Certified Service Dog Coach Juliana Wintrob holds a CPDT-KA, PMCT-1, is Fear Free Certified and has completed the Aggression in Dogs Masters course and the Family Dog Mediation course. Through her business, Level Up Paws, she offers service dog training for guardians and their dogs in Brooklyn, New York. She also offers pet dog training and behavior help, as well as cooperative care, Canine Good Citizen training, and group classes.
What made you decide to train service dogs?
I was receiving inquiries from people in my community searching for service dog trainers. When I searched, I found there were very few in my area, and the ones that were available were still far from the people who contacted me. As I learned more about training service dogs, I found myself becoming passionate about the work. I wanted to be able to help more people in my community.
Tell us about your work training service dogs.
Most of my work is with families who have puppies, and we work on foundational skills together, building up towards service dog work once the dogs are older and ready. I love seeing the bond between the humans and their dogs during this work.
Tell us about your dog training business.
My business is Level Up Paws and I am located in Brooklyn, NY. One unique challenge is navigating an urban environment and how to create safe spaces to work that aren’t too distracting or stressful for dogs. I offer a variety of services, including service dog training but also training for fear and anxiety-based behaviors like stranger danger, dog reactivity, general anxiety, and noise phobia. One of my other specialties is cooperative care and I enjoy working with families who want to help their dogs feel better about care at home or in other environments like the vet clinic or grooming salon.
Has offering service dog training had an impact on your business? If so, how?
Yes, service dog training has allowed me to add another way I can help dog families in my community. It has allowed me to grow my business in a different direction than I was able to before becoming a service dog trainer.
What motivated you to enroll in the SDC course?
When I became interested in becoming a service dog trainer, I knew I wanted to find a program that could give me the skills to teach my clients and their dogs, as well as the business side of being a service dog trainer. When I researched, the SDC course included everything I wanted in a program!
What did you like the most about the SDC course?
Every part of the course was fabulous, but something that stood out to me was the pre-recorded video lessons, especially the tutorials on how to train specific tasks and behaviors. I thought they were very easy to follow and I liked how Veronica also provided some troubleshooting tips or variations on specific steps if your student dog wasn’t inclined to do the task a certain way.
What has surprised you about working with service dogs?
I’ve always been amazed with how much dogs can do and what they are capable of. But I got to see a different facet of their skills when I started working with service dogs and it was fun to see this new way that dogs could be so capable.
What advice would you give to trainers thinking about getting involved in service dog training?
I’d say it’s really worth going through a program or finding a mentor because so many people want a public access service dog and there’s a lot more to navigate than I thought when I was first thinking about it. Having a professional like Veronica and her program guide me through all the essentials and more was really helpful and made me more confident in navigating those complexities. I know if I had just tried it on my own without any sort of guidance I would have made a lot of mistakes.
Is there anything else you wish to share?
The dog community could use more service dog trainers, and no one trainer needs to do it all! Like in the general dog training community, where trainers tend to have specialties or niches, it’s okay to want to focus on specific types of service dog training work! That’s another really important takeaway I learned from the SDC course and my ongoing work with service dogs.