Annie was a rescue pup that entered our life in the midst of Covid and a year of many changes & moves. She was skittish & over protective, terrible on a leash, and a dog with endless energy....we needed help, especially with a newborn on the way. Renée came into our lives at the same time our baby arrived and helped us all get on track. Prior to even working with you, she spends a few hours getting to know you, your dog, and what you are hoping to get out of your time together. By the end of the first lesson, she had our dog listening and walking better, us laughing, and all of us totally exhausted. Her no nonsense approach makes the dogs (and us humans) shape up & pay attention. Since working with her, Annie has received kudos from the neighbors about being a much better behaved dog, others can enter our home without barking & jumping, and she is described by those that know her as a different dog. Beyond that, Renée's love of dogs and ability to create a sense of community through her charitable events, group lessons, etc. is what makes her so unique. When you work with Renée, she is always available as a resource & offers ongoing classes so you and your pup can remain engaged, focused, and on track. I would recommend her to anyone who has a similar pup to Annie- she will give them all the tough love they deserve!
Renée is the most knowledgeable, dedicated, honest, and fun dog trainer. We enrolled Barley, our shepherd/lab mix, into the Follow Me Dog Training LLC Puppy Steps Program in 2019 and have been continuing our education with Renée since then. Barley's favorite command is "place" and using it to stand on fire hydrants. Group classes have be invaluable for teaching Barley to be calm and comfortable in highly distracting environments. Renée even spearheaded his biggest task yet- being the ring bearer in our 2021 wedding! We cannot be happier with the skills and tools Renée has taught Barley and ourselves. We are confident you will not find a better teacher - or friend - than Renée.
When our children were old enough, we dreamed of having a family dog that would be an integrated part of our family and lifestyle. As that season of our life approached and we started planning to adopt a puppy we knew that selecting the right training partner was going to be critical to making this dream a reality. Renée at Follow Me Dog Training LLC came highly recommended - we loved that she is local to Richmond VA and we could continue a relationship with her after completing the initial training program. Our puppy joined the family a little sooner than expected, so by the time we contacted Renée she was more of a teenager than a puppy - some of the bad behavior was being compounded by the dog’s larger size and I was starting to fear we were in way over our heads and had waited too long to connect with a training partner. Renée came to our house for the initial evaluation and after learning more about her and the training method she uses, we decided the Board and Train training program was the best option for our family. While we didn’t want to be away from our puppy, we knew that the upfront investment in the more intensive training would be the fastest and most reliable way to getting the well-trained dog we wanted. The training period went by pretty quickly and soon Renée was back at our house teaching us the training and helping to integrate our dog back into the household. I was worried with our busy lives and two small children (ages 4 and 7) in the mix trying to “help” we would struggle to maintain the training methods at home. Renée was a true partner and was there for us as a resource when we had questions or concerns.
Fast forward - our VERY energetic field bred English Cocker Spaniel, Poppy, just turned two years old. Poppy isn’t perfect - we aren’t perfect (caregivers), but Renée helped us make our dream a reality. Poppy is so well behaved and because of this, she can be a big part of our lives and enjoy more freedom – we can take her to outdoor restaurants, bring her with us to the river house and to our property in Nelson County where she can be off leash and she’s earned the right to spend unsupervised time in our fenced in backyard. We recently took her to a KOA campground in the Outer Banks where she would have to be on leash a lot more than typical and exposed to a lot of new, stimulating people, pets and things - she did AWESOME. We look forward to continuing to explore new things with Poppy.
Her training allows for her to be a part of the family in all the ways we hoped she would. I am very grateful for Renée’s expertise and partnership that makes it all possible!
We want to thank Renée for all of her work with Indy and with us! We found Renée after a disappointing experience with another dog trainer. The difference was night and day! Renée is confident, calm, and gave us a TON of tools to help Indy remain confident and calm around our first baby. We practiced walking with a stroller and Renée provided us with plenty of resources for this new chapter as joint dog/human parents. THANK YOU!!!
I can not say enough good things about Renée and Follow Me Dog Training LLC! In 2020, I brought home an 8 week old Australian Shepherd/ Border Collie mix who was equal parts adorable and intelligent, mixed with a whole heap of chaos. To say I was in over my head was an understatement! Renée not only became Millie’s trainer and life coach (make good choices 😇), but mine as well! Renée calmly reminded me with every frantic text that the puppy stage would not last forever, and she was right. I now have the most amazing, well behaved dog that I feel comfortable and confident taking anywhere! The training I have completed with Millie under Renée’s guidance has created such a strong bond between us, unlike I’ve had with my previous dogs. The confidence I have in Millie’s behavior allows us to share so many more experiences out in the world than would be possible otherwise. Renée is 100% worth the wait and the investment!