I was at my wits end with my aggressive golden. Never thought they would even display that kind of…read morebehavior. He had bitten two of my friends, and thank God they were understanding. After trying two trainers, I had pretty much given up on Maxi ever being able to have a normal life. That is until I ran into a young man at a gas station who offered to help. Although he did use ecollar, which was a little scary to me, he was very professional with his explanation and even let me feel it on my hand (it's not what you think). We did 5 lessons and WOW! I am able to have friends over again, and Maxi will hold a place and not go nuts. I was hesitant to enter the world of balanced dog training, since there's a ton of stuff out there that says it's the devil, but with Ultimate K9 I witnessed a deep care and compassion for my otherwise dickhead dog that I am truly, truly great for. I do not remember your name young man, but thank you!

I don't agree with shock collars and forced stationing. I don't agree with using aversive methods…read more I wish more people understood that fear based methods and suppression of behaviors isn't "training." I have not used them but I watched a trainer work at a park.

We stopped by this Petco to pick up a few bags of treats. To be perfectly honest, we stopped here…read morefor a restroom break during a road trip. Compared to other Petcos, this one is a bit smaller, but it appears to have all the basic things that you might need for your dog. Generally speaking, I thought the prices were fine. The cashier seemed to be a bit aloof, but that was not a major issue. I was a bit surprised that she did not offer our dog a treat. But, I guess you cannot win them all.

We go here for our dog's food and grooming. They are usually in stock with the fresh food option…read morebut there have been issues when online orders need to be refunded due to not having the correct stock listed online. The grooming has not been an issue. We pick the VIP option for no crate time, and it has been amazing. Super fast and less stress on the puppers.

We sent our 3 year old golden to Controlled K9 for a board and train program because we were having…read morechallenges with her on walks and when guests would come over to the house. From the initial consult with Kenzie, we felt very comfortable with how she approached training and her experience. When Charlie came back after 4 weeks, it was such a big change! No longer did we have to worry about leash pulling, picking up trash on walks, and being overcome with excitement whenever guests would visit. We can now enjoy our dog all of the time. We take her on long walks, she joins us at restaurants and events around the neighborhood, and overall is a much better behaved dog without losing her personality. We could not be happier with our experience with Kenzie.

My husband and I can't say enough good things about Controlled K9! We recently adopted a two year…read moreold German Shepherd who was well behaved in the house but a true terror to walk on leash (pulling and severe reactivity towards other dogs). Controlled K9 came to our home to evaluate her and recommended a four week board and train to work on basic obedience, leash manners, and off leash recall. We loved that she was taken in as a member of the family during her "boarding school," and they provided regular photos and updates on her progress throughout. She returned to us her same happy, sweet self in the house, but basically a new dog on leash! The Controlled K9 team trained us on how to continue her training, and remained super responsive to our follow up questions. It's incredible to see the transformation and we're so grateful to the Controlled K9 team for changing our lives - and Zoey's - for the better!

I highly recommend Canine Dominion. Jay is an amazing trainer. He has truly helped my husband and I…read morewith our 9 month old XL Bully Deacon. Jay is very knowledgeable and has a passion for what he does.

When I first met with Jay during our evaluation my pup Nalani was very afraid and unsure of someone…read morenew being in our home. She would not go near him or listen to any commands we tried to use. Jay explained to us the approach he would use during training and I told him about the different goals I had for Nalani. I did some research after our evaluation with Jay and decided that he would be the best fit for us and for training Nalani. There are two things that really stood out with Jay compared to the other companies I looked at, the first being that the was no shock collar involved and the second being that all training was done in home with me or my husband. These were important to me because I didn't want to rely on a collar for my dog to listen and I didn't want to send her away to train, I wanted to build that bond with her so we would continue to succeed long after training. That being said we are now two months post training and Nalani does not miss a beat; she listens the first time for all commands and has quickly learned new ones on top of what she already knows! Just to touch on the training aspect there are few things Nalani learned with Jay that I never believed would be possible or even imagined to train her myself. We live in a split level house and before Jay our dog would run and bark at whoever was at the door no matter the person. On our first official training day we were taught how to instruct her to stay at the top of the steps whenever someone rings the door bell and stay there until released. When Jay told us that was our first goal I thought to myself NEVER in a million years will this work! Well, it did! This is just one of the many simple commands that Jay taught us and I never would have thought of myself. It will also be one that will come in handy for a very long time. Another part of her training was to sit whenever told during walks, not to get distracted, and not to pull on the leash. This one took a bit more training but Jay persisted, he kept at it and showed us different techniques to use during our walks to accomplish leash manners. Now I hardly have to even hold the leash and Nalani stays right at my side and never pulls the leash. The last thing I'd like to mention is off leash walking, this was my biggest goal of the entire training, everything else was great but ultimately I wanted to be able to take my dog anywhere and not worry about her running off when not attached to a leash. After Nalani mastered the other training techniques Jay taught us it was time for the off leash training. This actually was learning on my part, I needed to trust my dog and show her confidence to be off leash. It was unbelievable the first time she did it effortlessly. No leash, right at my side, and I had no worry of her running off!! To end this long review and get to the point, Jay is an absolutely amazing trainer! He went above and beyond training Nalani; he met all of my expectations plus more. I have no regrets choosing him as our trainer and plan to use him for any future dog's training. Jay truly cares for the dogs he trains and its obvious the compassion and love he has as a trainer. I would highly suggest him to anyone looking for effective and lasting training.

Fast Response time and honest self assessment on not being able to train my reactive dog.read more

Amanda has a calm presence around dogs! So grateful for her expertise as she's worked with my…read moredog...a 70 pound guy who's sweet, but stubborn. Highly recommend!

