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"Johanna is one of the best dog trainers I have worked with and I highly recommend her services. I have an 8-year-old German Shepherd, Bailey, with fear aggression and Johanna provided training walks for her several times per week for 3.5 years. Johanna was extremely knowledgeable about Bailey’s needs and how to best help her work on her issues with other dogs and her anxiety related to living in close quarters of an apartment complex. Johanna would frequently send text messages with updates and pictures of Bailey on their walks which made me feel comfortable and confident that she was receiving fantastic care. She went above and beyond on several occasions to help care for Bailey when she was sick and offered to check on her outside of her scheduled walking visit to ensure that Bailey was ok. Johanna was always reliable, responsive, and professional. I felt 100% confident that Bailey was receiving amazing care and would definitely use her services again in the future!"
"Conrad is an anxious 10yo dachshund who barks at people when they approach the house and while they're in the house, and he especially reacts to the doorbell. JoJo impressed me first by knowing exactly how to communicate with him to help him stay calm, then later by knowing exactly how to communicate with me to help me learn how to handle and train him. Each session she shows me how capable Conrad actually is of learning new coping mechanisms for situations that make him anxious, and now I know how to go forward with his training. Thank you Johanna!"
"Jo has been Oreo's tech forever now. He loves her and will pretty much let her do anything. She makes his vet appointments go smoothly. When she is not there he has a really hard time. So now we make sure to schedule vet appointments with her as the tech. Her knowledge of animal behavior and work with fearful animals really shows and she puts him right at ease. He has even let her cut his nails! Thank you Jo Jo for all your work with Oreo"
"Jojo came to our house to train our 3.5 month old Dutch Shepherd, Tusky.
He responded very well to her, quickly learning come, drop it, down and touch.
Jojo also identified the need for loads of Body Handling.
What impressed me most is that after the 1st session, Tusky was already doing so much better. The next day at the dog park someone asked me how I trained him so quickly when he just "dropped it". Looking forward to some more puppy training sessions already. Oh, Jojo also sent us a nice written up summary with homework."
"Thank you sooooooooooooooooo much, Johanna, for everything you did for all of us. It is not possible for us to express our thanks enough. I don't want to think about where we would be without your loving kindness and stellar training skills. Helping us to really enjoy him in his good moments (which are most of the time, of course), and learning to meet Buster where he was at and releasing our expectations of where he should be now or in the future is the best gift you could have given us and we will be forever grateful."
"Thank you for giving us the confidence and know how to approach new doggie friends and new people the right way. We could not have got him this far without you."​
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"I highly recommend working with Johanna, not only is she very knowledgeable and good at what she does, she goes the extra mile to be helpful and available to your needs. We have had in-house training sessions, as well as behavior training in her home and our dog loved her. We learned a lot about our dog and his needs. He improved in many areas and we felt like we had more resources to deal with his negative behaviors. Definitely recommend working with Johanna!"
"My Heartfelt Thanks to you for your very kind support, compassion and guidance! You truly are a beloved human being as well as a insightful trainer! We are both very grateful!"
-Marcie, Mountain View
"Johanna came by and literally within two minutes Kahlua was eating out of her hand. We will continue working with her!"
-Dave, Sunnyvale
"Really enjoyed the class today, it was very informative to my spouse and I. The most useful tool that we learned today was being able to keep our pet focused on us when in a highly stimulating environment, Very awesome dog trainer and very knowledgeable about dog behavior."
"I learned a lot during our training sessions and we both know that Darby did too! It was a fun and educational experience and I feel much more confident with what I need to do with Darby. Thanks for providing me with the tools and knowledge to move forward. You are a wonderful trainer and so easy to work with. Darby is going to miss your visits. Thanks again for all your help and great training knowledge! Really appreciate all you did for Darby and I".
-Darby's, Mountain View
"Thanks so much for your work with Sky. I believe that no one else would have made the progress that you have. I have enjoyed working with you and I have learned so much from you. Thank you once again… you are a very special person and I feel honored to know you".
"My dog is a fearful dog and hates going to the vets and at nearly 80 lbs. that is a problem. A few months ago the clinic suggested working with Jojo who not only is a great vet-tech but also a great dog trainer. Over the past few months she came to my house to work with my dog. She explained how we would go at his pace and build up the steps needed to take blood. We did visits at the office in between the training and did some of the things we had been practicing at home in the office. Today my dog ran into the office excited to see Jojo and the staff. He went through his routine and did not notice that someone was taking blood out of him. I think all the treats he got helped. I would highly recommend Jojo if you have a nervous dog and want to work out how to best help your pet".
-Anne, Mountain View.
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"Johanna is always kind and patient with our pets".
-Veterinarian, Sunnyvale.
