“Over the year 2017 I bought my wee Labrador girl Mabel who is beautiful but very energetic and as she was my first puppy I needed advice in how to train her correctly. After completing puppy school at my local vets they recommended further training and offered Julie’s name. I thought that was a brilliant idea so around April 2017 I contacted Julie. I wasn’t too sure how it would go or what to expect but WOW it was amazing! From the first meeting Julie was very welcoming and instantly Mabel just loved her. Julie really helped give great guidelines and advice on how to teach and train Mabel and if I mucked up Julie never made me feel not capable in training her in fact she empowered me in the training process. Mabel finished her Beginners class and I signed her into Intermediate class and that too was brilliant! When Mabel had finished Intermediate I felt rather concerned that now I was on my own but no I was wrong. Whenever I struck a problem with training Mabel all I had and still do is Message Julie and she gives me advice on what to do and even has gone out of her way to meet with me and show me personally with one on one training, etc. Julie has also discussed nutrition with me for Mabel as I decided that I was going to put Mabel on raw food as it seemed best for her. I couldn’t believe how helpful Julie was, Julie organised how much Mabel needs each day, ordered it, picked it up and packaged her meat for me. Julie has incredible knowledge of all aspects of puppy training and nutrition. She really forms a good relationship with both puppy and owner and to this day if Mabel hears Julie’s voice she starts getting excited and starts whining or barking for her. I am so thankful for all the support, advice and help Julie has given me to train and teach Mabel. You are awesome Julie, I could not have become the puppy Mummy I am today if it wasn’t for your guidance and help so thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts.”

“I have used Julie for Obedience for two of my older dogs ,  Agility  for one and as a Behaviourist currently. I love her prices and the way she connects with each dog, even remembering their names from months ago. I would happily use her again and recommend her for all your dog needs.  ”

“I discovered Julie’s classes on Facebook last year and contacted her in regards to some issues we were having with our girl Sasha. Julie gave some amazing advice through email and from there I decided I would take Sasha along to one of Julie’s classes to get her some more exposure in a controlled environment.
Straight away I knew it was a good decision as Julie greeted us openly and despite Sasha not wanting a bar of her at the start Julie has worked with Sasha to gain her trust as she has been ready. Sasha is a bull breed type which usually gets us sideways looks and cautionary approaches, this has been particularly hard with some of the behaviours Sasha has exhibited whilst out due to being anxious.
So far we have attended the Beginners and Intermediate classes with amazing results, Julie has encouraged and supported us the whole time never taking any experience as a negative one but more something for us to learn from and train for. I feel Julie has definitely helped us get Sasha to a happier and calmer state with a good amount of confidence. I would highly recommend Julie to anyone looking for a Dog trainer and have already encouraged friends and family to attend classes or contact Julie for assistance.”

“Zena was from a Christchurch rescue who were looking for a quiet experienced home for a naturally shy 14 week old puppy. Although I had been ideally looking for a dog to do obedience\agility training the sad story of her hiding from potential new families, plus a great ‘love at first sight’ meeting with my elderly dog, meant we had a new family member.
Like many shy dogs Zena was very willing but her extreme people shyness was a challenge. I needed to find a trainer who understood how to work with fearful dogs, word of mouth led me to Julie Donovan. Zena and I have been attending various classes for 12 months. The class environments provided a great way for Zena to interact with a large variety of people and dogs in a safe and fun way.
Julie was very good at helping me adjust my training style to better suit Zena. She was always ready to offer helpful advice and encouragement. We have now joined up with Obedience and Agility Clubs and look forward to our next set of challenges.
A big thanks to Julie and everyone who participated in the classes.”

“Julie has been instrumental in helping us safely introduce our high energy dog to the new baby. After our training sessions I now feel confident walking both dog and pram together, which I thought I’d never be able to do. Julie is always available to answer my follow up question’s, and her positive attitude and flexibility to tailor the training to our particular situation has worked wonders.”

“Nick and I are the proud humans to a chocolate Labrador, Charlie. I remember the day we got him, it was a Saturday when we set off and collected this wonderful new bundle, of what we thought at the time was a relaxed and quiet wee chap, alas not!  Our wee boy turned out to be a very sick little guy but, once on the mend, it turned out he was an extremely high energy and active dog that find himself in the middle of anything and everything and it generally didn’t involve the best decisions on his part which resulted in a couple of very expensive operations!
At our wits end, we called on Julie (who had been recommended to us by several people).  Julie helped us make sense of what Charlie was up to and, more importantly, why.  We had one-on-one consultations, attended obedience classes (and latterly agility classes) that Julie takes.  These were always relaxed, fun and informative.  There was never a question that we had that Julie wasn’t able to answer.  Julie also made it so that we could understand plainly and simply why things were happening and what we needed to do to overcome whatever the particular obstacle was – she was also able to do this with Charlie as well.  Julie has always been gracious with all the time and effort that she puts in for us.  Julie has never let us down, she has always been able to help us achieve our goals and, without doubt, always puts the best interests of both us and Charlie, first! Julie always strives to reach the best solution for everyone and we loved that she didn’t just care about Charlie’s well being, she cared about ours as well.
Charlie absolutely loves Julie, as do we.  Nick and I are forever grateful to her and cannot recommend her highly enough.”