Jesse Wilson, Dog Trainer @ Hand n' Paws K-9 Trainer, Jess, is the best! The bestest trainer in the west! He gets my Missy to comply, He is an awesome trainer guy! He takes her out and out about! That is what I love to shout! Gets her used to new vibrations! Showing "training" in situations! Other pups and other stuff! I do swear - it's not a bluff! Calming her to greet the day! No surprises, by the way!! Familiarity does NOT breed contempt! Her new manner not unkempt! Though she has long way to go! She's a puppy in the know! Makes her Mama very proud! Show her off when in a crowd! Thank you, Jesse! See you on the 25th (I think!) read more

Did off-leash freedom board and train. The results were great and we have had a lot of success at home since. I wanted to do more obedience-type training for fun but they didn't seem interested. Strongly recommend though for people who need reliable training for thier dog. read more

I think this will take me at least a day or 2 to write because there's just so much genuine good to write about this place. We really stumbled upon this place via a home trainer we got who was positive reinforcement only (prior to that we were at hufdmans's - this will be important later). The positive reinforcement trainer though nice.. I felt wasn't equipped to help me train my 2 year old Belgian Malinois. Not very many people have experience training a high drive dog like malinois so that was the reason why I took my girl to Huffman's who specializes in working breed malinois. Anyways, after 8 sessions with Huffmans (who is a balanced trainer) and 2-3 sessions with the positive only trainer I was at a loss for a trainer that could actually help us with our Mal. *quick backstory* we rescued our Mal (Beatrice) from a rescue in Texas when she was 16 months old or so. She was found with 9 puppies who she took such good care of. Apparently she was "sad" after her puppy's were adopted out. She was transported to us from Texas (where perhaps I didn't give her enough time to decompress) and from then she showed a lot of leash reactivity. She was amazing while in the house but was super over the top when we were on walks in the neighborhood. At a loss, I asked our positive only trainer if they did boarding or board and training and he said he didn't but works very closely with a trainer who does. Cue in Merissa. I contact Merissa possibly minutes after, I tell her my situation and she quickly accommodates a meet and greet for us. We were leaving out of the country for 3 weeks so we needed someone we could trust. When I met Merissa I instantly felt at ease her super calm and cool demeanor made me feel safe. However I was still skeptical that anyone would be able to reform my dog. After 8 sessions with huffman's and 2-3 sessions with the other trainer, Beatrice was still pulling and lunging like crazy. This is not due to a lack of practice with me as the owner, I trained and did everything all the trainers told me to do everyday for 1-2 hours a day! So because of this I felt that Beatrice may only get better minimally. At drop off I meet Raine who did my intake. She was very friendly and efficient. Beatrice went to her easily, but I knew Beatrice wasn't reactive to strangers but dogs. After the first 2-3 weeks I was anxious because I didn't see very many updates about Beatrice from instagram or the FB page.. I voiced this concern to Kota the Admin for Paw and Hands and she quickly got me in touch with Charlee, Beatrice's main handler. First off, let me tell you HOW responsive Kota and Charlee are. Beatrice may not have gotten a ton of updates (I'm a helicopter mom, what can I say) but speaking to Kota and Charlee always put me at ease. Both of them were always transparent. Charlee reassured me that all the training I had previously was not for naught. My training with Huffmans made Beatrice a super confident dog but Beatrice had major control issues, she may have been over confident thus creating a know it all. My training with Lucid made Beatrice better at obedience, but on her time. When I told Beatrice to do any commands she knew them all but would take her very precious time getting into that command. After being at P&H her obedience was almost as good as the sport dogs - almost... she's got crappy genes from bad breeding but she's the ABSOLUTE best version of her she can be. At the go home session Charlee went through a ton of information I knew and a ton I didn't know. She told me how she'd be in contact with me and would be calling me in a few days. The fact that these trainers and admin staff are so dedicated to the dogs and the owners speaks absolute volumes. And the funny thing is, upon leaving the facility I left with the impression that Beatrice is (slightly) better but of course there will still be a lot of continued work at home (which I already expected, 2-3 hours of exercise, play and training a day - no problem I've allocated time specifically for this). When I got her home. OH MY GOD. I don't know if it's because it's her first day back but DAMN she's WAYYYY better than I EVER expected. I was FLOORED. She never left her bed stay during dinner, her recall was SECONDS, her heel was... incredible. I honestly felt like I had a sport dog. I'll give an update after Beatrice has settled but if this is how she'll be for the rest of the time at home, this dog is completely reformed. THANK YOU CHARLEE, KOTA and MERISSA... for literally everything, every second you put in Beatrice, all the love and handling, the extra effort to make sure she's her best version of her, THANK YOU. read more