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"I would like to thank you for all your help with Kush. My walks are so much more enjoyable since he learned not to be pulling the leash constantly (i walk him early in the morning while drinking my coffee, I never imagined that would ever be possible!). He has settled down quite a bit since working with you and definitely is a better listener and also less reactive to other dogs. It is also great to see how proud he is of the things he has learned."
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"We've just started working with Jojo and she has been a great teacher. She understands how to work with us humans to ensure our puppy is set up to be a well mannered dog."
"Thank you so much for your valuable expert training advice. You taught me to give him a familiar activity to keep his mind off the stressor. Additionally, if we hadn't worked on the basket muzzle as you suggested, I'm sure we wouldn't have had the success we had this week.
We appreciate all that you've done to help us with your natural talent with animals and your knowledgeable training approaches. Thank you for your continued advice through FB posts. You are a treasure!"
-M. San Jose
"Johanna and Hope for Canines is amazing with dogs! My kids think she has some kind of magic, based on how well our Bernese Mountain Dog behaves with her. Johanna has done both in-home training sessions with us and boarded our dog when we were on vacation. Her calm and positive attitude with the dog is exactly what he needed and she gave us great advice for how to manage and train away Buster's bad habits. I've left Buster with her several times and am 100% confident that he is well taken care of and very happy. He's thrilled to see her and the photos and videos she sends when she's taking care of him show a very happy, very obedient dog. Plus, his manner are noticeably improved when he comes back home! I am so happy we found Johanna and highly recommend her to all my friends with dogs!
-Amy, San Jose
"I can't recommend Johanna and Hope for Canines training enough. I'm thankful to have found her, and I have a wonderful dog today because she enabled and empowered me to train him well. You can try going at dog training alone, but to have a local resource is a much better way to do it. After 6 sessions, Targa was certified as an AKC Star Puppy, as he is well versed in everything from Sit, Down, On/off your mat, Stay, and a few other things. On that note, I'm signed up for another six sessions and the outdoor class she now offers to increase Targa's training and make sure he's got a solid foundation of training while he's young. I also have to mention how well she worked with Targa. He was always so excited to see her every time she came over he couldn't wait to get started with learning something else. You can really tell that she loves animals and that animals and training are her passion".
-Cristina, Santa Clara
"I adopted a year-old German Shepherd/Aussie mix last year who turned out to have what I will call issues in the presence of several factors in public; skateboards, buses, trucks, motorcycles, and other dogs would turn him into a barely-controllable ball of fury, swing on the end of his leash, barking, lunging, and snarling so ferociously that nearby pedestrians would back away in fear, or change direction altogether. While in this state, he would snap his jaws on anything close at hand including sometimes my arms or legs. I had no idea how to cope with all this. I employed a "trainer" to help me, but the prong-collar, pop-the-leash approach not only seemed counterproductive, but was misaligned with my values about animals in general, and dogs in particular. Seeing my desperation, a friend sent me a link to Hope for canines, and I've been working with Johanna ever since. Johanna's approach is to help people establish relationships with their dogs based on mutual respect. It seems to me after working with Johanna, that her aim is to condition the dog to deeply internalize a desire to work together with their person. Her knowledge of dogs and other animals is profound, and her understanding with them is a joy to experience. She coaches people to carefully observe the body language and understand the dog's thought process, rather than jumping to the conclusion that it's a "bad dog". My dog is not a stand-in for Lassie yet. But he is well on his way to becoming the supportive companion I was seeking when I adopted him. We have made enormous progress, and I expect our bond to grow even stronger and more mutually-supportive in the years ahead. As the name of her firm suggests, Johanna truly delivers hope. I highly recommend her services".
-Thomas, San Jose
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"JoJo just has a way with animals unlike anyone I've ever seen. I'll never forget coming home and seeing my dogs harmoniously hanging out with the neighbor dog who they had major issues with for a long time. I have the outmost trust in her when it comes to my dogs. She has always had a way of calmly getting them to behave, with a sense of mutual respect between herself and the animal. It is a true joy to see".
-Julie, Carmel Valley
"Our family dog is completely different today compared to when we adopted her a few years ago; it is amazing to see how much our dog has improved with the guidance and hard work that Johanna helped us with".
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I am seeing and feeling great improvement in both mine and my dog's focus and bond. This is a really GREAT thing! Thank you!"
-Outdoor class student
"JoJo has a gift that can only be seen through the work of art she creates with the animal kingdom, a talent she shares with all of us to have the perfect relationships we all dream of with our loving pets".
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"Having listened to her advice (and having observed her with her own pets), I have come to realize that Johanna has an impeccable understanding of the importance of timing, the principles of shaping, and the challenges in communicating with animals and facilitating learning. The best part is, as skilled and knowledgeable as she is, she is always seeking more training".
-Veterinarian, Santa Clara.
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