Our dog Ruby just went through a 4 week behavior modification training program with Steph at the…read moreGladstone location. Ruby was reactive on leash and at at our fence with the neighbor dogs, and had problems focusing on us (and what we wanted) while she was outside. She's the first non-food-motivated dog we've ever had, and so we had no idea how to get her attention when she was so focused on everything else. We had only ever trained with treats and that just wasn't working this time. But Steph did know how to train her. After training, our dog is calm and confident. She can loose leash walk in the neighborhood at heel. She's patient and well mannered. A model citizen. She will focus on us when we're outside and come when called, which used to be a struggle if there was a nice breeze, or an interesting leaf, or a bee, or the moon to gaze at. I highly recommend training through KC Dawgz and the associated Digs boarding facility/play group in Gladstone. We dropped Ruby off every morning and picked her up after work, and got to take home a well behaved dog in the evening. She learned while we were working, when we didn't have the time or expertise to do it ourselves. I'd give more than 5 stars if I could. If you just have a wacky four legged roommate or a furkid who has a tougher problem, Steph can sort them out for you. The initial consultation was free and easy to schedule and the package we went with included in-home training lessons to make sure everything worked out right at home, too. Some of the best money we have ever spent. (Thank you Steph!!!)

From the owner: KC Dawgz Dog Training Academy is Kansas City's premier certified dog training center. Services…read moreoffered include: board and train, private training, group training classes, and in-home training. Located in Gladstone, MO. Dawgz proudly serves the entire KC Metro and even out of state clients. Call us today so our expert trainers can help you and your pup take your relationship to the next level.

Enrolled my dog into their eight week boot camp and I am very satisfied. The fact they both care…read moreand know what they are doing really show through. My dog Rocky was looking and feeling good and today is even better with his new found manners. Great staff all around. Highly recommend

"Dog" may be in the name but Newman's has been wonderful for my cat, Edna! To set the stage, I have…read morewhat you might call a difficult kitty...or as my friend recently referred to her, "Satan". She gets nervous when people come into the home and I'm not there which makes pet sitting a challenge - so much so that she was fired as a client by the service I used in Chicago. Enter Newman's. Not only are both sitters, Emma and Christine, lovely people, they handled Edna in stride. They are awesome about sending texts after every visit and give me updates and details so it never feels like they're just checking a box. Christine has been our go-to and she's just awesome...noticing things like new food bowls and finding nice things to say about my salty Edna. I always look forward to her texts when I'm away. The owner, Jena responds to requests immediately (even when she's on vacation) and never has a problem with last-minute schedule changes. Overall, the level of service is truly exceptional - I highly recommend Newman's if you're looking for someone to take amazing care of your pets while you're away.

Mike at K.I.S.S. Dog training has made a monumental impact not only on our Australian Cattle Dog,…read moreBernie, but our whole family. We started out as a complex case due to Bernie's reactivity towards other people, a variety of objects (mainly those with wheels), hyperactivity, etc. We learned how to keep Bernie under his threshold so he gets to practice good behavior as much as possible. We went through his Babies Don't Bark course and Bernie is now the best older brother to my one month old! I never would have imagined Bernie would be walking next to a stroller or staying calm by lying off to the side when people/dogs pass by but sure enough he's doing it...still with lots of cheese to motivate him :-) Mike helped us get anxiety meds started, which has made a big difference, and has normalized wearing a muzzle! I won't sugar coat the amount of work and patience it takes to keep up on training but it's been worth it. Mike is so responsive in emails (within hours of asking a question) and has lots of YouTube videos and books to help owners. Training a dog is a life long experience! Last year I felt overwhelmed but now I have a better understanding of how to help Bernie in different situations so I feel in control. Special shout-out to Angela for being so helpful with scheduling! Thank you!!

Mike really is a great trainer! He has worked with my dog over the years and can get her to do…read morejust about anything on the first try! I really appreciate all that he has done for me and my pup. He has made the training process much easier than I thought it would be, and he makes it much more fun too. I really enjoy having him come to the house to work with us, and he really has taught us so much. I recommend him to all my pet parent friends too! Thanks Mike!

