Archie went to camp with Gina for three weeks and came home a different dog. I'm still a little…read moreamazed. He's a five-pound chihuahua who shakes when someone new walks in the room and basically lived on my lap or behind my knees. I'd worried a trainer would either give up on him or scare him worse, but from the very first day Gina put so much thought into making him feel safe. She texted that afternoon to say he'd already jumped into her daughter's arms. When he barely ate the first couple days and I got worried, she talked me through it and told me he'd come around, which he did. She took him on long walks around the park and the neighborhood to burn off his nerves before she ever asked anything of him. His crate became his safe spot at her house, a familiar place that was all his in the middle of a busy home with other dogs and parrots and training going on. And she started him on tiny, predictable rules, sitting before a door, coming when called, so he always had something he understood to hold onto in a new situation. She explained that for an anxious dog, knowing what to expect is half the battle. She also refused to pick him up every time he got scared, and warned me that part would be harder for me than for him. She was right. Somewhere around the second week he started smiling in the photos. He was hanging out with her little dogs and her family, going on field trips to the park and coffee shops, staying on his place while she walked away, heeling next to her. He knows sit, place, heel and here now, and he does them for me too. The turnover at my apartment took a couple hours and it was real work. She sat me down and explained everything before we ever touched the dog, then had me practice with Archie while she corrected what I was doing wrong. She's kept sending reminders and answering my questions since, including a few dumb ones about shampoo and brushes. Here's the part I still can't get over. We went to a party a couple weeks after he got home, which is a huge deal for Archie. He sat on other people's laps. He licked hands. He barely cowered. Six weeks ago he would have spent the whole night shaking under my chair. Everyone at the party noticed and commented on the change in his demeanor. I was a proud mama that day! If your dog is the anxious type, the one who hides, trembles, won't eat around strangers, or has to be carried everywhere, I really want you to hear this. A lot of trainers are set up for big confident dogs and don't know what to do with a scared little one. Gina does. She never rushed him, never forced him, and never made me feel silly for babying him all these years. She reads a nervous dog and meets them where they are, then slowly builds them up until they can handle the world on their own. That's exactly what Archie needed. I honestly feel like Gina is just getting started with him, and I'm already thinking of when I can work with her again. If you have a tiny, anxious dog and you're on the fence, go with Gina. Archie is a different dog and so am I. Thank you again for everything you did for him, and for me. Archie sends smooches. Sheri

I can't say enough good things about Brandi and Perry Bailey of RSK9. Their work has given my pup…read moreand I so much freedom and balance. Pebbles (blue heeler, 1.5 years old) would never listen to me, would not sit or lay still, and had a lot of other obedience issues that caused her to be stressed or confused. She was a TOUGH dog to train and I was concerned I couldn't find the solution for her to get basic concepts. This view has completely changed since working with RSK9's 3 week program. I would HIGHLY recommend them and their methods - you can tell they genuinely love working with dogs and it's made a huge difference in giving my dog the chance to find real rest at home. They send DAILY updates with photos and videos which was so nice. This isn't a regular class or something you just pay for; it's truly an investment that you and your dog will be using for the time you get to share together. Side note: it's worth doing 3 weeks versus 2 weeks. At the 2 week mark is when Pebbles really started to understand her marks and cues. From here there is so much more that can be refined and Brandi/Perry really capitalize on that threshold being crossed!

We had a great experience with the basic obedience class! The instructions were really clear and…read morethe lessons moved quickly enough that my dog stayed engaged the whole time. I'm already seeing improvement in her recall when we're at the park! Highly recommend these trainers and will be back for more classes.

Classes are great. Staff is wonderful. I had a few follow…read moreup questions and received a comprehensive response that was pages long.