See all

My second review for Paw and Hand K9. I will start off by saying that I will never take our dogs anywhere else for training. Kevin, Merissa, and their team are legit! After I took Maple, our 6-month Labradoodle, for training, which I researched board and trains for months before landing on Paw and Hand K9, we got another puppy, Gus, another Labradoodle. Kevin was the trainer for both our puppies, and I'm so grateful for them. Our dogs came back obedient and happy (you also have to put the work in at home!) Our dogs LOVE going back and get so excited pulling up into their driveway. They are willing to continue to give feedback after the dogs leave their homes and check in. I won't get any more dogs for the next 10+ years, but I will only take them to them for as long as I can. They care about the outcome and success of your dogs even after they leave. If we didn't leave an hour away, I would bring our dogs to their dog day school! I recommend them with my whole heart! THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO! read more

Charlie is a miracle worker. My 8 month puppy was in board and train for 4 weeks. He came home a perfect gentleman. Now it is up to me to follow through. I was most impressed with the follow up after the initial training. I appreciate that Charlie will continue to be available to me for any questions and to help keep us on track. read more

We did the board and train for two weeks. Our dog was really bad on a leash and didn't have the best manners. The two weeks was a huge help. We noticed a huge difference. He no longer pulls on the leash and I have noticed I can let him off the leash in safe spots and he will stay by my side or close to me. We are super happy we went thru Paw and Hand K9 and will use them for our future dogs. Good communication and easy to work with. read more

See all

Kevin and Marisa are awesome and experienced dog trainers. We had our Aussie doodle and Husky in puppy foundation classes as well as 3 weeks of E-Collar training. We found that we enjoy these new family members so much more because they are easier to manage and love...We thank Paw N Hand K9 for their Veterans skills and excellent direction. Worth every penny. read more

