Julie’s Background

You might say that Julie has a PhDog in training. She completed (with honors) the world renowned San Francisco SPCA Dog Training Academy in 2004, earning a Certificate in Training and Counseling (CTC). This is an intensive program where a class of only ten students trains with the industry’s best dog trainers, using the SPCA dogs to make them more adoptable for re-homing. Many of the dogs presented at the shelter are extremely challenging and most have received no previous training at all.

Julie is an active member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers and attends seminars and activities to keep up on current trends in dog training and care. She qualified and passed an exam in March 2006 to become a Certified Pet Dog Trainer (CPDT). Find out why you should hire a CPDT trainer.

Julie was married in November 2007 and changed her name from Sontag to Sonenberg. Julie and her husband, David, had Dexter perform as their "Best Pug" in their wedding ceremony.

Manhattan became the new permanent residence of Julie and Dexter in 2002. She tried her hand at the finance department of a major book publishing company, as well as a position as Senior Analyst at a boutique commercial real estate consulting firm. Her desire to work with dogs was only quelled by teaching Dexter numerous useless but adorable tricks which they showed off in a neighborhood nursing home when Dexter was approved as a Therapy Dog through the Bide-A-Wee organization.

Dexter came on the scene in early 2001. Julie and Dexter completed two positive reinforcement training classes with Dawn Sylvia of Merit Puppy Training in Washington, DC. Having been the star of the class, and ah-hem, teacher’s pet, Julie assisted Dawn in her subsequent group puppy and adult dog classes in 2001 and 2002, using Dexter as an example dog.

B.D. (Before Dexter), Julie occupied her spare time and filled her “doggie-withdrawal” cravings by working at Best Friends Pet Resort and Salon, a boarding kennel in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Although she had a full-time job in hotel mortgage financing, she worked as a “Playtime Associate” on the weekends, entertaining boarded clients.

Julie is a Dean’s List graduate of Cornell University. She graduated with a BS specializing in Hotel Management. The focus of this undergraduate business program is in customer satisfaction. Julie takes pride in not only being able to train dogs, but also having the communication skills to convey her methods to you, the client.