NorthShore Canine Academy

Sophie is wonderful!! We adopted our little pup Nola with her help, and happily hired her for some private training sessions. She is reliable, empathic, attuned to the pup and us owners, and we learned so much! We are so grateful for her and will recommend her always and continue to think of her for all our training needs. More...

Reviewed on Facebook

We hired Sophie for private training lessons when we got our Labrador (11 months old at the time). We wanted to try private lessons so we could have more effective one-on-one training instead of the group lessons we had done with our first Lab. We found Sophie and couldn't be more pleased. Sophie is a remarkable trainer. All of her methods are based on positive reinforcement which makes the process enjoyable and effective. The results were literally immediate. It's pretty amazing to see her work with our dog and witness how effective she is. It's also incredibly helpful to have the training specific to your own home. You simply can't get that through group training. We also appreciated that she had written training materials/homework we could refer to when practicing outside of the sessions. Made things so much easier for us. Sophie was a joy to work with. We highly recommend! More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

Sophie is a pro at what she does. She did a fantastic job training our pup and us! She provided lots of tips and showed us the right way to train our girl. Couldn’t have asked for a better experience. Thank you, Sophie!! More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

Just a great trainer and genuine and kind personality. Sophie immediately bonded with our puppy and needed just two sessions to help train both her and us! The kids are already better with her and our pup is better with them. Sophie provided simple tips and quick training activities that help you keep from scolding your dog and focus on reinforcing the good behavior. We hesitated to spend on individual training, but so happy we decided to do it. Could not more fully and heartily endorse her. More...

Reviewed on Facebook

Sophie was extremely knowledgeable and patient with our family of six helping us train our new puppy. It was remarkable how quickly Sophie understood our dog and could develop a plan and teach us how to follow that plan. We now have a very well behaved happy dog. Thank you Sophie! More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

We have had the pleasure of working with Sophie Amphlett over the last month and would highly recommend her. She is patient, calm, thorough and fun. We have 2 Labs, a pup and and an 8-year old. We first addressed my issues -pulling on the leash, going crazy when the doorbell rings, jumping up on people. I had specific things to practice between sessions, clear directions and Sophie gives you a very comprehensive booklet that covers almost everything. The dogs love working with Sophie and so do I. She has an impressive list of credentials, but I think her secret is she speaks dog. Nobody does it better. More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

Sophie was great with our new Puppy. She quickly learned all the tasks we worked on. She was a wealth of knowledge on dogs and our puppy loved her!

Reviewed on Google Maps

Our family highly recommends Sophie as a dog trainer .From the moment we met Sophie ,she was Friendly , smart , excellent trainer , patient and so comfortable to be around . Our 12 week puppy as well as our 5 year old dog loved Sophie . She helped us all with the training of both dogs . We can’t say enough positive things about Sophie . More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

Sophie was excellent to work with and did wonders with our 3 month old puppy. After only 2 sessions we noticed really positive changes with her behavior which has been sustained after the sessions. Sophie’s positive reinforcement / reward based training is definitely the route to go. More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

We had a great experience with Sophie! Given my crazy work hours, I couldn't commit to a regular weekly group training session- I really appreciated that Sophie could come to our home for private lessons. She is lovely to work with- kind, friendly, and efficient. After a few sessions with her, we are better equipped to provide Gus the dog with training and feedback that help him to be well behaved in our home and when out with other people and dogs. We'd happily recommend Sophie to anyone else looking for puppy training! More...

Reviewed on Facebook

Sophie is a highly skilled, insightful, intuitive dog trainer. We have a very strong-willed, bossy 3-year-old Australian shepherd that thinks she is human and smarter than us. With past dogs, we had been successful in training them ourselves, but this one has been much more challenging. In just 3 sessions, our dog’s behavior completely changed and is much more manageable. Sophie’s approach is all reward based; no inflicted pain, shouting, or shaming. She obviously cares deeply for animals. Additionally, she leaves you with helpful hints and tools, so that you can continue to practice what you’ve learned. And, she is a delightful person and fun to be around. I highly recommend her! More...

Reviewed on Facebook

Sophie has been a great source for this anxious dog owner. Her sound confident advice has had a great effect on both owner and puppy. Sophie takes time to keep the training fun andalusische has a common sense way to approach any concern we might have. More...

