Coral is a wizard, we have been having problems with our 4 month old puppy named Winter, she gets very excited and her play biting has been getting out of hand, I have the scars to prove it. Once we met Coral, she welcomed us and started working with Winter and teaching us how to properly help Winter. If you're reading this and having troubles with your puppy, contact Coral right away. She has answered all our questions within a timely manner(real fast I must say, within an hour) and continues to give us advice whenever we inquire on how to help Winter. read more

Coral's amazing!! Coral took great care of our 7-month goldendoodle. It was our first time finding a trainer so we were very worried / weary. Coral helped this by being very responsive and provided a lot of photos / videos to show how our puppy was progressing. Coral helped our puppy with leash pulling, separation anxiety, nipping, jumping and barking- we really couldn't believe how much she improved after just one week! The most helpful piece of advice was her explanation of how we should treat our puppy to make sure all the newly formed habits stay permanently. Coral also really cares/is very trustworthy- we were contemplating another week of puppy training but if your puppy doesn't need it she will tell you honestly. Thanks Coral!! read more

Working with Coral and the Excelsior Team was really cool and helpful to let me get a better assessment of Koro, my Shiba Inu. The initial visit, we chatted about general concerns, behaviours, and goals that I wanted for Koro. For me before, I wasn't sure if his current state was due to his puppy-ness or lack of training and abundance of freedom that we had allowed for him. I needed some professional guidance and review on how Koro really was like. Since he's still quite a young puppy, I decided to let Koro stay for a week so that he could have a new experience and how he would act without my presence. While there, Coral was quite thorough with Koro's training, sending me videos and updates about how the week went. From walking, to waiting for a door to open, to playing outside, and so many other situations, I was able to learn more. Overall I'm quite happy with Excelsior Dog Training. Though I wasn't able to take a call, the conversation via email and the in-person consultation work out really well. Good thing to hear that some of my own efforts for Koro were not lost too! There's a good outlook for Koro as he grows older and helps with me. Thanks! read more

I was lucky to have a workshop with Coral (and some other trainers through Canine Trade Group) one weekend about a week ago, and it already has made such a difference! Coral was our main trainer. We adopted an 8-10 month old german shepherd mix (formerly a stray), who is very strong willed and mouthy. Our biggest issue was walking him on the leash. We tried various positive reinforcement methods such as leading with treats or squeaky toys, "look at me/watch me", but he wanted nothing but to sniff the ground during the whole walk and try to eat anything he found. He willful and full of energy all the time, no matter how long we walked him or how often we went to the dog park--sometimes twice a day for 1hr+ each time! We worked with Coral for about 1-2 hours, she was very patient and gave clear explanations-- training me and my boyfriend how to handle the leash properly. A training collar was recommended, and though we were hesitant about using one-- we really think it has been a great tool. We also got a handbook full of great advice on how to implement a routine at home. He now walks quite well the majority of the time, and rarely pulls. He seems to enjoy his walks with his tail wagging-- attentive to us as well as his environment, thus requiring few corrections. He also hasn't had any accidents in the house since, as we've put him on a very regular walk schedule, and is much calmer at home as well! Coral has also been very responsive via email, and is very approachable. We are so happy we had the chance to work with her! read more

