Sue was recommended to me by a cousin who was working at a dog boarding facility in Hampton, NH and…read moreI am sure happy that she did. Sue works out of Club Canine in Portsmouth, NH along with K9 Kaos in Dover, NH in addition to at your own home personal training and pet sitting/training. Chewie was an abused dog on death row in Arkansas and I had taken him to a group trining class at Club Canine in Portsmouth run by Sue. Chewie was the only small dog in the room but she made sure to give each dog and owner personalized attention and he graduated the class with flying colors; after a while he looked forward to going to these weekly classes and stopped trying to cower away from the door or pull me away from the building. After graduation my husband and I hired Sue for at home personalized training with Chewie to get him used to being near and interacting with other dogs. Of course Chewie will always be a work in progress and I curse the individuals who hurt him but he has made giant strides for such a little guy, thanks to the help of Sue. A few years later we found another rescue that we had fallen in love with, she was found in a hoarding/ breeding home in TN and was rescued after Animal Control found out she was pregnant. One of her puppies did not make it and after working with her very loving fosters she started becoming healthy and was ready for adoption. Velma, being so young, came with a whole new set of issues and we called upon Sue again for at home training which she always followed up with emails. Velma has problems with potty training plus she and Chewie were not getting along by any means and Sue helped us immensely. After several months of working with the dogs, taking Sue's advice, they are now best friends and I have a hard time remembering those first few months. My husband and I ended up buying our first home recently and hired Sue yet again for at home personalized training as the dogs become acclimated to their new space, environment and neighborhood surrounded by families with their own dogs. Sue practiced walking around the neighborhood with us and the dogs by pointing out body language and how to react in the situations that came up. She was also kind enough to bring her new pup, Nacho, into the back yard to observe the dogs behaviors with one another. I highly recommend Sue's personal training AND group classes as each have added so much to our lives with our rescue pups. This career choice was definitely a calling! We all love Sue so much, dogs included, we found out she does overnight care and she will be looking after Velma and Chewie when we go on a mini vacation later on this year! This is coming from a person who doesn't trust a soul with her dogs and would usually just take them on vacation with us.... Sue is the most trustworthy person I know and I trust her fully with my fur babies.

Amazing trainers very knowledgeable Affordable classes meg…read moreand Merri teach the classes together they are a great team I learned a lot in their classes

She changed our lives with one session. My 10 month old German Shepherd was trained in less than an…read morehour, we are forever grateful. He was impossible for me to handle outside around other dogs, he pulled me down, I broke my foot. I was committed to finding the right trainer. Everyone else wanted at least 3k. I spent less than $200 for a trained GS.

