Out N' About Dog Training - La Mesa, California

Erin F

We started with Julie in her puppy class series which were full of information for new dog owners! We switched to her after learning our first trainer was a balanced trainer and what we ACTUALLY needed was a positive dog trainer. She got us started on the right foot. We continued in a semi private setting with another puppy for a bit. When issue have popped up we’ve hired her for 1:1 training and continue to use her as needed. You will not be disappointed!!

Jill Branch

Julie is amazing! I can’t say enough how helpful and responsive she was. She worked patiently with us and her training is done in real-life situations, i.e., on walks, in public, in parks, etc.

She listened to our concerns and the challenges we were having with our 6-year old rescue pup. After the very first session we had a better understanding of what we needed to do, and not do, and the training was customized to our lifestyle and our dog’s personality and behaviors.

Julie was a lifesaver for us and my only regret is that I didn’t find her sooner!!!! I would give more stars if I could!

Sharon Farrington

We have no hesitation giving Julie a 5 star review! She’s been a life-saver for our family. She worked with golden retriever, Bailey, as a puppy, helping us with all our many practical questions...how to set boundaries in the house, digging, relating with our older dog, dinner table troubles. Fast forward two years and we just had her work with Bailey again when our older dog passed on. Bailey was getting more and more reactive to other dogs when on leash, to the point where we didn’t want to walk him anymore. Julie worked with Bailey for a few sessions, then worked with us to make sure we better understood how to read Bailey’s body language and what he was trying to tell us. He is so much better!! It takes diligence now on our part, but we’re finding that has worked to improve our relationship with Bailey overall, and he’s more obedient in other areas now too. We highly recommend Julie and her gentle, reward-based methods.

Atalie Deal

To those who want the quick and easy answer:
Julie is beyond amazing! Perfect if you arent into/need to GET AWAY from the shock collars/prong collars/choke collars. Pure love and patience in this house. She builds up your dog handling confidence just as much as your dog's confidence!

Julie was THE ONLY trainer in the area that gave me an immediate call back AND instant consultation, over the phone, right off the bat (you'll find out why this is big at the end of the review). Being in Virginia, in the middle of a move, and of course the 2020 pandemic, i was at my wits end and I always appreciate immediate and upfront conversation.
We talked about everything. EVERYTHING. From where we are moving from, what training my dogs have had (Both of my boys had training in Virginia, and both of the trainers used prong collars, something that i wanted to get away from), what their skills are. Their individual personality quirks. What I was looking for out of training (leash skills. Barking. Confidence in my anxious dog, training my husband to handle the dogs. Yes. Husband training.) My own level of training with them. And where we were planning on living when we get to California. She guided us away from areas that wouldn't be conducive to our anxious one (gaslamp) and present options that were a compromise for everyone (Hello 7 flights of stairs, 3 times a day in Hillcrest!).

Now when it comes to the training of the doggos, Julie truly is a dream. After 2 weeks with her, my anxious little Duncan had a confidence i hadn't seen in months! He was relaxed, very playful, happy boy. She showed me her tricks to keep him from getting over excited and advised from him to have his own special quiet time spot to decompress.
My Shephard Mix, Loki, spent a week with her learning to not pull when we walk, how to be able to look at triggers without screaming like a banshee and how to wait to get out of the car, go out the door, run after food. She catered the training my boys received based on their own preference for wards (sniffs for Duncan, food/love for Loki) My dogs manners were fantastic and I felt comfortable bringing them in public together!

Lastly, the people training. Yes people. Julie was always very positive with the dogs and absolutely stayed positive with us. She pointed out the things we needed to work on as dog owners (tone of voice) and how to read and react to our pups. She advised us on fun games to play with them when feeding, to build their confidence and trust in us as dog owners and adjusted training words to meet our own personal weird verbiage that we use. She got my husband on the same page as the boys and able to handle them without him getting frustrated. We never felt belittled or shamed for our previous choice in training and discipline. Julie simply explained her concepts, her reasoning, and her execution of her master plans, even asking questions that offered opportunities to self reflect and realize when we have been inadvertently rewarding unwanted behavior and alternative actions we could use to get the behavior we wanted (i.e Ignore the air barking, then cuddles when hes quiet. INSTEAD of calling him over and having him train. He learned he was getting the attention he wanted!)

