Kimberly Dovel founded Take The Lead LLC after spending years working through training challenges with her own powerful, high-energy dogs. According to her site, that hands-on experience over more than 15 years shaped an approach she describes as focused on communication and adapting to each dog's temperament rather than following a fixed program.
The business operates without a dedicated facility. Private sessions happen at the client's home, while group classes and pack walks take place outdoors in Corona-area parks and public spaces. The site emphasizes that training in real-world environments—around actual distractions like other dogs, people, and busy settings—helps skills transfer into everyday life more reliably than controlled indoor work.
Group classes cover fundamentals like recall, loose-leash walking, and reactivity strategies, and they're described as intentionally small to allow individual attention. Take The Lead also offers e-collar training, which the site characterizes as a balanced communication tool for off-leash reliability rather than a punitive method. Pack walks, led by the trainer, are another regular offering focused on leash manners and public behavior. One notable event featured six different trainers demonstrating their respective methods during a joint meet-up, suggesting some connection to the broader local training community.
