I wanted to send you a big thank you and an update on our boy Reggie. He is the best dog I ever…read morecould have hoped for. We adore him. We are so grateful for the great choice you made for us. Training was a breeze. He walks without a leash even when another dog is passing or a rabbit hops by. he will sit on place for as long as we want. He knows "scram" which means he can do whatever he wants but not be in the area like the kitchen while cooking or at the table while we are eating. We are working on some upgraded dog tricks. We brought him home in mid November 2025 and very sadly we lost our 30 year old son in January. It has been a rough road of grieving for our whole family. We noticed how absolutely loving and attentive Reggie was when anyone was upset. If I cry, he notices even when I am not making a sound and he comes over to lay his head on my lap and provide comfort. He is so calm no matter what is going on around him. He just recently passed his Canine Good Citizen test at 9 months old. Because of his therapeutic nature we are continuing training and are planning on him testing for Go Team Therapy Dogs in October. The folks at the Go Team have met him and think he is naturally perfectly designed to be part of the team because of his incredible gentle nature and chill personality.

The owners barbie and tim are amazing .there puppies are well breed beautiful breed…read more There trained so well. You will be amazed and what great animals i received a white golden creme best temperment what ever concerns i had they answered promptly i highly recommend give them a 5 star

"Oh, he's just a puppy" ....... I'm sure you have heard that a thousand times. Well, we have had 3…read moreother "puppies" over the last 40+ years and are true dog lovers. "We" thought we had it covered - that "we" could do it ourselves since "we" had been so successful before. All "we" had to do was crate train our puppy and hope he wouldn't destroy our home before he turned one - I would just have to make sure my husband didn't have to much fun playing tug of war, excite our new puppy with his comings and goings and that I would not panic every time the puppy was invited wherever my husband went in the house - including carpeted areas. Our dogs always turned out to be great family members even though they might have gotten into trouble along the way. Ask my friends - No one would have ever thought "WE'D" need a trainer. Even my VET thought my dogs were wonderful. Thinking I had the normal training covered 'cause I was so good with dogs :) I had made a few calls regarding "therapy dog" training for sometime in the future. I visited on site locations around the Hartford area. I watched puppies get socialized and spoke to trainers - No one nor anything impressed me. AND THEN I CALLED JENA! She was not high pressure. I wasn't interested in getting a trainer for a puppy. I thought Trainers were for people who never had a dog before, have troubled older dogs or want to teach dogs tricks. Why would someone need a trainer "for a puppy" who was high spirited, ate his food veraciously (without taking a breath until he was finished), went crazy with happiness when he saw anyone, ate everything in sight from the sidewalk or grass (ugh), pulled on his leash, mouthed our hands, not coming when called, jumped up on everyone and everything, blah, blah, blah. "He's just a puppy" Don't they always behave that way? Jena asked the right questions which made me reevaluate how I went about training my puppies. Interestingly after my first conversation with Jena I called her back. Jena was the most insightful person regarding behaviors of dogs and behaviors of their owners. She educated me about dog mentality and pack behaviors. I still was unsure that I needed to pay someone so much money to help me train my puppy. I could wait and "if I needed help when my dog is older" I would hire someone to train my dog. I spoke with my husband about my conversation with Jena. He too was unsure what a trainer could do to help "us" raise a puppy. I wasn't totally sold yet, and certainly my husband had his doubts. And then my husband started to "play" with his dog :) .....hmmm, I thought maybe Jena could train my husband. I thought a lot more about what Jena said. I was unsure about some of my answers to her questions. I called her again. This time we made an appointment to meet. Not just with me, but with my puppy - and yes with my husband. There I was standing in my kitchen with my puppy, my husband, and Jena. There was a lot of conversation. Even though we had agreed to the sessions I could tell by my husband's body language that he hadn't yet bought in to what success Jena could provide. I'm sure my body language was no different than his for the first half hour or so. And then something happened. Jena showed us with her body language how she could communicate with our puppy, without saying anything, to get him to do what she wanted. Within 5 minutes our puppy no longer mouthed or gulped down his food. My husband and I stood with our mouths hanging open - and big smiles on our faces. Who would have believed it? certainly not my husband if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes. Jena then showed me what I had been doing that also encouraged bad behaviors in our puppy. She was there to train ALL of us :) Jena gave us homework to practice with our puppy until the next time we met. Because we were now believers, we did our homework and we saw great behavior changes in our puppy and each other. Jena covered many other aspects of training methods over the next few meetings. We followed her instructions and it was absolutely amazing. 100% compliance = 100% success. Over the last 2 weeks I have been preoccupied with many responsibilities which took me away from the consistency of my behaviors with my puppy. Guess what? He had started slipping. He stopped coming when I called. I just heard someone say, "he's just a puppy". It isn't that he's just a puppy, it's that I had not followed through with my responsibility as the "leader of the pack". I had failed in my consistency of requiring my puppy to follow my commands. I'm back on track, so therefore so is everyone. There is so much more to say about Jena and her ability to help all people/dog relationships. I will say that Jena has more than helped our puppy, she has given us the joy of raising a puppy, the calm of a peaceful pack. "We" know that she is worth every penny for her instruction. Thank you Jenna!!!!

