1 year ago I adopted a 100 pd Pit Corso (Pit Bull, Cane Corso Mix) He is two beasts in one dog. He…read morewas/is solid muscle (he put on a lil weight from all the love lol) Anyway, I did not realize walking him was going to be as difficult as it had become and I am not a small person. His pulling was getting out of control and I was afraid I was going to end up hurting myself trying to control him. Not to mention he has some reactiveness in him when it came to other dogs outside a fence. I came across Rick with Champion K9 thru someone who knew him and his services. I messaged him that night. I set up the FREE evaluation. Blue was put in a room prior to his arrival and we had a good 30 minute talk about what I needed and wanted out of Blue. Blue then met Rick. I did not see his normal reaction when meeting new people of jumping and pacing from sheer excitement. He took one walk around Rick (who was not paying him any attention) Blue just laid down. I knew right then and there he was the trainer for us. He worked with my schedule and got us right in starting the following Sunday. We have had 7 of the 8 private classes and our whole lives have changed for the better. The first few visits were basic commands and getting familiar with each other and what we expect. The next few visits were training on walking on a new leash, social interaction with other humans and walking around other dogs at a dog park. The confidence he gave me and Blue has made a huge difference in our walks. I can control him with little to no anxiety or fear of me being hurt, him possibly being hurt or him hurting anyone else. He also has built Blue's confidence with walking and being 95% less reactive. Don't get me wrong, he still has some but now it is out of protecting me and his surroundings and I am ok with that (I mean, all dogs bark). He has opened up the world to us for new experiences and adventures together and living the best life TOGETHER we both deserve. Trust me, it is not easy, but like he says, "YOU GET OUT WHAT YOU PUT IN" and I can truly see that. We train and practice daily and it does not stop. If you are not willing to put forth the effort than maybe it is not for you. Rick's knowledge is outstanding. He let me asked all the questions, weither good, bad or just plain stupid to make me more comfortable. He is also a straight shooter and tells it like it is. He does not sugar coat things and I can appreciate that 100% because I am the same way. No need to pussyfoot around anything or waste anyone's time. If I had to do it all over again. I would not hesitate

Rick came highly recommended and while he was expensive, his methods and teaching were invaluable…read morefor our first puppy. We chose a Shiba-Inu, which is not a simple breed to train and working with Rick he has become a beloved puppy by all of our friends,neighbors,and vet. If you communicate honestly and openly about your needs, Rick will work with them. His mantra of "train as you live" works well as long as you stick to it. He was happy to work in group classes for our puppy and if you follow his advice to graduate he even offers free advice for the lifetime of your puppy. Most important is Rick's understanding of your dog, which in my opinion is unmatched. He knows the ins and outs of breeds, and has a great sense of personality for the dog and how to work with that. He then works with you about understanding how you and the dog communicate and live together. He trains you as much as the dog, which was invaluable in my opinion.

Finn just completed a 10 session training curriculum with Chuck & Erin and we couldn't be happier…read more We are now confident that Finn won't run away if off of her collar, she is able to heel and walk without pulling, she comes, sits and lays on command and is overall just a much happier, well behaved and confident dog. Finn turns 1 year old on 8/15 and is ready for us to consider rescuing a sibling for her to grow up with. Thanks again for your passion, knowledge, and commitment Chuck and Erin.

The Dog Wizard Dayton is beyond words. The extensive training, expertise, and knowledge they have…read morecan't be beat. Always professional and provide outstanding results customized to the needs of the Dog and the owner.

I've been a foster with this organization for 7 years now. I've fostered 15 dogs during my time as…read morea foster so far. The dogs are all extremely well cared for and loved by all volunteers and staff. The organization relies heavily on volunteers and they have many who come help with things ranging from doing dishes, taking dogs to the fields to play, and fostering. Over the last couple years I have seen huge improvements in the way the organization has been run, due to the change in the CEO. The old CEO was rude and could be hard to get along with. As a foster I love getting to train the dogs, educate the public on service dogs and meet the client families who get their service dogs through us. There are still some communication issues that could be improved on when it comes to the staff and fosters, but overall I've been extremely pleased with my experience. It seems as though with the new leadership, improvements will continue to be made to make everyone's experience even better!