Reviewed on Facebook

Sophie came highly recommended from friends and we are so glad we found her! As first time dog owners, we weren't even sure where to start. She came with practical advice as well as training activities that everyone in the family could practice with our new pup. After working with her for just a few sessions, we are well on our way to having a successful and rewarding relationship with our dog. I also really appreciated how she was able to facilitate us meeting other new pups -- she really cares about making sure your dog develops life long skills! More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

Sophie is an amazing dog trainer! She is incredibly fun, kind and easygoing, and in just three training sessions she taught me and my dog so much. Sophie is a firm trainer but also very loving and sweet to the dogs (and owners)! She also recommended so many great products that have already proven to be helpful and fun for my dog. If you’re looking for personal and fun, yet effective dog training, look no further! More...

Reviewed on Facebook

Sophie has been wonderful to work with and helped us get everything set up for our puppy prior to her arrival. We met at the pet store for the first time to get ready and obtained her very helpful training manual. Sophie has been great to communicate with, always on time, available and very responsive via email, text and phone. Our puppy, the kids and us enjoyed our training sessions and learned a lot using positive reinforcement. In addition, Sophie was so kind in getting a group of us together for puppy play dates which has been fantastic for socialization. We would recommend Sophie highly to anyone looking for a great and fun dog trainer. More...

Reviewed on Facebook

Sophie is an incredible trainer. She really helped our family understand how to prepare for our puppy, giving realistic and helpful advice to get the house ready and then helping us get a strong base of training. She even helped connect us with other puppy owners to do puppy playdates! She is patient, knowledgeable, kind and thoughtful. We recommend her without reservation! More...

Reviewed on Facebook

Rated highly for: PunctualitySophie was very patient and wonderful with our sweet Puppy. I highly recommend Sophie!

Reviewed on Google Maps

Sophie was very patient and wonderful with our sweet Puppy. I highly recommend Sophie!

Reviewed on Facebook

Sophie was very patient as she helped our entire family learn how to train our new puppy. She was very knowledgeable and had so many great tips. She showed each of my kids how to correctly work with our puppy, too. I appreciated being able to text or call Sophie when I had questions and she was very responsive. She was always exactly on time for our sessions. She was very calm and provided a lot of positive energy as she taught us how to gently train our puppy. Our puppy loved her and so did we! More...

Reviewed on Facebook

Sophie was a lifesaver when we got our new puppy, Barrett. It had been a long time since we had a puppy in the family, and before we even had her out she was available to answer all of my miscellaneous questions! When she came over to work with us, she used only positive reinforcement to show us some tips and tricks to use. I was worried about judgment since we have two small children and a new puppy, but instead she gave us info on how to make this situation work best for all of us. Barrett is doing fantastic and seems genuinely happy to listen to us. I would absolutely recommend Sophie. More...

Reviewed on Facebook

Sophie came to help us with our Golden Retriever who was very nervous about car rides and would refuse to get in the car. Sophie worked on changing Zoe’s emotional response to the car using desensitizing and counterconditionjng techniques and a lot of high value food ! My dog loves food! Zoe now willingly jumps in the car and enjoys being on the road resulting in happy kids, happy dog and happy me! In addition to this we also worked on Zoe’s manners at the door. Sophie always made herself available and checked in frequently to see how Zoe was doing. Zoe and I highly recommend her. More...

Reviewed on Facebook

Sophie is an amazing dog trainer and has helped Oscar learn to not be afraid of other dogs, resulting from his traumatic stray days before adoption. She is great both with dogs and their owners and has our highest recommendation! More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

I highly recommend Sophie Amphlett for dog training. Sophie has a good understanding of dog behavior and quickly sizes up problem situations. Her techniques are positive and fun for dog and human family members and can be applied flexibly as the dog learns. She is kind and engaging. Her followup is appreciated. More...

