Had an amazing experience with Mark! The progress my dog has made with him is amazing and in short…read moreperiod of time! I use to struggle to take him on walks or go to an outdoor restaurant without him barking, whining, and getting overwhelmed. Now he sits under me and watches calmly. I also feel like my dog trust me so much more because Mark taught me the importance of advocating for him and how to. He has an extensive knowledge on dogs and does an amazing job of teaching you about your dog and their behavior. Would 1000% recommend!

I hesitated to write this for nearly a year because I believe Cheryl is passionate about what she…read moredoes, however, her training was not a good fit for us, and we did not see results, despite spending $1700. For what it's worth, she's respectful, prompt, and brought her own dog to a few sessions to help my puppy with anxiety. She also has a good game for place training, and when I switched away from her methods this was the only thing we kept doing. This review will be long, but this is the main takeaway. I'd caution anyone from considering this "balanced training". It is not. The primary goal is conditioning a prong collar correction to a verbal "No!". It is purely punitive, not balanced. It's no different (& arguably worse) than the traditional 'crank & yank' style described in her book, just dressed up nicer. I'd advise future customers to use *EXTREME* caution if considering using an e-collar with Raise the Bar. An e-collar is NOT a punishment tool that you can slap on and hammer a dog with. For any behavior. Increasing punishment without clarifying the alternative desired behavior creates conflict. It's bad for the owner-dog relationship. Despite this, when unclear prong collar corrections didn't work, escalating to the e-collar was suggested at every single session. When I had concerns about shut down dogs/frustration, or feeling uncomfortable with the w/the level of corrections, I was met with contempt and told that based on 30yr of experience, this is just how it's done. Years of experience don't equal best practice. 1. Prong collar- it needs to be properly fitted. A loose prong (recommended by Cheryl) delivers inconsistent corrections and takes away the physics of the collars design, so you're no longer protecting the trachea or distributing pressure evenly. She recommended increasing the gauge of prong when corrections weren't working. I tried to discuss that this would require more force to deliver a similar correction, but shut down and told a 2.25 is a "puppy collar". In reality it delivers a higher level correction or "bite" with less leash pop. Most dogs should not be using a 4mm prong, especially loose, bc it's virtually ineffective. 2. Balanced training uses all quadrants of operant conditioning. Raise the Bar is almost entirely punishment based. Praise is not positive reinforcement. You can't be balanced and anti-treat/reward. When you hire a private trainer, you're paying for someone to train you, not your dog, and when asked 'why' she does things, she's not able to articulate it well. 3. Leash pressure- she couldnt get 1 of my dogs on the placeboard and gave up when he put the brakes on and reared back on the leash. She couldn't see that he just didn't understand leash pressure (which I've now taught him). He needed to be encouraged to go on in a way he understood. Next visit when he was on it she asked how, & I told her I was able to get him on in minutes with treats and free shaping, she was disappointed I had used food despite her method being ineffective. 4. **E-COLLAR**- please do NOT let Cheryl put an e-collar on your dog. I am SO glad I was enrolled in an e-collar course before she started suggesting it. She lacks fundamental knowledge of modern day e-collar use, likely bc it relies on foundations she doesn't use (ie a positive marker word & reward, low-level stim overlayed on well known commands via neg reinforcement, working under threshold). For crate anxiety she suggested putting an e-collar on my fearful puppy, & stimming at high levels until quiet, also suggested dropping a heavy textbook on the crate. Frankly this is abhorrent training. My dogs are now all e-collar trained and it's rarely ever necessary to use at aversive levels , esp not paired with "No" to induce handler fear and certainly not on a fearful/reactive dog. I could go on, because I don't think this is individualized training, but will digress. This training is conflict & punishment based & we did not reach any goals with her methods. I am pro-balanced, but this is compulsion. I'd suggest she expand her knowledge because her current methods have the potential to do serious harm. My relationship with my dogs was never worse than when we trained with Raise the Bar. The best thing about this experience, was that it lit a fire in me to learn to train dogs myself. They're now off leash heeling, hiking, no more reactivity, even went on a trip with us. Our results speak for themselves. I'll leave it there.

