I took my puppy golden retriever to A Wagging Success in the Spring of 2012. My husband had looked around to a lot of one on one training classes and were realizing most were too expensive, so we were going to opt for the traditional petco training. However, when I stumbled upon A Wagging Success, the price wasn't too much more than petco and seemed like a better 1 on 1 fit for my husband and I and my dog. The owner of A Wagging Success is cheerful and bubbly, which I appreciated early on. Her initial phone interview felt welcoming and she expressed how her A Wagging Success was exactly what we needed to break our dog of unhealthy habits. However, as classes continued, I felt she spent more time telling stories and advertising for her next level classes than teaching my dog new tricks. I felt like the instruction was minimal and my dog was bored. Further more, when she was instructing, she would often snap and the dog owners as if they were a dog who was misbehaving. If the owner wasn't doing something perfect with their dog, instead of gently correcting the wrong training technique, she would scold them. Overall, I was unimpressed and would not return to A Wagging Success. read more

Zero stars... RUN from this woman and her program. The review from Mandy is 100% spot on and what I experienced. Vicky spends half of the time showing off her overweight and treat stuffed dog Bronco...and the rest of the time being rude and abrasive to her paying clients. "Click Click"....bad trainer! read more

Wow! The unprofessionalism almost can't get any worse...see Vicky's own review on 8/15/14 basically trashing any of her clients who weren't satisfied with her classes. It makes specific mention of my review (she says I'm a client who has "no experience and has never owned a puppy before", which is exactly what she tried to tell me in person when I told her I wasn't satisfied with her class. I have owned dogs for over 30 years and been to other classes with them, which is what I told her and wrote in my original review) and another review from a caller who was unhappy. RUN from this place if you expect professionalism and courtesy! I'm almost speechless... The only other thing I'll add here is that Vicky asked me to write a Google review before class even started when we were communicating via e-mail about the orientation and class details (yes, I have copies of the e-mails). I told her I would be happy to write a review once class was finished. My original review was honest and completely true and reflects my actual experience. I certainly wish that I had had a wonderful experience, had been able to write a 5-star review, and that I wouldn't have to be paying for another class somewhere else, but my experience just wasn't good, and is feeling even more sour now. Period. read more

I have used A Wagging Success twice now. So I am a repeat customer. I highly recommend Vicky. She has a great approach, and the results really stuck. My first dog Scout, people we always commenting on how well behaved he was. read more

I purchased a 2 hour lesson for my friends as a birthday gift to teach their two year old lab to walk better on a leash. They did learn tips to teach him but they had to endure being food shamed, treat shamed, letting your dog on the couch shame. Vicky shamed them on the brand of food, the brand of treats, how they shouldn't allow him on the furniture and that he was fat. This lab runs and plays all day and goes for regular checkups at the vet and has never been told by a licensed Vet that he was overweight. Vicky is very condescending on the phone and to clients. This dog is so loved by his owners and it is not her place to lecture or judge. read more

So, when we left, I was a little hesitant and embarrassed realizing that we had slacked with Keyshia. But, I knew it to be true. So, although I wanted to balk and so did she.....she's got the pheromone collar on, the 4' tethered leash, is walking like a real dog should on the Gentle Leader and we had a harness, but just hadn't used it. She knows about it now. And, she is learning boundaries. I'm gradually feeding her closer and closer to the car and we will go for a ride over the weekend. But, I have to admit, although weary...I was desperate for someone to come in and help manage us, and this beautiful beast. My friend and I took her for a walk and then tossed the ball back and forth for her calling her name and getting excited, so that she could play. It worked like a charm. I guess, my friend, you really are "the dog whisperer" - rather the people... read more

Vicky was wonderful to work with and I would highly recommend her! I spent a 2 hour private session with Vicky and my new Boston Terrier/French bulldog puppy. I had a list of items I wanted to discuss and work on and Vicky was sure to cover each topic and leave me with resources to refer back to. My new puppy was getting rather hyper with my children and constantly chasing and biting their ankles and legs. This was leading to chaos for everyone and after 24 hours of following Vicky's instructions, the difference was AMAZING!! She gave me so many great tips on what to do and what not to do (in all areas of training) - I am incredibly thankful! I've been following her advice on socializing my puppy and the results speak for themselves. Thank you Vicky - I look forward to our next session! read more

