Cookie That!

We have had such a positive experience with CookieThat, I truly love telling people about it. Jess is one of the absolute best in her field, but more than being an extremely successful trainer/​handler she’s also such a pleasure and breeze to work with. She’s upbeat and has a great energy during sessions, the dogs love her. She also immediately recognized aspects of our own dogs we did not see, and she was a pro at bringing out the absolute best in each of them, and helping us become more aware as handlers. She always explains everything very clearly and goes well out of her way to ensure that we get the most from every session. I felt like Jess was modifying each session to perfectly fit our needs, down to the very details of the training style itself, which was a huge relief from some of the other cookie-​cutter trainers we had seen in the past… with Jess we feel like we are giving ourselves and our dogs the best advantage possible. We went into these sessions thinking we were going to get a great start to agility work, but we walked away from each session with so much more knowledge than we imagined (help with behavioral issues was phenomenal when we ran into some unexpected issues along the way). Her guidance is always spot on, we were so excited to see actual results from all the training (some results were so fast! a dog in her control truly shines!). We really do count ourselves lucky we were referred to CookieThat!, each hour long session is some of the best fun we have with our dogs all week. If you are considering a new trainer, whether you are a complete novice to training or if you have been through training work in the past but need help honing your skills, we absolutely would recommend Jess Ritchie and CookieThat!

Several months ago I was searching for a «better» place to learn to work and play better with my young labradoodle… I love dog training and sports like agility, frisbee, freestyle… and with a smart and eager-​to-​please pup I had high hopes… but, for reasons I could not see, Mario the Labradoodle would loose interest quickly and sometimes even shy away from my games… On a referral from a respected friend, I contacted Jess at Cookie That! and began doing 1:1 work with her every few weeks… Today, about 10 sessions later… I have experienced a DRAMATIC shift in Mario’s enthusiasm and responsiveness… he is a great dog and will respond and learn fast to just about anything… IF it is done right. The training with Jess has been, well, 5-​stars worth… and while I know that the dog has learned lots, I know that I have been the one learning the most. Beyond her teaching, it is through her «way of being» and what Jess models that I have learned the most from. And, spending time at Cookie That! with Jess tops chasing squirrels for Mario… She is high-​energy, super perceptive, says-​it-​like-​it-​is —- truly excellent.

I’ve been taking my Border Collie/​Golden Retriever to Cookie That since this summer. I started out just taking a beginner agility course and have progressed into the third stage of training. Ever since I rescued my pup from some hillbillies in Tennessee (I won’t blow your mind with the details… because trust me… your mind would be blown), I’ve wanted to get her into agility and frisbee. I mentioned this desire to Joe Ferraro, with whom my pup and I did a basic obedience course, and he referred me to Jess at Cookie That, since she specializes in that kind of training. I’ll be completely honest, I’m blown away with how far my pup and I have come. Not only can she fly over hurdles, shoot through tunnels, and all that; but she’s become much more focused on me… and I’ve become a much stronger handler. We still have room to improve; and I fully intend to keep at it, as I’d love to start competing in some novice agility events. Jess is a fantastic trainer, and the set-​up and equipment is great. I’m only docking a star because the course is inside, and it can be a little tight doing some of the maneuvering. Jess did mention potentially doing some outdoor training in the spring. If so, I’ll def edit and bump up to a 5^th star.

Over the past 14 months my Border Collie puppy has spent time training, learning, exploring with and enjoying time with Jess Ritchie! She is a wonderful trainer and teacher for both dogs and people under her blanket name «Cookie That».
Cookie That is the name of her business and also her training methods. As you congratulate or positively reinforce good behavior in your dogs, using the word «cookie» is fun, happy, and very easy for people to relate to. I was grateful to have met Jess early in my puppy’s life and be able to begin training with someone eager, enjoyable, and happy to be around. Jess shows remarkable ability to reach the needs of all aged dogs and breeds. It is a pleasure to know Jess, be a part of «Cookie That» and know I am doing good for my pup!