I met Dan and Rachael in Las Vegas, Nevada. I had adopted a Dalmatian, Lady, from a local shelter…read more She was clearly abused by a male and had no formal training before. She would run and hide anytime a new person came to the house and wouldn't stop barking if the new person was a male. She had eaten two parts of our brand new couch, ate her way out of a plastic kennel, bent the wire kennel with her teeth, ate anything we left out on the counter when she wasn't being directly supervised, and used the carpet as her personal bathroom. Rachel did our evaluation and she impressed us so much that we signed up that night. A WEEK after starting with these two, Lady was walking on a leash without pulling, sitting on command, and accepting friendly strangers. We are now able to leave Lady in a kennel for a few hours at a time without her getting out of it or hurting herself. She no longer has any accidents in the house and has awesome manners when meeting other new dogs. Three months after working with them, Lady passed the Canine Good Citizen Test with flying colors, and its all thanks to Dan and Rachael!

From the owner: We offer many different programs, since no dog needs the same type of training. Our programs…read moreinclude Private In-Home Classes, Group Classes, and Doggy Boarding School. Dogs can start with programs as basic as Puppy Kindergarten, and advance and excel through Doggy Master degrees! Behaviors including puppy nuisance behaviors, leash pulling, hyperactivity, separation anxiety, fearful & submissive behavior, aggression towards dogs and people, ANY behavior, ANY breed. We can help you! We also offer specialty classes such as AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy Classes, AKC Canine Good Citizen Prep and CGC testing, Community Canine testing, Rally Obedience Classes, and Competitive Obedience Classes. We service these Mid-Michigan and surrounding areas: Grand Blanc, Fenton, Linden, Holly, Ortonville, Brandon Township, Clarkston, Independence Township, Springfield Township, Highland, Harland, Howell, Brighton, Whitmore Lake, Oxford. Don't see your city? Ask us if we service you!

Training your dog can be a daunting task, especially if you have no idea where to start!! Dan and…read moreRachel have changed all of that. We've been working with them for around 6 months now and we couldn't be happier. They are very supportive, helpful and best of all, willing to go above and beyond to get us where we need to be. Dan had our dog obeying commands on day one. He's very patient and understanding when it comes to US learning what WE need to learn. Overall, our experience has been great and we're looking forward to continued success with Einstein!!

From the owner: We offer many different programs, since no dog needs the same type of training. Our programs…read moreinclude Private In-Home Classes, Group Classes, Day Training, and Doggy Boarding School. Dogs can start with programs as basic as Puppy Kindergarten, and advance and excel through Doggy Master degrees! Behaviors including puppy nuisance behaviors, leash pulling, hyperactivity, separation anxiety, fearful & submissive behavior, aggression towards dogs and people, ANY behavior, ANY breed. We can help you! We service most of Oakland, Genesee, and Livingston Counties!

We came to Bonnie as a last hope. Our Springer Spaniel had just turned one and was showing some…read moreaggressive tendencies toward me and on a smaller level to my husband. We had worked with another trainer and had no luck. We had some very difficult discussions about rehoming him or worse. We called Bonnie and after her assessing him for about an hour, she felt very hopeful. She left us with some knowledge and tools...and we saw improvement within a week. He is a totally different dog after four training sessions with Bonnie. She was literally a life saver. Her calm demeanor, her knowledge and ability to teach are unmatched. We will now work on intermediate classes with her to get him socialized. Something we could not do before. We are so thankful to Bonnie each and every day.

Bonny has been extremely helpful in training our beagle puppy, Eve. After just one session of…read moreworking with us, Eve quickly caught on to "leave it." Bonny has a wealth of knowledge! I like that she works with the dog/us at the same time, and then works just with us to make sure that we understood the lesson. I would definitely recommend Alternative Canine Training to anyone looking for in-home training.

