If your looking to intrust someone to guide & train *w/care; your loved one, your baby a.k.a. (your K9), I highly recommend Meagan Karnes. My boyfriend & I, have a Lab (Maximus). He was only six months old when We decided on the Collared Scholar 2week Program by Meagan Karnes, and we're so happy we did. He had a few basics roughly down but his focus was in need some sharpening. Upon returning home 2weeks later. - His basics had been improved upon immensely. - He gained understanding of new command(s). - And his focus was sharper. - His social skills had been improved upon, from positive interaction w/other dogs. (This was great seeing as he's an only child & we will be taking him to dog parks). After being exceedingly satisfied with the results, we are confident that we have found our trusted instructor for our future k9 training & guidance needs. read more

The Collared Scholar - One of many new friends Maximus (the Brown Lab), had made while away at school. - Pet Training Near Me

HARVARD for Canines: If you need almost any dog service, including training, boarding, doggie day stays, Meagan Karnes-San Agustin's, The Colared Scholar, is the Harvard for Canines! Meagan has been a part of me 'n my Sheltie from Life's Storms, Atticus' lives for almost five years. She adores, our animals, as her own. Recently, a friend of mine required a hospital stay; Meagan took Arthur and Gwenny, Corgi's, for boarding , enabling their owner, Bernice, to begin her recovery process. I could only leave my Sheltie, Atticus, with Meagan and Christine, a star in Meagan's, The Collared Scholar, enterprise. Atticus comes home happier than I've seen him in months, ready for a long nap. My Yelpers, and other Yelp readers, Meagan has a gift with canines and felines; she welcomes new clients! Ten minutes with Meagan and you will be Yelping, The Collared Scholar , for all to see! Thank you Meagan and Christine, a star under Meagan's Sky. read more

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Wow, I don't even know where to start. Meagan has been so amazing with our Boxer girl Bailey. Our little girl has (I should say had) some agression issues with other dogs and although she's never actually bitten another dog she pounces and pins the other dogs down. Needless to say it makes trips to the dog park very stressful and extremely tense. :::::in comes Meagan the Super Trainer::::: Bailey has finally met her match and in just a few short weeks, she plays so well with the other dogs and has almost entirely stopped all of her previous behaviors. Meagan hosts these "anti agression" Dog Socials with both "good" dogs and "bad" dogs so they each can learn and grow under the careful watch of Meagan and her team and It's been the best experience to watch Bailey continually improve. We're looking forward to trips to Dog Beach, Dog Parks, and even a couple dog slumber parties. Yes we're total dorks for our dog. Meagan was our 4th trainer and probably our last hope before we just gave up and we're so glad and lucky to have met her. If you're looking for the best, Meagan is your gal!!! Thank you so much for your heartfelt love of our special girl and we look forward to playdates in the future. read more

We were referred to The Collared Scholar by a rescue group when we were having some issues with our two dogs. We were at our wits end and were considering giving up our male dog. Meagan and Katie quickly assessed the situation and provided us some insights as to our dogs behavior. They developed a training program to deal with my dogs issues (dominance, fear). We'd taken our dogs to other trainers before, but only Meagan and Katie were able to help us. Most other trainers told us "we can't help you" or would make excuses for our boy dog's behavior (he's handicapped). I liked that Meagan and Katie never seemed to run out of things to try until we found what worked for our dogs. One year later, and both our dogs passed the Canine Good Citizen test last summer. They are truly a joy. Our house is calm, the dogs are happy, and our friends and guests frequently remark how well behaved our dogs are. I highly recommend them. read more

I've been meaning to write this review for a long time now, so here goes. Way too many people out there call them themselves experts on dog behavior. I actually wasted over 500 dollars on training for my dog before finding Meagan of the Collared Scholar. I would seriously give Meagan 10 stars if Yelp let me. My dog was beginning to show some frustration/aggression and Meagan made me realize she's just a little socially inept. She started in daycare with Meagan and has made a ton of friends! It's always a little scary to leave your dog in the care of someone else, but I know Meagan and Rob treat my dog like one of their own. Meagan is great with all of my doggy questions and has truly provided a "home away from home" for my little spoiled brat. I've also participated in the agility training class that Meagan offers and it was a lot of fun! The dogs all love it and started responding to the commands right away. I do have to say that maybe my dog loves The Collared Scholar a little too much because every morning now she jumps on the bed and stands over me staring me down to try and get me to take her to daycare! read more

Our family (the people *and* the dog) adores Meagan and the Collared Scholar team. We brought Ellie (a Malinois mix) in for some dog aggression issues when we got her from a shelter in LA last year. After just a couple of lessons, Meagan and Christine created a lovable, manageable, playful dog from the hyperactive lump of steel we gave her. Ellie had 3 private lessons at our home and attended three or four Anti-Aggression Socials at Collared Scholar. Now we board her there and she loves, loves, loves it. We'd never leave her anywhere else. She comes home happy, healthy, tired but not overtired, and CLEAN. All this for about the same rates you'd pay anywhere else for boarding. What more could we ask for? read more

