I Can! K-9

We’ve boarded our Australian cattle dog with Julie three times and each time has been a positive experience. She’s flexible, helpful and dependable, and even on holidays is very accommodating. I know Amelia will come back happy and clean. Thank you Julie!

Can’t say enough great things about Julie and I Can! K-​9. I brought my new puppy with dominance and slight aggression issues to Julie and when he came home he was a changed dog. He is softer, obedient and now fits into my household. Julie gave me the tools to maintain my dog’s behavior and she is so patient and knowledgeable about what she does. You have to do the work once the dog returns to your home, but Julie prepares you for this.

aWESOME Lady. Really attentive and easy to work with. True professional. Would be glad to use her anytime. Thanks again!

I rescued my little cattle dog from the shelter and although she initially showed lots of affection about a month after I got her, lots of negative behavior became evident. From nipping at peoples heels to snapping at dogs and people. Walking through our neighborhood was a real challenge. I believe she had been in a back yard with no socialization or exposure to the outside world, When I first got her I immediately put her in a beginning obedience training class that used the click and treat method. It was good for basic commands but did not working on the big issues. I really didn’t know if I could keep her and did not have the heart to return her to the shelter. Some of my co-​workers had had their dogs trained with Julie and recommended her highly. I took her to Julie and we began with small steps just getting her to do basic commands and to learn to relax without overreacting. We had an out of town business trip for 3 weeks and we boarded our dog with Julie. While we were gone we had her work with her. Upon picking her up, we saw a remarkable improvement in her behaviour. She is much more relaxed with other people and dogs. Walks and outings have become a pleasure. I even have her learning herding. Thanks Julie!

You could not pay me to write a better review. Julie is amazing. We just got a new Komondor puppy. It’s not a common breed, and he can be very stubborn and headstrong. I was having a hard time understanding how to handle the puppy’s constant mouthing, as well as his extreme aversion to walking on a leash. After 5 days with Julie he was like a new puppy, and Julie explained so clearly how she worked with him so that we could go home and continue training. We are on the road to a happy, stress-​free and obedient dog.
The thing I like most about Julie is how practical she is. She doesn’t bullshit you, and she bases her training on science, coupled with common sense. The results speak for themselves. When we dropped our dog off he would constantly buck, pull on, and bite the leash. After the week or boarding, he walks right by my side, looking up at me to see where I want him to go (okay at least half the time but he’s getting better every day!). Thank you Julie!

Julie is unbelievable!!! She knows her stuff big time. She has been such a blessing to my family helping us get our pups in order. From the moment I spoke to her I felt such a calm about her that I knew we found our trainer. Not only does she explain things in such a way that it all makes sense, she has the patience of a saint. I had given up hope for one of my little rescues but now Julie is making her a totally obedient pup.
Her facility is state of the art, her mock living room, the infinity pools and all of the training areas were spotless and top notch.
Julie you are truly amazing and we are so grateful for you.
Honestly she is the best, honest, loving, caring and easy to learn from. We are clients for life.

A few months ago I brought my little Lakeland Terrier puppy, Fozzie, home and quickly realized that he was a feisty force of nature that I couldn’t control. Thankfully, another trainer recommended Julie and she’s turned my stubborn and selectively deaf puppy around into a mostly well behaved and lovable little guy. I’ve learned a lot and love her philosophy which involves training both the dog and the owner. This is essential because Julie will return your dog back to you in tip-​top shape and I’ve learned from her that it’s up to me to keep him that way. I’ve had challenges and questions along the way and she’s always been responsive and thoughtful. If you’re looking for someone that will teach you and your dog how to coexist and understand each other, while still having fun, you can’t beat the comprehensive training and service you get here. Fozzie and I can’t wait to go back soon!

Julie is absolutely amazing! We have two rescues, one is a pit/​lab mix (Cooper) and the other is a blue nose pit (Roo). We rescued Cooper when he was just two months old and Roo we found on the streets in our neighborhood. It was clear she had been abused… malnourished, cuts and scars and pretty terrified of people. But she immediately bonded with Cooper and we knew we had to keep her. As she became better around us and other people, she started to develop some leash aggression towards other dogs. We knew we needed to correct it before it became a big issue. Which is why we called Julie. We immediately felt at ease. Everything she was saying made sense and it was clear she had dealt with these same issues in other dogs thousands of times. Though we were reaching out to her for Roo, all the training she was walking us through really seemed to applied to both of them. So we decided to put them both through her 21 day bootcamp. Julie kept us updated throughout the entire process. We did a couple training visits at her facility before the final pickup day and each time we saw them they seemed just as happy as ever. Julie then followed up the training with some in home visits where we walked her through our daily routine. She customized things for our specific needs and the dogs responded to everything like champions. Roo’s leash aggression has already improved tremendously as we continue to instill the training daily. Because of our confidence and trust in Julie, she has now become our go to boarder when we leave town.
I’d recommend Julie to anyone as she’s really helped our dogs lives and our lives tremendously!