Todd is awesome! He is very knowledgeable about dogs and their behaviors. He only uses positive…read morereinforcement, which I love! He also comes to your house to work with your dog. We keep in touch and I give him updates on how well our pooch is doing! Highly recommend

Todd is the most positive dog trainer we have ever worked with. With his focus obedience training…read moretechniques he is teaching us how to communicate better with our 3 year old female French Bulldog Roxy. She used to want to try and chase trucks when walking but now we can get her to focus on us instead of traffic. Roxy loves her training sessions with Todd and Serenity Dog Training. Highly recommend.

I have been taking my Pup to MMK9A for over 3 years.. From Grooming to Boarding and even the Board…read more& Train, I have received great service. Friendly, Knowledgeable, professional staff have always made me feel welcome. When I brought my Bella to them, she was a mess. I enrolled her in their 4-week doggy bootcamp and can not believe the transformation. I would give them more 10 stars if there was that option.

In March 2023, we chose Mid-Michigan K9 Academy to establish a solid training foundation for our…read morehigh-energy boxer, Whiskey, who was just five months old. What I initially believed to be a trustworthy partnership quickly unraveled into a nightmare. Over time, I endured verbal abuse, harassment, and manipulation at the hands of James (Jim) and his significant other, Darcy (Dee). Whiskey completed a 14-day board-and-train program at Mid-Michigan K9 Academy. However, soon after, I noticed a behavioral issue and reached out for guidance. Instead of receiving support and education, I was met with immediate dismissal. I later discovered that the responses I believed were from James were actually from Darcy impersonating him. A few months later, I faced health challenges that required routine medical treatment in Saginaw, which allowed me to drop Whiskey off for daycare on a regular schedule. When my treatment schedule changed, I informed the staff--both two weeks in advance and again on the day of my last pickup. However, when I arrived at the facility on the revised day, I was met with an unsettling experience. I waited for 20 minutes with no staff in sight, despite hearing them in the back room. When I finally called out, Darcy stormed out, yelling that I had no appointment. James followed, demanding I leave. I stood my ground, insisting they check the cameras to confirm my scheduled visit. After reviewing the footage, James admitted their mistake and offered a half-hearted apology. Unfortunately, this was just the beginning of months of continued mistreatment. Eventually, I stopped bringing Whiskey to daycare. A year later, once my health improved, I decided to give Mid-Michigan K9 Academy another chance. It didn't take long for the same pattern of abuse to resume. While trying to arrange an exit bath for Whiskey before a vacation, I encountered endless delays, vague responses from staff, and outright hostility from Darcy and James. After a week of back-and-forth messages, James told me his bath would be taken care of, only for his staff to later claim they no longer offered the service --despite recent emails outlining new pricing. The abuse continued. By then, I had lost all trust in their business and felt deeply uneasy about Whiskey's treatment in my absence. After two days without any updates on Whiskey, I reached out to Darcy. Instead of a simple response about my dog, I was met with further mistreatment and bullying, resulting in James repeatedly calling and messaging me, accusing me of being rude and saying, "If you don't like it, you can come pick up your dog"--three days before my vacation was set to end. When I chose not to engage while on vacation, James terminated the relationship. When I requested a refund on the remaining credits from my prepaid October 2023 daycare visits, James responded with hostility, aggression, and harassment, ultimately physically forcing my husband and me off his property. His behavior prompted us to dig deeper into his background. I was beyond disturbed to learn that James is a convicted murderer, recently released from a life sentence due to a gubernatorial decision. Given his history and his treatment of me, I no longer feel safe anywhere near him. I encourage everyone to look further into his disturbing past. (his version of the story is NOT the story.) This entire experience has been nothing short of abusive. From impersonating staff members to financial exploitation, bullying, and verbal harassment, Mid-Michigan K9 Academy operates with blatant disregard for basic human respect and integrity. Their actions not only reflect poor business ethics but also raise serious concerns about the safety and well-being of both clients and their pets. I took the legal steps to fight for my credit owed and won my case. I will continue warning others about the dangers of engaging with this business. No one should have to endure the mistreatment I faced. James is not fit for society--he continues to manipulate, silence, and exploit others while refusing to take accountability for his actions. I hope my story serves as a cautionary tale for anyone seeking pet training services. Proceed with extreme caution.