I discovered Timber Ridge Farm in Saco, Maine about a month after I moved to Massachusetts from…read moreCalifornia (military orders). I was in search of a German Shepherd Dog breed specific breeder on the East Coast to add to my family in addition to my German Shepherd Dog I had from the West Coast. I must've looked at 20+ websites for various GSD breeders, until I stumbled on Timber Ridge Farm's website. I contacted Doreen about a litter of pups she had and made a deposit on the last available male from the Tux Z Arnultovic IPO3 and Piper Z Timberridge IPO3 FH1 litter (May 30, 2014) and arrived on July 25, 2014 to pick up my new puppy, Jax. Doreen even gave me a military discount on the final balance of Jax, which was very generous of her. Subsequently, I brought Jax back for further obedience training with Doreen. I underestimated the "working dog" in Jax, and blame myself for not meeting the level of need/demand he required as a working dog. We lived in a townhouse with no fenced yard, and my husband and I figured that walking Jax and dog park visits would be adequate for Jax as it had been for our other GSD who is 2 years old than Jax (she is now 4 and he is 2). Jax had basic obedience training that I taught him (potty trained, sit, stay, down, speak, etc.), but he was also very smart and knew that he only had to behave when I was watching him. He tore up every single bed we bought him throughout his life, destroyed two crates (eventually we had to invest in a $600 military working dog aluminum crate for him), ate cardboard boxes if we left them on the floor, yelped and screamed (temper tantrum) during the entire duration of a walk outside (so much that people would stop and stare as if we were beating him), walked around the house and high pitched whined non stop until my husband and I would give him some attention, he was just an all around monster dog (like the animal planet TV shows) that demanded our attention otherwise he would throw a tantrum. We love Jax and even at times we thought it was "the last straw," we just knew that he was a member of our family and we needed to make it work. We tried a dog trainer in Massachusetts for a few weeks, but they were unsuccessful in training Jax nor did they even reply to my last email regarding my concerns with Jax at their facility. We even signed a new lease at a higher rent home just to be able to give Jax a 1/2 acre fenced backyard to play in. We were doing all that we could to give Jax the best life and environment to thrive. So I got back in touch with Doreen and drove the 2 hours back to her facility with Jax in tow. I dropped Jax off on April 2, 2016 and picked him up on May 2, 2016. On Jax's first day back home, he was a brand new dog. I recognized him, but then I didn't. No more whining, no more leash pulling, no more attacking our other GSD, I fell in love with Jax all over again. I was nervous taking him out on a walk (despite the other nightmare walks), but he walked out the door with such grace and plopped his butt down on the porch and waited for me to lock the door. He had his full attention on me during the walk and every time I abruptly stopped, he simultaneously looked up at me and sit his butt down by my side. When I had him "sit," he would stay put (despite me walking around the house), until I gave him the command that it was OK for him to move. He was still the same dog (inside). He still loved to cuddle with me on the couch (when I let him up), and he still followed me around yearning for affection and to be petted. Doreen thoroughly briefed me on what I was doing wrong (I was boring to him) and gave me some direction on how to improve and what to continue to do further. She consistently provided me updates on Jax throughout his 30 day stay with her, sent pictures, and videos. At my request, she also started protection dog training with Jax, and it was amazing to see my friendly dog, who can run up to the UPS guy wagging his tail, bite a trainer's arm on command. At no point during his long boarding at her facility was I ever worried about his well being, like I normally am when boarding him at another boarding facility. From the beginning, Doreen has always been responsive to my e-mails, questions, and inquiries. Her business offers a variety of services that is not only limited to GSD breeding, but also includes obedience/tracking/protection dog training, dog boarding, and equestrian boarding. All at amazing prices, considering the level of service you receive from her. Her facility (that I have been to a few times so far) shows her dedication to these dogs with many spacious kennels, a separate building for indoor dog training, and large fields for outdoor dog training as well. I've taken my dogs to various boarders and trainers where walking inside makes me feel bad for dropping off my dogs, but here, I feel as if I'm dropping my dog off to doggie vacation. It's a two hour drive for me to this place, but it's well worth it!

We just wrapped up a six week puppy training class and it was fantastic. They focused on the right…read moreskills and gave us step by step instructions that made it easy to train our dog in the little free time we have. I cannot recommend them enough. Worth every penny!

Liz is a great no-nonsense dog trainer. She worked with us and our reactive dog and provided many…read moresuggestions and practical techniques. Se really knows working dogs, and our GSD loved her. We trained at her facility and then went for two "practicums" at a nearby park. She is thoughtful and was responsive to our anxiety about our dog. Highly recommend.

Elsa is the BEST! It was clear within the first ten minutes of meeting her that she really…read moreunderstood our dog Otha, and also understands how to break training down for humans. Her knowledge of dog behavior is so impressive. Training with her was an investment in our relationship with our dog that will last a lifetime! We are thankful to have gotten to work with her, and will definitely book more training sessions with her in the future when we need to brush up on our skills.

Interesting that my bad review was taken out. That says a lot about this company. I'll reiterate…read morethat we were not satisfied at all with Elsa's service. She came to our house once, talked to us for 30 minutes, gave our puppy a knee bone of some kind that my vets don't like, and then proceeded to show us how to teach our 4 month old puppy not to jump on people. Well that works fine in the yard but not so much when we are out and about. She also said she would communicate about our next session but she never reached back out. A month passed and I wrote a bad review and she erased it! That tells me a lot about her work ethic...there is none! Find someone else, it's sure not worth $75/hour!