I thought dog training was BS until I went to Jena! Helped me and helped my crazy pooch! Now we can…read morego and do things with other dogs or in busy places. Really thankful.

We recently adopted our pup from AGWC and they were fantastic! Fabienne and Antonia were so helpful…read morefor the entire process and helped us find our best friend. We are so thankful!

Thanks to AGWC I met my soul dog Duke in 2015 (who sadly passed in 2024). AGWC and Duke made me…read moreinto the dog lover I am now and we adopted Cash, Harlequin and Summer. Everyone at the rescue is amazing and the work they do there is so important for all the animals that need the chance to find a home. The staff knows the temperaments of the animals, they know the likes/dislikes. They save so many animals from the shelters and allow them to have a chance at a life! Fabienne makes sure the animals end up in a forever home. She works so hard and is a voice for all the AGWC residents. Antonia was such a great help when we were adopting Summer. Adopt and don't shop!! You will have the most grateful bundle of fur. I love my dogs so much and thank AGWC for all they do!!

Best breeder and puppy ever!!! I can't say enough wonderful things about Kitty and my new best…read morefriend, Maple, from Sweet Time Labradoodles. I did a ton of research on the breed and talked to a few different breeders. Kitty is extremely knowledgable, very responsive and truly loves all of her dogs and puppies. When we decided that my family would make a good guardian home, she visited us to see where the puppy would live. She is a certified dog trainer and really enjoys helping owners raise respectful, well mannered puppies. My puppy is a dream! She's such a sweetheart. Very smart, extremely loving and has just the right amount of energy. She loves to be with me and play, but will also sit and chew her bone or toys on her own. She is great with my kids and every person and dog she meets. Her favorite playmate is my cat and he adores her as much as I do. :) Thank you Kitty for our precious girl!

Angie and Benny have been the best people to work with. My dogs are my whole world and they've been…read moresuch incredible people to work with. My dogs went for a 6-8 week board and train and even when they have been back home Angie and Benny have been only a text away when I have a question or need help!

My grandmother gifted me a blonde German Shepherd pup. This puppy was one of the last gifts my…read moregrandmother gave me before her passing. I really wanted to make sure that I had a well behaved, well trained doggy for the next 15 to 20 years. (Yes I'm hopeful) I looked all over, checked out a few places where they trained dogs it was really difficult for me to pick or choose one as you never know who to trust. I was recommended to wait till she was about five months before I started the training program. I wanted her to get crate training, potty training, and off leash training so I could have a companion for hiking, walks and not worry about a misbehaving puppy. I was recommended to Angie through a client of mine who had a beautiful beautifully well behaved, off leashed doggy to which I was thoroughly impressed with his behavior and ability to listen to commands. Of course, I was very nervous and reluctant to leave my beautiful girl to anyone, but I took a leap of faith and I couldn't be more happy that I did. Angie walked me through the process, showed me her successes with other pups and her training routine. She sent me videos of my girl during training kept me updated which eased my nervousness and anxiety. She also helped coach me in a routine to help my dog bond with me, how to correct bad behavior, how to reward good behavior. I get so many compliments on how well behaved my girl is, how well trained she is and how beautiful she is. (Angie can't take credit for that last one lol) To this day I regularly take my girl to Angie for boarding when I need to take business trips or small vacations and my little girl is always happy to see her! I highly recommend!