Our family has had two labs trained by Vicky at A Wagging Success. We used private sessions and both the beginner and intermediate group classes. Our dogs Mac and Kody were the best trained dogs we ever had and its all because of the positive reinforcement lessons we used thanks to the methods taught by A wagging Success. In addition to being great pets, we used both labs as hunting labs and they were extremely well trained and obedient using Vicky's methods. We feel Vicky is highly educated and skilled in teaching people to train their pets. She made us realize how important it is to love our dogs and she was kind and patient with all her clients. I highly recommend A Wagging Success. I believe its the best dog training you can get. read more

I had a magical experience with Vicky. I thought I had an aggressive Yorkie that would bark nonstop. Vicky told me he was just bored. She practiced POSITIVE TRAINING TECHNIQUES. I wouldn't use any harsh techniques on my dogs and wouldn't allow anyone to treat my dogs like that either. She also educated me on how to continue the training with my Yorkie to keep up the foundation she built. Well I am happy to say that my Yorkie didn't bark at all after ONE session with her! I was amazed. My husband laughed and said there was an impostor dog in our house. I feel Vicky is a great trainer and would recommend her to anyone for any type of training on their dogs! read more

We met Vicky in 2003 when we had our first puppy. We worked with her, followed her guidance and ended up with one of the best behaved dogs I have met. We are using her training methods and guidance with our current puppy and at 4 1/2 months, he is already much better behaved than many dogs I see out there. Vicky cares about dogs and people, and the safety of both. Positive reinforcement is the foundation and works very well. Vicky has helped us keep our children involved with training and has helped us keep them safe as the puppy learns his manners and place in our home. We continued working with Vicky for the first year of our past dog's training and will likely carry on with this one to provide continuity and consistency and to train us to be good owners. I know that a good dog is the result of a good owner taking the time to learn how to teach their dog properly. Vicky has the tools to develop well behaved dogs! read more

My wife and I rescued a dog 6 years ago and needed help immediately with some behavioral problems we were having with Ally. We called our vet and he immediately told us to call Vicky with A Wagging Success. Vicky was so helpful over the phone we signed up for private sessions and we had our situation turned around quickly. She was fun to work with and our dog responded to the positive methods and leadership skills. Ally loved the training method and it made us so "happy" to see her response to Vicky! We can't say enough about how happy we were with A Wagging Success! Vicky loves dogs and people as well! Thank you, Scott read more

A Wagging Success is a wonderful dog training class. The owner, Vicky, is all about positive reinforcement and knows everything you need to do to turn your puppy into a wonderful, well-behaved dog. Her techniques make it so easy to train your puppy. You will see results immediately. I used Vicky and A Wagging Success 9 years ago for our first dog and now have returned to her classes for our new puppy! Highly recommended. read more

We have a small dog. She's our 3rd Boston Terrier. We learned with our first two Bostons that they can be cute, smart, and sweet but very stubborn. So when we got the latest Boston addition to our family we decided to take her to group training. We checked out the pet store training and e-collar training and then we found Vicky at "A Wagging Success." We started Pepper in A Wagging Success when she was 11 weeks old and weighed 7 lbs. The training was awesome! Vicky is great with dogs and people. The training has helped me to become a better dog owner and Pepper to be a well behaved puppy. She is now 6 months old and we can take Pepper anywhere. She's well behaved, never barks, and gets along with everyone - dogs, cats, adults and kids. Sometimes we small dog owners forget to get our dogs trained and socialized properly because we can always control them by picking them up and removing them from any situation. Vicky taught me how handle difficult situations without having to pick my little dog up. She also taught me how to get my dog to behave properly in every situation. I would recommend Vicky and "A Wagging Success" dog training to everyone. She's great with big dogs, small dogs, and people too. read more

The Wagging Success training program is amazing. In addition to our two small children, we have a Newfie puppy who is 30+ pounds at 15 weeks. Needless to say, a pup this size needs to learn some manners pronto! With Vicki's positive reinforcement method, our puppy had mastered a number of commands (all using nonverbal hand signals as cues) in a few weeks. We were actually shocked at how quickly our dog is absorbing these lessons. We're now enrolled in the intermediate classes and plan to keep continuing with all of our dogs ... we highly recommend this program! read more