Reviewed on Facebook

Just wanted to give a shout out to our dog trainer, Sophie Amphlett Lucchesi, of NorthShore Canine Academy. She came to our house for 3 hour-long training sessions to help us with our dear little maniac rescue, Louie. We can't begin to explain how quickly he picked up Sophie's directions and how much we learned from her (especially about all of the things we were doing wrong!). We made sure our kids were home for each session so that we all could see firsthand what to do and not do. Sophie uses only positive reinforcement, no aggressive measures and Louie is bonkers for her. If you need a dog trainer, give Sophie a ring. You won't regret it. She is warm, gentle and a total pro. More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

Sophie Amphlett from NorthShore Canine Academy is such a pleasure to work with when training my new puppy. I reached out to her specifically because she teaches using positive reinforcement techniques. While it was hard to wrap my head around how successful that could be, I wanted to give it my best shot first.Before bringing the pup home, Sophie had come over to give me a primer on puppies. She advised how to set up the household, reviewed some basics, and provided a well curated list of supplies to have on hand - even ensuring the local pet store had them in stock. During training, everything she taught us was also provided a neat packet with a clear description of the command, its purpose, why it matters, and how to break it down step-by-step. It was a lot that first visit, and what seemed so easy for her, I had doubts that I would be able to replicate it with the same success. That’s where her guide fit in. We began a daily routine of working on a skill. It’s all fun and games and treats for the dog, so in addition to learning and practicing commands, it was also relationship building. While it can seem that he is performing solely for treats, we’ve had some real world tests that proved he trusts me, and will obey, even when the stakes are high (like that rotted fish carcass, or coming when off-leash in spite of the seagulls taunting him). This is literally after 3 weeks of training. We’ve got more work to do, but I’m absolutely convinced that reward based, positive reinforcement works.I can’t recommend NorthShore Canine Academy enough! More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

We (and our 2 labradoodles) love North Shore Canine Academy! Sophie has been such a great resource to help de-code our 8 and 12 year-old dogs’ changing dynamic as the older dog’s hearing faied and the younger became aggressive around mealtimes. She helped us with training and tips to eliminate the stressors affecting the dogs’ behavior, and brought peace back to our household. Turns out you can teach an old dog new tricks! More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

Our pup Chili is thriving under NorthShore Canine Academy’s training. We all ❤️Sophie but especially Chili. It’s amazing what she can do!

Reviewed on Facebook

Sophie is a honest business owner who we highly recommend. She met with our family for three 1-hour sessions to help us adjust to and train our first dog, a rescued 3 y. o. Pomeranian. We had a fourth session scheduled to continue to work on Sprinkles' dog reactivity when Sophie called us in advance of the appt. and recommended that we instead take Sprinkles to dog reactivity classes which would provide a controlled environment to expose her to other dogs. Sophie explained that she believed that would be a more effective use of our money. How's that for honesty? She gave us the contact info. of her former co-worker that now owns a training center and we have been pleased with their classes. We are grateful for the 15 typed pages of Basic Training that Sophie gave us at our first session. It's great to have it as a resource between lessons and even now, two months later. Finally, Sophie saw first-hand that Sprinkles does not like to be brushed so in her phone call she shared grooming tool ideas that she obtained from her local pet store when she inquired on our behalf. That's going above and beyond, in our opinion. We're very grateful to have met Sophie and appreciate her continuing to text us re. Sprinkles' progress. It shows how much she cares for her clients. More...

Reviewed on Facebook

Sophie was very patient, knowledge and always available with any questions or concerns I had With my dog. I am very grateful for her expertise and advise she gave us. Thank you Sophie very much.

Reviewed on Google Maps

Sophie was invaluable when we got our new puppy. She came over to our house and taught us everything we needed to know about training our puppy in our home. Our puppy has learned to leave food that is out. He also sits on a mat when the doorbell rings and doesn’t run to the door. He comes when he’s called. And he loves the training sessions! Sophie is very skillful in her training techniques and was so enthusiastic working with us. We highly recommend Sophie! More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

Sophie from NorthShore Canine Academy was fantastic with our puppy Cookie. She clearly loves dogs and helped us turn our puppy with no manners to one that knows her boundaries and wants to obey. I would highly recommend Sophie to any new dog owner! More...

Reviewed on Facebook

Sophie is a wonderful trainer. I love the fact she uses a "no force/no fear" strategy when training, basically teaching the dog to make the "right" decision instead of using any nasty intimidation, shouting or prong collar techniques. The dog gets rewards for the desired behaviors and its amazing how quickly this happens. She teaches different ways to reward the dog to get the desired behaviour such as waiting until told to eat dinner, not scavenging for food in the kitchen when you're eating or preparing food, as well as learning to sit and stay. My puppy is very happy and I am amazed at what he can achieve. More...

