Meet Sonya Weatherall
Sonya Weatherall
Founder of Hounds With Halos | Certified Master Transformation & Life Coach | Author of Where the Leash Ends
My Story
Before Hounds With Halos, my career took me through nuclear power, Health Physics, safety, emergency preparedness, and high-accountability environments where details matter.
That background taught me to look beyond the obvious.
When something isn't working, I don't simply ask, "How do we stop this behavior?"
I ask, "What is creating it?"
That same way of thinking became fundamental to the way I work with dogs and their humans.
I've learned that lasting change rarely comes from correcting a dog over and over again. We have to look at the entire relationship—the communication, environment, expectations, timing, consistency, and the behavior of the human on the other end of the leash.
That's why my philosophy at Hounds With Halos is simple:
Teach the human first.
The Human End of the Leash
Dogs are remarkably responsive to the people around them.
Our timing, body language, consistency, emotional state, expectations, and reactions can all influence what happens next.
Sometimes the dog behavior we're trying desperately to change is part of a larger pattern that neither the dog nor the human created intentionally.
That's where my background in transformation coaching becomes especially valuable.
I help handlers slow those patterns down, recognize what is actually happening, communicate more clearly, and become more intentional about the behaviors being reinforced.
The goal isn't perfection.
It's a calmer, clearer relationship in which both dog and human understand what is expected.
What I Specialize In
Private Dog training
Individualized training built around the dog, the handler, and the environment in which they actually live.
Service Dog Development & Handler Development
Training that developed both sides of the working partnership—not simply task performance, but communication, reliability, confidence, and handler skills.
Therapy Dog Development
Preparing dogs and their handlers for the calm, appropriate behavior and teamwork needed to serve successfully in community environments.
Behavior & relationship Coaching
Helping humans recognize the patterns, communication gaps, and responses that may be influencing their dog's behavior.
Why Hounds With Halos Is Different
I don't believe dog training should simply produce a dog who obeys commands while the trainer is standing there.
I want the handler to understand why something works.
Because when you understand what your dog is communicating back, and how your own actions influence the interaction, you gain something far more valuable that a temporary behavior change.
You gain skills you can continue to use long after our session ends.
That's what I mean when I say: Teach the human first.
Credentials:
- Certified Master Transformation & Lifestye Coach
- Professional Dog Trainer
- Service & Therapy Dog Training
- B.A., Business Administration
Ready to Get Started?
Whether your working through an everyday training challenge, building better communication with your dog, or developing a service or therapy dog partnership, it starts with understanding what's happening on both ends of the leash.