Our family highly recommends Controlled K9! We adopted our boy Mortimer last year after he had been…read moreliving as a stray, and we were really struggling when he came home with basic manners, reactivity, and having him settle in with our other dog. We ended up sending both of our boys for a six-week board and train with Kelia. It seemed to only make sense to send both dogs so they would have the same baseline training. Kelia was amazing! She kept us informed just about every day with videos and texts so we could see that the boys were happy and making progress. When Kelia brought the boys home, she spent a few hours with us, showing all the commands and techniques that she taught them, so we had a seamless transition. The "place" command alone has been lifechanging. (Although as you can see in the picture, they sometimes refuse to use separate mats, LOL.) We use the command before we feed them, initially when guests come by, and when we just need them to settle down a bit. It has reduced the stress and chaos in our house tenfold, and we actually can see the boys relax when they know they have a place to go and chill out. Kelia also gave us the tools to make leash walking and general obedience so much more successful. There are a lot of options out there for training. What set Controlled K9 apart for us was (1) our boys lived with Kelia, her family, and her dogs during training - they were not staying in a kennel and were in a real-life, loving environment, and (2) the promise of lifetime, free follow-up support. The boys have been home now for about 3 months. The training has stuck, and we feel like we really have the tools we need to make life pleasant for all of us, including the boys. Kelia has also proactively checked in to make sure things are going well, provided tips on the best way to reinforce training, and has responded quickly when we have follow-up questions, including offering a visit. Over three months later, we are still completely satisfied with the training and support provided by Controlled K9 and Kelia, and we would use them again in a heartbeat.

We worked with Julie to have our 10mo old Australian Shepherd trained. The entire process was very…read moresmooth, from the consultation to training, to the transition home. We spent a lot of time reviewing our goals together and our trainer followed through with the plan that we set together. She stayed in constant contact with transparent updates about the puppy's progress and answered any questions we had. Given the puppy's breed and determination, she required quite a bit of foundational training. Since returning home, she's a pro on the leash (complete transformation). Walks are far more enjoyable - no more barking, pulling, lunging towards moving vehicles, and now has a peaceful relationship with the mail box and trash can. Another high priority was addressing the puppy's reactiveness to our child - puppy is now able to follow my lead during potentially chaotic interactions. Overall our program length was 6 weeks long and completely worth it. We are thrilled to have these foundations instilled by a professional who also cares for the dog. Highly recommend!

We just recently hired Scott to work with us and the pooch we rescued in January. Our dog is a…read moreHusky mix, and is a little over 4 years old. While basically a good dog in many respects, Riggins displays anxiety and shuts down during walks, which manifested in his past as fear aggression. This is not something we had dealt with with our previous pets, and knew that we needed to ensure against any kind of dangerous situation. We understood when we adopted Riggins we'd need to work with him on these ingrained bad habits. Shortly after we adopted him, we tried out group training sessions. It was clear the group training was for working on basic stuff, a lot of which our dog already knew. We felt the best option was to go with 1-1 training. And so glad we did. It was worth every penny. Scott gave us the tools to work with Riggins, as well as manage our expectations and learn how to deal with a variety of situations. We signed up for five training sessions with Scott, and as others mentioned in their reviews, the training started as soon as Scott entered the house. He made an immediate connection with Riggins and so amazing to see how the dog just snapped to attention for him. Such a great talent to have. Basically Scott told us we need to completely reprogram our dog. We're continuing to work on that, and probably will for the foreseeable future. But there's been a definite improvement in the way we deal with Riggins, and I see daily 'baby step' progress on walks. We've also been bike riding with Riggins, which he seems to enjoy and is great at draining his energy. The bike rides also ensure that the dog is following me, I'm in the lead and have control over the situation. So thanks to Scott for his help. We may well call him again for a tune-up, but for right now, we're putting his recommendations in place and are seeing a difference.

My fiance and I are new dog owners. We had only been relying on online puppy training videos to…read morehouse break our 8 week old goldendoodle pup, but still needed some more in-person guidance. I researched many different dog trainers in my area and ultimately decided to contact Scott. We first spoke over the phone to see if the training would be a good fit. He asked me what my goals were and then explained what his style of training was. We booked a double day session for 2 hours and it was intense, but so helpful, educational, and so rewarding! Our puppy's nipping has really lessened and she definitely is paying more attention than before. Scott taught us various ways to walk a dog and the importance of keeping them safe in different environments. He also gave us great insight on the dogs' point of view which really helped us understand our puppy's behavior more. Scott made sure my fiance and I were highly involved with the training and it helped boost our confidence for when we'd continue training our puppy on our own. Although the training already made a big difference, Scott also reminded us that our puppy is still so young and that we need to remain realistic and patient. The reassurance, constructive criticism, and encouragement created a very positive environment for the session. I am overall very impressed! Thank you so much, Scott!

