Welcome to the Bark Side of the Crescent City!

I provide force free and positive reinforcement dog training. Every dog is unique and I want to help you understand your dog’s behaviors and needs.

My goal is to improve both you and your dog’s quality of life.

Click here to learn more about my background and my training methods!

Testimonials

Sonja is amazing with people and with pets!!! She helped my partner and I merge households and pets when we weren't sure we could all live together happily. Now (after just a few short months) the dogs give each other kisses and love and listen too both parents!!!! We're taking our fur kiddos on their first ever family camping trip this weekend thanks to the skills we all learned!! I really cannot express my gratitude enough.

Zoey P.
Sonja is such a great and loving trainer. She helped my dog with her leash aggression and overall anxiety around other dogs. We did a board and train and my fur baby couldn't have been in better hands. She made a very in depth training plan to follow up with and was very thorough, helpful and communicative through the entire process. 15/10. I highly recommend!

Josh E.
Working with Sonja was an absolute game changer! I have a reactive rescue and I felt overwhelmed by the prospect of training. Sonja gave both of us the tools we needed to succeed. Beau is a changed dog!!

Tess M.
Sonja is wonderful! I am a first time dog owner and want to do right by my dog, Lala. Sonja was very sweet and patient with me and my dog. She has a way of teaching that was very easy for me to absorb and to apply to help Lala. Sonja helped me walk Lala and helped me with some concerns I had. She came into my home and watched Lala and my interactions. She showed me ways to help my dog work through some of her fears with positive reinforcement. It was lovely! She gave me some homework and was super sweet and checked on our progress. Lala is doing better than ever! Sonja, thank you for your help, compassion, and professionalism. I highly recommend her, she is the real deal!

T.T.
Thank you so much for all of the wonderful work that Ms. Sonja did in coming out and meeting with us and our new puppy Koko. Ms. Sonja spent an hour or so just observing the interaction between Koko and us, and then gave insightful suggestions on how we might improve our interactions. Ms. Sonja also followed up with a detailed accurate professional report on the session. We have implemented all of the suggestions, and our puppy issues are continuing to improve. We would strongly suggest your company based on our interactions and results. Ms. Sonja is truly a "Dog Whisperer". We will call on you all again if we have any other issues. Thank you.

Bill C.
Sonja is the most trusted, caring, knowledgeable dog-walker I have ever worked with. My dog has some special needs and there are very few people I would feel comfortable leaving her with--Sonja is at the top of that list. She is reliable, a great communicator, and brilliant in her training with only positive reinforcement, and it shows: my dog absolutely adores Sonja! As an anxious dog dad, I feel at ease knowing my dog is in good hands--and at the end of the day, I can see her marked improvements with Sonja's gentle touch and expertise. I truly can't recommend her highly enough.

Dorian R.