Training with Leah

We are proud to be a female owned and operated local business, specializing in difficult breeds and practical NYC situations. We're your go-to women to help you better communicate with your dog.

Our goal is to make you feel as confident as possible as a handler, so your dog can focus on you instead of the city's ongoing distractions. Our methods always center on educating you, the handler, so you can make informed decisions without us in the room (or on the street). We'll focus on proven techniques that shape your behavior and enable you to better communicate with your pup. In person, we'll often take the leash and demo a few skills, then spend the session breaking down our interaction with your dog so you can understand it and replicate it consistently.

Virtual sessions are also a great way to sit down, goal-set, and align on a training plan. Sessions are used to review the recent successes or challenges that you're encountering. Together, we'll create a tactical plan to keep you moving in the right direction (think human therapy with a puppy twist). For brand new puppies, our first session will focus on potty / crate / impulse training, and reviewing how to set your pup up for long-term success by safely exposing them to their new city life.

About Leah

While raising my basenji, Archer, I honed a training skillset that I've been passionate about since I was a kid. Back in college, I introduced myself in my freshman dorm with a presentation on all the fun tricks I had taught my poodle-mix. As an adult, I found myself fostering puppies and fell in love with the process of setting those little ones up for success in their new homes. My puppy bender included 20 munchkins in 2 years!

As my business has grown, I've had the opportunity to work with breeds of all ages, sizes and quirks (crate-haters, picky eaters, nippy teens, resource guarders, and nervous nellies.) I'm particularly skilled with quirky/difficult breeds (18% of my clients in 2021 are basenjis) and nervous rescue dogs. But bring me doodle and we'll have a blast! 

Most people don't know... dog training is my side hustle. I train in the evenings and on weekends because I love helping families live better lives with their dogs (but I also love my career in tech.) Dog training provides a creative outlet for me and helps me stay balanced!

Follow along with our adventures on Instagram: @trainingwithleah

Instagram adventures

Features

Many of my foster pups come from @muddypawsrescuenyc.