Dognify

Service area: Philadelphia, PA, specifically South Philly and surrounding areas.

Dognify aims to improve a dog’s life and help owners find peace and balance for their dogs, especially in urban environments. Their approach focuses on transforming the dog-owner unit by empowering owners to meet their dog’s needs and provide guidance for navigating city life. All solutions are tailored to each household, starting with a comprehensive understanding of the dog and its context.

The process begins with a Behavioral Assessment for $400, which typically lasts 2–5 hours, starting at the owner’s home. This assessment includes evaluating the dog’s personality, behavior in urban situations, reactions to triggers, and suitability for treatment options. Owners receive a summarized diagnosis on the day and a full Behavioral Assessment Report, Work Plan, and package options within a week.

Following the assessment, Behavioral Treatment sessions are available at $100–$150 per session, based on the dog’s Work Plan. Sessions commonly occur 1–2 times per week, primarily at the owner’s home, focusing on transferring knowledge and skills to the owners. Dognify emphasizes that behavioral improvement is a medium to long-term process requiring significant owner commitment and willingness to make lifestyle adjustments.

Pricing Summary

A Behavioral Assessment costs $400, with half of this fee applicable towards contracted treatment packages. Behavioral Treatment sessions are priced at $100–$150 per session. A common schedule involves 1–2 sessions per week for several consecutive weeks, depending on the specific case. Behavioral improvement is presented as a medium to long-term process requiring owner commitment.

Dognify, formerly Philadelphia Dog Academy, is a dog training business led by Jonathan Macedo, a dog behavior specialist based in South Philly. Jonathan founded Dognify after observing the decline in his family dog’s joyfulness when moving from the countryside to a busy urban environment, inspiring him to help other city dogs find peace and balance.

Dognify specializes in helping dogs overcome behavioral issues, offering a framework tailored for owners in dense urban settings. Their approach focuses on transforming the dog-owner unit by empowering owners to meet their dog’s needs and provide guidance for navigating city life.

A key advantage of Dognify is their systematic hypotheses-testing framework, “Problem > Hypothesis > Treatment > Response,” which balances theoretical rigor with practical flexibility. They are guided by the “Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive” (LIMA) approach, prioritizing humane and effective tactics. Dognify emphasizes that behavioral improvement is a medium to long-term process that requires significant owner commitment and willingness to make lifestyle adjustments.

Accomplishments

Jonathan Macedo is a Certified Behavior Consultant Canine – Knowledge Assessed (CBCC–KA) certified by the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT). He has been helping dogs overcome behavioral issues since 2009 and has developed a specialized framework for owners in dense urban environments.

How to Get Started!

To begin, clients must undergo a Behavioral Assessment. This assessment starts at the owner’s home for approximately one hour and may extend to a total of 2–5 hours. During this time, the dog’s personality, behavior in urban situations, and reactions to triggers are assessed. By the end of the assessment day, owners receive a summarized diagnosis, followed by a full Behavioral Assessment Report, a proposed Work Plan, and package options for treatment within one week.