anyone can go into a profession that helps people--like teaching, nursing, or dog training. However, it takes a special person to be good at it and truly care. Also, Sadie’s Rules’ daily stories on Instagram/Facebook are an invaluable resource. You can watch the dogs’ progress and benefit from Jess’s numerous lessons and advice. Follow them now!

Sadie's Rules was the best decision we could have ever made! We sent our puppy to training to set him up for success and get a jump start on fundamental skills. We were blown away by how well everything went, and he came back far beyond our expectations. The entire Sadie's team is professional, caring, passionate and we couldn't recommend them more. While there are core trainings that every puppy / dog gets, the training is rather personalized which makes it that much more effective. We could not be more thankful or appreciative!

We have a 4 year old, 60 pound American Staffy mix and a 1 year old, 80 pound American Bully that both graduated from Sadie’s Rules in early June. Our older dog had a major personality shift around 18 months – where the former lovable oaf we’d known was now only that way inside the home, but increasingly reactive outside the home, especially after the younger dog joined us. It culminated in an unfortunate incident where the older dog bit a neighbor’s dog, resulting in stitches, a large vet bill, and a lot of trauma for all involved. We found Jessica’s program via a Google search and after reading through all the reviews and her website, and some email exchanges with Jessica herself, we decided to send both boys through her program – not only to address the older dog’s reactive behavior, but to make sure the younger one wouldn’t head down that same personality shift path. We had two major wins for our family: 1. Part of the required reading created understanding that some of my own behavior was what caused the personality shift. And while that was difficult to receive, it was also enlightening and came with hope that changing my behavior would lead to wonderful outcomes. The required reading also made it clear that dog bites are not uncommon; that’s obviously not great, but it also helped reframe some of the guilt and lingering trauma from the bite situation with our neighbor. 2. Jessica asked us to list ALL of our goals for each dog for the program. Both boys were returned to us not only happy and healthy, but well-behaved gentlemen on every single one of the goals we listed. And the list included several “nice to haves” (e.g. desensitization to cats). We’ve intentionally waited to write this review as we’ve all re-acclimated at home, with our new tools and new structure in place to make us all successful. It’s truly been a game changer - not only in day-to-day life, but in our bond with the boys, and in bringing down my severe anxiety that the dog bit situation brought on (e.g. irrational fears of a dog leash coming unhooked, leading to another bite). We’ve since taken the boys back to Jessica for boarding while out of town – they love their time there and we know they are well taken care of there. We’re so very grateful for how this experience has changed our lives for the better and would wholeheartedly recommend this program for every dog owner – not only after an incident, but for the new puppy so you never get to an incident.

To cut to the chase, Jess & Sadie’s Rules saved our dog’s life. This may be a long review, but it’s worth the read, especially if you’re reading this as a dog owner struggling with any behavioral issues. We brought home our Golden Retriever, Bennett, in October 2022 as a 9-week-old puppy from a breeder that shall remain nameless. At his first puppy vet visit, he aggressively growled and lunged at the vet who confirmed this was NOT normal puppy behavior and required immediate attention. She connected us with an in-home trainer with extensive experience training all sorts of dog breeds with behavioral issues, including aggressive “resource guarding”. Despite the in-home trainer’s best efforts, and our diligent following of their training regime, including hand feeding every meal among other proven methods, his aggressive behavior around food and high value treats or toys grew worse and worse in his first two months at home. He was growing quickly, and he bit my wife and me each on multiple occasions during his training sessions. Fortunately, a friend recommended we call Sadie’s Rules. We weren’t familiar with e-collar training before talking to Jess, but she quickly helped to debunk the many myths you may be reading online, helped build our trust in the program, and even shared several success stories of clients with dogs who were reformed resource guarders (even another Golden!). Jess helped coach us through how to safely help Bennett avoid any incidents until she was able to make room for him at Sadie’s Rules, where he began his training in early March of 2023. The program usually takes three weeks, but knowing what we shared about Bennett they anticipated he could be with them up to six weeks. Six-weeks in, we had a call with Jess to review Bennett’s status and he was struggling to build momentum. He seemed the “50 First Dates” dog – any progress made in a given day seemed set back and they started over the next. We had a hard conversation with Jess where she explained she was concerned Bennett may not ever be a safe family dog and rehoming him would be next to impossible given his resource guarding. Jess graciously offered to keep Bennett another 4-5 weeks at no charge to see if the extra time would lead to a breakthrough. The extra time served Bennett well, as each day went by Jess shared updates with us that her confidence was growing that he was going to be ok. A few weeks later we scheduled our first visits and field trips…we couldn’t believe his transformation. During this extra time at Sadie’s rule, we learned we were expecting a baby in December, so Jess & team put extra rigor in training Bennett for safe play around children. After several field trips and in home visits from Jess, she determined he was ready to come home, in June, after 3 months of diligent training and patience from her team. She is a miracle worker. The Bennett who came home to us is the most loving, happy, and well-behaved boy who just loves to be around his family and people in general…things you’d expect from a Golden Retriever. Bennett has been home with us for over a year now and there has not been a single issue with his resource guarding or aggressive behavior. Our friends are comfortable with him playing with their kids, our parents gladly watch him when we travel, and everyone always is floored by how well behaved he is. We welcomed our daughter a few days before Christmas 2023, and it has been incredible to see how sweet Bennett is with her and he continues to have zero behavioral issues. A heartfelt thank you to the whole team there, and especially Jess, for the great work they do. We are firm believers in her training, and the confidence the e-collar program can give dogs with or without behavioral issues. Anyone considering working with Sadie’s Rules shouldn’t think twice, it’s worth every penny!