About Sanjana
Head Trainer and Founder of Peace Pups Dog Training
Sanjana is an expert in the field of animal training.
Sanjana has dedicated the past 4 years to training dogs of all shapes, sizes, and challenges. She also has 15 years of experience training horses. She is a Professional Member of the International Association of Canine Professionals and has an excellent track record of training dogs struggling with behavioral issues.
Sanjana is the lead dog trainer and actively partners with Labs and More Dog Rescue, which has rescued over 13,000 dogs in San Diego. She is passionate about giving back to the rescue community. Sanjana hosts monthly pack walks with Labs and More. She also offers a free online dog training seminar for dog owners every month.
Sanjana loves training dogs but is even more passionate about giving owners the tools and skills to lead their best lives with their furry friends. She focuses on teaching owners how to communicate with their dogs, become the pack leader, and create a healthy and happy relationship with their dog.
Sanjana loves to make dog training fun. Every new client she works with starts learning how to build engagement with their dog from lesson one and how to become their dog's pack leader. We improve the structure in the home and give each client step-by-step training homework. Sanjana helps every single owner she works with because she approaches dog training with a clear and simple strategy that is easy to pass on.
Sanjana is passionate about helping you create a happy home and peaceful walks. She is here to support you 100% throughout the training journey.
In Sanjana's spare time, she hosts meditation and music events at different yoga studios. Sanjana recently got into long-distance running with her dog Ace, putting his Husky part to work. Sanjana loves to cook vegetarian meals, write songs on her guitar, paint nature, and spend time with friends making music and meditating.
Sanjana says, "My greatest passion and reason for creating Peace Pups is to help every owner struggling with their dog know there is a path to a happy, peaceful life with our dogs. Just like everything in life, sometimes we need a little guidance. Every time one of my clients finishes training with me and can finally walk their pup without stress or invite guests over, my heart swells with joy. I do this "work" because I love teaching owners how to connect and lead their dog in a new way that unlocks all the freedom and happiness in the world."
Sanjana’s Full Story
Sanjana began her career as an animal trainer when she was just 10 years old. She grew up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and immersed herself in the world of horse training.
At age 13, within 3 years of learning the sport, she was training with the pre-professional riders, often training other owners' horses to become competition-ready.
Sanjana competed in the Jumpers throughout high school and later went to Cornell University in 2014 to study chemical engineering. She was a Division 1 athlete on their NCAA Equestrian Team. She earned a spot out of 80 women and dedicated 10-20 hours a week to caring for, training, and competing with horses in upstate New York.
Sanjana always dreamed of a job that involved animals, the great outdoors, and helping owners live the best lives with their animal companions. During her time training horses, she learned that no animal is untrainable. With the right mindset, technique, and an open heart, every animal can make progress.
After graduating Cornell in 2018, Sanjana began to travel around the United States deploying robotic technology in warehouses which transitioned her away from the horse training world.
In 2020, everything changed. She was no longer traveling because of the pandemic and decided to take a leap of faith and adopt an 11 month old German Shepherd-Husky rescue named Ace.
What drew her to Ace was the fact that no other family wanted him and that he truly had a heart of gold. He went from family to family with no luck before finding Sanjana.
Sanjana always trained the horses that others lost hope in. She decided Ace was no different and plunged head first into the world of dog training, taking all her knowledge and expertise from the past 15 years of training horses.
Ace’s Training Journey
Ace came to me with severe anxiety, reactivity, and aggression issues. He struggled to be left alone. He lunged at other dogs. He would bark at men and shake in fear in busy places.
We had a lot of work to do.
The horse training world focuses on leadership, consistency, and structure, so that's where I started.
After a week of Ace living in fear, I began to make changes. I started to establish myself as the pack leader, found the best training collar and leash, improved the structure of my home, and began to train Ace daily.
Quickly, I fell in love with dog training.
We trained at home, on my driveway, and at the local park. Once we built a solid communication system built on marker words and trust, I began to take Ace in environments that would make him gently uncomfortable but environments that he could succeed in.
We then trained in Home Depot, the Philly Airport, Lowes, Target, and elementary school playgrounds, anywhere that could push his comfort zone. At this point of training, I wasn't looking for obedience; I was looking for engagement. We played tug and had fun in these environments that had once overwhelmed him. I wanted Ace to learn to look to me for guidance before I layered in obedience commands.
During this time, I spent a lot of time with a dog training center that rescued Malinois dogs and trained police K9s. I wanted to learn from the people training dogs at the highest level.
After just three months of consistent training, Ace had overcome most of his challenges. We began to travel together for work, staying in hotels and flying from state to state. Ace learned to feel safe and secure with me, his owner, no matter where we were.
I finally had my dream dog! And all it took was structure, consistency, daily training, and play for 3 months.
I aim to achieve this goal with all of my clients and their furry friends.
Within five months of training, Ace's transformation caught the attention of my first client. Since 2020, I've been loving every second of helping owners teach their dogs to be happy, well-behaved family members.
