Seventh Heaven Pet Care offers Dog Training services in the Richmond, VA area and the Northern VA area. My focus is on helping you build a positive and rewarding relationship with your dog! I use only Positive Reinforcement training methods and follow the LIMA guidelines that direct us to the "Least Intrusive, Minimally Invasive" methods to train your dog. What is Positive Reinforcement Training?

 

Positive Reinforcement Dog Training involves rewarding your dog for the things they do right and replacing unwanted behaviors with new, positive behaviors. Check out my testimonials to see how well this works! 

 

The reward could be a toy, a game, or a treat – whatever your dog wants to work for. To some people that sounds like a bribe, not training, and they want their dog to obey just because they should. But positive reinforcement training is neither a bribe nor a gimmick. It’s based on the science of animal learning, and it’s incredibly effective.

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To learn more about Positive Reinforcement and LIMA, this is a great resource! Policy Statement of the IAABC on LIMA

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The goal is to teach your dog to make better decisions and regulate their emotional responses. This leads to better results, a better relationship with your dog and a great time! 

What more could you ask for? 

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EXPLORE OUR TRAINING PROGRAMS! 

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My Story:

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My original training experience before I pursued an education in the field was with my Wheaten Terrier who came to me by chance but was very fearful and not trained to live in a house or in a city environment as she was raised in a puppy mill. I was able to work with her and she is now the mentor dog that helps me with reactivity training. 

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After running a home daycare with autistic children as a part of my classroom for 13 years, I was looking for something new and worked for my friend to learn the dog walking/pet sitting business. I started a dog walking /pet sitting business in 2019 and worked with dogs that had behavioral issues primarily. During Covid, I was able to take the time to pursue online certification. I have mentored with Dr Amy Pike at Animal Behavior Wellness Center in Fairfax, one of the leading Veterinary Behaviorists in the country and am now one of the trainers that the Animal Behavior Wellness Center in Richmond regularly refers behavior cases to. I also mentored with Jennifer Pennington of Lead With Fun and taught group classes for her. 

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I have been working with private training clients for about three years. If you look on my Google profile you will find training references and there are also some on my Website. 

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I began to transition down to Richmond in 2023 and moved to my house in Varina in Maya of 2024. I am currently ramping up the dog walking/pet sitting part of the business to complement the training services.

I currently have my CCDT certification and am studying for my boards to take the CPDT-KA exam. I have completed the Master Class for Aggresssion in Dogs and am Fear Free Certified. 

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The why of choosing this profession is that I find helping people and dogs fulfilling. When working in my dog walking and pet sitting business it broke my heart to see some off the struggles that owners who loved their dogs went through when their dogs had behavior issues and how hard it was for them to manage those issues while juggling all of their other responsibilities. 

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I designed my walking services to help these owners by taking extra time to train my contractors in how to compassionately and safely handle dogs that had been turned away by other services or daycare situations. I learned a lot in the process of designing protocols and programs for these dogs. Getting certified seemed like the next logical step. 

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I also am passionate about being part of the movement to train dogs without using fear, dominance and pain. It is not a huge leap from working with children with Special Needs and dogs with special needs. It is surprising how many techniques follow from one to the other! 

Jenny Stevens, Lead Trainer

Owner, Seventh Heaven Pet Care 

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My goal is to help Owners to create cooperative and rewarding bonds with their dogs while meeting the dog’s need for agency and understanding.