Words cannot describe how great Meagan and her team are. They turned our 8 month old boxer, Hunter, from a hellion puppy into such a sweet, calm and mindful boy! We have had him back for almost 2 weeks and he has continued to posses all of his training he was taught on the ranch. Meagan was so sweet to hunter, and he absolutely adored her! He only spent 2 weeks at her ranch but his entire demeanor has changed. I can't express how much she saved us. She even offers a complimentary follow up session a few weeks later to make sure all training tactics have been implemented and that they are still on the right path. We highly recommend The Collared Scholar! read more

I took my dog to Nicole for work on his fear issues. He warmed up to her right away so we were very hopeful. We signed up for the 4-6 week in kennel training on the spot. I tried communicating with Nicole via text messages as she had told my wife its easiest for her. I simply wanted to find out how the specific training was going, but the only thing I could get out of her, was that she was working on his fear. She didnt seem to want to give details. My wife went to visit after a few days and nearly brought him home that day due to how dirty everything was. I put it off to her time in the vet field and nothing ever being clean enough for her dog. I continued to try to get information about specifics with the training, but was only told she was still working on his fear issues. I know he has a lot of fear, and being a bigger dog he can be very hard to work with. I gave advice on how other trainers had gotten him to warm up to them. The second visit the wife made was at the one week point. At which Nicole, to her credit, recognized that his issues were beyond her abilities, and she refunded my money. At this point I would have still recommended them to other people. I cannot recommend them however due to the fact that my dog smelled like he swam in dog pee. On my wife's first visit, she brought him a blanket that we had slept with to try and help comfort him. This blanket was so soaked in dog pee that we had to throw it out. Having 4 dogs of all sizes, we've had the occasional dog get pee'd on my a larger dog. It happens. But for a dog to smell so bad of dog pee after being at the location for a week? We washed him three times before we could even get near him he smelled so bad. I give them an extra star for recognizing that she was not experienced enough to handle my dog, but would not recomend them based on the the smell my dog was returned with. read more

My initial interactions with the Collared Scholar seemed very positive. They had great reviews and when I emailed them letting them know my issue, Meagan responded within one day. I have two dogs, and one can be very aggressive and has attacked the other, resulting in stitches. This is a very serious issue and we didn't know how to fix it. Meagan replied that she would be happy to help us so I then asked her if we would need to bring the dogs to her or if she could do in-home behavioral work with them. She said that she could do in-home, it would just be a bit more expensive. We said that was fine and then began looking at dates to meet...and that is where everything went wrong. I asked her about a particular day and she didn't respond. So the day before, I emailed again to see if she would be able to come out. She replied back saying that she had been sick with the flu and to pick another date and let her know. So I picked a date for the following week and emailed to ask if it would work for her. Then... no response. The day came and went and I both emailed and called the number for the Collared Scholar. Still, no response. I waited for about 2 weeks and emailed Meagan again letting her know that I understand if things come up and she wasn't able to meet with us right away, but that it is very unprofessional to completely ignore and disregard potential customers. She again never responded. I find it very upsetting that Meagan and the Collared Scholar completely left us hanging when we really needed the help. read more

I've had my dog trained with Meagan and Katie for about a year now. They are amazing people and got me through some awful stuff with my dog who has major dominance & aggression issues. They really are on top of the dog training techniques and are great teachers. If you are stressing about your furry friend don't hesitate to call them. They definitely come to the rescue. read more

Some people are just experts in their field, and that's how I would describe what you get at The Collared Scholar. They use positive reinforcement to work wonders with your little, or big, four legged friend. read more

As for my personal experience - 5 stars (and more if I could!). I have been going to them for about 9 months for help with my dog fear-aggressive ACD. He was about 9 months old at the time, and - instead of just jumping right into a program, taking my money, and sending me on my merry way - she took the time to get to know him and build a relationship with him before we started working on correcting the problem. We began coming to socials, and he started to get better and better over time. He is now to the point that he can participate in regular doggy-daycare. She has patiently answered numerous questions for me over the phone, and has done everything in the best interest of me and my dog. She has also graciously loaned me (and I have returned!!) equipment (including muzzles) that allowed me to properly desensitize him and maximize the effectiveness of our training, and a wonderful book about dog body language so that I, too, could develop an understanding as to what my dog is thinking. And because of the knowledge and tools that Meagan has given me, I have started herding training with him, and can bring him around other dogs in our training without incident. She has literally turned my life around with my dog - from really wondering if I was the right person for him to now him being my loyal partner. She also became a saving grace for my other dog, a Lab, who was attacked by 2 pit bulls this past November. After he was healed and I began to get out with him, he began displaying some nervous behaviors when being approached by other dogs (which was not typical for him). So, Meagan kindly offered to work with him to help build back his confidence..... and now, he is back to being his normal, over-exuberant Lab-self when around other dogs. These are literally the only people within a 1,500 mile radius that I will trust to leave my dogs with when I am out of town, as I know that they will be well-taken care of. I look forward to continued business with them....but this time for the fun stuff!!!! read more