Reviewed on Facebook

Sophie trained our 12 month old Cockerpoo, and we saw amazing result within only a few sessions, would highly recommend her.

Reviewed on Facebook

Sophie was amazing with our family (three kids) and new 12 week old puppy. She was positive, encouraging and provided helpful, constructive advice about how to train our little dog, Clover, who responded very well to Sophie. She helped give us confidence and a great start to training our little pup. We highly recommend her! More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

Sophie is an absolute pleasure to work with. She is genuine and truly loves what she does. I have had 2 sessions with her and my 9 month old pup, Gillie, and he has made an extreme amount of progress so far. Gillie has learned to sit on a mat when someone comes to the door, come and leave it! We are looking forward to our next session off leash in the woods! More...

Reviewed on Facebook

We met Sophie a few days ago to help us to gain a better understanding of how to train our lovely rambunctious and powerful puppy. Our life is already easier! Her gentle and logical methods, clear explanations and her calm and professional manner have already really helped us. We can’t wait for her to come back to work with us again today! Our puppy is also happier and more settled as he has a better idea of our expectations and he is enjoying the attention and stimulation of our training! I would highly recommend Sophie to anyone looking for an experienced and knowledgeable in-home trainer! More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

Sophie is an amazing trainer, we adopted a puppy she had in foster care, and our puppy was already well behaved from her time in Sophie’s care. We had a few training sessions with her, and we learned so much, we have benefitted greatly from this! Thank you Sophie! More...

Reviewed on Facebook

Sophie was great and gave me some very helpful advice for dealing with my dogs pulling and misbehaving when walking. I know he will be a star walker in no time!

Reviewed on Facebook

Sophie is a treasure! We are first-time dog owners and she generously spent time on the phone with me before our puppy’s arrival, walking me through all the supplies we would need and offering tips for our first few days. She met with us within 24 hours of our puppy’s arrival and helped us with the transition. Sophie is truly a dog whisperer and I’m amazed with the progress she made with our puppy in just two sessions! She is patient with our (human) boys and is a wonderful personality to have in our home. Thank you, Sophie! We look forward to our next session. More...

Reviewed on Facebook

Sophie is incredible! She is warm and sensitive and is in love with dogs and helping them and their humans succeed!! Puck and I adore her! !! If you need help, she’s your person! More...

Reviewed on Facebook

Sophie was so helpful and knowledgeable with our new pup. Within the first 45 minutes, she had treats sitting on his paws while he waited for her ok. Highly recommended!

Reviewed on Facebook

Sophie has been incredible at helping us through the training process with our new puppy, Drake! In our first hour session with her our 10 week old pup already learned how to sit, stay and leave it! !!

We work with Drake a lot on the lessons we learned from Sophie but I feel her training sessions speed up the entire process and also give us more to work on.

She is a master of all canines and would recommend her to any new dog owner. Not only will you have a more intelligent and obedient dog but you will be a better parent! More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

Sophie has been incredible at helping us through the training process with our new puppy, Drake! In our first hour session with her our 10 week old pup already learned how to sit, stay and leave it!!!

Reviewed on Facebook

Sophie was such a great trainer, for us and for our 2 yr. old lab mix rescue. Our dog loved her and it was so fun to learn how to train her ourselves, in our own home. So nice not to have to go to a class. Sophie is very patient, loving and fun. I would highly recommend her as a trainer for any age dog. More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

Sophie is everything and more. She is the Mary Poppins for pooches and arrived with totes full of treats, training toys, training guides written in simple, clear terms, and all the patience and compassion a dog owner could ask for. Sophie is the alpha dog you need to teach your pooch who is boss. She had our very hyper, defiant Boston Terrier sitting on a mat and "leaving" it within minutes. Using her guides, my husband and I taught our Otto how to come to us when called within five minutes. If you are at wits end with your pet's behavior, give Sophie a call!

I've referred Sophie many times without hesitation and will continue to do so!!! More...

Reviewed on Google Maps