Meet the Founder: Justus Joseph

CPDT-KA | DDP | MFA | LLA | IAABC | APDT | THRIVE Member

My dogs taught me how to live.

Not as a metaphor, as a fact. Watching them age, advocating for their bodies, ushering them toward the end of their lives with as much intention as I brought to the beginning: it forced me to look at my own life and ask what I was actually building.

I stopped chasing dreams that weren't mine. I decided to spend my time at the intersection of the things that are completely, irreducibly me: dogs, art, writing, and the people who love all three.

I don't believe in having it all. I believe in a life well lived: for the dogs in my care, for the people who trust me with their most important relationships, and for myself, chronic illness and all.

That's what Lineage of Love is. Not a training business. A way of being.

I'm a Certified Professional Dog Trainer and behaviour consultant. I specialize in pain-mediated behaviour, end-of-life support, and dog dance as a relational practice. I work with soft people who are trying hard. I help them build something beautiful with the time they have.

A woman with tattoos and a black polka dot dress is smiling and holding a small black dog with blue eyes in a park, with trees and sunlight in the background.

Feel like weā€™d be a good fit?
Letā€™s begin your journey together.

Book your intake ā†’

Where dog training becomes relationship, ritual, and legacy.

Training at Lineage of Love is not about teaching your dog to behave. It's about learning to see each other ā€” your dog's body, your dog's history, the particular way they move through the world ā€” and building something real from what you find there.

This is science-led work with an ethical foundation. Consent, communication, and the dog's inner experience are not add-ons; they are the whole point. Whether you're raising a puppy, navigating reactivity, supporting a dog through pain or disability, or simply wanting more depth in the relationship you already have, you'll find rigorous, personalized support here.

This is more than dog training.
Itā€™s a transformation. A partnership. A legacy.
And youā€™re part of it.

A dog in a life vest sitting on a blue kayak with water and clear sky in the background.

This is more than training. Itā€™s transformation.
Letā€™s take the first step together.

Start your journey ā†’

lineĀ·age of love (noun)

  1. The deep, intuitive bond you form with your first dog ā€” the kind of connection that shapes how you love, listen to, and learn from every dog that follows.

  2. A soul-level understanding shared with another being ā€” one that expands your awareness, brings meaning to your life, and leaves an imprint on your heart forever.

Those of us who seek better for our dogs ā€” who want to make their world safer, softer, and more joyful ā€” are always becoming. Always learning. Always reaching for something kinder.

That is what a lineage of love means. Not a destination. A lifelong choice, rooted in care, curiosity, and deep respect for the dogs who walk beside us and change us as they go.

If that sounds like you, you'll find a place here.

Justus holds an overweight, eyeless Toy Fox Terrier named Homer the day she adopted him back in 2010.

Love is the starting place.

Iā€™ll help you with the rest.

Book Your Intake

Meet Justusā€™ Dogs

  • Small black and white dog with large ears sitting on a pink and orange patterned fleece blanket.

    Bronte

    ATHLETICS DIRECTOR

    The one she orbits. Souldog. The question that never stops asking itself.

  • Close-up of a small black and tan dog with large ears and a blue collar with NASA logos, looking attentively upward.

    Emerson

    JUNIOR BARK RANGER

    The reason no one can sit on the couch without checking the blankets.

  • Small dog with large ears, blue eyes, and a red collar, sitting against a reddish background.

    Burns

    HEAD OF SECURITY RISK ASSESSMENT

    Loves his mama and everyone else is subject to potential murder.

  • A tan and white mixed breed dog with one ear standing up and the other flopping down sitting indoors near a brick fireplace with a holiday garland, next to a large potted plant with thin branches and a window with light curtains.

    Fleur Darling

    PAWTENTIAL ADVISOR

    She came in like a tornado and made herself at home.

  • Olivia Penelope

    HEAD OF UNSOLICITED ZOOMIES

    Gabe fell in love and couldn't let go, which is exactly how the best ones arrive.

Justusā€™ Lineage

  • A small eyeless dog with black, white, and tan fur wearing a blue and black bowtie, sitting on a beige couch with a dark background.

    Homer WCB Pants

    GUARDIAN OF MIDNIGHT SNACKOS

    The poet who gave her a lineage.

  • A white dog with a black nose and ears, sitting indoors with a purple collar and leash.

    Princess Suicide Belle

    GUARDIAN OF COMFY BEDS

    She taught us the slow, gentle work of helping a traumatized dog feel safe.

  • A small, fluffy puppy with closed eyes, a pink nose, and light fur with patches of darker color, lying on a brown couch, wearing a pink bow tie with green dinosaur prints.

    Milton

    GUARDIAN OF SWEET SURPRISES

    He went from barely walking to running with joy.

  • A small dog with black, white, and brown fur, sitting on someone's lap, wearing a colorful skull-patterned bandana, with a blue painted wall and cat-themed decorations in the background.

    Byron Sheffield Billy Elliot

    GUARDIAN OF MISCHIEF

    Losing him unexpectedly altered the shape of her world.

  • A happy small dog with tan and white fur, lying on a person's lap, with eyes closed and tongue slightly out, appearing to smile.

    Poe-Tato Hedgehog

    GUARDIAN OF THE LOST

    A love that lived entirely in hope.

  • Small dog dressed in a tuxedo and wearing a gold birthday hat with 'happy birthday' written on it.

    Wilde Scuttlebutt

    GUARDIAN OF JOY

    Pure joy, uncomplicated, ever-present ā€” everything she wants the world to be.

  • His Tiny Terrificness Thomas

    GUARDIAN OF QUIETITUDE

    Four pounds soaking wet, and the biggest presence in every room.

  • Ginny Sweetpea

    GUARDIAN OF FRIENDSHIP

    The goodest girl who helped every other dog and person feel safe.

CCPDT logo with the text 'Certified Professional Dog Trainer, Knowledge Assessed'
Certificate for living and learning with animals, issued in 2024 by behaviorworks.org.
Logo for The Association of Dynamic Dog Practitioners featuring a running dog above a stylized yellow sun and teal wave, with license number 251107.
THRIVE!
Logo of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants with colored squares, a globe, and text indicating membership.
Logo of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT) featuring a silhouette of a dog and a person training, enclosed in a blue circular badge.
Insured and Bonded via Business Insurers of the Carolinas
A colorful graphic with an orange background, pink quote marks, and a yellow sticky note. The note has a question in bold black text, 'What was your favorite part of training?' and a handwritten-style quote, 'Working with Justus and seeing results,'
A colorful graphic with an orange background, pink quotation marks, pink and purple decorative elements, a yellow square note with black text, and a pink decorative tape with heart patterns. The note contains a quote about training.
Colorful graphic with a yellow sticky note on an orange background. The note contains black text with a quote about training and a pink quotation mark in the top left corner and a decorative pink and black tape at the bottom left.
Colorful graphic featuring a yellow square with a growth-themed quote about dogs and communication, with pink quotation marks and decorative tape with heart pattern at the bottom left corner.
A colorful graphic with a quote from Anna Brimm about her favorite part of training, featuring a yellow note card with black text, pink quotation marks, and decorative tape on an orange background.
A colorful graphic with a pink quotation mark in the top left corner, an orange background, a yellow sticky note with a quote, pink accents, and a strip of black tape with pink hearts at the bottom left corner. The quote reads, "What was your favouri