BEWARE BEFORE USING THIS BOARD AND TRAIN PROGRAM! I got my puppy back in January after 4 weeks in the board and train program. When we picked him up he smelled so bad we had to drive home with the windows down and his nails were way too long. It is my opinion that he did not get proper basic grooming. Before he could go back to the local dog parks or dog daycare he had to have a another fecal sample and he came back positive for Giardia. This can be deadly to puppies, it is contagious to humans and is extremely difficult to get rid of. Think scabies type cleaning and only letting the dog outside on a leash for 6 weeks after medication. This isn't even the most disturbing part of the experience. My dog went to Marissa for fear based aggression and resource guarding. He would bite (nip without breaking skin) at your hand if you tried to take toys away and would hide in a corner growling when people would come over. Marissa said he needed confidence. She posted videos on facebook showing how he was no longer resource guarding. When we picked him up she tried to demonstrate, he snapped at and bit her multiple times. When we got him home it became apparent how serious his behavior change was. He was no longer nipping over toys but biting hard enough to puncture the skin and leave bruises. He no longer had any bite inhibition. When we had people over he no longer hid but aggressively tried to move forward and intimidate them. His behavior had changed for the worse. When we had the initial meeting with Marissa we stressed that we would only allow positive reinforcement based training. She agreed. Imagine my surprise when I saw pictures of Tucker, a puppy under 6 months of age, posted on facebook showing him wearing a prong collar. I was very angry and after a text to Marissa she called me back immediately which was extremely unusual given that she often took up to 48 hours to respond. She said it wouldn't happen again. In my opinion any trainer can make a dog appear to be fine when they are terrified of being hurt. It is my belief that the prong collar was used to make it appear Tucker was fine but once the threat was taken away his behavior was only worse. Tucker had already gone through puppy training and learned many commands prior going to this board and train program. Much of this was undone by his experience at Paw and hand K9. Once he got home he would no longer follow off leash commands. He would run and cower if you tried to put his leash on and growl if you tried to touch his collar. This was not a problem before he went to Paw and hand K9. He was crate trained when he left us but would now scream for hours and chew/eat his bedding when put in his crate. My guess is that this was a result of being restrained to a crate so long on a daily basis but all I really know is that is was a result of boarding him with this program. The handover after 30 days was horribly disappointing.... she advised us on our leash skills for a while, we watched him go through the resource guarding exercise that we'd practice at home which resulting in her being bit, and talked for a while. It was unorganized and did little to prepare us for what we would soon encounter at home. We gave it about a week before contacting Marissa again to let her know there were some major problems. She was not far from us and agreed to stop by with her partner that evening. As soon as they came in Tucker lunged off his bed at them. We worked for an hour and a half mostly on leash handling skills but as the dog became more stubborn they suggested trying the prong collar by using quick sharp pulls to correct him. This left my dog screaming in pain and is not how I have ever seen a prong collar used. We are in disbelief that this board and train program has cost us more than any money we paid them. The physical injury, emotional stress and additional cost to retrain that has now been added makes you realize how bad these situations can go. This should be a cautionary tale for anyone considering this facility. read more

OMG BEST money ever spent. Wild and crazy 60 lb 7-month old puppy... biting cats and kids... knocking us over... barking incessantly... spent a month with these folks in their board & train program and we have they best behaved, most well trained puppy ever! Manners, obedient- no more biting or jumping, no more kennel needed!!! Soooo happy!! read more

A few months ago we did a two week board and train with our rescue bulldog mix Molly. She has problems with agression towards adults and excitability around other dogs and kids. We were at our wits end as we had done exstensive at home training with her as well as taking her to a different trainer before being reffered to Marissa and were continuing to have many issues with multiple behaviors. I believe that it was Molly's 3rd or 4th visit to Paw N Hand when we dropped her off for board and train. Molly was still very unsure about her trainer and had to wear a muzzle. It was a very difficult two weeks as Molly had been in our lives for a year now and she had not been without either my husband or myself in that time. We were very thankful to get several updates during those two weeks and to see that Marissa had won Molly over! Molly has greatly improved since her training, she still has many issues and acts out towards people but she listens when we tell her no and she is much better at following commands. We were also both pleased and suprised to see that not only was she freshly bathed when we picked her up, but her nails were also clipped! I was not expecting this, as she was only there for two weeks and the rates for her board and train were far less than other places that board agressive dogs. Part of the reason we chose paw and Hand was that they don't just do positive reinforcement, our dog is strong willed and has a very high pain tollarance, she is highly food motivated but when ahe gets distracted it can be really hard to regain her attention even with food. She has also experienced chaffing when in a harness due to her pulling when excited. She responds much better to a prong collar, so the style of mixing a prong collar with rewards in the form of food is a very good fit for her. I am ao glad that the folks at Paw N Hand were able to help us and I now Feel Molly has gained some "friends" for life that we can board her with when the need arises. read more

We just picked up our 10 month old German Shepherd Dog after a 6 week Board and Train with Merissa, Paw and Hand K9, and are so happy to see what she was able to do with our pup. He has significantly improved his sit/stay, down, leash walking and recall all while being really happy to show what he has learned. Clearly she is great with dogs and loves what she is doing. Highly recommend! read more

See all