Literally cannot recommend Mike enough. My puppy Barbie and I work with him 1:1, at my house, and…read moreBarbie also loves the Puppy Socialization classes, in Aptos. Mike is the epitome of calm, powerful, energy - Barbie respects and loves him so much. He embodies the values I strive to implement in my dog training - positive techniques, that empower my puppy to "make the right choice." Mike, thank you so much for giving me confidence as a new dog owner. I can't wait to keep working together, to help Barbie be the best dog she can be.

Mike is an amazing trainer. He's helped my dog and I make huge progress in a short amount of time…read more Scheduling was easy, and the training is quality and clear. My reactive Aussie and I are so grateful.

A very cool place. They train dogs here. Lots of them. In German. It is a sight to see on a…read moreSaturday morning. Even if you don't have a dog you can come to watch how they train, and pick up great tips for when you do get a dog. Located in Corralitos, it is a bit of a haul to get here. Probably 30-40 from Santa Cruz and 15 or so from Aptos. The training is done on a large field that has a full obstacle course. Plenty of room for 70-100 dogs at a time. There is a lot of repetition in the training which is just what you would expect. We don't take our dog here, our parents do and they love it. We go to watch and see the dogs. It is a great experience. The trainers are competent and humorous and engaging. They care about you and your pet. One final note, we saw some puppy magic last time here. A dog who just was freakin out about laying down. Yelping and nippy and upset. Willful...not willing. The trainer stopped the class and worked gently and patiently with the dog to finally get it to lay. It was amazing to see it. I didn't think it would happen. After another short walk, the puppy was laying on its own. My wife was in tears. This is the place to get your puppy acclimated to other dogs and a bit of structure in its life.

Eight months ago, when I saw behavioral changes in my dog Scout I felt hopeless. Thank goodness I…read morefound The K9 Clinic. From the first evaluation I knew I had not only found the perfect solution for my dog but a kinship with the trainers as well. The Bootcamp was the best decision I've ever made. Not only did it re-set the mind/behavior of my dog but they also taught me the appropriate skills to be a handler for my specific dog. Before I started with The K9 Clinic Scout was unable to be off leash, around other dogs and her "naughty" behaviors felt unmanageable. Happy to report none of that applies today! Group classes, private lessons; we do them all! Thanks to The K9 Clinic I have the dog I always dreamed of!! Monique Cook Santa Cruz, CA

Maria knows what she is doing. Within a minute she had my dog who yanks me around every where…read morewalking like a perfectly trained dog. I was flabbergasted!

Woofpack has helped my dog get socialized. She absolutely loves going and comes back so exhausted…read morefrom the walk and playing she does. All of our dogs have benefited from the Woofpack. The staff is amazing and caring. Our dogs love them and look forward to socializing. I would highly recommend them. 100% family love coming from this group.

Absolutely fabulous trainer. I loved working with Kristin. Just in one session she already had my…read moredogs getting into a routine I could understand. The information is soooooo great. She sees so much and is the reason I caught a hip issue with one of my babies! Seriously, cannot give enough praise. Absolutely a great and intuitive trainer. Enjoy the cute photos!

Kristin has trained us (haha, not the dog! only kidding) to be much more effective dog parents…read more Since she started working with our Australian Shepard, we have much better tools to practice to teach this energetic soul what's ok and what is not. Her treat and equipment recommendations have really helped too, thank you Kristin for getting us started in the right direction~! Shelby's Parents :)

We have two German Shepherds. One of them is a 92 pound working shepherd thus a bit high…read moremaintenance. He tends to be vocal when he's excited and for people who are not familiar with the breed that can be intimidating. Also like a lot of working GSDs can be a bit particular with who they like. We over the years have struggled to find a kennel that we are comfortable leaving them with. I find that he goes running in wagging his tail when I drop him off. And I really appreciate the good humor that Robert shows with Kosmos. The second dog,Yasmin, is pretty easy she just follows along.

1-Star Review - Extremely Disappointed - Would Not Recommend…read moreI boarded my two dogs at Heritage Kennel in Santa Cruz for four days and was very disappointed with the care they received. One of my dogs, Winnie, arrived with a paw wound. She was wearing a cone and sock, and I provided all the necessary supplies: gauze, bandages, and ointment, along with clear instructions for treatment. None of the supplies were used. When I picked her up, her paw was noticeably worse than when I dropped her off. Additionally, when I collected their bedding to take home and wash, there were dead bugs on the bottom. I also specifically requested anxiety medication for the dogs for the car ride home. I'm not sure if it was ever given -- the dogs were extremely anxious and distressed during the drive. If the medication had been administered as requested, they should have been calm and sleepy for the trip. For the price paid (including what appeared to be charges related to Winnie's paw treatment that was never provided), I expected basic care and follow-through on instructions. This felt like a complete failure of the "VIP treatment" I was hoping for. If dogs could talk, I'd love to hear exactly what happened (or didn't happen) while they were there. I will not be bringing my dogs back to Heritage Kennel.