Ridgeside was recommended to us by a neighbor with a very well mannered dog. We have a 4 yo…read moreBluetick Coonhound that had a few issues that we couldn't get past on our own. Initially we checked out the Ridgeside Instagram account and then after contacting them for additional information we decided to sign Flossie up for the 3 week board & train program. We were given our trainer's contact info in case we had any questions or wanted additional info prior to the start date. Gina picked up Flossie and for the next three weeks we got pictures and videos every day of Flossie's training progress plus also information for us to learn about the training. All of this made the transition back home easy and seamless. Gina's instructions were clear and concise and she also made sure that we understood the hows and the whys of training. Since Flossie has been home Gina reached out to see how things were going and said she was available if we had any follow up questions. We are very happy with the outcome and feel the training really firmed up our loosey goosey training up to that point. Gina gave Flossie the foundational training she needed in order for us to meet our goals with Flossie and we couldn't be happier with the outcome.

We couldn't be more thrilled with our experience at Ridgeside K9 in Winchester, VA! We signed up…read moreour Labradoodle, Theo, with Ridgeside K9 with high hopes that they could get us back on track, and Kenny and Sarah Foster absolutely delivered beyond our expectations. From the very first interaction, Kenny and Sarah were professional, warm, and genuinely passionate about what they do. They took the time to understand the pain points that we were experiencing with our new puppy, Theo's personality and tailored their approach to fit him perfectly. I was overseas on vacation, but they shared the progress and transformation pictures and updates every day. Theo is more confident, focused, and responsive than ever. What really impressed me with Ridgeside K9 apart is the care and dedication that Kenny and Sarah brought to the 3-week transformation and the dedicated work with him. It was easy to tell this isn't just a job for them -- they truly love working with dogs and it shows in the results. Theo came home happy, well-behaved, and I could tell during the 2 hour turnover session that Theo had clearly bonded with his trainers. If you're in the Winchester and surrounding area and looking for exceptional dog training, look no further than Ridgeside K9. Ask for Kenny and Sarah -- you and your pup won't be disappointed!

BEST INVESTMENT you'll choose for your Dog-Mandy is AMAZING!…read moreI have worked with my dog from the moment I brought her home at 8 weeks old. She came from a well tempered background and has had positive experiences and multiple training sessions, she was doing great on commands but needed tweaking and was missing confidence that had a fear attachment I could not change on my own. I reached out to OFF Leash/Nova and after reading lots of reviews, I thought Mandy was a perfect fit for her. I was nervous about enrolling in a board and train. The moment we met Mandy, I knew she was the perfect match! Her knowledge and demeanor on dog training and especially when it came to my breed was remarkable. We couldn't be any more happier with the results of her board and train experience!! Mandy checked in with videos, messages every night! I was so relaxed after the second day! We now have a completely different dog! She's calm, confident and so easy to walk and enjoy out and about! Don't look any further and choose Mandy! Her passion in helping dogs and training us humans to have a better life with them is impeccable! Mandy also has checked in with us multiple times even after we completed her board and train! Truly the best money you will spend on your fur baby! Thank you Mandy!!

I would not recommend this company. I sent my dog there for two weeks and she did not learn…read morecommands. Now I need to still have her trained because she's not following commands so I would think about another company before going to this one.

brian and his team cared for my Lola Rae for 30 days while I was visiting family members. He did a…read moregreat job with my 1 year old Rotti she had the socialization, training reinforced to the point were using her e collar wasn't necessary. I gave them a very rambunctious puppy and 30 days later they gave me a happy trained socialized puppy. I will be using them in the future.

Do not hire Brian Ganzler/Pawper Training.  He is not certified, does not train your dog, will not…read morehonor his stated refund policy and unsuccessfully sues customers. We hired Brian Ganzler/Pawper Training to train our dog, in his home, to walk on a leash, obey commands and stop eating her poop.  He charged us $2,500 and offered us a money-back guarantee.  When we asked if he could put that in a contract, he said he didn't do contracts and we could consider his texts his word.  That was a red flag. After a month of having our dog in his home, Ganzler did nothing.  She still couldn't walk on a leash, obey any commands and was still eating poop.   We followed all his advice, taking away training pads and putting her in a smaller crate at night.  Nothing he recommended worked. Ganzler claimed he had no time to do leash or commands because he was busy with the poop, but that doesn't take all day and he didn't even do that. She also suffered a mysterious seizure while in his home. After the seizure we had her examined by two veterinarians.  They found nothing wrong with our dog and suspected she must have ingested something or been shocked while in Ganzler's home. Ganzler claimed our dog could not be trained because she suffered the seizure and had brain damage.  Our veterinarians confirmed there was no brain damage.  Certified dog trainers (Ganzler is not certified) said even if there was she could still be training. We asked Ganzler to refund our money as he promised in writing.  He refused to honor his written money-back guarantee. He then said he could still train her in just one more week - even though a month of training did nothing, and he had just said she couldn't be trained. We then offered to let him keep nearly $1000 and just refund the rest.  He again refused. We ended up having to sue Ganzler to get him to honor his written money-back guarantee. He then counter-sued us, claiming we cost him money by not using him for further training. At the courthouse we offered arbitration, and were willing to accept a partial refund. He again refused. The judge heard both our cases.   She quickly ruled against him, noting he offered a written money-back guarantee then refused to honor it.   She also quickly threw out his countersuit, noting he didn't have a cancellation policy and can't just make up his own policies after the fact. Do not hire Brian Ganzler or Pawper Training.   He does not train the dog as promised, refuses to honor written policies, tries to enforce policies he makes up after the fact, then unsuccessfully sues customers.