I am a professional dog trainer as well and this is the only place I will leave my working Rottweiler for boarding. They are familiar with handling any dog and he returns home safe and happy! I always recommend to my clients, especially if they have a tricky or special needs dog.

We were very happy to find Julie after spending many months and quite a bit of money trying various other training companies.
Julie in General
As humans, Julie and my partner and I are very different people, this is why we could never strike out a life long career as a dog trainer and behavioralist and thrive like she has. Julie carries herself with the supreme confidence that only people who have done work in their field as long as she has holds. She is meticulous about technique and explaining to you why she is choosing to use particular tools and interventions. Of course she holds exceptional patience and understanding for both the dogs and for their owners.
Technique
Julie uses an eclectic array of tools, sourcing from operant condition (think Pavlov), positive reinforcement, lure-​reward training, marker training and types of techniques whose even technical terms I don’t know the name of. Before beginning she will thoroughly assess the current state and needs of your dog to know which interventions to use. The other aspect I enjoyed about working with Julie was her understanding that to maintain interest from the dog it’s not just about asserting your authority but training the animal into wanting to conduct the behavior you’re proposing.
For us, the two main issues were her leash aggression and separation anxiety at night. Before seeing Julie, we had just turned the corner to 7 months and within 2 weeks Kelari transformed from a playful goofy friendly pup on walks to freaking us out almost every time we anticipated seeing a dog on a walk because it would lead her to reach an explosive, barking and pulling state. We were also struggling to calm Kelari every night before bed, she hated sleeping alone in the kitchen and in order to help manage this behavior we would sleep WITH Kelari IN the dog bed until she fell asleep. Ridiculous, I know.
Outcome
Julie will emphasize that 21 days is the best amount of time to create a solid foundation for behavior modification. We were only able to leave her with Julie for about 15 days. But even then, the results were remarkable, while she was in training we visited her 2x, at each meeting it was like seeing a new dog. Julie would use these sessions to train us on how to continue the training and reinforce the behavior at home. One surprising outcome has been that Kelari is
Julie helped us create a foundation but it’s up to us to help continue and reinforce these behaviors. Kelari hasn’t been perfect (but we haven’t either) but she is much more easily controllable on leash and she no longer exhibits intense separation anxiety. Now when we see other dogs on the street «getting away» with certain unruly behaviors we are so thankful to have met Julie. An important thing to note is that like all relationships, there is continual work in order to grow and stay dynamic with new conditions and challenges. I don’t think this is any different for the relationship with your dog and we expect to see Julie for other roadblocks in Kelari’s future.
Overall, the mastery that Julie exudes is due to her 30 years of work in this field, combined with her tenacity and grit working with a diverse array. You won’t regret working with Julie!

We took our 12 week old stubborn bulldog to Julie and it’s the best decision we ever made. We sent our dog to Julie for a 3 week training class. She is so well behaved and still super lovable. Of course we still have to put work in because she is still a puppy. But we are extremely pleased with the outcome. Especially because we don’t have the time to invest in training our pup full time. Even if I did have the time I’m not sure that I could do it. Julie is always open to answering our questions. And sadly when she goes to Julie’s for boarding she seems happier to see Julie than us. Julie has also trained us and prepared us for outside dog encounters and safety issues regarding our dog. She also does home visits and helps us set up an environment that is good for us all. I would recommend Julie to any of our friends. I would not wait. It’s best to send the puppy to her so they don’t learn bad habits. And future dogs we have will be going to Julie too.

We recently adopted our new dog Precious from Julie. She was a rescue that Julie was fostering. She’s done a wonderful job with her — taking her from an absolute street dog & transforming her into a well trained member of the family. It’s been a week since Precious has joined the family & it’s been a great experience having Julie guide us along the way as she settles into her new home. Her training techniques have not only shaped Precious into a very well behaved dog, but have been great teaching us & the kids how to properly raise & guide a young dog. Thank you Julie! We love Precious!!!

