Looking for a dog trainer is a lot like dating.
You’re not just looking for someone with credentials. You’re looking for someone who matches your energy, your ethics, and your values. Someone you feel safe with. Someone who gets you and your dog.
Because your dog trainer isn’t just a coach.
They’re your guide.
Your translator.
Your support system.
They’re the person walking beside you as you create a life of trust, clarity, and connection with your dog.
Whether you're working on the basics or navigating deeper behavioral and emotional challenges.
Here at Dog Tranquility & Animal Wellness, I do things differently. I don’t believe in dominance, force, or one-size-fits-all training. I believe in relationship-based guidance, compassionate leadership, and whole-being care. For your dog and for you.
With over 15 years of experience in training, behavior, and holistic healing, I bring together practical tools and intuitive insight to help you understand your dog on every level. Emotionally, physically, energetically, and behaviorally.
If you're ready to move beyond traditional training into something more meaningful, something built on respect, safety, and trust, you’re in the right place.
Let’s begin with a free call.
No pressure. Just an honest conversation to see if we’re the right match.
Every Journey Has a Starting Point
Whether you’re just beginning with a new puppy or navigating challenges with a dog you’ve loved for years, the path to peace and connection starts right where you are. I offer a range of services to meet you at that starting point, wherever it may be, and walk beside you as you move toward trust, understanding, and lasting change.
From foundational guidance to deeper support for behavior or wellness concerns, each service is designed to help you and your dog feel safe, supported, and empowered together.
1
Dog Trainer Hotline
Sometimes you just need quick guidance or a fresh set of eyes on a situation. This 30-minute video session is perfect when you have a specific question, need help troubleshooting, or want to talk through something with an experienced trainer. Whether you're looking for a second opinion, support for a unique situation, or insight on what to do next, this call gives you practical, compassionate guidance without committing to a full coaching plan.
This is a great fit for dog-savvy guardians, rescue workers, or anyone who feels stuck and just needs some clarity. If your dog is navigating medical or psychological challenges that make traditional training hard to access, I can help you explore alternatives and next steps with care and creativity.
2
Private Coaching
This is where we dig deep and create real, lasting change. Private coaching begins with a thorough assessment so I can understand your dog’s history, environment, health, and behavior. From there, we work together one-on-one to build a personalized plan that supports both your dog and your leadership.
Whether you’re raising a new puppy, settling in with a rescue, or dealing with anxiety, reactivity, or stress around grooming or vet visits, this service helps you build trust, restore balance, and move forward with confidence. Because behavior is a symptom, we’ll look at your dog’s overall wellness too, including physical health and emotional needs.
When we treat the whole dog, we open the door to transformation, and that’s what your dog truly deserves.
3
Holistic Care
Sometimes behavior struggles are just the surface. Holistic care is for the dogs who need more support on a physical, emotional, and energetic level. Using a combination of aromatherapy, nutrition, Reiki, and low light laser therapy, I help address everything from mobility issues and skin conditions to emotional stress, chronic pain, thyroid problems, inflammation, and more.
I create customized blends and care plans based on your dog’s unique needs. When appropriate, I also offer Reiki sessions to help release stored trauma and blocked energy that may be affecting your dog’s health or behavior. Whether your dog is aging, dealing with a long-term condition, or simply needs more balance, this service brings relief and support in a gentle, natural way.
“Working with Colleen has changed mine and my pups life. Her holistic approach to understanding each of my dogs individual needs, personalities, background, triggers, and so much more allows her to give specifies advice and techniques for each pet.
Aside from simple commands – focused training, Colleen also provides aromatherapy support for each of my dogs which has helped greatly. I was skeptical at first of the ability for the oil blends to help my dogs behavior, but the results truly blew me away and I cannot deny their effectiveness. Colleen created a ‘calming blend’ for my older dog who suffers from anxiety, especially when traveling in the car or during thunderstorms. While using her custom blend on a blanket, she will immediately snuggle up and relax on it, both in the house and in the car. Additionally, the nutrition advice she gave me for my dog struggling with food allergies and the custom blend she made to reduce the gunk in her ears helped clear up her fungal infection so fast.
The care and passion that Colleen has for our pets is obvious through every interaction with her, and she has easily become my dogs favorite friend, despite them being scared and reactive toward strangers in the past. I truly cannot recommend working with Colleen enough, as she has taught me how to better understand and work with my dogs which has allowed us to progress towards our goals.”