The husband and I fostered and adopted our dog Johnny -- a Black Lab/Great Dane mix -- from the KC…read morePet Project back in December. Now, we've never had such a big dog, and it was clear from the start that Johnny had a great temperament. But, he's big, eager, and was on track to accidentally hurt us or someone else, and we definitely had some moments of "Are we sure about this?". After another frustrating morning, our dog walker told us that we really, really needed to invest in some dog training, so I pulled out the pamphlet our vet had given us and made the call. Ken was very reassuring on the phone and described the program as being all about leadership. We opted for private training, which, not gonna lie, is pricey -- $1,000. But, that comes with all the private lessons you need (we only needed four), a year's worth of follow-up (we can call any time with questions), and an initial package of materials including the training book, Gentle Leader head collar, leash, beanbags, etc. To be honest, it's not so much about training the dog as it is about training the people! Once we started consistently using the tools Ken taught us, Johnny became a happy, well-behaved dog who everyone loves. He is still excited to see people, but he doesn't jump (and on the rare occasion that he does, we have a method to quickly correct him). He knows where he belongs in the "pack" (aka us) and doesn't try to take charge. He walks nicely on a leash. We're able to take him to daycare, where he socializes well with other dogs, and doesn't go crazy when he sees other dogs on his walks. And we easily trained him out of "nuisance barking" at things like the mail delivery. Most importantly, Ken taught us a "magic word" that helps us bring Johnny back if he gets out, which, let me tell you, has come in handy. If you amortize the cost of the training over a ten-year life, that's $100 a year for a dog who is a pleasure to be around and everyone is happy to see. That seems cheap! Given where we started -- incredibly frustrated and stressed out -- and where we are now -- everybody's happy -- I can't recommend GentleDogTraining.com highly enough. Spend the money, put in the time, and get the results!

We highly recommend this training program. We had a dog that we adopted and unfortunately she was a…read morerunner, was very aggressive towards people, and would not walk on a leash. Lisa and Mike completely changed Stella and our lives for the better. I can now walk her in my neighborhood without a leash and if by chance she gets out or runs away she will come back just by calling. She is the sweetest thing and their training program is worth every penny. I highly recommend them to anyone. Plus Lisa and Mike are just wonderful people and huge dog lovers

Sit Now Stay has been a fantastic training experience for us! Our one-year-old Bernese was becoming…read moredifficult to walk on a leash. Sarah, Lauren, and the whole crew have been wonderful. Our pup recently received his Canine Good Citizen and Spot obedience certifications. 10 out of 10!

We've had a great experience with SNS and our 5 month old boxer-mix. The team is super…read morecommunicative and we have felt that the lessons are appropriate and easy for us humans (and the puppy) to follow. We were lucky enough to do the 7 day board and stay program and look forward to the group classes next. Highly recommend to anyone who wants to have a great experience and help their dog be the best he/she can be!

Everything went well and 13 years later the dog has been perfect and everybody loves him. Not sure…read moreif he's still in business, but I sure wish he was.

Karen has been working with my dog Sammy for a year to help him with his anxiety and has been…read morebeyond helpful. We have seen drastic improvements in his behavior and have a much better understanding of anxiety in dogs and best practices to manage it. Sammy is a better dog and continues to get better each day with Karen's help. She's always quick to have solutions for whatever concerns you have. Karen also communicates with effort and ease. If you have a dog with anxiety and are looking for help, reach out to Karen

I am really glad, thankful and happy that there are places like this in Kansas City. My Athena and…read moreI have taken the Surviving Adolescence we had Coty and Jenna. I love that they love all of the dogs and seemed to really enjoy what they were doing and offered more instruction when anyone in the class asked. Athena and I are now doing the Reliable Recall class and we have KJ and I just really appreciate being able to train with my dog with people that are friendly to me and my dog. I really wish that I would have found this place a long time ago. Now I am just saving up to do all of the classes because we really want to do them all.