A Wagging Success is the best training program!! I would highly, highly recommend this training program to anyone looking to learn something new, whether a puppy or adult dog. I would recommend this class because, the training is all positive reinforcement, the training works and sticks with your dog, and you get to socialize your puppy appropriately so that they don't have aggression later. In the basic class you complete an orientation where Vicky reviews dog psychology and the overall way to train on a daily basis. I have read dog psychology books and I still learned a lot of new information. Vicky does a great job at making sure everyone is on the same page. She also goes over how to set realistic expectations and manage bad behavior. I found this incredibly empowering because, I was able to anticipate bad behavior and correct it without being frustrated. The class itself is wonderful and actually smaller than most other training programs. To Mandy's point there is structure in the class. This means that you need to work with your dog on a daily basis. Also, most every training program that's worth anything requires a gentle leader. Honestly, it's an attitude adjustment for the dog and helps them to pay attention & learn loose leash walking. For any of you that have been dragged down the street by your dog this is the solution for you! At the end of the basic class my puppy was very well trained and well behaved. He would greet people politely without jumping, not bolt for the door, walk loose leash, sit, lay down ect. The impressive thing for me is that he could also perform these commands in high distraction areas like shopping malls and restaurants. Training is all about what you put into it. If you work hard with your puppy you will come out with a well behaved, calm dog. This class absolutely equips you with the tools you need to be successful. We have since taken the intermediate class and that has also been a great experience. We continue to learn and train and it really is such a rewarding feeling to work with you dog and achieve new goals. Vicky has been such a crucial part of our success and I can tell you that our lives would be very different (and not for the better) had we not gone with A Wagging Success. This is different than any training program out there and Vicky has 20 years of experience and has learned from the top dog trainers. Her dogs have been used in major commercials and on the Animal Planet channel. Seriously, check it out its worth it. read more

Vicky is an excellent trainer. I have a 10 year old lab and a 8 month old lab and was having a lot of problems with barking and manners with both dogs, and rough play of the 8 month old. I had Vicky come to my house for a private lesson, and was extremely embarrassed by my Dog's behaviors....Vicky didn't have to ask what I was talking about!!! But, after having Vicky come for an hour lesson, she gave me techniques and positive reinforcement that I was enable to implement right away. They seemed like new dogs the next day, and it's been almost two weeks and my home is a much happier place. The 8 month old is now in obedience training with Vicky, and seems to be a much happier, calmer dog. (And definitely a much calmer, happier owner). read more

My yellow Lab, Cira, was in A Waging Success's basic manners class 7 years ago. Just going through that one class,Cira has had perfect manners on or off leash.Everyone who comes in contact with her just loves her unbelievable demeanor which I believe comes from the positive method Vicky uses in her classes. Vicky is so loving to the dogs and their owners, it creates a perfect family! The method Vicky uses for coming when called is just amazing. She comes on call immediately. In fact, it saved her life when approached by a coyote on the Highline Canal. I can never thank Vicky and her expertise enough. read more

Vicky Kirkland's Wagging Success dog training courses are as good as it gets. Vicky training techniques are based on clicker training and positive reinforcement so there is none of the choker training going on. The dogs behave because they want to please you and not because they are afraid of you. Hercules and I attended Vicky's class 15 years ago and just to give you an idea of how well he behaved, my friends nicknamed him Herc the Wonder Dog. A year and a half later Andre joined the family and attended Vicky's classes. Never needed a leash for either of these boys and I would always have them with me in the front yard and never had to worry about them leaving the yard. Unfortunately as dog owners, part of the deal is we out live our pets and Herc and Andre passed a few years back. When you have dogs that are that well behaved, you can hardly live without them. I got Thor a year and a half ago, so back to Wagging Success we went with the usual excellent results. The latest addition to the family this December was my fourth yellow lab, Strider. We start our fist class on Monday. To say the least, I highly recommend A Wagging Success. read more

I took my German Shepherd puppy to her for beginner training and Intermediate training. I should have followed my instinct and experience at the first class. I have been training German Shepherd Dogs for 50 years (the old fashioned way) and have always started them out with group puppy classes mainly for the socialization. First of all there were dogs of all ages in her class. Not a good start. Her training area was way too small for the number of dogs. She held 'playtime' after class in a very small outdoor area which threw small puppies in with very poorly mannered much older dogs. I should have stopped there. My puppy was afraid of the rambunctious older dogs. I told Vicky that and she just blew off. I continued anyway. A very bad mistake on my part. My dog's fear became exacerbated in these conditions. I repeatedly told Vicky of the problem and she repeatedly blew me off. I was finally asked to leave because my dog reacted in a defensive manner to a dog in her class that was very poorly mannered and kept getting her face even after my dog warned it. I thought she taught manners in her beginning class. I was scolded several times for not having the 'right' treats. Vicky's techniques are good but if she is unable to recognize a basic 'flight or fight' reaction she should not be training dogs. I continued because I liked the positive training technique. I should have stopped and sought out another trainer that knew what they were doing. In my fifty years of training dogs Vicky is first trainer I have found unsatisfactory. Stay away from A Wagging Success. read more