RICHARD ROSS DESIGNS
DESIGNER INVENTORY SALE
Renowned dog whisperer Cesar Milian and Julia Levitt with her dog Toshi
The Dog Whisperer
Trainer focuses on balance and
harmony for man's best friend.
Marielle Temkin
JN Intern
Ann Arbor
W
THURSDAY JULY 26TH &
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10AM - 6PM
SATURDAY JULY 28TH
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P: 248-544-9957 VVWW.RICHARDROSSDESIGNS.COM
14 July 19 • 2012
bile there are many people
who consider themselves
"dog people it takes a
special person to truly understand
dogs and be able to help the more
troubled ones. Julia Levitt, who has
worn many hats in her life, has found
her calling in dog training — but she
is not a typical dog trainer.
To begin with, her training company
is named In Harmony, which epitomiz-
es her focus when working with dogs
and their owners. Levitt uses the word
"balanced" to describe a well-behaved
dog. "When a dog lives in a person's
home, many unbalanced behaviors —
such as aggression — arise because the
dog basically has trouble being a dog
when living in a home"
In a pack environment, dogs are
inherent followers. "That concept trans-
lates to the home environment where
they live with us. If their pack leader
— their owner — does not give them
strong enough leadership, these unbal-
anced behaviors arise Levitt said. "So,
when I train them, I provide the leader-
ship and stability and calmness that
dogs are hardwired to accept:'
Levitt, who grew up in Huntington
Woods, graduated from Wayne State
University with a master's degree
in library sciences but spent only a
short time working in that field. She
enjoyed her time at Wayne, saying, "At
the time, there was a huge diversity
of people in the area, and I loved that.
It was great to meet people who were
different from me
She and her husband spent five
years in San Diego but wanted to
move back to Michigan so they could
be closer to family. Ultimately settling
in Ann Arbor, Julia started to work
with a dog walking service.
"It was not until I started working
as a dog walker that I realized every
dog I walked was badly mannered,
and I basically wound up training
them:' she said.
After making this realization three
years ago, Levitt decided to open her
own business. She travels to people's
houses and teaches classes at the Ann
Arbor Animal Hospital, in addition to
writing a blog for AnnArbor.com .
"I don't teach obedience says
Levitt, "but I try to teach them some-
thing more like mannere
She brings one of her Pomeranians
(she has two Pomeranians and a
Cavalier King Charles spaniel) with
her to others' homes for demonstra-
tions and a quiet presence.
Levitt attended renowned dog whis-
perer Cesar Millan's first-ever training
workshop, which solidified how cru-
cial that calm presence and sense of
leadership is when helping a dog learn
to behave.
"My main focus has never changed:'
she said. "I want to be able to help
dogs and help their owners. When
people call me, they don't have peace
in their home, and everybody should
have that with their dogs. It's a very
attainable goal, but I do like the chal-
lenge of it:'
She stressed that many owners do
not take the time to understand why
their dog is acting out, but "you can't
help the dog until you understand what
the dog is trying to communicate."
She and her husband are members
of Temple Beth Emeth in Ann Arbor
where her husband sings in the choir.
"It's a very interesting congregation
because there's a church and a temple
that share the same building. Its an
unusual situation, but they have a very
good relationship with each other. And
the congregation is so wonderful." ❑
For additional information, visit
www.inharmonydogtraining.com.