Ashley watched my beloved dog Radley when we went on a vacation to Alaska a few weeks ago. To say…read moreI am protective of my dog is an understatement, so leaving him with anyone was tough. However, Ashley's screening process -not just with my dogs, but the dogs he would be staying with - ensured he was in a safe and healthy environment while we were gone. She goes through multiple steps to ensure that dogs aren't just physically, but also emotionally, safe while their owners are gone. As Radley has some anxiety issues, Ashley worked with us to prepare him for any potential issues he may have - which thankfully he didn't! If you want your dogs to be cared for, played with and honestly loved while you are away, Ashley should be your go to. I don't trust my dog with just anyone and the relief I felt each day with the pictures and updates allowed us to relax and enjoy our vacation. Radley didn't want to come home when we picked him up hahah! This is a great business with an individual who is knowledgeable about dogs and provides a safe haven for traveling owners to leave their pets. Will definitely use Ashley again!!!

Just the facts. Our…read morepup is 8 months old. Our plans were to travel abroad for 2 weeks. What to do? We considered boarding w/ established kennels, but wanted something more personal, bespoke. Among others, we were referred to Ashley Scontriano. We paid Ashley for numerous pre-trip visits, a few hours each, to acclimatize our pup, and allow Ashley to determine if he'd be a good fit. We valued her opinion and trusted her judgement. We received the thumbs up, with less than a week to go before our trip. Ashley agreed to care for our pup while we were out of the country. What a relief! We dropped our pup with Ashley, the morning of our departure, excited for our vacation. Less than 24 hours later, already 2k miles away, we received a text from Ashley which began "Please think of a plan B..." A plan B?? We had cancelled our plan B when Ashley gave us the green-light, prior to departing. The message continued, and I paraphrase, that our pup kept her up all night, crying, and she just couldn't take it. She didn't see that coming? Separation anxiety from a puppy, the first night away. She's a "dog professional?" What to do?! We'd cancelled our plan B, and wouldn't ask friends to take on a puppy for 2 weeks. Thankfully, Ashley had a possible solution -- we could pay her $200/day for "doggy boot camp!" HA! And I wonder how often that has worked with other clients -- too busy, too wealthy to say no? We called Beds & Biscuits. Fortunately, as our initial plan A, we'd completed the pre-reqs and they were able to accommodate our puppy. Glowing progress reports, too, from his stay with them -- yes, a needy puppy, craving attention and love, something they provided him. Something we thought Ashley had agreed to provide him. Instead, she wanted more money, after agreeing to watch him, and proposed drugging him to "better manage his anxiety." And so, after spending $$$ on Ashley's pre-trip evaluations, delivering our puppy into her care, and flying 2k miles away, Ashley reversed course, bailed...his "separation anxiety" (one night in) was too much, but it wouldn't be too much if we'd pay her $200/day? No thanks. And now she's demanding $130 more for the day/night she "cared for" our puppy. Ashley has said that WE didn't do enough before departing -- that the time at her home was insufficient, that she was "set up to fail." As a "dog professional," wasn't this something she should have, could have flagged BEFORE we departed? She didn't -- she assured us our pup would be well cared for, that he was settling in just fine. And then we departed, flew 2k miles, and without a conversation texts us "Please think of a plan B..." Incredibly unprofessional. Lacking completely in scruples and integrity. Further -- if you care at all about who you're entrusting your dog to, the quality of the human being -- who you're giving your money to -- then please do what we should have done, prior to this whole mess. Google Ashley Scontriano. https://goodtimes.sc/santa-cruz-news/news/nuz-pro-tip-dont-defend-racism-social-media/ https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2018/11/03/18818730.php

I've boarded my Aussie, Lucy, at Desjardins for both short and extended stays over the years, and I…read morecouldn't recommend them more. Kevin and Sara are wonderful, and their beautiful, spacious property is perfect for an energetic dog like Lucy. Before her first stay, they gave us a tour of the property and had Lucy complete a daycare trial, which gave me so much confidence. One of my favorite moments has been running into some of the staff on our walks. Lucy gets so excited and runs right up to them, which says everything about how well she's cared for there. I've also referred family friends, and they've all had great experiences. Desjardins is a place I trust completely, and I know Lucy is always happy and well cared for.