I was absolutely blown away with Meagan's handling technique, patience and effectiveness with our dog. I never thought it would even be possible for our dog to be around anyone else without barking uncontrollably or even lunging at them to bite. Within minutes, Meagan had our dog under control and willing to listen to her every command. Beyond that, Meagan taught us so much about how our own energy 100% impacts the reaction and interaction of the dog. I felt like I got just as much of an education as our dog did. Thank you so much!! read more

I cannot say enough good things about Meagan and The Collared Scholar! She has such insight into a dogs mind and gets to the root of any problem you are having. Having a dog with aggression can be very emotional and frustrating. We had been to two other trainers before we found Meagan. One trainer made us feel like bad owners for having an aggressive dog in the first place and the other just made his aggression worse. We brought our dog Dexter to Meagan when he was showing signs of dog aggression and within our first meeting with Meagan we could see Dexter's aggression subsiding. Meagan was an incredible help with the anxiety we felt having an aggressive dog. At her famous "anti-aggression social" there are tons of other dog parents who are in the exact same situation and unlike at the dog park, they completely understand what you are going through. It makes us so happy to see how excited Dexter gets to go to The Collard Scholar. For social or boarding Dexter cannot contain his excitement and always runs straight into Meagan's arms. read more

DANGEROUSLY INCOMPETENT I, unfortunately, have not had a good experience with Meagan. My dog and I went to see her about his fear aggression, and after our first conversation I was very impressed with her. She recommended one on one training with me in conjunction with days that she would train Dexter by herself. I dropped him off at 7:30am for his first day of solo training with Meaghan. I came to pick him up at 5:00pm. Meagan was no where to be found, but another trainer brought him out of a back room, and out of a kennel, to me. She informed me that Meagan had put a wire muzzle on him and that he had proceeded to tear at it so violently with his front paws in an effort to get it off, that both of his dew claws were ripped off. His paws were in fact bloodied and raw, and both of his dew claws were completely ripped away. Astonished, I asked how this could happen and was informed that Meaghan said this had happened to her before when the dogs aren't used to wearing a muzzle. In shock, I wondered if this had happened to dogs she had tried to train before, how she could let this happen again? I inquired as to where Meaghan was, and they said that she was off on another appointment, but would be returning shortly. I requested that Meaghan call me immediately upon her return. I received no phone call. The next day, I called and spoke with Katie, and asked that Meaghan return my phone call right away. Meaghan finally called me back at 2pm that day. She didn't apologize for Dexter's injuries, she didn't even mention it. I had to bring it up. She seemed very unconcerned and uncaring. She repeated that this had happened to her before. I inquired as to why Dexter was kenneled and why she wasn't there. She said that she had taken a half hour walk with Dexter this morning, and then the incident with the muzzle happened and he was too traumatized to continue. Why wasn't I called immediately? She didn't have an answer. After the conversation continued in the same manner and Meaghan had no good explanation as to why this had happened, I asked her for a refund. I told her I had no confidence in her basic ability to keep Dexter safe, and so can't have her train him. She agreed to a refund. One week later, Dexter's dew claws were still open, oozing wounds, so I decided to take him to my vet. They were infected, and he needed topical and oral antibiotics. I had to clean, and re-bandage his paws daily for two weeks. During these weeks, Dexter wouldn't play and very rarely left his bed. After multiple phone calls to different numbers, I finally got a phone call back from Meaghan. I told her what had happened, and that I would expect that she would at the very least pay the $53 vet bill. She refused, saying that I signed a contract with Metropawlitan Dog (of which she is a part owner), which is now closed, not with her. Also, that the contract I signed absolved her of any liability. To this day, I have not received a refund for the day of training or a reimbursal for the vet bill. I do not recommend Meagan Karnes to anyone who values their dog's well being and expects a caring attitude from a 'professional' dog trainer. read more

Today was our first session with Meagan and we have already seen dramatic improvements with our dog, Indy. Meagan showed us so many helpful tools and was gentle yet firm with Indy. She was so understanding and really gave us a lot of insight on her behaviors. We can't wait to use these training tools and learn more from her. Thanks Meagan! read more

i wish i could give more stars. =/ anyways, meagan did a fantastic job with my puppy during the 2 week in-kennel program. set a very solid foundation for me to continue to work on. only downside is that my puppy misses the ranch and is probably bored like crazy at home. read more

We recently hired Megan to help regain control with our brand new rescue. She had us on the right path after one visit and really helped us learn some new techniques for helping our dog settle in. She now goes to day care and we couldn't be happier - she loves it! They pick up and drop off for a very reasonable price and even brush her out before she comes home. Meagan and Rob are very professional great people and really easy to work with. read more

Meagen and The Collared Scholar are awesome! Our dogs hate to be left home alone, but when they are with Meagen they are so at home! Meagen handles our 200Ibs Mastiff greatly! He loves her. and Meagen is the best thing that ever happen to us and our doggies! Thank you! read more