I spent many hours trying to find an affordable trainer that didn't use shock collars and focused on reward based training. . A lot of them were trying to force me into an "in person consultation" and upon further (and almost neurotic) search, I would usually find pictures of dogs wearing an indiscreet shocker on their neck. Nope.

Positivity was goal. And folks, let me tell you, positivity aint cheap. But it sure is worth it with it with Julie's guidance!

Claire Knight

My husband and I recently adopted an 8+ year old Jack Russell/Chihuahua mix from Frosted Faces Foundation. She had been in another shelter and we had no idea what her life had been like before she got to the shelters. She was both fearful and aggressive with people and other dogs. Frosted Faces recommended Julie and we couldn’t have had a better experience. Julie’s approach was just what we were looking for for our girl. All positive reinforcement for the dog and owners. She offers a six session package and gives you so much helpful information so that you can continue using on your own. Our “spicy” little Frosted Face has made so much progress. We look forward to signing up for one of Julie’s Salty Dog training sessions when available. Super experience!

Shawna Rosa

It's taken me a couple of months to write this review because life got crazy busy, but I had to come back to write it because we had such a great experience with Out N' About Dog Training. We did puppy preschool and kindergarten. I was a bit uncertain at how much we would get out of an online format at first, but after our first class, I was hooked. Julie was so attentive to what was happening at home and she gave feedback and instruction to each dog that was very specific and helpful. Then we would go practice social skills in drop in play.

Our previous dog, had been a year old and had been fearful from the moment we got her and would lash out or put herself in danger constantly. We had gone to a different trainer who said she was a hopeless case, so we could never take her places and had to be careful when we had anyone over. When we got our new Havanese puppy, I wanted to start him off correctly because we wanted to be able to have him with us. Julie helped us to work on essential obedience, and she also helped us to make sure we helped him grown into a happy, social dog. I'd definitely go back to Out N' About with another dog, and we will recommend Julie to family and friends too.

Dan Barron

We needed help with our 1.5yr old shy, scared but aggressive MX street rescue that we adopted at 5months old named Bella. We have no idea of her history on the streets but she clearly has residual issues with people and huge issues with other dogs. We had already done one round of dog training with another company which involved more negative reinforcement - that did not work very well in the long run with our scared little dog. We were getting frustrated with our progress with her and decided we needed to do another round of private training with a whole different skill set, approach and experience. We found Julie and Out N' About dog training and it sounded the right next step for us. Julie is all about positive reinforcement style training and this went very well with our shy Bella. We did the initial consultation via zoom, then decided to do another session in person with Julie. Julie was able get Bella to respond to her techniques very quickly, so we signed up for multiple training package. Our biggest challenge with Bella is approaching other dogs while out for a walk and getting past them in as controlled a way as possible. Julie taught us some positive ways to do this which really help. Bella has some odd social behaviors when trying to actually meet other calm dogs, and though we are still working on this, we now know what is happening and how to work through things in a positive way for both Bella and the other dog. Julie really is a very knowledgeable and a pleasure to work with.

Rebecca Ruffer

I cannot emphasize enough how much I recommend Julie. If you're looking at the plethora of dog trainers out there, it can be overwhelming, but Julie is truly so special. She is not only invested our puppy's growth and improvement (and our puppy's happiness and safety as well), but she is also just as invested in us as owners. She goes above and beyond, taking time outside of classes to check in and provide guidance. And on top of all of this, she's of course a phenomenal dog trainer.

Julie also recently started a Zoom class. Admittedly, I was skeptical of the class at first, as I didn't think our puppy would benefit from training at home. We gave it a shot, though, because we really like Julie's method of training. We are SO glad we did. The Zoom class is teaching us how to have a happy, balanced, calm home. The class covers so much more than just basic commands. Each class Julie adapts the lesson as she goes to cater to the issues and challenges owners and their dogs are facing. Even with other attendees, it feels very personalized. We wouldn't be able to get this kind of attention or direct feedback from an in-person group class. And, with drop in play sessions, Julie still gets to see our dog in person (those sessions are more than just play, too! training happening all the time) and see her progress.

We are so grateful for Julie and all she has helped and is continuing to help with. Highly, highly, highly recommend!