We are now in our third course with our Great Dane pup at Alice's Companion Dog Training:…read moreintermediate obedience. Have very much enjoyed these classes and appreciate the one-on-one tips and feedback to better train our pup. Every instructor we have had has always made sure to ask if there are any questions each class which is very helpful! Really appreciate the affordability of the classes as they mirror Petsmart training price but with so much more value!! Would highly recommend but do know you have to put the work in to each week to get the best results!!

They are reasonable and trainers truly love what they do. They make sure you and your dog are…read morehappy. Also does private training.

Rachel is a true animal lover! Very patient and loving with the dogs she trains. Her dog Kinichie…read moreis a great example. Kinichie was in Rachel's wedding in August, and everyone was amazed! People commented on the fact that they had never seen such a well behaved dog, especially in a large group of people. I know Rachel takes lots of classes, so she's always current on all the latest in dog training

From the owner: Passionate. Patient. Persistent. These are just a few of the attributes that describe my training…read morestyle. I know each animal is different, and I'll work with yours to give them guidance that is tailored to their individual needs.

Darah was referred to me by a neighbor, and she was the first trainer we ever used and she will be…read morethe last because her work with dogs is exceptional. Our goldendoodle is incredibly dominant and we needed a lot of help. We did a mix of personal in home visits and small group training. While Winnie isn't perfect she has come SO far. Darah is so knowledgeable and helped me, a first time dog owner, understand what I was doing wrong as an owner. I was literally doing it all wrong. I now have a proper relationship with my dog. We would fully recommend Darah/underdog k9 academy!

Darah recently did a board and train for our rescue with Colbie, an Australian Shepard who spent…read morethe first 6 years of her life in a puppy mill. Sarah kept us updated throughout the entire process, with pictures, videos, and progress reports. Colbie came back to us like a brand new dog. She finally had life in her eyes. Darah taught Colbie to trust humans, something we weren't sure she would be able to do. We will always recommend Darah, she is communicative, knowledgeable, and truly cares for each dog she works with.

My husband and I enrolled our 4 month old puppy in a puppy obedience class here and feel we got…read moretremendous value from it. It's a one hour weekly class lasting for six weeks. It was helpful to have a dedicated time and place to focus on training our dog with expert oversight when corrections were needed. Le and the team were calmly persistent with puppies and focused on achievable and useful training: sit, stay, down, leave it, and leash training. They offered collar (for leash training) treat, and behavior recommendations and achieved a good balance of individual pup and group instruction. Our pup loved the socialization as well.

From the owner: Dog Aggression, Puppy Training, Basic Obedience, and Off Leash Trainingread more

Megan, our trainer, did an amazing job with Bowie! He now listens, doesn't jump on people and comes…read morewhen he is called. Thank you so much for all of your help! I recommend Unleashed to anyone who needs help with training their dog, they do such a wonderful job.

Virginia Simpson and her staff are extremely professional and attentive to the dog owner and the…read moredog. Her training of our German Shepherd was excellent and she continues to help our with training if something comes up. We have been with Virginia for almost a year and I cannot say enough good things about her knowledge of training dogs. What I like the most is that once the 2 or 3 week training is complete she doesn't just say goodbye and you never see her again. She continues to support and that is of utmost importance to me.

Hannah was fantastic with our new rescue dog who was from a puppy mill and very fearful, which…read moreturned to LOUD barking and growling at times. She helped our entire family, especially our young kids, learn how to get Pepper comfortable and acclimated. After a few weeks with Hannah - plus continued work on our part for awhile to come - we have a well-adjusted dog who is living the best life that she deserves. We'll go back to Hannah in a few months to move to the next step, which is getting Pepper comfortable with other dogs. Highly recommend Hannah, esp if you have kids that are involved in the training process.

From the owner: The Proper Puppy offers in private, in-home dog training and puppy training programs in the central…read moreCincinnati area. Our specialty is training excellent family dogs! Our dog and puppy training programs go beyond basic obedience and focus on the real-world skills your dog needs to be a welcome member of the family. From hiking off leash to sitting quietly at a cafe, a well trained dog is a joy to have around. You don't have to drive to classes or send your dog away for quality professional training. We know dogs learn best at home, that's why we come to you! We can teach you to train your dog with private lessons or take the leash and do the training for you, either way you dog is learning from the best. Call us today to get started!

