Emily's knowledge and training is second to none. We recently completed training with an…read moreaggressive dog that we had. She showed us how to increase the dogs confidence, how to control the environment, and adjust the dogs resource guarding tendency. The stress level at our home is almost nonexistent now thanks to Emily

I went to see her for the CGC exam, and we went through all 10 parts. My dog did a great job with…read morejust a few prompts. She tried to nitpick a couple of things, but nothing major. The only part he couldn't complete was staying alone for 3 minutes with the evaluator--which, from my understanding, can be waived since he's my service dog. Then she claimed he failed three portions, which was simply not true. I was so upset I asked her to redo the test. She ran through everything on camera again, and he did great. Then she brought out another dog and started clicking while bringing it over--something no trainer should do. My dog gave a subtle growl but stayed in place. She jumped on that, said he failed, refused to continue the evaluation, and tried to push me into training with her. What a crook. If you use her, I promise issues will come up eventually. I paid $75 for that evaluation, and my dog passed the test with flying colors. WHAT A CROOK! FKIN SCAMMER. I thought I replied to her comment, but I sent her a message directly, so I am sharing with you what I said to her. Please work to uphold the integrity of the business: She contradicted herself, calling my dog sweet while claiming "aggression" was the issue. He passed every requirement except the 3-minute stay, which she refused to complete. Yes, he whined, but the entire interaction felt off from the start. Thank you for the refund, but it was well deserved. The whole process was shady--you were clearly ready to fail him. Completely inappropriate.

I found Happy Dog Obedience on Yelp and feel so lucky to have connected with Dawn! She worked with…read moremy Pom-Pug, Titus, over the course of five lessons--and the progress has been incredible. From the very first session, Titus was immediately receptive to Dawn. She has such a calm, confident presence and a clear gift for connecting with dogs. What really set her apart, though, is that she didn't just train Titus--she trained me, too. Once she showed me how to properly work with him using clear, consistent commands and rewards, everything clicked into place. The improvement in his behavior has been fast and honestly kind of amazing. Dawn is patient, knowledgeable, and genuinely cares about setting you and your dog up for long-term success. I can't recommend her enough--if you're looking for a trainer who really knows what she's doing, look no further than Happy Dog Obedience!

Our 11-month old, Sadie, just completed puppy training through Happy Dog Basic Obedience with Dawn…read moreLawrence. Dawn's gentle, loving methods guided both Sadie and us through the commands sit, down, stay, look, and leash walking. She answered all of our questions which went well beyond the scope of the training. We learned that we (the family) were in training right alongside Sadie. Dawn has been training animals most of her life and understands their behavior. She immediately and correctly assessed Sadie's personality, which she then aligned with her personalized training. We appreciate Dawn's patient, gentle methods and are thrilled with Sadie's progress! We can't wait to begin the Good Citizen program in a couple of months!

