About Us
Learn About Zen Master Dog Training and Our Mission
Julie McLean
Certified Master Dog Trainer
Canine Behavior Consultant
From crawling around and pretending to be a dog until age 9, it was pretty clear what path Julie was headed. From the moment she finished high school she immediately started her career as a dog trainer and became an accredited positive-reinforcement dog trainer. She felt it was a great start and fun, but she wasn’t seeing much behavior changes in dogs. Owners were really needing help and doing purely positive was greatly limiting the results and the owners ability to follow through. To further her knowledge, she attended and graduated as a Certified Master Dog Trainer through Anthony Jerone’s School of Dog Training in Queens, NY. At the time, she was the youngest student to attend and graduated top of her class. This is the only New York dog training school that is licensed by The New York State Education Department’s Bureau of Proprietary School Supervision. You can read more about Anthony’s many awards and recognitions here.
Julie then went on to start her own business training dogs. During that time she also worked as a Veterinary Assistant in a conventional hospital as well as a holistic practice. She has been studying holistic care and nutrition for pets ever since. For those that are receptive, she is always happy to discuss the connection between nutrition and behavior.
Throughout her career of training dogs, she bred and raised litters of Working Line German Shepherds, and did rescue and rehabilitation for shelter dogs. Working closely with rescues and the NYC high kill shelter, they would contact her when they had dogs on death row deemed un-adoptable due to behavior. Julie would take them into her home, rehabilitate them and find them a home —mainly consisting of Pit bulls and German Shepherds.
Julie specializes in anxiety and fear in dogs but always enjoys doing everything from basic obedience to advanced off leash obedience. With over 16 years of verifiable experience under her belt, Julie feels this is a career where you never stop learning. Every dog teaches her something new, and is excited that she will always have the chance to see something she’s never seen before.
Trin Lively
Certified Master Dog Trainer
Canine Behavior Consultant
Trin began working for us at Zen Doggy Den in 2021 as a dog handler. Her thirst for knowledge was apparent and after 1 year, she went off to attend Highlands Dog Training academy, one of the top schools in the country. Upon coming back from school, Trin is now working for us as a dog handler and Professional Dog Trainer. I often refer to her as my encyclopedia of dog knowledge! Her love and experience with dogs began at the young age of 12 with a difficult family dog that taught her how she wanted to be able to help dogs in the future. Through some of her own struggles, she acquired Jinx the Standard Poodle she has trained to be her service dog. Trin’s goal is to help as many people and dogs as possible unlock new paths and possibilities in life. You can find Trin working with our dogs on obedience, behavior modification and everything in between. Trin also specializes in service dogs and you can find more information on that here.
Our Mission
To share our knowledge of training and assist as many owners as we can to give dogs a better life. When owners understand their dogs and how to train them, it makes dogs happier and more fulfilled.
Our Values
We strive to go above and beyond for our clients and their dogs. Once you are a client of ours, you always have our guidance. We use methods that we know work, are fair to the dog and are simple for owners to follow.
