Crate Training: What It Is and What It Isn’t
Why bother with crate training? We humans take it for granted that dogs should naturally be okay with so many things, including being left in a crate. But we should …
Puppy training and socialization. Live online group puppy classes and private sessions. Invest in your puppy’s future today!
Tricks and enrichment for fun and mental exercise. Live online group tricks classes and private sessions.
Training programs to overcome behavior problems and reduce stress and worry for you and your dog.
Welcoming a new puppy or dog into your life?
Looking for something fun to do with your dog?
Frustrated or embarrassed by your dog’s lack of manners?
Worried about your dog’s fear, anxiety or aggression?
Enjoy life with a happy, well-mannered dog while celebrating your dog’s quirky, doggy personality.
Stop wasting time and money on dog training that doesn’t work, or worse, sets you and your dog up for a lifetime of conflict.
Gain confidence in teaching your dog to thrive.
Many people struggle with their dog’s behavior. My Fantastic Friend’s kind and effective training helps you bring out the best in your dog for a happier life together. At My Fantastic Friend, dogs love to learn!
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I help you bring out the best in your dog for a happier life together. I know how it feels to love your dog and be completely frustrated by their behavior. I’ve helped hundreds of people gain confidence in helping their dogs thrive in our human world. I’ll help you and your dog live together more harmoniously using proven methods that are patient, kind and supportive to dogs and humans. More info
Why bother with crate training? We humans take it for granted that dogs should naturally be okay with so many things, including being left in a crate. But we should …
Administering medications to a dog can be very challenging. Read on about how I helped teach a client dog to happily take her pills!
With so many people using food to train their dogs, it makes sense to get occasional questions or concerns. Here are some common ones.
Online dog training based in the Weaverville and Asheville, North Carolina area.
Sessions are live online via Zoom. In-person sessions not currently available.
My dog Max (3 1/2 year old black lab) and I have take 3 virtual class sessions with Jessica (and her pups doing most of the demos!). They have been fantastic (pun intended!?!)! I was not sure how virtual training worked, but it is even better for us. Neither Max nor myself are distracted by other dogs, places, or scents (scents are mostly him). It’s also so nice to be able to review the class via replay and/or never miss a class because of replay. Jessica is so patient and encouraging – to both the trainer and the dog. We both felt quite successful and Max loved all the extra treats during training sessions. Plus Jessica sends a cute certificate once you’ve completed the sessions and I’ve put Max’s in his baby…errrr puppy book. I highly recommend My Fantastic Friend – give the virtual classes a whirl with Jessica and you and your dog will not be disappointed – plus you’ll have so much fun.
Wow!! Jessica is amazing! I’ve been wanting to take virtual classes with Jessica for quite some time. However, due to the time difference, it was nearly impossible. After coordinating time off work and rearranging my schedule, I was able to take her manners class with my youngest. She is extremely knowledgeable and so so patient! I currently shadow an Academy trainer myself and her referral list is quite selective. Jessica is on that list so I knew she was going to be great! While we can’t take the second class at this moment, we hope to join the next round of Manners 2. I highly recommend My Fantastic Friend for your training needs!
Penny has some fear reactive issues so it was such a great thing to do this class at home! She really had fun learning the tricks and I looked forward to it every week. Jessica is a wonderful teacher, so kind and helpful. We’re looking forward to taking another round when our schedule allows.
Jessica is a wonderful trainer and makes her online classes fun and practical! She gives the right amount of time to demo’ing and then giving feedback to each person/dog team. I also love her emailed notes from each class!
We did Magnificent Manners with Jessica as a refresh class for my 8 1/2 year old Golden. She is very welcoming and knowledgeable. My dog loved it just about as much as I did if not more! He would be so excited to participate in the class. Jessica did a great job of providing feedback and differentiation for every dog! She had excellent suggestions on ways to increase the challenges for us and always kept everyone engaged. I loved how she would model the expected behaviors and show us different techniques to help our dogs meet the expectations. I would love to take other classes with her in the future and would highly recommend her to others as well!
