When Jess Sandstrom adopted a seemingly calm rescue dog, she had no idea it would change the course of her life.
Jess was 22 when she ‘foster failed’ Snow – an 8-year-old rescue who seemed like the perfect companion. But three months in with Snow, things really… snowballed. Snow began showing signs of reactivity and aggression towards adults, children and dogs, which was something she was completely unprepared for. It was a turning point for Jess, who leaned in, and turned the chaos into her calling.
“I had absolutely no business adopting a rescue dog in my early twenties,” says Jess. “At first, she was so calm and gentle, but in actual fact she was shut down and I didn’t have the skills or knowledge to see that, and then three months in, the honeymoon period was definitely over.”
“That’s why I became a dog trainer specialising in reactivity and aggression,” explains Jess. “Because I’d lived it.”
Before launching into animal work, Jess had a completely different career, working in security and compliance. She held a black belt in martial arts, was an office manager, and performed in local bands. But at 22, she started working at Monika’s Doggie Rescue, where she spent five years learning hands-on in the kennels.
Now the co-founder of Howling Success in Narrabeen, Jess and her team specialise in working with rescue dogs as well as anxious, reactive and aggressive dogs, by giving their humans the tools to support them.
Her commitment to force-free training, which avoids punishment and pain-based methods, is at the heart of Howling Success.
“We don’t use yelling, smacking, choke chains or anything aversive. It’s about building trust, not fear,” says Jess.
She also serves on the committee of the Pet Professional Guild of Australia, an advocacy body for ethical, science-based training.
“Dog training is completely unregulated in Australia,” she says. “Anyone can print a business card and call themselves a dog behaviourist specialising in aggression and there’s legally nothing wrong with that.”
One of the most powerful transformations she’s witnessed was that of Jedi, a traumatised Kelpie cross at Monika’s. “He was so scared he’d urinate and defecate on himself and me when I carried him to my car,” Jess says.
“For months, all we did was drive around and look at the world from the safety of my car. Eventually, he started sitting in the front seat. Then he’d wag his tail when he saw me, and got to the point where we could go for walks.”
Jess patiently trained him, and eventually he found his forever home. “Just seeing that change in him, it makes it all worthwhile.”
That slow, trust-first approach is key to her work. Whether it’s a rescue or a new puppy, her advice is the same. “Start where the dog feels safe, and not at the dog park on day one!” says Jess.
“When we get a new rescue dog, we’ve probably been planning it for weeks or months or maybe even a year,” says Jess. “And so, we’re chomping at the bit to show this dog how much we love them, but small steps of success are better than giant leaps of failure.”
As for those of us with dogs who could use more obedience (or manners), her advice is to get help early; don’t wait until the unwanted behaviour becomes unbearable.
“People often wait until it’s really entrenched or that they can’t live with it anymore and it needs to be fixed yesterday,” says Jess. “The moment things start to feel hard, reach out.”
Howling Success is different, she says, not just because of its qualifications, experience and ethics, but because of how they treat people. “We get a lot of feedback that we’re just as kind and supportive to the owners as we are to their dogs, which we really value.”
Along with walks, training and private one-on-one sessions, Howling Success also runs scent detection classes, a fun and enriching course for dogs of all ages and abilities (even the “spicy” ones). Beginner and advanced sessions run on Saturday mornings. The beginner course is offered as a four-week package, while the advanced sessions operate on a pay-as-you-go basis with rolling enrolment.
Jess also partners with the Northern Beaches Council to improve community education through talks on dog park etiquette and pet safety. “According to Google, we have over 75,000 registered dogs in the area. We owe it to them to create safer, better-resourced spaces.”
Check out more about Jess and Howling Success Dog at howlingsuccessdogtraining.com.au. If you have any questions or aren’t sure how to get started, email the team on howlingsuccessdogtraining@gmail.com
Please also see Monika’s Dog Rescue if you’re able to give a loving home to a dog with big feelings, or donate to help them keep up their wonderful work! (Click here)
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