– Alexandra, mom of Chag & Pepper
Voted Best Pet Care Provider – 2022
For over a decade, it’s been an honor to serve the DMV community with compassion, care, and deep respect for the bond between humans and their animals. I’m so grateful to be recognized for doing the work I love—helping people and their pets find peace, healing, and connection at every stage of life.
If You’re Here, Something’s Out of Balance — and You Can Feel It
Maybe your dog is anxious, reactive, or showing signs of physical discomfort.
Maybe they seem shut down or overstimulated.
Maybe you're doing your best, but something still feels off.
What your dog is showing you isn’t just behavior. It’s communication.
And sometimes, it’s a reflection of their health, their past, their environment, or even the energy they share with you.
This isn’t about blame. It’s about awareness. It’s about stepping into your role as their trusted leader, learning how to support them in a way that honors who they are, and getting the guidance you need to move forward with confidence.
You don’t need to have all the answers. That’s what I’m here for. Together, we’ll uncover what your dog is trying to say, create a plan that supports their whole being, and help you step into your role as the calm, clear leader they’ve been waiting for.
Does Any of This Sound Familiar?
🐾 Bringing Home a New Puppy or Rescue
Starting off on the right foot matters. Whether you're welcoming a brand-new puppy or giving a rescue a fresh start, I’ll help you build a calm, connected foundation based on trust, structure, and understanding. From routines and socialization to emotional support and wellness, we’ll set your dog up for long-term success.
🐾 Chronic Health Concerns
Things like arthritis, allergies, UTIs, digestive upset, or chronic pain can affect your dog’s behavior, comfort, and quality of life. Aromatherapy, laser therapy, and Reiki can help reduce inflammation, soothe discomfort, and support the body’s natural healing process.
🐾 Fear, Anxiety, or Sensitivity to Triggers
Whether it’s loud noises, unfamiliar people, car rides, grooming, or vet visits, anxiety shows up in many forms. I help you understand your dog’s nervous system, reduce stress through holistic care, and build leadership that brings calm and confidence back into your relationship.
🐾 Compulsive or Stress-Based Behaviors
Excessive licking, pacing, chewing, or shutdown behavior is often your dog’s way of coping with discomfort or imbalance. I help uncover the root cause and guide you through customized care that supports lasting change.
🐾 Difficulty Adjusting to Change
Whether it’s a new family member, a move, or emotional upheaval in the home, transitions can affect your dog deeply. I’ll help you support them through it all—physically, energetically, and with clear, compassionate leadership.
🐾 Grief, Aging, or Major Life Transitions
Senior dogs, declining mobility, or the loss of a companion animal can all create emotional and energetic shifts. I offer gentle, respectful support to help your dog through these seasons—honoring what they need physically, emotionally, and behaviorally.
You Were Meant to Find This Work
This is not just obedience training. This is not about forcing your dog to behave or using tools that suppress symptoms without understanding the cause.
This is something deeper.
This is about listening to what your dog is trying to tell you.
It is about looking beyond the behavior to see the whole dog; their history, their health, their stress, their needs.
Here, we do things differently.
We combine compassionate leadership, natural wellness, and personalized guidance to support your dog physically, emotionally, and energetically.
We create change by building trust, not fear.
We focus on healing the root, not managing the symptom.
And we work together so that you feel confident, supported, and empowered to lead your dog with clarity and heart.
If that is what you have been looking for, you are in the right place.
Who Am I
I’m Colleen
I’m a certified dog trainer, aromatherapist, and energy-based wellness practitioner with over 15 years of experience helping dogs and their humans create calmer, more connected lives together. My work brings together expert training, natural healing tools, and a deep understanding of what dogs truly need to feel safe, seen, and supported.
I help dogs struggling with anxiety, reactivity, trauma, health conditions, or difficulty adjusting to change. But I also support dogs and their guardians right from the beginning, helping you build the right foundation from day one, whether you’re bringing home a new puppy or welcoming a rescue into your life.
Whether you are here to prevent problems or work through existing ones, I look at the whole dog, not just the symptoms.
And I support you too, with practical guidance and leadership coaching so you can feel more confident, more grounded, and more in tune with your dog’s needs.
This is not about quick fixes. It is not about harsh tools or control.
This is about healing.
This is about trust.
This is about creating lasting change by addressing the root of what is really going on.
If you're ready to understand your dog on a deeper level and build the kind of relationship that brings peace to both of you, you're in the right place.