We got our Australian Labradoodle, Enzo, from Adam about three years ago, and it's been a great…read moreexperience overall. Adam really knows everything there is to know about the breed, he always gets straight to the point and gives solid advice when we've had questions--whether it's about Enzo's diet, care, or general tips. You can tell he truly cares about his dogs and wants the best for them, even after they go to their new homes. Enzo has been the perfect addition to our family, and we're really grateful we found Adam as our breeder.

everything went well. Adam Ford is local and very accommodating. Our new puppies are scheduled to…read morebe delivered this weekend. We are very excited to get them.

In August of 2024, we went to look at a couple of dogs we liked for their online information…read more Neither seemed to be a good fit in person however. I remember one doggie photo on their website that actually was a bit scary looking, and it turned out that the dog with the 'tough guy' photo was in the kennel right next to one we were investigating. Funny thing was, in person, the tough guy was not even slightly scary, in fact he was as gentle as a lamb. Guess who came home with us? Yeah the one I'd judged incorrectly based on one photo; he is the treasure of our family now, such a good boy. Well, when the following August (2025) rolled around and the shelter had another adoption event, we decided to find a playmate for our boy dog. We looked at a few and settled on one female that obviously did not like being in doggie jail, seems she was a bit mouthy at times which made her unpopular with visiting folks. I saw potential though, and we took her home with us, and as I felt, the light nipping has diminished over time. Though a tad crazy, she is a fun addition to our home and she can actually fly at times in our large backyard. Both dogs have grown quite affectionate with one another over time, and both even get along with our kitty. Overall, VCAS is a great place to find a friend, and give them a loving forever home.

Conflicting review, shared with honesty and heart. I'll…read morestart with the difficult part, which is based on an incident from over 15 years ago. During a family move, my dog got out while staying with relatives and was taken to this shelter by animal control. Unfortunately, we hadn't updated our landline number, so we weren't notified right away. When we finally came looking for her, we were told she would be held for a certain time and that, due to her being a senior, we should come sooner rather than later. Sadly, when my mom and I arrived, she had already been put down. I was much younger and very emotional, and overcrowding was mentioned at the time. While this experience was heartbreaking, I don't hold it against them today. The shelter is now no-kill, and I truly believe in growth and change. I adopted my first dog from here as a puppy and adopted one of my current dogs eight years ago. Both experiences were positive--everyone was kind, helpful, and caring. Customer service has been great, and the staff deserves more recognition for the compassion they show. I definitely recommend adoption and will always believe in this message: don't shop--please adopt

This is my second review for Kim, and honestly, I couldn't not write it after what she's done…read morerecently for my dog Todd (aka Cuintli, aka Benson, aka the naked, aka sausage dog) and my friend's dog Ike. Todd has his quirks, and Ike had his own set of challenges, but Kim handled both of them like a pro. She knew exactly how to connect with each dog, address their specific needs, and give us clear, realistic steps to follow at home. It wasn't just about obedience -- it was about creating a better relationship and a calmer, happier dynamic for everyone. Even after all these years of working with Kim, I'm still blown away by her skill, patience, and genuine love for dogs. She doesn't just "train" -- she transforms the way you and your dog understand each other. If you're lucky enough to work with her, take it. Whether it's your own pup or a friend's, she's the one you want on your side.

I've worked with Kim at The Trained Canine for a while now, and I couldn't be happier with the…read moreresults. I have two very different dogs -- Larry, my feisty Chihuahua, and Ike, my big, lovable Pitbull. Before Kim, Larry had a knack for trying to boss everyone around, and Ike had some challenges with boundaries. Kim understood both of them instantly. She tailored her approach to each dog, and the results have been incredible. Larry is calmer and more confident, Ike is more respectful and relaxed, and together they're finally in sync. Kim has a gift for reading dogs and teaching owners how to communicate with them in a way that sticks. She's professional, reliable, and truly cares about every animal she works with. I trust her completely and recommend her to anyone who wants a real transformation in their dogs.