Take the Leed

Working with Lauren has been one of the best investments we’ve ever made. Our 7ish year old rescue shepherd mix developed some reactivity to other dogs a few years ago. We tried all sorts of techniques and worked with a couple trainers, but her reactivity continued to get worse and worse. It got to a point where we were driving to the emptiest trails we could find, walking at all sorts of odd hours to avoid other dogs, and literally shoving food into our dog’s mouth to try to avoid a reaction. I had been averse to the e-collar because I didn’t feel like I had the knowledge and skills to use it in a way that wasn’t going to harm my dog, but Lauren gave us the confidence to use this tool in a way that feels fair, balanced, and productive. We just finished our fourth week of training with Lauren and the difference in our dog’s behavior already is unbelievable. Today she walked through a park off leash, surrounded by other dogs, and had zero reaction. I never could have imagined this was possible, and it’s only been a month!! Our dog is calmer, more confident, and so excited to join us on all the adventures she was missing out on because we weren’t able to manage her reactivity until now. We are so so so grateful we found Lauren.

I can’t recommend Lauren at Take The Lee’d highly enough—truly, I’d recommend her over and over again! My dogs Benny and Rollo didn’t have major behavioral issues, but after working with Lauren for just a month, I realized how much they needed this training. The difference in their behavior has been incredible—Rollo is noticeably more relaxed, and Benny is much better at managing his excitement. Lauren has this amazing way of teaching you how to communicate clearly and consistently with your dogs. It’s not about quick fixes—it’s about building trust, structure, and a stronger relationship. I’ve found it really helpful to take notes throughout the week so I can bring up specific situations during our sessions. Lauren is great at taking that feedback and adjusting the plan in a way that’s tailored to each dog’s needs. I consider myself a dedicated dog owner—but I couldn’t have done this without someone equally committed on the other side. Lauren has been that person. The process takes real effort, and I know the work doesn’t stop after one month—but seeing how far my dogs have come already makes me excited for how far they’ll go. Thank you, Lauren, for your guidance, your patience, and all the tools you’ve given me—and Moose, your dog, is the absolute cutest sidekick. If you’re even thinking about working with a trainer, I genuinely can’t recommend Take The Lee’d enough. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve made for my dogs.

We have a 120lb rottie named Koda. We met Lauren in 2022 and since then Koda’s life has drastically improved for the better. He used to be very reactive and protective to the point I was hiding behind cars on walks. Lauren quickly showed me that is no way to live and within the first lesson we were seeking out those same opportunities to grow that I was so accustomed to avoiding. Mid reaction, Lauren would tell me he is going to be the best boy which was hard to believe at the time but I still can’t believe how she really did that and did it so quickly. Now all this time later and continuing to follow her training method, Koda not only has many furry friends (and is the best lister of them all just like Lauren said) but also has a handful of human friends and counting. Koda still has a strong personality trait of really not liking to be pet which is extremely tricky since we live in a high rise in busy downtown constantly around people. But Lauren gave us guidance on this extremely tricky issue and since then we’ve set boundaries around strangers. Now, close friends and family that he’s know for a while can now be around him just like we can which I never thought would be possible since I was actually told by a previous “behavior specialist” that it wouldn’t be possible. Not only that, Koda makes such good decisions now that we didn’t need to relocate to a rural area like I originally planned haha, still live in busy downtown, and he can go to restaurants, bars, beach, basically anywhere and live his best life. We really enjoyed going to Lauren’s group class every weekend with a previous company but it wasn’t the same when the classes were run with this different trainer there. Whether you’re looking for basic obedience training or to correct major behavior issues, Lauren is the best in San Diego. There truly isn’t another trainer that can do what she does and I if everyone was introduced to Lauren when getting a dog, the world would be a better and happier place lol.

I met Lauren through pack walks and was really impressed with how she worked with the dogs. It’s clear how knowledgeable and skilled she is. Lauren handled groups of dogs calmly and confidently, maintaining a safe and structured environment at all times. Whenever my dog and I need help with training, I know I can always count on Lauren. I’m excited to continue working with her for our training needs. She continues to be a great resource for both me and my doggo.

Lauren has been incredible in helping my 1.5-year-old Australian Shepherd, Sasha, overcome severe reactivity and fearfulness around other dogs. Before Lauren’s training, walks were a challenge, but now Sasha has a reliable off-leash recall, increased confidence, and even enjoys playing with other dogs. Lauren’s free follow-up classes on the 1st and 3rd Sundays are a fantastic way to reinforce training, build confidence, and socialize. I highly recommend Lauren for addressing behavioral or obedience issues—her expertise and dedication make a world of difference!

Lauren trained our two reactive dogs. She has many years of knowledge of working and training many types of animals. I was really shocked how the electric collars worked so well for our pups. I had tried training them before with treats but that was not successful, it didn’t distract them enough when we were on walks and saw other dogs. In a short time with Lauren’s work, our dogs learned really fast and are now so easy to walk, with little to no reaction when seeing other dogs. And with Lauren’s group classes, makes it so much easier to get that close dog interaction with other owners who have had the same issues so everyone understands how you feel.

Best investment I’ve ever made. We adopted our siberian husky, Roan, less than three months ago and quickly realized he was reactive around other dogs, especially small dogs. After just four weeks working with Lauren and Moose, Roan is completely transformed. Training with Lauren helped us build a strong relationship with our dog and gave him the tools he needed to be cool, calm and collected around other dogs. It’s brought us so much joy to be able to bring him around town, see him playing happily with other dogs at the beach, and to know that we’ve been able to soothe the anxiety that caused his reactivity. Just give it a couple weeks time and you’ll have a dog transformed for life. Excited to keep training with him at group classes!

Lauren is an amazing, skilled, effective trainer. She helped us with our shelter adoption - our dog was sweet but completely untrained. He lunged, pulled, and barked at bikes, runners, dogs, cats, rabbits, etc. From our first meeting with Lauren his behavior improved, as did our knowledge. After five weeks of Lauren's caring and focused support, our dog was transformed! We can now walk anywhere, go to street fairs, outdoor restaurants, and parks. Working with Lauren is the best investment in your pet you could possibly make.

Lauren is wonderful and dedicated to helping us train our pupper. We have a husky mix who is very excitable and pulled on the leash when other dogs were around. After 4 sessions we were able to walk by other dogs totally calm, without any pulling. The best part is that we have the tools to train different behaviors ourselves. Highly recommend working with Lauren!

Given that I have two young children (ages 6 and 3) I wanted to ensure they would be safe with our new addition, boxer puppy, Rue. Lauren's insight regarding our pup opened my eyes to what an incredible dog we have on our hands. She read her behavior at just 4.5 months old causing me to feel more comfortable bringing her into uncharted situations. She instilled confidence in my ability to anticipate behaviors/situations should they arise. In regard to our other dog, senior Boston Terrier, Opie, Lauren's grasp on his demeanor has provided us the luxury of allowing him to be a more independent, off-leash (when appropriate! #petiquette ) Additionally, I placed full trust in Lauren when she used Opie as an evaluation tool for my neighbor's highly reactive german shepherd. Because Lauren has such confidence in her handing abilities, I felt comfortable handing over complete control of Opie while Lauren used him to assess the reactive neighbor dog. She took the time to make me feel secure that she had control of the situation and had a read on why the reactive dog was behaving in such a way. Using Lauren as a trainer for our babies has given us so much peace of mind, confidence and freedom to bring our fur babies along with us, whereas before we didn't know all the ways we could trust our doggies.