Coral turned an angry confused dog into a loving companion. When my wife and I decided to rescue our dog Jinkx, he was cute and affectionate and had a rough backstory that made us feel like we needed to "save his life". Little did we know how difficult it was going to be to bring this troubled guy to a place of comfort and non-aggression. While having an overall good temperament, we soon found that Jinkx showed signs of aggression, and what we thought were the "right things to do" for his issues, actually seemed to make things worse. Jinkx become territorial over food, toys, the bed, and even my wife. Soon, he had nipped at me several times and one night unleashed a full viscous attack. We were at a loss. Feeling bad for the dog, but fearing for our own safety. After researching several trainers in the city...from professional vets, to Zen trainers, we decided to go with Coral, since her calm and yet confident manner was comforting to us as owners, so we hoped she would be good with Jinkx. Because of a holiday vacation, we were lucky enough to have Jinkx spend a week with Coral to establish the basic training program that she felt he needed. AMAZING! Upon his return to us, he was more well behaved and followed commands. But Coral also helped "train us"...she was so great at providing us with the knowledge to keep the training going and checked in with us regularly to ensure things were on track. Just this past month, we moved into a new house and we began to slack on our training rituals, and you could see it in Jinkx's behavior. With all that was happening, it was hard for us to keep up the exact schedule that we had found worked so well for keeping Jinkx in a place of comfort and cooperation. So when we had to go out of town, it was the perfect time for another weekend with Coral. Once again, her incredible talents for understanding a dog's issues are wonderful. She got him back on track and even taught him some new commands. When we rescued Jinkx (a Shih Tzu, who was blind in one eye after he was attacked by a pit bull, because he had been used as a "bait dog" in a pitbull dog fighting ring), we knew there were going to be problems and limitations. Coral helped us learn how to work with those problems and showed us that there is no limit to the affection and companionship that Jinkx can give. Thank you Coral...a thousand times...we are so grateful to have you "fix" our guy...and its wonderful to know he has his "Aunt Coral" to stay with whenever we are out of town. There are too many theories and options in this city for trying to help your dog...my advice is start with Excelsior Dog Training, save yourself the hassle (and money). read more

I did a session with Coral and she gave us a lot of good advice about our puppy and it helped us set boundaries for our dog. Our dog has been a lot more easier to manage. Who would've thought a dog would need to sleep a lot. I felt bad about leaving my dog tied up but now I learned it's needed to train the dog. I realized our dog isn't as wild as we thought we just weren't aware of what we were doing wrong. I would recommend Coral to anyone looking for training. She was very nice and helpful. read more

I was at first very skeptical about dog training. I was able to teach them to sit or lay down, how hard could the other commands be? I believed that Google had all the answers and it would have been a piece of cake, almost a walk in the park. Yet, every single time I took my two Maltese, Maggie (4 years old) and Chao (3 years old), for a walk, they would always pull the leash and I would constantly worry about encountering another dog to the point of actively avoiding other dog walkers and/or accidentally tripping over them. In addition, my dogs were so accustomed to peeing and pooping on Wee-Wee pads indoors that I was never able to transition them to potty outside. Each month, I would not only have to re-order more Wee-Wee pads, but dispose of them each and every day -- some days were not pleasant. Furthermore, it was very embarrassing to have guests come over to visit and have my dogs barking and scratching/jumping at their knees, especially during dinner time. Other times, such as during the delivery of packages or the buzz of the doorbell, they would race to the front door and bark non-stop. Upon opening the door, they would immediately rush outside which led to my biggest fear: them accidentally running away. At least three times, Chao has escaped in this fashion. Luckily for us, we found him each time with the help of kind neighbors. The turning point where I finally threw in the towel was when we decided to get a third dog, Teddy (4 months old). I knew there was no way for me to train three dogs at once if I was already struggling to handle two dogs. But, Teddy was just too darn adorable to give up. Fortunately, there was Yelp to point me in the direction of Coral. I decided to give her a call and schedule for a consultation. She was very punctual and attentive. During the consultation, all of my questions were answered. She listened carefully to every single behavioral issues I mentioned and even asked follow up questions to get further clarification. At the end of our consultation, she reassured me that their behavior could be corrected given proper training and time. She offered me 2 options for training and discussed the cons and pros. The 1st option was boarding where she would take all three of my dogs and train them at her place for 1 week. The 2nd option was for her to come over to my house and train them. Boarding them was the option I eventually chose, because it would mean my dogs would be fully immersed into their training without the usual household distractions and also I wouldn't have to take time off from work. She also addressed any doubts I had about boarding and even gave me the opportunity to visit her place and check it out before committing. She reassured me that I would receive daily video and email updates about their progress. After our consultation, we agreed on a date for her to come and pick up the dogs. Between that time, she also followed up with me via e-mail to ask for their feeding schedule and videos of their bad behaviors for her to review. I was also asked to pack their food including any supplements, some of their favorite toys, and instructions for any medications -- Chao has itchy ears that need to be cleaned frequently. On the day of their pickup, it was sad to see them go. However, by the end of the day, Coral had sent me an email about their behavior on the first day and a video of them. As the week progressed, it was hard to believe what I was seeing. No longer did they rush out the door. Instead, they waited patiently for Coral to put on her shoes, open the door, and to give the command to go outside. In their walks, Chao, the aggressive puller, and Maggie were now walking by her heel like a champ. Usually, Chao would pull you until your arm felt sore and spray everywhere and anything he could set his sights on. However, he was now following her lead and relieving himself with her permission. Maggie and Chao also stopped trying to walk ahead of one another and learned to walk properly together. And, equally as impressive, she transitioned them from pottying indoors to outdoors. Her other videos showed them being non-disruptive and obedient during a busy time of the day, such as dinner. They were even able to ignore a cat walking pass them without barking or lunging at it! Due to resistance from my family to using crates, I unfortunately had to ask Coral to switch to playpens despite the amazing progress they made. Coral was very understanding of my situation and even requested an additional week to train them in the playpen. I was more than grateful. That second week, she continued to send me very detailed, daily updates by email and video. When they finally returned home, Coral spent 4-5 hours with me going over their new routine and answering all my questions. She even provided me training collars to use during walks. My family and friends were all are very impressed. I would recommend anyone struggling with their dog(s) to Coral in a heartbeat read more