This is the best thing that’s happened to my Golden Retriever/​Bull Terrier puppy! Julie is nothing short of a magician! She turned my super high energy, garden-​destroying, hand-​gnawing, all-​night-​barking, uncontrollable puppy into a wonder of a dog! Before Lockwood Canine training, walking my dog was nearly impossible. She is so strong she would literally drag me from place to place and bolted through the door any chance she had. I was a the point of quitting when I found Julie. 3 weeks with Julie were enough to completely transform her! I cant say how very happy I am I found Julie and how satisfied I am with her services.
I highly recommend her!

Simply put, Julie is a savior. She’s helped us turn our dog, Augie, into a respectful, non-​reactive gentleman who LISTENS. This feat is very impressive as he’s a power breed who previously insisted on doing whatever he thought best… despite our best efforts to convince and «train» him otherwise. When we first adopted him from the shelter, Augie was like a whirling dervish. We had to attend to him constantly, similar to the around-​the-​clock demands of a newborn baby. Little Augie was a seriously high-​maintenance and genetically challenged pup. Did I mention that we are the opposite of slacker parents? Yup. We had our dog enrolled in training since the week we adopted him. At first, we tried 100% positive reinforcement training for many, many months. We made some progress but it basically seemed to confuse him more than anything else. Meanwhile, when he felt like being reactive, he’d react. When he felt like jumping up, he did. When he felt like pulling on the leash in all directions… you guessed it! He did. His behavior was unpredictable and becoming a major concern. We read books, watched Cesar Milan, tried the Gentle Leader, walked him to the dog park every morning, exercised him 3 hours a day, etc… all for naught. Augie’s bad behavior remained entrenched and was actually starting to get worse. He began to show signs of aggression to both humans and dogs, in a variety of situations. After hours of research and speaking to various dog trainers, enter Julie. The first time we spoke on the phone, Julie spent almost an hour talking to me about Augie and explaining her methodology. It made sense. She utilizes the whole «toolbox» of dog training, drawing from scientifically proven techniques. Still, as skeptical ex-​New Yorkers, we don’t put any faith in anything unless we see results. Julie’s confidence about Augie’s behavioral improvement potential was very compelling so we signed up for the program. Sure, it was hard to send our little buddy off to boot camp but it was the smartest decision we ever made. After three weeks at Julie’s intensive in-​kennel training, we definitely saw serious results. We were believers. Julie has since spent countless hours training not only Augie but also teaching US what to do in every situation. She conducts each session with an amazing amalgam of compassion and discipline. This woman has the patience of a saint. As demanding as her schedule is, I don’t know how she keeps her cool at all times. Julie always explains everything thoroughly and never makes you feel like you should be «getting it» quicker or doing it better. She’s a top notch trainer. There’s a reason her business is based off only referrals. If you want to have peace of mind, call Julie. Joy has now replaced that unpleasant stressed-​out feeling we used to have with Augie. Case in point: I just took my pup on a 45 minute off-​leash walk where we passed lots of different types of people, dogs, horses and various distractions. Augie listened to my every command! The best part about the whole process: we can tell that Augie is much happier now that we know how to properly guide him. Thank you, Julie. Your direction and expertise have forever changed the quality of life for us and for Augie.

We sent our Rottweiler puppy to Lockwood for «Bootcamp» and were completely satisfied with the results. I did a lot of research on different training programs and facilities and spoke to a few different training programs, but Julie really took the time to explain her methods to me and made me feel comfortable asking questions. When I brought our puppy to her facility for Bootcamp, I was pleasantly surprised by how nice the facility was and how clean and new it all looks. There’s multiple training areas and she uses her real house, which is built into the facility, to give the dogs real world training experience! I did training sessions during Bootcamp at Lockwood and when camp was over Julie brought out puppy home and did a training session at my house as well!
I trust Julie completely with my puppy and have since brought her back for a week of further training days mixed with just regular boarding days (which is pretty low cost) twice when I’ve had to go out if town for work. Last visit, Julie even showed me a video of her practicing ignoring distractions with her new buddy, Barney the cat!
I highly recommend Julie and her training facility (which I believe is actually called «I Can K9» now).

Lockwood Canine has been a life saver for me and my dog! I adopted a female Australian Kelpie/​Border Collie mix. I had no understanding of the level of commitment that I had gotten myself into. Julie educated me and trained my pup so that now I can fully enjoy her. Thanks you Julie!

