Dog Star Academy

Dog Star Academy R+ Certified Dog Trainer & Behavior Specialist serving Monmouth County Noelle Pistilli has loved animals ALL of her life. Serving Monmouth County, NJ

From a young age she was fascinated with animals of all kinds and caring for them was second nature to her. Her interest in dog training started over 10 years ago when she adopted her rescue pup Layla! A stray dog, Layla came to Noelle with a variety of behavioral issues, such as leash aggression, fear aggression to dogs and people, and a general lack of manners and obedience. Through hours of res

earch, reading and months of working with Layla, Noelle was able to get her to a place where she can calmly and safely go on walks, loves people, and is a much more well mannered dog. This experience taught Noelle that NO dog, especially dogs from complicated or traumatic situations will be perfect, but with hard work from the owner (and the dog) amazing things can be achieved! Noelle has formal dog training from Catch Canine Academy and is a Certified Dog Trainer. Dog trainers do not need a certification, but she feels it's a must to be the best trainer she can be for her human and dog clients. Noelle only believes in using positive, reward-based training, and adamantly rejects training that involves punishment of any kind (prong collars, e-collars, e-fences, physical abuse, the list goes on)

She regularly volunteers with local rescues and often fosters dogs and cats. She has a rescue pup Layla, rescue cat Penny, and resides in Highlands, NJ.

I’m fostering this adorable, sweet, gentle, silly, fun puppy!! He’s accepting applications. Reach out to me or Bruno Pro...
11/11/2025

I’m fostering this adorable, sweet, gentle, silly, fun puppy!! He’s accepting applications. Reach out to me or Bruno Project USA before he’s gone! He will be an amazing pup for the right person/family. My cats even love him 😸

Rescue Ridge is looking for volunteers at several adoption locations ❤️🐾
11/09/2025

Rescue Ridge is looking for volunteers at several adoption locations ❤️🐾

🎉 Calling All Cat Lovers! 🐾
We are in need of volunteers at our Tinton Falls Pet Supplies Plus Location 🆘

Want to spend your mornings or evenings surrounded by purring, playful, adorable cats and kittens?
We’re looking for dependable, animal-loving volunteers to help care for our rescue cats at our store locations!

🐱 Feed them
🧹 Scoop their litter boxes
💖 Give them love, snuggles, and playtime!

Shift Options:
☀️ Morning
🌙 Evening
🕐 Minimum 1–2 hours per shift

Volunteer at one of our store locations:
📍 Jackson- Pet Supplies Plus
📍 Wall – Pet Supplies Plus
📍 Hazlet – Pet Supplies Plus
📍 Tinton Falls – Pet Supplies Plus *BIGGEST NEED*
📍 Ocean – PetSmart
📍 Howell – PetSmart
📍 Manalapan – PetSmart

Must be 18 or older
(Teens can volunteer with a supervising adult)

No experience needed—just a big heart and love for animals!
Ready to make tails wag and whiskers wiggle?

📧 Email us to sign up at [email protected] or on our website under volunteer
🐾 Learn more at: https://rescueridge.com/volunteer-2/

11/06/2025
Such an important animal advocate. Hopefully we can continue her mission❤️
10/02/2025

Such an important animal advocate. Hopefully we can continue her mission❤️

Today, we remember Dr. Jane Goodall, a prolific primatologist and lifelong advocate for animals.

Her decades of fieldwork in Tanzania reshaped how we understand our closest relatives in nature. Dr. Goodall’s discoveries broke barriers in science and in our empathy for other beings.

But her legacy goes beyond data and discovery. She used her voice to champion bold action: protecting vital habitats, restoring ecosystems, standing against species extinction, and elevating the moral imperative that all sentient creatures deserve respect, care, and protection.

Rest in peace, Dr. Goodall. 🌿

It's Sniffari Season! What does that mean?? The weather is milder, it's still Summer, and so it's the perfect time to ta...
09/11/2025

It's Sniffari Season! What does that mean?? The weather is milder, it's still Summer, and so it's the perfect time to take some Sniffari walks with our pups! On a Sniffari walk you let your dog lead the way and sniff to their hearts content!! 💕 No rushing or nudging them in specific directions with time limits. Just let them lead you and allow them to sniff, explore, and calmly take in their surroundings.