We started training classes with our 8.5 week old puppy because my spouse and I had never had a…read morepuppy so young and wanted to start off right with our little guy. We also didn't want to use harsh training methods (like choke chains or e-collars) and the fact that Bridget doesn't even allow those in her classes made a great first impression on paper. I didn't really know what to expect when we started and was a little out of my league and a little intimidated, but when we walked out of the very first session with our wee baby dog knowing how to sit and walk on a leash in under an hour, I was impressed. Bridget is great with recognizing which dogs are better paired together and which ones likely shouldn't interact and then pairs them up for individual play time during the sessions. Having the combination of social time and training time. She truly understands their behaviors and the way they think. I've never seen dogs adjust to training so quickly. I honestly wish I had gone to her with my last dog because she's great with all ages and stages of dogs, but I just didn't know to even look for her! Our dog is now 5.5 months old and he has since graduated puppy kindergarten and just completed elementary manners. Those two classes are very similar in training, but elementary is a smaller class, more focused, and it really does help reinforce the behavior as the dog is growing and changing constantly. We plan on enrolling in more classes so we can continue our dog's growth and development because Bridget really does understand dogs and has really helped us with a crazy puppy!

If you live in the northern Virginia area and you're looking for an amazing dog trainer...look no…read morefurther! I was so nervous to take our sweet pup Kip to a dog trainer, but I'm so glad we did. Kip has some fear aggression with men and after reading all of Bridget's reviews, I thought she ma be the perfect fit for Kip. Immediately upon arriving to our private session, she was calm and sweet with Kip. Within 15 minutes into the session, he was responding to commands from her such as sit, down and leave it! We had a two hour private session and I can honestly say I saw a huge difference in Kip just after the one session. He seems to have more confidence, is listening to my commands when he becomes nervous and seems happier! She only uses positive training methods...which was a must for us. She trains using treats, eye contact and positive reinforcement! We will be going back for her elementary manners class in a few weeks and I am sooo excited to see the progress Kip will continue to make! Like I have told so many people already..she is like a dog angel! Thanks Bridget!

An excellent facility for training Agility as well as Rally…read more The atmosphere is comfortable and in a rural setting.

Charlotte is amazing. My puppy came in wild and is now the best dog ever! All positive…read morereinforcement - so grateful

Signing up for classes with K9ology was one of the best decisions I made! I was a bit hesitant…read moreabout starting my puppy in classes so young, but after 12 weeks of private training and one group class under our belt, I could not be happier with the foundation we have- worth every penny! Charlotte is truly an expert and helps explain the science behind the trainings, and had helpful suggestions for every question/scenario. I would sign up for a dozen more classes if I wasn't moving!

Thank you all so much for the guidance we received in the Agility 1 class Canines At Training! Our…read moreboys (Noah and his bestie Milo) went from being afraid of agility equipment to running up and down ramps all by themselves at the park. Noah's a lot more confident now too. So proud of him! We've attended group classes and did drop off CEO training since Noah was about 5 months. Noah has learned basic manners and over 20 tricks here. I learned how to properly handle, correct, protect, and play with my dog. If it wasn't for his caring trainers I would've lost my mind dealing with the Puppy Blues months ago ‍. So glad I invested in a quality training program, we've both learned so much here. Looking forward to our next class.

Canines at Training is a fantastic place. The trainers are knowledgeable and know how to make…read morelearning fun for dogs and people. I have done many classes over the years with several herding dogs, and we have always had a great experience. My current rescue Sheltie came to me with reactivity issues. After working through the Canines at Training "Reactive Dog" classes, he is a much happier and more confident boy who is able to participate in group classes like Rally and Agility.

My friend suggested I take my dog to Blue Ridge Dog Training Club for some classes. He was a…read moreshelter dog that had a lot of issues and problems that needed to be worked through. All of the instructors were great at giving me ideas and working with me to help him over come most of his problems. I guess it is like PTSD he may never get over all of his issues, but he is now a happy well behaved dog. He seldom reacts to other dogs and men now. You would never know he was the same dog that I brought to the first class! I would highly recommend anyone take their dog to Blue Ridge for training!