Chicago · Virtual · Relationship-first training · Dog dance · Sport foundations
Dog Dance
You've probably seen it: a dog and their person moving together like twin stars, like they already know what the other is about to do, like the music was written for both of them.
That's dog dance. A movement-based sport built entirely around your relationship. You choreograph. You interpret music together. You find out what your dog is actually capable of when you're truly paying attention.
It's also one of the most joyful things I've ever watched people discover.
Classes, Workshops, & Events
Every class here starts the same way: you and your dog, paying attention to each other before anything else gets layered on. What changes is the shape that attention takes: a sequence of obstacles, a game with rules added, a piece of music, a page in a sketchbook. Pick one below, or do more than one.
Fetch
A cooperative retrieve built in small, dog-friendly steps. Taught at Urban Pooch.
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Dance
Interpret music together and find out what your dog is capable of when you're both paying real attention. Online and in-person.
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The Work
Dog Dance, dog sports, and art are the joyful half of this. The rest of it is just as real: the friction that needs untangling, the body that's quietly shaping behaviour, the last chapter that deserves as much care as the first.
Behaviour & Training
For when love isn't enough to overcome challenging behaviours, and you need more support building connection — whether there's friction, fear, or a dog whose behaviour is telling you something you haven't been able to translate yet. Day training and targeted behaviour support in northern Chicago and virtually.
Learn more →Dynamic Dog Assessments
Behaviour doesn't happen in a vacuum. Pain, physical discomfort, and how a dog moves through the world all shape how they act in it, often in ways that go unnoticed for months or years. Bridging the gap between behaviour training and veterinary support, a Dynamic Dog Assessment looks at the whole picture: behaviour, movement, sleep, routine, physical health. Because sometimes what looks like a training problem is a body problem first.
Learn more →Senior & End-of-Life Support
The last chapter deserves as much intention as the first. Practical, compassionate guidance for guardians navigating their dog's later years, including quality-of-life conversations and support through the decisions no one wants to make alone.
Learn more →While we’re here
You have a dog you love dearly, but maybe you also have a sketchbook somewhere with four pages filled. A song you heard once that made you think: we could dance to this. A journal you started that lies buried under books. A story tickling the back of your mind.
This offering is for you.
While We're Here is a retreat in development: a week for you and your dog built around sport and dance during the day, and art and story for guardians at night. A small group of people who love their dog the way you love yours, who want to rediscover the joy of art without the pressure of perfection, who have stories waiting for a pen to capture them, who need to step away from the rush of life lived too quickly and reconnect with what they love while they're here, with their dog at their side.
You can have a few of those moments now.
If While We're Here sounds like something you've been waiting for...
From the Field Notes
Heart of the Leash
Where I think out loud about behaviour, sport, and what dogs ask of us. The general thread — start here if you're new.
Read →Puppy Path
Notes on raising a puppy on purpose, written in real time as my puppy's arrival gets closer.
Read →Field Notes from the Dance Floor
Writing specifically on dog dance — choreography, competition, and the sport itself.
Read →What People Are Saying
“Justus is the best. She will make you feel comfortable and confident. “
— Bernie Heidkamp“You would be very lucky to get to work with Justus.”
— David Wellman"Justus is kind, enthusiastic, and non judgmental, and gives so much information to refer to after each session. We've only met twice so far and don't feel pressured to do more than we can sustain. She gave us confidence in a found dog with an unknown history and no previous vetting from a foster agency, etc. More importantly, she gave us confidence in ourselves and the tools to give our guy a safe, happy home."
— Rachel K.