I have used them twice to board my dog, mostly because it is close and the price is unbeatable. Julie is very friendly and seems to really know what she is doing.

Julie Iles has been a lifesaver for us and our dog. We highly, highly recommend her.
We rescued our 1 year old lab mix and he was a 65 lb handful — no discipline, pulled powerfully on the leash making walks/​runs very unpleasant, couldn’t calm himself down, and got overly excited around other dogs. We all assumed he had been a backyard dog who had never been on a leash or given much love. We needed help.
A friend recommended Julie as we were doing our research. We read Unilocal reviews, had phone calls with 5 – 6 trainers, and visited a few facilities. What impressed us about Julie was her no-​nonsense, down-​to-​earth, and research based approach to training, and her obvious love of dogs. She struck a great balance of discipline and positive reinforcement. Other trainers were one extreme (borderline abusive) or the other (unrealistically positive).
We decided to do the 21 day in-​kennel program with Julie. It was about the same or slightly less expensive than our other options. We visited once per week to be trained ourselves, which was invaluable. It feels like we needed and received as much training as our dog. We’ve done 3 – 4 lessons after the initial training, which have been very helpful, and Julie is generous with her time when it comes to phone calls for questions.
The results speak for themselves. He was like a new dog when we picked him up, and we could actually start enjoying our time with him. He always walks on our left, doesn’t pull on the leash, comes when we call him, drops things in his mouth on command, and can calm himself down. It’s really amazing. BUT, you have to follow through. Julie will teach you exactly what to do and for your sake and your dog’s, take her advice. Our friend who initially referred us didn’t do this and his dog is great but not nearly as sharp as when she was first trained by Julie.
Our advice: do your research, watch online videos on You Tube or the trainers website, and then go with Julie :)

Julie embodies what it means to be an honest, strong, and disciplined individual. She has a willful and compassionate personality, uniquely allowing her the ability to directly and assertively approach the miss-​management or obedience related issues that are so often encountered when raising a new dog. With my puppy Shylo, who is EXTREMELY dominant and easily excitable, she was able to accomplish, in a very short time, what I have never been able to do. Leading by example, Julie has helped me learn a proper training and exercise regiment, that when followed will ensure the continual positive growth of Shylo’s character, and a skill set to maintain the forward progression of our evolving relationship. Her commitment and fierce dedication to achieving results, makes it quite easy to confidently recommend her services to ANYONE who is looking for a trainer or a safe, clean, and beautifully designed boarding facility for their dog.
But in regards to Shylo and myself, Julie has accomplished much more than what was expected. In many ways our training session have been therapeutic for me, inadvertently helping me develop positive characteristics within myself. At times while she is explaining a certain technique or behavior in Shylo, I find that, incredibly enough, it parallels a certain perspective I may have, and the principles behind them can be adopted by me, creating an even bigger and stronger connection between my teenage puppy and myself.
Working with you Julie, is always a pleasurable and enlightening experience, we look forward to many more lessons, and I would like to thank you for your loyalty, hard work, and the dedication you’ve so graciously expressed towards me and my
of couse the Dog is Man’s Best Freind.

After one too many aggressive incidents with his dog walker, I reached out to a series of dog-​loving friends to find a solution for my five year-​old chihuahua, Wags, and was refereed to Julie.
On many occasions I have referred to Julie as my savior. Not only did she take the time to get to know my dog before taking him in for a two week period, she spent an great amount of time with me explaining the training process that he would go through and teaching me the techniques I would need to know in order to reinforce his training once he was home. Since I was so ready to take my dog’s happiness and safety seriously, this was exactly what I was looking for.
While Wags was at training camp with Julie (followed by an additional two week stay that coincided with a work trip of mine) I received regular updates about his progress that set me at ease. Any dog owner knows that separation anxiety is the same for owners as it is for dog!
When my boy came back to me, it was a glorious reunion. The difference in his demeanor and respect for the authority figures around him was present for the first time since I’ve owned him. It was a constant effort at first to maintain the training (and I can’t stress the importance of that enough), but the visible daily improvements in behavior made it worth it.
Since Wags has been trained by Julie, I have also taken her recommendations for dog walking services from Pros 4 Dogs and sent Wags to stay with her when I’ve had to leave town from time to time. Her rates are beyond fair, she provides pick up service when available and is an absolute joy to work with. I dig her sense of humor, too. :)