Sniffing has so many natural benefits for our dogs: Stress relief; mental stimulation; eases anxiety; builds confidence + more! And it's so fun for them! You will benefit from a calm and meditative walk too 🥰


Happy National Dog Day!! Love on your pups a little extra today ❤ 🐾National Dog day began in 2004 thanks to animal behav...
08/26/2025

Happy National Dog Day!! Love on your pups a little extra today ❤ 🐾

National Dog day began in 2004 thanks to animal behaviorist Colleen Paige, who wanted to bring attention to animal abuse and assist animal charities.


Meet beautiful Nellie! She's a 1 year old client with bounds and bounds of energy!! Not at all out of the ordinary for a...
08/05/2025

Meet beautiful Nellie! She's a 1 year old client with bounds and bounds of energy!! Not at all out of the ordinary for a young dog, especially a Golden Retriever pup. A little known fact is that larger breed dogs tend to hold onto that puppy energy/excitably up until 2yrs old! It's really important to make sure they have lots of outlets to release that energy (physically and mentally) otherwise they can exhibit what looks like reactivity/aggression towards people or dogs they want to meet. Which was happening with Nellie. Fortunately, I gave her parents the tools to get her on a path to success!! While taming puppy/young dog energy can seem like a huge task, I can help by offering a simple yet well rounded approach. It will be easy to add into your daily lives!!



Dog aggression is often misunderstood by pet parents. The dog is thought to be acting spiteful, dominant, jealous, or me...
07/08/2025

Dog aggression is often misunderstood by pet parents. The dog is thought to be acting spiteful, dominant, jealous, or mean. But, these are all human emotions. Dogs are not trying to be bad on purpose and most often they are reacting aggressively due to fear and sometimes even pain.

When we shift from judging the behavior to listening to it, we can start building trust and helping our dogs feel more secure. Understanding the why behind the behavior is the first step to helping your dog feel safe and supported. Let me help you!

Here is what your dog is really saying when they become aggressive...



A friendly reminder with fireworks upon us these next couple weeks. Sometimes the best thing you can do for your dog tha...
07/02/2025

A friendly reminder with fireworks upon us these next couple weeks. Sometimes the best thing you can do for your dog that is anxious/panicked by fireworks is to simply be home with them when they are going off. Though they will very likely still react to the loud noise and light (who can blame them?) they will feel comforted that you are there ❤️

Wishing you and all your fur babies a peaceful 4th of July!!

IS YOUR DOG A Certified THERAPY ANIMAL?? Ascend Hospice Center located in Cranford, NJ reached out to me about needing t...
06/23/2025

IS YOUR DOG A Certified THERAPY ANIMAL?? Ascend Hospice Center located in Cranford, NJ reached out to me about needing therapy animal volunteers. Please reach out to them if you think your pup(s) would be a good fit. Sounds like a great organization!! ❤ 🐾

It makes me so happy to help dogs that are rescued. While they sometimes need a little extra help, they make the most am...
06/09/2025

It makes me so happy to help dogs that are rescued. While they sometimes need a little extra help, they make the most amazing & grateful companions! Wally is the sweetest little puppy you've ever met and his family is committed to make sure he's on a path of success into adulthood ❤

Meet styli'n Coco! This sweet girl is ready for Summer!! Coco travelled all the way from China and ended up with an amaz...
06/02/2025

Meet styli'n Coco! This sweet girl is ready for Summer!! Coco travelled all the way from China and ended up with an amazing family who cares about her very much.

She has a lot of fear when meeting new people. Unfortunately, when a dog is not socialized enough as a puppy with people, they don't develop the social skills and confidence to trust and feel comfortable around them. Since rescue pups are (sadly) often kept confined for long periods and/or sometimes have traumatizing experiences with people they don't have the positive experiences needed to feel trust towards humans and lack opportunities to socialize. While it's not the easiest emotional response to treat, improvement is definitely possible and in some cases the reactivity is replaced with confidence and trust!

In Coco's case, she showed glimmers of feeling trusting with me by taking treats from my hand and so I feel very strongly her family will see improvement in her reactivity if they practice the exercises I shared with them. She deserves to feel comfortable around people, feeling anxious is not pleasant for dogs much like it's not a nice experience for us either!



Address

Highlands, NJ
07732

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 7pm
Tuesday 10am - 7pm
Wednesday 10am - 7pm
Thursday 10am - 7pm
Friday 10am - 7pm
Saturday 10am - 7pm
Sunday 10am - 7pm

Telephone

+12016745411

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