The first session was so good I signed up for another 4 lessons. My dog is aggressive towards other dogs and anyone visiting the apartment and I wanted to stop that so I can take him for longer walks and have visitors without putting him in a room. She is very patient and worked well with my dog. I was very impressed! read more

I can't say enough about the great service. My dog who normally is hesitant to leave with anyone was incredibly friendly with her . My dog was super happy when we picked him up and very relaxed . I can tell he was walked on numerous occasions and was well taken care of. Will be using this service next time around. read more

Training dogs can surely be complicated and one needs a lot of patience. We were not prepared to deal with either and and who knew you can teach an old dog new tricks. Well we are so glad to have found Excelsior Dog Training. Thank you Coral! I have to admit I was a bit skeptical about dog whisperers (aka training) but you really have to give it a try. We have our dog Ruby for many years and although she's great, she gets very anxious around people and constantly barks. It's gotten worse in the last year and now she gets very attached so whenever people come / go or walk by, she jumps, barks non stop, and sometimes gets aggressive. We have a hard time calming her down and have to resort to removing her from the room. I tried the anti-bark collars, taking her out for walks, day care, and training (from a local pet store) and none of it worked. Frustrated and about to give up. Then I came across Excelsior Dog Training and thought maybe. It wasn't until our consultation that I was willing to give Coral a shot. Before we met in person, she asked us a lot of detailed questions so that she can assess our situation and come up with a game plan. I liked her thoroughness and honesty about the entire process. She did warn us that it will take some time as well as commitment on our part. However, she was very flexible and came up with a plan to fast track Ruby's training. This was a great compromise for me since I don't have a lot of time to spend in class. When Ruby met Coral for the first time we knew right away that she had a gift with dogs. Normally Ruby will go wild and bark at you incessantly. Visitors often are scared and don't like to stay because they feel the dog is going crazy. None of that happened. Ruby was well behaved and immediately took to Corals instructions (sit... stay... lay down...). I was blown away. Obviously this did not last because after our consultation was over, Ruby went back to her old habits. Note, we did not begin training yet as this was just Corals first visit. Fast forward a couple of months since we started training with Coral, we have noticed a remarkable improvement in Ruby's behavior. Coral did an amazing job training Ruby and us. Keep in mind, dogs know and react to how owners are feeling. So a lot of the training was for us to better manage Ruby and set clear boundaries. Sometimes she worked with Ruby alone and other times we participated. I think her ability to customize a plan to fit our schedule and specific needs is what sets her apart from the typical dog training places. We liked the flexibility of onsite visits as well as meeting us in public places to further progress Ruby's behavior outside the house. Ruby is now generally well behaved, does not go crazy with visitors, and only barks when there is something urgent that we need to be aware of (i.e. stranger knocking on the door). We can now relax peacefully and know that if she's barking then she really needs us to pay attention to something. However the training is not over as we need to keep up the routines and practice with Ruby. But we are confident that we can apply the lessons Coral taught us. She made everything easy to understand and remember. And best part is she's always reachable if we are struggling. There's no bureaucracy in dealing with a school or store's policies. Excelsior is Coral's business and she stands by her brand. She won't let you be dissatisfied and your pet will certainly be happy being trained (I've seen other dog trainers where the dogs look scared). Now when I said you can teach an old dog new tricks, I certainly meant it. Both Ruby and us have learned a lot through this process. For anyone struggling to tame your pet, you really should give this a try. There's nothing to lose. Have the consultation meeting with Coral and see for yourself. read more