We recently enrolled our dog in the Ruff Edges Program and I want to share our experience for other…read moredog owners who may be considering this program. For dogs dealing with fear and anxiety, they use extremely intense correction methods. We were initially open to these tools, but things went downhill very quickly. Day one involved towel rolls being thrown at our dog, loud air-canister interruptions, and immediate use of a prong collar. Rather than working at our dog's pace, trainer Mel dragged him along on the prong collar until he submitted. This is not an exaggeration, he was physically dragged while thrashing and panicking. It was shocking and honestly heartbreaking to witness. Right after this forced submission, she handed him to my fiancé, and shortly after our dog jumped up and bit him on the arm. For context: he is five years old and has never bitten anyone in his life. It was devastating. Dogs give plenty of warning signs before a bite (growling, lip raises, body posture) but all of those signals were suppressed as he was forced into submission. In his mind, the only option left was to bite to escape the fear. After the bite we were told, "Oh yeah, that can happen sometimes," and that if it happens again we should "hang him by the prong collar until he sees Jesus." Honestly, we should have walked out immediately, but we trusted the 'professional' and assumed this program was designed for dogs like ours, so it must work. The bite happened again at the next session, totaling three bites under Mel's supervision. We never "hung" our dog by the prong because that is abuse, plain and simple. Meanwhile, his anxiety skyrocketed. He began howling, shaking, and crying at any attempt to get in the car. He even bolted out the front door to avoid going, behaviors we had never seen before this program. By week three, our dog was losing trust in us. He stopped cuddling (which is completely unlike him), avoided closeness, and generally shut down. Heartbreaking, to say the least. After experiencing this firsthand, I truly believe these methods do nothing but force a dog into submission (when they "work") and when they don't, they create dangerous behavioral fallout. The techniques used here are unnecessarily harsh, rooted in impatience, and a blatant lack of respect for the animal. They claim the program is tailored to your dog, but when the methods failed, the only advice was to correct harder: hang him, use an e-collar, throw the towel harder. No alternatives, no adjustments, no real understanding of his behavior. That is not tailoring, that is pushing until the dog breaks. In researching modern training science, I've learned there is simply no justification for these outdated methods. They ignore what we now know about canine behavior and emotional wellbeing. These techniques appeal to owners who want fast control, not true behavior change. I love my dog. After this experience, I'm choosing the slow road, the one that builds trust, not fear. I don't want a dog who obeys because his spirit is broken. I want a companion. If you're considering the Ruff Edges Program, please understand the risks and research these methods thoroughly. I wish we had, and I regret staying as long as we did. "The dominance remedy is so out of proportion that entire schools of training are based on the premise that if you can just exert adequate dominance over the dog, everything else will fall into place. Not only does it mean that incredible amounts of abuse are going to be perpetrated against any given dog, probably exacerbating problems like unreliable recalls and biting, but the real issues, like well-executed conditioning and the provision of an adequate environment, are going to go unaddressed, resulting in a still-untrained dog, perpetuating the pointless dominance program." -- Excerpt from The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson.

very disorganized.. Wrote me back and forth telling me that I had to pay more than a thousand…read moredollars before letting me know fully about the board and training that I was interested in. Sent a response to me which started with "Hey David" when my name isn't David and then saying that she didn't want to train my Border Collie and cut off communication.

I had the pleasure of putting my dog "Toast" in Justin's care for three weeks. I was planning on…read moretraining my dog from the start, but lagged. My wife and I bought a camper van and plan on doing some week long trips and maybe longer. I wasn't confident that Toast had the skills to deal with dogs when they approached. I needed help! Off Leash K9 Trainer Justin was just what we needed. He was professional and has a personality I was looking for to help Toast. Toast is a mixed breed and has quite a "personality". I was in over my head at first. Not! anymore. After 3 weeks with Justin she has turned into a very responsive dog. Follows commands. Isn't aggressive towards dogs on the street anymore. It was so embarrassing to walk her during the day. I resorted to night walks. When I met Justin after her time in training he helped me understand Toast better and couldn't be more pleased with the dog I have now. If the training didn't work she was going up to adoption. Cruel? I know. We can not rave enough about the experience we had. If you're in the same boat as we were, it's worth every penny! "5"

Had a great experience sending our dog for the two week board and train. Our trainer Justin…read moreaddressed all of our concerns, answered all our questions and responded very quickly. We've had our dog back for about a week now and she is listening so much better. I've been able to take her on walks with a stroller, no pulling or tripping. She's been more interested in our kids petting her and playing with her. Overall very happy with the training and happy we had Justin as her trainer!

Thanks Gwynn for a wonderful grooming experience for our little Shih Tzu. Cooper went in a…read moreragamuffin but after an awesome grooming- came out a Star!