My review comes from a different perspective of 4 Paws for Ability. My family fostered a service…read moredog in training for the summer and it could have gone a lot better. We loved our foster dog, but my rating is for the organization itself. It's ironic though because they are very unorganized, yet have strict rules for fosters. For starters, we already had a cat at home so when filling out the foster application we checked the correct boxes for requesting a cat-friendly dog. Well let's just say that our foster still would not be able to be around cats. Our poor cat had to be locked in a basement for the entire summer. As part of the 4 Paws fostering process, you must complete a weekly update via Google Forms. Each and every week we would explain how we tried to introduce our foster dog to our cat each day and how there was never any improvement. We never received any comments or feedback on anything the entire summer, therefore we don't even know if anyone read our submissions. There were many rules we had to follow including things like the dogs cannot have any plush toys (resembling stuffed animals), must sleep in a provided kennel/crate at night, can't have a towel or blanket in the kennel, can't be around other dogs, and should not bark. All the rules are gone over during the orientation training prior to receiving a foster. Then you are provided with the dog's kennel, food bowl, bone, collar, leash, harness, training vest, and food. Any additional items you must provide yourself. We also seemed to be left with very few details about our foster right from the start. We felt like his life was a mystery because we didn't know how many fosters he had before us, what his strengths and weaknesses were, or what his overall training journey was like before he came to us. When we took him in to be evaluated for the next stage of training, we were greeted by unfriendly staff who questioned why we brought our foster in and who we talked to about boarding him before his evaluation. Then she told the woman behind us to take her dog outside because she didn't realize it was a 4 Paws dog. When we picked him up after his evaluation he had a different collar (without his tags), harness, and leash. And when we dropped our foster off to say goodbye at the end of the summer we didn't get a thank you from the staff or what we can expect next. We didn't even know if he got into the next stage of service dog training. Communication and organization needs to improve greatly in order for us to foster another 4 Paws dog again.

I started as a foster with PORT in their early days of conception and fostered with them for…read moreseveral months before they decided to completely ghost me. I ran into a situation where I needed some work done at my home, and I could not continue to foster the FOURTEEN foster pets that I had through them at the time. Rather than work with me, help me, and have empathy for my situation, I experienced a lot of pushback, and negative reactions to needing a break from fostering. My phone calls and texts were not being returned. When they were returned, I was met with attitude and a complete lack of understanding or compassion. After much resistance, they finally took the fosters back. They don't supply their fosters with food or supplies as they claim. Not once was I given any supplies for the dozens of animals that I fostered through them, even when I expressed that the puppies I was fostering were going through more food than I could manage. They also don't spay and neuter most of their animals before adoption. Now that I am back in my home, neither Regan, nor Jaime, (the founders of PORT), will return my messages asking about the well-being of my former fosters. If you bend over and break your back for them, you'll be great. But God forbid life happens and you find yourself unable to help, because you then mean NOTHING to them. Proceed with caution should you decide to do any sort of business with PORT. Don't expect a lot of help. Definitely don't expect compassion and empathy when life happens. Edit in response to PORT's reply: Port requires a minimum of 5 days notice for return, except in cases of emergency. I had an emergency. I explained this to you guys over and over and over again and your response was, "that must be tough." I had a dog through you that was being aggressive with a child. But you guys didn't consider a threat to someone's safety an emergency and were of no help. In some cases, I waited more than 5 days for you to help; I waited literally weeks! Not to mention that that dog was pregnant, and when I took her, you never advised me that that was a possibility. So I ended up with eight puppies, when I agreed to one. It was never "clear to you" that our foster relationship had come to its conclusion and that I wished to step away. I quite literally told you that once I was back in my home, I would take the animals back if they still needed placement. I notified you on July 10th that I could not handle all of the puppies. You did not take them until July 18th, and that was only after I showed up to get their shots and microchips, and had to PLEAD with you to help me. I notified both of you that Rusty was a safety risk, and you literally did not care. Even after notifying you of the unsafe circumstances, it took you two days to take her, and that was only after I refused to give you any more leeway. That was also after I had notified you on July 10th that I could not handle all of the animals that I had. You did not take Rusty back until July 31st. I let you know on July 28th that I was having trouble getting the kittens adopted. I notified you on August 4th that we needed to move the kittens. You did not take them until August 15th. As for the spay/neuter, it's irresponsible for a rescue not to spay and neuter before adoption, regardless of any contract. I also asked, several times, about getting my fosters fixed, and you never followed through. Don't gaslight me. You did enough of that when I was actually fostering with you.

