BEWARE! If you decide to see if Mandala will be good for training you will have to sign a contract (which includes not only the initial visit, but also board and train (in her home) and in-home training (in your home). They are all lumped together AND you have to pay the $200 upfront for the initial meeting. Should have been a red flag!! During the meeting she was extremely scattered and kept getting off subject and talking about her dog incessantly. We spent about 15 minutes outside with my dog Piper and she showed me some of the things that we would be doing. I still was thinking I would use her so when she left she promised an email that night with the details of what is covered and required in the in-home training and told me to pay the money. She charges $1500 for 5 sessions. I sent her $750 by Zelle and we set an appt for the first session about two weeks later because I was going on vacation. It took several days to get the email from her and that was after asking her about it. I did not read the information until I returned home and when I did, I realized this was not going to work. She wanted me to crate my dog who is a10 years old and has not been in a crate since she was 6 months old. She wanted all food with held and used only as a reward after Piper did some task. That was not reasonable for a dog that is used to getting fed twice a day and rewarded periodically every day after doing tricks or tasks. I emailed Mandala 5 days before our appt time and told her. She replied that we didn't have to do everything she recommended. I told her I would get back to her the next day. I talked to my son who had used a different trainer with his one-year old dog who sounded similar and he said he didn't think this training would work with 10 year old Piper. I communicated that to Mandala the next day and asked that she reduce the amount of my $750 deposit refund by the amount she thought was fair for her time preparing the email. I hear nothing for four days. Today, I asked her to Zelle me the money and she said that I had signed a contract that said the deposit was non-refundable. First of all, a contract that you have to sign that includes all kinds of services before you even meet the person is not legit. And what kind of person refuses to refund money when the services were not performed. read more