I have been going to Star Mutts for about 7 years. It is a bit of a drive for me, but I really…read moreregretted trying the place closer to my house and quickly returned to Star Mutts! This is not just a "turn 'em & burn 'em" kind of business. It is literally a family that loves dogs, cares about the dog parents and loves what they are doing. Thank you Star Mutts! I appreciate you!

If I could give Jo more stars, I would. She truly cares about dogs and goes above a beyond for…read morethem. My girl, Sky, let me know it was time to go a year ago. She was 16 and I had her for 13 years. She became my soulmate and that happened because of Jo. When I adopted Sky, she had some serious issues. I took her to various trainers and not one helped me. After one class with Jo, Sky showed major improvement. Jo has a presence with dogs that is truly a gift and if you are committed to your dog, Jo will be dedicated to training you so your dog can live a happy life. After my girl died, I began dog sitting because working from home without her was unbearable. I have a booked schedule that I wasn't planning on. I owe Jo the credit for helping me be a dog owner who knows what dogs need.

I took my first dog to Jo 17 years ago and now I'm back with another. Jo is still the most awesome…read moretrainer around. We do the 10 week beginner course. My dog was more obedient after just one session. Thanks Jo, you are an amazing dog trainer ( and human trainer :-).

I contacted Joe regarding our puppy that was about 14 weeks at the time to help with our family. We…read morehave 2 daughters, 4 and 2 that were both terrified of our puppy, Boba. Boba would constantly jump and bite anyone near her. Joe helped us tremendously by teaching us as a family how to interact with Boba. In a 4 hour session, we learned a ton of info and it has taken some work but it has made a world of a difference, it was especially helpful to teach Boba, indoor and outdoor energy. Thank you again. Boba is still jumping and biting but she's much better and we know how to train her to be the family dog we want her to be

I have a new puppy and two older dogs that have been through training in the past. I had Joe meet…read morewith the whole family for a 3 hour session. He does training very different than I know as it is not treat based. His session started out with the puppy and then we introduced the other 2 dogs. He was great and gave some excellent tips to jump start the training, thanks Joe and we will be in touch with further needs!!!!! Highly recommend Joe!!!!

Amazing place! Everybody is supee friendly. My dog loves it and gets so excited when waiting to be…read morepicked up from the lobby. Highly recommended!

Great place for my pet to stay for a few days while out of town. Front staff friendly and…read morecourteous. My pet has been here numerous times in the past she looks forward to being dropped off and cared for. Daily walks as well as group sessions with other dogs are available.

Melody is THE BEST for your dogs training. She has so much insight and experience in where your dog…read moreis coming from! My Golden needs "firm consistency " in his continued training. He's still a teenager at 2, but worth it all. You will appreciate all you learn!

I was told by a number of people that Melody was the best. So called for some puppy training. Was…read moregiven a date for Michele. She called on 2 different occasions to cancel because of illness. When she did arrive almost could not get out of car, and almost could not get in mobile home. She sat immediately before even looking at puppy. Had a very difficult time breathing and sitting. She gave two or three suggestions all of which we tried and no luck. Finally she left with message if we needed any thing more feel free to call. She had extremely difficult time getting out to car hanging on all the way and when she reached end of drive couldn't go on. My daughter helped he to car and then had to lift her legs back in car. Why is this woman advertising as dog trainer and why with so much difficulty maneuvering does she even try home visits. We would have gladly if we had know situation come to training site. After all this she charged $100 for nothing. Taken me some time to decide to write this since I'm 84 and not in such good shape either. But I don't advertise for something I can't do.

Apparently my yelp account was deleted. I previously posted that I took my dog to Lauren for…read moretraining and she was very knowledgeable and had a great personality. My dog loved her. He made so much progress it was unbelievable. I still deal with dog aggression with him but that's something I need to continuously work on. I would 100% recommend her for your dog training and she's very flexible!

From the owner: Hello!! My name is…read moreLauren and I own Small Town Board N Train. I believe that all dogs are unique and different in their own special way and need a training plan that is geared towards them!