We only have good things to say about Excelsior Dog Training. When we first reached out to Coral our 10 month old collie mix rescue dog was very skittish towards people and would nip strangers. Whenever guests would come into our apartment our puppy would bark and growl nonstop. With Gertie's fear aggression towards strangers no dog walker wanted to work with us. So we signed up for the full training session with Coral. From day one Coral was confident that with time we could solve Gertie's problems. She gave us thorough instructions on how to behave around Gertie in order to change her behavior. The initial program was broken out in 4 sessions that could be scheduled within a couple of weeks or month depending on the dog's progress. Coral was always flexible to schedule our sessions and available in between sessions to answer questions. By mid-training Gertie was doing noticeably better. We can have guests in the house and Gertie doesn't bark. She will not interact yet, but she is not openly disruptive. By the end of the training Coral volunteered to walk Gertie until we found someone who could walk her full time. Once we found a dog walker Coral also made sure to be present for the introduction and walked with Gertie and the walkers for the first few times to make sure everything went ok. We are extremely pleased with Coral's commitment. She really wanted to see Gertie succeed and for that we highly recommend her and are extremely grateful to her. read more

Coral is as good as it gets. She answered our call right away, came to meet our dog who was new to the family, and had tons of input right away. After a week with Coral our dog came back a new boy. During his week with Coral she sent video demonstrations of how to train him and when she brought him back she went through training exercises until all of our questions were answered. We were so impressed with her approach which is both gentle but direct. We really felt like our dog was a VIP client. I would go back to Coral without the slightest hesitation. read more

My boyfriend and I got a pomsky and he's a handful to say the least. We could get him to do so many commands but he was having the hardest time potty training. Coral came and gave us all these things to consider and work on and it's only been two days and we already see an amazing change. Since Coral came to see us Rex has not pee'd in the house! read more

I was scared at first to leave my 4 month old Siberian Husky with Someone I didn't know. Coral although turned out to be the most influential person for his cognitive early stages. In such a short time she not only trained Lyko but in turn I was the one that learned a lot and now I can continue teaching him more and more. Thank you Coral, Fine Work indeed. read more

I don't often write reviews, but I definitley had to this time. Coral is AMAZING. My dog is a completely different dog. I would have never thought he could make such a drastic change. I have a 2yr old male husky. Before Coral, he was hyperactive, always jumping, barking, nipping. He destroyed my basement, pulled me on walks, loved to chase other animals. It got to the point where my girlfriend couldn't be around him. He would constantly push her down. One time he bolted out the door straight into traffic dragging my girlfriend behind him. I was ready to give him up. We met Coral and she changed our lives. He's now a calm and relaxed dog. I'd never thought he could be so well behaved. Both my girlfriend and I can walk him without him pulling. We can hang out at home without him going being a nuisance and going crazy for our attention. We struggled during the beginning of training. My girlfriend was scared to handle him and I got frustrated often. Coral was there to encourage us and keep us on track. Coral's patience and calmness definitely rubbed off on all of us. I highly recommend Coral and Excelsior Dog Training. read more