Canine conversation has helped me and my dog become even closer. Kinsey Rising is a top professional in the dog training world. I would trust no one else to handle my five-year-old male Rottweiler with such grace, compassion, and strength. I would encourage anyone who has a dog that needs any type of training to seek out canine conversations. read more

Canine Conversations - Titus getting his nails trimmed by Kinsey, owner of Canine Conversations. Titus hates getting his nails done but Kinsey is patient with him. - Pet Training Near Me

Cheryl is the best. Seriously. We heard about her from a friend and when we meet for our free evaluation I knew she was gonna be our trainer. We live in Lake Stevens which is out of her travel range so we met at McCollum park in Everett for our sessions. We have a 6 month old Whippet and the web is full of information about how Whippets are not motivated to be trained, can never be trusted off leash, no training collars (they have thin necks), are very sensitive, etc. After reading all this I was left bewildered. I had trained our previous dog (Lab) but I felt like nothing I knew before would work on this dog and I hadn't even started! Cheryl put my mind at ease. She felt that a balanced approach (a gentler training collar with lots of positive reinforcement) was the way to go and how a dog is trained and what it can and can't do is up to the individual dog and its owner. We signed up for her Silver package and met twice a week for 5 weeks. After our first lesson I was so pleased I could cry. Just that lesson taught Dobby not to pull which was his biggest issue. From there he learned sit, down, come, place, heel, stay, not to jump up on people and just how to generally pay attention to me more than his surroundings. Its tough for him as Sighthounds see everything and are intensely interested. But he's come so so far. Cheryl never lost her cool, never lost her patience and she had a solution for every issue that came up. I had to bring my 4 kids numerous times as we homeschool and she was never (visibly) annoyed, even though they were sometimes quite annoying :) We did end up using an electronic collar and our last few sessions involved working with him on that. He has begun work off leash using this collar. It also helps make corrections at home when he doesn't have a leash on and is far away. I would recommend using the e-collar option if it fits into your budget. Its been really nice. I can't recommend Cheryl highly enough. We really enjoyed our time with her and Duke and her impact on Dobby and us will last a very long time. She enabled us to have a well-behaved dog that we can take anywhere. That's priceless. read more

Canine Conversations - Dobby the Whippet. Cheryl turned him into a very well-mannered boy! - Pet Training Near Me

My dog (cane corso/Neapolitan mix) has never been more confident than with this training. He is responsive and happier since we started. He is even less reactive and has a lot less separation anxiety! We have made amazing progress since the start of our program. I love how the methods taught so you know how to use it properly and know why! These trainers are amazing and have helped so much more than other trainers we have had before. It is important to engage and commit to this training as you will only see results if you and your dog are actually practicing. Our dog immediately loved the training and responded very well! They work with your pet and you to meet each individual needs, and show a genuine care for animals! Thank you Take the Lead!! read more

Cheryl with Take The Lead has been AMAZING. I am a veterinarian who acquired a young dog with severe behavioral issues. His options were slim and I knew I had to try and help him. I worked with him for months but realized I needed an expert. That's where Cheryl came in. Our coonhound Battle had very serious fear issues that progressed to fear aggression. We lived our lives in a constant state of fear and frustration with our dog even though we loved him. Initially Cheryl worked with us in one on one training sessions to introduce Battle to her and introduce us (the humans) to proper training tools and methods. Battle then did a board and train and came home a different dog! Even though I am a veterinarian, she taught me a lot about verbal and physical communication with dogs. We are so happy with the progress Battle has made and life is enjoyable again! Thank you Cheryl! read more

Our trainer, Kaytlyn, has really helped us change our mindset on our really reactive, anxious dog. She listens to our concerns and has come up with creative solutions to help us work through the issues with our dog. the training has taught us how to help our dog through his triggers. We have seen some good improvement through this training and it makes life so much easier. We went from having almost full on dog fights due to our male redirecting his frustration to our female, to being able to play and relax with both dogs together, all because of the tools we have been given to manage his issues. We look forward to continuing our training. read more