Brittany was amazing from day one! We were worried about what all this dog training would entail,…read moreand she put our mind at ease immediately. She was always willing to answer any questions we had, even outside of the specific training time. We used her to even board our dog while we were away for a week and came back to an even better trained dog. Our dog is a year old Bernese Mountain Dog who was very dominant and pushy and she helped us transform him into our dream dog, while still allowing him to maintain his personality and fun/playful side. I would 100% recommend her to anyone and everyone with a dog.

From the owner: We specialize in canine behavioral modification, basic dog obedience, and specialty dog training…read more We are committed to providing our clients with serious training that delivers serious results, utilizing the accepted principles of balance and positive influence. We work with dogs of any age, size, breed, and temperament. We save dogs' lives by keeping them out of shelters and in happy homes. We work with the entire family to establish necessary rules and boundaries for all people and dogs in the home. The secret to our success is training the owner.

Jeff&Anna are so very passionate for what they do! Jeff has taken a great deal of time just…read morelistening/watching and addressing any problems that me and my dog have had, and I've gotta say I wish I had found them sooner! I paid for my pup Scarlett to get a two week boarding training; during these two weeks Jeff and the rest of his crew kept me updated throughout her whole stay whether I asked about her or not. They sent me lengthy videos keeping me informed of how and what they are doing to help us move forward. These videos addressed each problem separately to help me understand her behaviors and how to correct them. Pointing out her underlying issues leading to the undesirable behaviors. They have such a love&warming staff and such a great program providing long term support, worth every penny! Thank you Jeff&Staff! I finally feel like we've come to the right place.

Trainer is only good with push button shepherds. I took our puppy there initially for a board and…read moretrain and although the first time around seemed fine the second was not. Second time around I came to pick my dog up and she was FILTHY and SKINNY. She knew we were coming, it wasn't like we arrived early by surprise. She quickly pulled my dog from the kennel, called her dumb for rolling in her filth right in front of me then proceeded to give her an ice cold bath with a hose. My puppy had ribs and backbones showing and I asked how she could be so skinny. Anna said she didn't know as she was feeding her "extra". I find this hard to believe as my dog has never been underweight when fed per my instructions. To add to my horror, she recounted how a husky she was training turned on her and bit her ankle. She laughed as she told me how she "beat the shit" out of the dog during and after the incident. I was speechless and knew at that moment we wouldn't be returning. Anyway, despite the progress she'd made with my dog, she'd constantly refer to her as "dumb". As a first time dog owner, I initially wasn't sure if any of this was normal behavior for a trainer, so I said nothing. Now having had my dog for years I can easily say Anna isn't the trainer you want unless you have a well bred, pushbutton shepherd. I have no problem with aversive training, but if aversive to you means beating and yanking on a dog to get them to deliver, count me out.

Goes above and beyond for the people and the animals. The team tries to help everyone the best…read morethey can even though they are constantly busy from animals entering their system. The team truly cares about every single animal, each other and the customers who come into the shelter. You can feel it when you walk in the door.

My colleague reached out to me to ask how he can safely secure and send the family of kittens to a…read moresafer place because his 2 Huskies found them under the porch. It was -1 degrees the other day, so frantically i found rescue groups in Michigan and I started calling to advocate for them. The lady that answered the phone was nice and resourceful. He would need to send the inquiry via online and get them to Adopt-a-Pet, but that never happened because he said the mom moved them the next day. I'm a bit upset because it's evident that the mom should be fixed, but it could be that no one in his neighborhood is aware of the practice. Even though this place wasn't able to help, but they were very helpful and sincere. I hope that the little family is safe from bad people, wildlife, cars, and the rigid weather. While I have 2 cat condos and 2 heated beds for the stray cats that I help feed (all fixed), I can't help but think about the others who aren't so lucky.

Oscar had a great Spa Day! He looks handsome and smells fresh! He appreciates your punctuality!…read moreThanks for the TLC!

I could not LOVE this salon anymore than I do!!! These ladies are the best of the best!!! They are…read moreprofessional, talented, loving and kind individuals who take care of the girls right from the start!!! I'm so grateful we found these gals!!!