Balanced Companions -

Joanie Merrill

Birgit is an experienced and patient trainer that helped us become better dog owners. We learned how to address each issue we were concerned about. Her techniques gave respect and kindness to our dog and to us.

Andrew Turk

We adopted a young rescue livestock guardian dog from a shelter and contacted Balanced Companions due to needing support for training our dog. Birgit came and was quickly able to identify our dog's triggers and provided us with guidance on how to correct her behavior. One of just a few examples, our dog went from pulling constantly on a walk to walking beautifully on leash and responding to our commands. What sets Birgit apart from other dog trainers is her compassion and wealth of experience in dog training. She truly understands their behaviors and teaches us, as the dog's family, how to work with the dog to correct behavior and boost their confidence. Our dog went from being a scared, nervous dog to being so much more confident and excited to experience the world with us. Her sidekick, Yukon, is also a huge part of our dog's success with training. We appreciate them so much for teaching us how to work with our dog so that we can be successful together!

Annie Slagboom

Our puppy was timid when we received him. Birgit brought out the best in my dog. I highly recommend Birgit. She knew immediatly how nuture him and bring the best in my puppy. He adored her when she came to visit. Birgit coached us on how to become better doggie parents. Birgit's love for dogs is evident in training sessions . Chester is now a delightful, well mannered dog. He is a registered therapy dog and skateboards too. Thank you Birgit!!! You have been so helpful. You helped shape Chester into a great dog. <3

Amber Janes

Birgit is amazing. She taught me and both my pups so much! I would definitely recommend Balanced Companions to anyone looking for a dog trainer! Just look at how cute they are with my boyfriend’s granddaughter…all happy and relaxed after a great session.

Whitney Lenox

I was so happy to find Birgit and her canine partner Yukon! We recently adopted a blind cattle dog and we needed help introducing her to other dogs in a way that didn’t overwhelm her. Birgit and Yukon showed us what was possible for our dog and we’re amazed at the progress from 3 sessions! By the end, our dog was hanging out comfortably off leash with Yukon and on her best behavior. I’m so glad we invested in these sessions, so we could learn to be good dog parents and help our dog make great progress!

Mike Snavely

Birgit was an amazing trainer! We have 2 big doodles who had leash aggression and some issues with recall and Birgit gave us tons of tools to help and made us feel much more comfortable and confident on walks and at the dog park! We definitely recommend her to others!

Toni Andell

Birgit with Balanced Companions is a fantastic trainer ! I have a Siberian Husky, Ellie, who had some aggression & trusts issues especially when I would take anything away from her or if I came too close to my son when he was in his room (she was territorial of him). Birgit showed my husband and me how to show Elie that we were the leader of her pack in a non- threating manner and that she could trust us (she was with another family for 4 months before we got her so we think she may of had a bad experience prior to coming to our home).
Birgit worked with us to teach Ellie the basics such as stay, leave-it, come and how to walk on the leash without dragging us like she was a sled dog. She even helped train Ellie to walk along side our other dog which I would never been able to do without Birgit working with both dogs. After 12-weeks of training Ellie is such a well-mannered dog and is no longer aggressive. She is the most loving dog and we are so happy now that she has built a trust with us.

Ashley Adelman

We are very pleased with our experience working with Birgit! We have two large, energetic dogs who were at times hard to manage. It got to the point where we avoided having guests over and dreaded taking them out for walks because they were so excitable, barking, pulling, etc. After working with Birgit for just one session, we saw improvement. Now, we frequently have guests over without hesitation, and enjoy taking them out for walks and adventures.

She gave us the tools to confidently help our dogs remain calm in unfamiliar or new situations and gave us a better understanding of their reactions. She also paid special attention to one of our dogs who is fearful of strangers. Once we conquered training in our house and neighborhood, she encouraged us to try new challenges by taking the dogs to busy parks, Main Street, and do some sessions with her dog Yukon. It’s been an overall great experience. We look forward to continuing to work with her on an as needed/check in basis!