We have been taking our dog Benedict to the Pet Spot since he was a puppy, so going on five years…read morenow! We use Pet Spot for daycare, grooming (thank you so much Cat for being the best!!! My sister still drives down from Dayton after moving to get her dogs groomed by Cat), and boarding every now and then. The "floating groom" option is one of our favorites as our dog can run & play in daycare while also getting a full groom, so he's both tired & clean when he comes home. They also host fun events throughout the year where you can get a themed picture of your dog, like Halloween or St. Patrick's day. The staff is always very friendly, accommodating, and some even greet Benedict by name when we walk in the lobby. Seeing 1-star reviews here really surprises me as I know myself and many other repeat customers have had zero issues with the Pet Spot and I would feel confident recommending their services to any dog owner. I would also like to suggest to anyone reading these low reviews to take some highly sensitive pet owner's opinions with a grain of salt. This is an all around GREAT dog care facility with extremely hard-to-beat prices for the area. Seriously people - be realistic. Dogs will smell a little when they get home. The lobby might smell if someone had an accident. It's truly insane to think your dog won't smell a little bit when they come home from boarding/daycare surrounded by other dogs running and playing all day. Expect to bathe them yourselves like a normal person or pay for an exit bath (a service they offer). If you want your pup to never touch dirt or pee then you should keep them at home or shell out the cash for Rover. Just my two cents!

We had a very poor experience with Pet Spot. We recently brought our dog in for a daycare…read moreevaluation. The lobby smelled strongly in the morning when dropping her off, and smelled even worse in the afternoon when we picked her up. When they brought my dog back, she was whining, straining at the leash, and trying to make a beeline for the exit to get out of there asap - this is really strange behavior; my friendly extroverted pup usually wants to personally say goodbye with a wagging tail to everyone when we take her places. I asked the woman at the front desk how things had gone - she shrugged and just said, "looks like she passed." Then she said "didn't you get the email report?" I was confused and said no, I didn't have an email and didn't know what she was talking about. Also I'd literally just picked up my dog, so idk how they could have gotten a report out to me . "You'll get an email," she said confidently and dismissively. I have not received one still. We asked if it was possible to see the facility, since it was our first visit, and she instead showed us cameras from the lobby that "aren't live because the system's broken". So just static blurry photos of empty indoor play yards. We asked about how and where the dogs were able to go out to use the bathroom and she said THEY ALL JUST GO WHEREVER ON THE FLOOR and "they do their best to clean it up". At this point we left. We had to stop on the way home because she was so distressed - my housebroken dog had apparently been holding her bladder and her poop all day. She drank her entire bowl of water the second she got home, so I don't think she was given access to any while at daycare for several hours. She was limping and we have no idea why, because Pet Spot couldn't give us any information about her day. We had to give her a bath that evening because she smelled terrible. On top of all this, she's now developed a rash on her paws and belly as well as an eye infection which have required vet attention. Unsurprising since she was apparently laying around in urine and feces all day. Honestly I couldn't believe how bad of an experience we had - on a first day! - and I feel bad for my poor pup that I ever dropped her off here. Do not use this place.

My dogs have been cared for by Happy Paws for 10 years now and they always provide excellent and…read moreprofessional service. I use them for dog walking and for overnight stays. Their employees clearly love caring for pets. My assigned "Pet Pal" dog walkers all know my dogs personally, as does the owner. Whenever anything has gone awry while I'm away the owner has always called me and managed the issue personally. When one of my dogs had a medical issue while I was out of town, they took him to the urgent care vet and stayed with him the whole time while he got treatment while keeping me updated, then took him back again the next day for his check up. I really appreciate that their "Pet Pals" send an update with photos every time they see the dogs.

I can't say enough great things about this company and the people who make it what it is. They've…read moretaken amazing care of my dog for over four years now and almost feel like part of the family at this point. They're highly responsive, professional, responsible, and flexible. Just amazing and I deeply appreciate them!!!