we have to relocate and can't take Tilly. I need to know she's safe. she's so sweet has only lived…read morein our house. no others

I've been working with Elissa for about 2 months now and I am so glad she came into my life! She is…read moreextremely knowledgable, caring, and great at what she does. My 10 year old toy poodle has MAJOR separation anxiety and she's come a long way since we started the training with Elissa. I've learned SO much from Elissa!

Elissa is a thorough, skilled and caring trainer. She listened to my concerns/needs. After meeting…read moreme and my dog, she developed a workable plan that met my rewards-based method preference. I rescued an 11-month German Shorthaired Pointer who had a very high prey drive and absolutely no recall. My GSP is now a reliable trail and beach dog who responds to a code word ("Come" no longer worked when we met Elissa.) and/or whistle. Elissa worked with us 4-5 times, but mostly she gave me the understanding, skills and followup exercises to work with my dog myself. She explained behavior theory behind the exercises, showed me how to properly carry them out. She followed each training session with detailed notes and other resources. Success wasn't instant, but steady. With Elissa's help, I have a trustworthy companion whom I feel comfortable letting off leash.

Micheal has hands down changed the way we live with our beloved dog, Ace…read more We rescued him from a back yard breeder situation, he was abused , attacked by many dogs and was an incredibly nervous/fearful dog with absolutely no manners. He use to pull us on his walks, run away once the front door opened and absolutely NO CONCEPT of recall. After completing Michaels board & train program - ace came back to us as a completely different dog. He walks in a perfect heel, he walks with his head held high & happy tail wag posture, he no longer darts out out the house and looks to us for a command. Not only has Micheal given Ace the confidence he needs to live his life as a happy dog, but he gave us the tools we needed to live in harmony with our dog. I'm no longer dreading to take Ace out for walks, it's actually one of my favorite things to do. There are no such thing as "bad dogs" Just need the right trainer and with the dedication to make your dreams come true. We seriously appreciate Micheal and his expertise so much. (P.s) Ace loves Micheal, a dog who was once super fearful of men. That's all you need to know!

First off, I'd like to start off by saying that Micheals board and train program has been one of…read morethe best investments I've done in my lifetime. I've bounced around to many dog trainers in my life and there was always a cop out excuse that was commonly used: "Your dog is bred poorly" "Some dogs are just aggressive" "Your dog just doesn't have it in him" Which left me feeling defeated, frustrated and ultimately my dog wasn't getting the help he needed to live his best life.. But Michael was the only trainer that was able to get a handle on my GSD right off the bat. My dog no longer runs away, comes back when I call him and walks by my side with ease. Micheal has taught me so much about how to understand dog body language, how to time the corrections and help guide my dog to greatness. I'm a personal trainer and I'm now able to take my pup to my clients house, where he has multiple distractions around him (kids running, weight lifting bars slamming in the floor, basketballs being tossed around) Yet- he just sits in his down position and just observes his surrounds in peace. I couldn't recommend this man enough. It's life changing knowledge he shares with all his clients.

Took really good care of my dog. Infact I brought my dog home with lots of knowledge on how to…read morecommunicate. I 10/10 recommended

Don the owner is a great trainer. Did a great job training my dog and he did it very quickly. I…read morewould recommend him to anyone.

My girls love Tonya..she does a great job on our Darby who is a long haired lab mix..read more

This is the place to have your dog groomed! Tonya does a phenomenal job with both of our dogs even…read morethough they are fairly difficult. They come home looking like new dogs and it doesn't cost and arm and a leg either! Tonya is very friendly and professional - I HIGHLY recommend!