We love Take the Lead. We took our rescued street dog after he finished a basic commands training course elsewhere, but couldn't get his reactivity in check. For most places that provide "band-aid" solutions, Cheryl gets to the root of the problem and really helps to address the innate triggers that are causing bad behavior. This class not only helped my dog, but also helped me to better understand what my behavior was saying to him and how to better communicate with him through non-verbal cues. I definitely recommend this place. The crew absolutely knows their stuff and are very professional. 1 year later my dog is off his anxiety meds and is calm and confident knowing that I'm in control. read more

Chery Ross of Take The Lead Dog Training is miraculous. She helped us with our over-excited and over-reactive but loving dog Ziggy. Ziggy would not be the dog he is today without Cheryl's help. My husband and I never thought we would get to the point where we enjoy and seek out walking time with Ziggy. He has become so wonderful with bikes, kids, and other people walking past. He is calm and controlled. He may notice the other dog but he doesn't react unless he is challenged at close range. Even then, he is more attentive to our words to him as we protect his personal space and remind him to keep walking and ignore the challenging dog. All of our neighbors love Ziggy and happily greet him when we meet them at the beginning or end of one of our daily walks. He has adjusted to our move to Germany (from Seattle) quite well and the biggest reason why he is happy is because of his long daily walks. Ziggy has always been great with other dogs in playtime but now he is also a joy during walks - Thanks to Take the Lead Dog Training. Gratefully! Ziggy, Andrew and Mary-Margaret Waker read more

We r 75 yes old, Cheryl trained a White German Shepard Service Dog for us. We have been to Mayo clinic, Walmrt, Ace hardware, Sams Club, Costco, Dr visits, Horse Shows many times! Cheryl is the very Best! Jon & Addis Welch read more

Our experience with Cheryl has been phenomenal! She has taken our dog who was a "ticking time bomb" with serious resource guarding as well as aggressive/reactive tendencies and managed to teach him to think before acting. We can actually watch him process through his decisions. I believe that Cheryl accomplished what our prior trainer could not even identify because she took the initiative to connect with our dog. Cheryl is accomplished and she balances the art of building trust while firmly teaching discipline. In addition to training our dog, she went the extra mile and trained each and every one of our 8 person family. Cheryl is clearly a leader in her industry and as an indicator, she has invested time and initiative to seek unique ongoing training and certifications. Thanks to Cheryl's expertise, we no longer feel held hostage to our dog and can function with him as the member of our family that we had always hoped him to be. read more

Cheryl is amazing. If you have a do that has resource guarding issues look no further. She trained my boxer puppy and my 13 JRT who thought she was the boss of everything. Cheryl was able to curb all the behavior issues of my JRT and life is just better for all of us. read more

We've only had a couple of session so far (still have a few weeks to go!) but I am very happy with the training so far! We got a 4 month old German Shepherd puppy and I was eager to avoid problems I've had with previous dogs. We're pretty active, go on lots of road trips and are out and about often, so we wanted a dog that we could easily and confidently take all over with us. In the couple weeks that we had her, before we started training, walks were already getting frustrating and becoming a struggle. I hadn't been quite ready to get a dog when we did and was feeling a little anxious about all the work to be done. Within even just one hour, our first session with Cheryl, not only did I feel much more confident and equipped to manage our dog on walks, but walking her was immediately easier and much more fun and I don't feel at all anxious or stressed about training her now. I'm back to looking forward to our daily walks! Cheryl obviously loves dogs and she knows what she's doing. She's super nice, has a great personality and good energy (I've met some dog trainers that are great with dogs... not so much with people!). Her own dog, Duke, is awesome. As an added bonus, Cheryl is also great with kids. My 5 year old is always around during sessions and his favorite part of training is getting to hang out with Duke. Cheryl let him walk Duke this last time and I'm pretty sure it will be all he talks about at school tomorrow! read more