• 3.1About the Pack Leader
• 3.2: Recommended Products & Services
• 3.3: A Pet's Picnic

About the Pack Leader

It would be an understatement to say that our Pack Leader loves dogs!!  For the past seven years, Julie Bernier has been studying canine behavior, training methods and the human-canine relationship. She was a volunteer puppy raiser and training assistant from 2002 to 2008 for My Wonderful Dog, a Portland-based non-profit which raised and trained service dogs for disabled folks. Julie also helped open the Planet Dog Company Store in Portland three years ago and during her employment there, created and ran their incredibly popular Puppy Romprrr Room for 2.5 years, providing early socialization and learning opportunities for both puppies and their new owners. From this experience, she designed her business plan for a day program focusing on the needs of puppies and their families during the first year of ownership, and in the fall of 2006, Dances With Dogs Day School for Puppies opened its doors. Since then, DWD has provided a safe haven for nearly 300 pups to socialize, learn and grow.

Julie holds a B.A. in English from the University of Maine and a Master's in Clinical Social Work from the University of New England. In addition to running the day school, Julie artfully photographs all the pups in her school and has had three solo shows of her work in the Portland area in the last six months. Soon, Julie's photos will grace the walls and advertising literature of The Kennel Shop Pet Super Stores, an 8-store chain of pet stores in Maine.  All of the photos on this site are taken by Julie!  

Julie's first small business, A Pet's Picnic, which she runs with the help of her 19-year-old son, came into existence in 2003 and manufactures hand-braided fleece tug toys for dogs. Her incredibly durable tugs have been a best-seller at Planet Dog Company Store and are sold in 14 other retail stores in Maine. A Pet's Picnic will soon have its own website, where both retail and wholesale customers can shop!  Additional products are in the development stage as of this writing...

Julie and her husband, Michael, have two crazy Labrador retrievers, Casco (age 7) and Tonya (age 5). Casco is from Mallard Point Kennels in Pownal, Maine, and Tonya, from a Michigan breeder, was formerly a service dog in-training at My Wonderful Dog. Casco and Tonya are the chief consultants and toy-testers for her businesses!  Julie owes a big slobbery kiss to Casco for being such a difficult and head-strong boy, as without his challenging ways, she never would have gotten into dog training (in desperation!!) in the first place!  Ah, life with dogs....

E-mail the Pack Leader to inquire about having a puppy photo exhibit at your business, having your dog photographed, or to purchase photos of your pup previously taken while a student at DWD!