Our experience-based dog training service has been coaching, inspiring, and cheering on dog owners throughout the Chicagoland area. With our guidance, you will get the very most from your dog's behavior and from your relationship with your dog by learning to focus on telling your dog the right thing to do without breaking his/her spirit. Dog training is an evolution based on art and science and we're here to make your training practice as enjoyable and productive as it should be.
With class locations around the Chicagoland area, we strive to provide a variety of classes to rival the number of breeds, ages and temperaments of dogs who take them. Check out our class schedule for more specifics and to find the one that best fits you and your dog's unique needs. No matter which you select, you'll benefit from our limited class size that enables you and your dog to get a great deal of one-on-one attention.
Or choose from any of our exclusive private training packages were created with the dog and dog owner who thrive on personal attention. Treat yourself to the luxury of learning without distraction and without even having to leave the comfort zone of your own home. You and your dog will learn to develop the loving, cooperative relationship you aspire to at a time that fits into your schedule. Have a dog? Having a baby? Then you need the Baby & Bowser seminar. We partner with area hospitals and child-centered businesses, including Northwestern Memorial Hospital to offer you tried-and-true ways to prepare your dog for the new addition.
Jamie L. Damato, CPDT-KA is the proud owner, founder and training director of AnimalSense. She's been working professionally with dogs and their people since 1994 and to date has worked personally with more than 20,000 dogs and regularly appears in the media, such as ABC, Animal Planet, Comcast, WGN Radio, AnswersTV.com and more as an expert on canine training and behavior. Jamie is dedicated to her continuing education in the field of dog training and frequently consults with renowned dog trainers, veterinarians and other pet industry professionals to keep AnimalSense at the forefront of clinical information. "Like anything else: you get out of owning a dog what you put into it. With the fun of owning a dog comes a great deal of responsibility to give that living thing the right environment in which to thrive. And while you play the principal role in getting where you want to go, we are here to lend our experience and support to get you there as quickly and effectively as possible."
Background from Denise's website www.tailsoftheheart.com
Meet Denise
Without knowing it at the time, Denise Zak arrived at her chosen profession at an early age when a difficult childhood led her to believe that the only friends she could trust and rely upon were her pets. Since that time she has actively cultivated her natural intuitive ability.
Since 1990, Denise has been a professional Animal Intuitive who helps people communicate with their pets. She works with performance animals and pets of all kinds (including, but not limited to cats, dogs, horses, birds, reptiles, and hamsters), addressing such topics as behavior issues, training obstacles, health inquiries, and emotional connections. Today, this West Dundee, Illinois, resident consults with pet owners, trainers, and veterinarians throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and New Zealand.
Highly skilled in the art of communication, Denise spent 10 years in the cosmetic industry working as a sales executive and corporate trainer for Calvin Klein, Diane Von Furstenburg, and the GMI International Fragrance Group. She left the conventional business world in 1991when her employer ceased operations, and spent much of her free time at a local stable with her two horses, Steele Equus, and My Monet (a rescued carriage horse).
Her new career began when another rider's horse was experiencing lameness. After numerous tests and exams by vets and farriers (horse shoers) failed to produce a definitive diagnosis, the exhausted and frustrated owner chose a new and somewhat unorthodox approach to the problem; aware of Denise's unique ability, the owner asked her to look at her horse. Denise "intuited" that the pain was coming from a stone lodged between the horse's hoof and his shoe; the shoe was removed, exposing the stone and bruise, which could then be taken care of.
Word of Denise's accurate interpretation spread, and before long she was spending most of her time answering questions from pet and performance animal owners, concerning everything from attitude to diet.
Denise enjoys teaching people how to develop their own intuitive sense in relating to their animals. Her favorite part of her career, she says, is "...seeing the incredibly beautiful images when I look into the hearts of people and their pets." She is also often humbled by the profound thoughts sent her way. "My goal is to celebrate the bonds between humans and their pets. I want society to respect these relationships and allow people to hold their pets in the same high regard as they do other important family members."
Denise is often called upon to lend emotional support to those who are having trouble adjusting to the illness or death of a beloved pet. "I can feel a sense of relief and peace of mind in my clients' voices when I relate their pets' thoughts during this painful time," she says.
Denise has completed her first book which is a children's story. She is currently working on her second book that will include a collection of stories about readings she has done that have made an emotional impact on her and her clients. Her personal life includes her two horses; Steele Equus and Little Moon (one of the survivors from the heartbreaking crash known worldwide as the Wadsworth, Il trailering crash) two cats, Miss Penelope Pimento and Zorro.
What Denise Does
Intuition (gut feelings -- instincts) has been around forever, and animals, birds and insects all survive using these natural skills. Humans seem to have forgotten that we, also, have wonderful and useful natural intuitive abilities -- an ability more highly evolved in some, less in others, and something we normally ignore -- but have the ability to cultivate if we wish.
Denise Zak embraces her intuitive ability, and, in fact, has chosen to cultivate it and enjoy a profession using it. Says Denise, "Think of all of the times that you have been in a crowded restaurant or at a traffic signal and you feel that someone is staring at you, and you turn, unconsciously knowing exactly where to look -- and, of course, you are right. Or how often do you think about someone and they phone you? You knew it was going to be them, you knew they were going to call. That is your intuition -- you sensed it; you felt it; you translated the energy! That is exactly what I do when I communicate with animals."
What Denise does is a comprehensive interpretation of intuition, energy, and empathy. Her work is the collective product of her life; she does not speak for other communicators. With the permission of the owner, she looks into the hearts, thoughts, and bodies of their pets/performance animals, and explains -- or translates -- what she sees. "Sometimes animals are very articulate, while others have limited vocabularies. Some relate through pictures, and there are those who present an overwhelmingly clear feeling. I do not edit or change what they say in the interest of diplomacy -- I want the owner to experience exactly what I see and feel from their animal. My readings, given to the owner from their animal's point of view, may be able to give the owner a new perspective as well as insight and clarity within their relationship."
Denise Zak can work with clients in person, or from a photo of the client with their pet. "I consider myself more of a translator or interpreter than a 'pet psychic.' I don't predict the future or read minds. I work at a very deep emotional level and take you and your pet to a place of extreme honesty. With permission from the owner, once I am hired I look into the hearts of the owner and their pet and let the owner know what I see and hear."