The owners are amazing and really love dogs. The communication is outstanding and my dog was so…read morehappy and tired from playing with other dogs all day. They are thoughtful about the dog groupings and the facilities are exceptionally clean!

Where do I start... I contacted Steve to inquire about training. This took place in mid-summer,…read moremid-Covid pandemic. He was very thorough from the initial contact, all the way through training and post training contacts. I enrolled my 2yr old JRT, Olive in Steve's 4-week Bootcamp Training Program. Olive was separated fro her mom a bit too early and she has had issues with fear-aggression. To make matters a bit more challenging in her young life, I went thru the death of my husband and 4 foot surgeries in her young 2-year life, during a crucial development and training time for a rambunctious JRT pup, (which is normal for the breed). My training with her was inconsistent and ineffective. The last straw was when I couldn't get a recall for her to come in from outside in the boiling Palm Desert heat. Steve treats his students with the love and care as he would his own pup. His training methods are very positive and reward based. He teaches the human the crucial components of training to help keep the pup safe and out of mischief. He makes the training fun and introduces tricks that aid in behaviors for the dog to have successful interventions for vet treatments and the like. Steve is also published and has a great book that I reference frequently, "Dog Bites". It contains training basics, addressing problem behaviors, and some great recipes for dog & human "bites". For me, it serves as a reference textbook, to supplement our training. Toward the end of her 3-week Bootcamp, I had my last foot surgery scheduled a few days after she was scheduled to come home. With more understanding how prepared I needed to be to have an effective transition home, Steve was agreeable (as his schedule would allow), to board Olive for an additional 10 days & her training would continue. It was so important and helpful to have that extra time to recover and be the best for my girl. With the challenges of Covid and the heat of the summer, Steve's training was very effective. When Olive struggles with success, I look at MY behaviors on how I'm continuing to manage her training. Steve is very generous with his time in follow-up FaceTime & Zoom follow-ups when issues arise or I feel the need for support. Besides the progressional integrity, Steve is a great human being who absolutely loves dogs! I give Steve Brown K-9U 10 stars out of 5!

Look, guys. I can't not give five stars to K9U. I mean look at this:…read morehttp://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/steve-brooks-k9u-los-angeles?select=zMg3CkIksC7xGRv8wBwRQw#zMg3CkIksC7xGRv8wBwRQw I'm a little embarrassed to call Duke a college graduate when he is such a goof, but I know he got a great education with Steve Brooks. Duke is my son, and he is a basset hound. Matt B. and I first got him around ten months ago, when he was about a year old. Like many bassets, he suffered from a pretty persistent strain of separation anxiety, and for a while before we came to see Steve, he was going potty on the floor every time we left him home alone. That was our main issue with him, but I'll also admit that he wasn't the best trained dog in the world. He only knew "sit" and "down," and would only really do either if he thought he could get food out of the bargain. He was also a nightmare to walk because he would pull constantly and he is very strong. (All this said - he is and always has been a delightful boy, who is just full of love and without a mean bone in his wiggly basset body.) We got K9U's card at Duke's vet when we mentioned his separation issues. A couple months ago, we called Steve and set up our first meeting. We were a little stunned by the prices (I think they go $175 for the first session, $150, $125, and $100 for the second, third, and fourth sessions, and $100 for any additional sessions after that), but decided to give it a shot. We did four lessons, which were supposed to add up to five hours. We probably got closer to eight hours of training. Steve is not stingy with his time, and we got the most out of our lessons. Over the last two months, I have seen a marked improvement in Duke's behavior and general demeanor. He is more relaxed than he was before we met Steve, and though he still gives us problems, we are better equipped to address these now that we're a bit more educated. Steve's methods are based in positive reinforcement, and he taught us how to train Duke using a variety of rewards. He talked us through some of Duke's behavioral issues, and suggested a crate training regimen to help his separation anxiety, which has been largely successful. Duke learned to stay, and to come, and to walk better on a leash. The four sessions were very comprehensive, and pretty enjoyable, too. All three of us like Steve, who is a warm, friendly man who clearly loves animals. On the last day, Steve put Duke in a cap and gown and took pictures and printed out a diploma. This was wonderful. Going forward, we have the option to take more private lessons, and Steve also leads a monthly group class that is free to K9U graduates. We will most certainly be attending those. Matt jokes that our basset has been socially promoted - Duke still counter surfs and jumps on people, and is not quite a dog show quality dog. Even so, he is better behaved, and we know how to reinforce good habits. I'm happy we took him to K9U, and I'd recommend Steve Brooks to anyone.