I feel super grateful to work with Jessica for our rescue puppy Trixie! Jessica provides specific, positive, kind feedback to us humans and this helps us and Trixie learn. It’s amazing the small-but-important behaviors Jessica picks up on in Trixie and us over Zoom. This feedback helps us know what to look when training for on our own to know if Trixie is learning and when to back off to an easier step. Jessica’s written notes and handouts break down training into bite-size steps that are easy to follow. Really appreciate Jessica’s positive reinforcement approach that keeps Trixie feeling safe and is also so effective at helping her learn. Jessica tailored our sessions to different challenges that have come up with Trixie. Jessica’s coaching has meant we’ve made progress with Trixie on sit, down, staying on a mat, Door Is A Bore (for separation anxiety), carrier training, and more.
My online training sessions with Jessica Ring were excellent. We did private online sessions. I was very doubtful that online training would be helpful, but I was wrong. Online training from our home worked better than training at a center because our puppy was able to train in his own environment. I must also say that Jessica is an AMAZING trainer. She teaches you how to effectively train your puppy with positive reinforcement. Jessica is very patient. Her cheerful and kind demeanor makes you feel very comfortable with her as a trainer. We have made so much progress with our training, and her methods were effective right away. I would highly recommend My Fantastic Friend Dog Training to anyone!
Our rescue, Benny, wouldn’t let us out of his sight — or out of the house — for months. Working with Jessica allowed us to understand his anxieties and work to alleviate them. He’s like a different dog!
We took a virtual class with Jessica and it was AMAZING. If you’re tentative about taking a virtual class – don’t be! We got a ton out of it! She was able to answer all of our questions and gave us great recommendations. Looking forward to working with her again soon!
The best decision we’ve made! I highly recommend Jessica with My Fantastic Friend. She uses positive training and never does anything that makes the dog feel unsafe or scared. We sought out training with our new dog shortly after rescuing her and seeing some concerning behavior while on leash. Jessica was so great in understanding what was going on and provided us with so many resources to help us understand our dog and how they think. She also recognized other fears my dog was experiencing and contributing towards her barrier frustrations. We made the transition from in person to online half way through and it was seamless.
Jessica is the best!! Charlie and I had a great time in the Magnificent Manners class. We both learned a lot, and as a first-time dog owner (raising a young active pup by myself), I gained confidence in my ability to work with Charlie going forward. I’m hoping to take more classes at My Fantastic Friend, and I fully recommend Jessica for all your training needs – whether that’s a group class or private training.
Working with Jessica was absolutely amazing! She helped us get Gronk potty trained in just 3 weeks!!! She was there to answer questions for us anytime we needed her and checked in with us a couple of times a week. In addition to the miracle of going potty outside, Gronk has learned loose leash walking, automatic sit to greet, heel, touch, find it, look, go to bed….I’m sure I’m forgetting something because he learned so much!!! We are incredibly grateful to have found such a patient and knowledgeable trainer who went above and beyond for us!!!!!
After adopting a 2 year old dog with no prior training, I needed help. Jessica was amazing. After 6 weeks there was a noticeable improvement in my dog’s confidence and listening ability. The skills she teaches also gave me confidence in teaching my dog. Highly recommend!
Jessica and Mike are the best! We have learned so much in our puppy class and look forward to it every week. The class is very hands on and we have the opportunity to learn with our puppy. We look forward to continuing our puppy’s skills and manners with everything Jessica has taught us!
Jessica is a fantastic trainer who really cares about the dogs and owners! We took our pup, Indiana, to the Magnificent Manners class and it was great! We highly recommended My Fantastic Friend! Positive-reinforcement, force-free, etc.
Jessica is an absolutely fantastic trainer. She is patient with the dogs and with the people. We highly recommend her and will be doing further training with her. Thank you, Jessica!
Jess was great with our young puppy when we took him for the basic manners class. She was very upbeat and energetic and our dog loved her! I’d highly reccommend her to anyone looking to get their dog trained.
Jessica is SO awesome. I would 100% recommend her. She’s easy to work with, always responsive to emails, understanding of busy schedules, and amazing with pups. She clearly knows what she is doing, explains everything clearly, provides detailed handouts, notes, and feedback. We loved every training session and are looking forward to more in the future. Thank you Jessica for everything.