Sending our 6 month Bernadoodle puppy, Dolci, to First Choice Canine was the best decision we ever…read moremade. Dolci has always been a very smart puppy, and we taught her basic commands on our own. But we always struggled with some important things - loose/off leash walking, stay commands, and consistent recall. Despite how much we loved her, Dolci was adding significant stress into our lives. Walking her became a chore, as we struggled to prevent her for lunging at birds and eating anything and everything that was on the sidewalk. We also had a scary incident where she escaped from a fenced-in park off leash and ignored her recall. At some point, we realized that this was an unsustainable situation, and admitted that we didn't have the time or expertise needed to train Dolci on our own. Since taking Dolci to her first consultation at First Choice, we have been blown away by their professionalism, knowledge, and care. Ashy was Dolci's main trainer and was always excellent. She would always provide us detailed explanations of training concepts, kept us up to date about Dolci's progress (with Ashleigh's help!), and we always felt like she loved Dolci as much as we did. Deciding to pull the trigger on sending Dolci away for the off-leash training program was not easy. I worried that the Dolci we got back 4 weeks later would not be the same dog I knew and loved. But ultimately I had in faith the people we met and was heartened by other reviews I had read online. Since getting Dolci back, we have been blown away with what Ashy and First Choice were able to accomplish. Dolci has mastered sit/down/ bed (all with implied stays), recall, and off-leash heel/walking. But the changes went far beyond the commands - Dolci was more confident, and was able to focus in a way she never had before. She responds to our more subtle cues, which has increased our trust in her 10x. Walking her, which used to be stressful, is now a joy. Taking her to off-leash parks is now a normal part of our routine. At the end of the day, our lives have improved dramatically as a result of the training. And Dolci, who I once feared would have her personality "trained out of her", is happier and more herself than ever before. We would highly recommend First Choice to anyone looking for training for their dogs.

Truly one of the best facilities and trainers we've met. KB and staff treat the dogs as their own…read moreand train each dog according to their personality. Piper is our 3.5 yr old lab mix rescue and she has always been anxious, sensitive, cautious and yet so sweet and happy since we got her. Once we got our new puppy, Whiskey, we saw he was taking on some of her traits. When Whiskey was 5.5 months old we decided we definitely needed help. We met with KB for a consult and knew immediately he was the one for the dogs, especially Piper. We boarded them for training for 5 weeks and what a difference!!!! KB and Ashleigh were fantastic with providing weekly updates, pictures and were always there should we have questions. Once the 5 weeks were over, we spent two sessions one on one with KB so he could train us as well and continue the progress. We also take the dogs to group classes when we can. Piper's confidence has skyrocketed, she can settle down in any situation and responds perfectly. She will always have an introverted personality, but seeing her progress and relax has been amazing. Whiskey is perfect with commands off leash and on, has manners, and is a typical happy goofy retriever puppy. We trust KB and his staff without question and have also boarded the dogs with them when we needed "babysitters". Highly recommend First Choice Canine!

We recently asked Karen to help us work with our dog Franklin. Frankie had a few behaviors we were…read moreworried about and we couldn't understand what was driving him. Karen figured it out very quickly and got us all on track with some simple, positive training that has been fun and highly effective. She is very gentle but firm and her direction is simple to follow. Karen shares a lot of information with her clients to help build lasting understanding and sound practices. She has also recommended a variety of management tools that have made our lives simpler and kept Frank safer.

My husband and I could not say nicer things about Karen! She was incredibly helpful and very…read moreknowledgeable. Due to Covid, we couldn't do physical lessons and instead used Zoom. I was worried it might be harder to learn but it didn't make any difference - it worked incredibly well!! Whisper really enjoyed his training so much and Karen was patient and friendly and shared all kinds of helpful tips to keep our little boy on the right track to success! If you need a dog trainer, she's the perfect choice!

Kelly is AMAZING. My 5 year old cockapoo, Maisie, got very territorial and protective of me after…read moreCOVID. We had spent so much time together during that time I guess she became hyper vigilant with me. She would become aggressive with any dog that came within in 10 feet of me. Barking and pulling and standing very tall. It never happened when others walked her without me. I tried for two years to change her behavior, including two different trainers, with no real changes. 10 weeks ago Maisie and I went back to Kelly (she had trained Maisie before Covid and she had moved her facility to further away). Within 5 minutes she had it figured out and we started a very simple, but effective program. Within 2 weeks there was a major difference. Maisie was more relaxed, calmer and much less territorial. She travels back and forth to CA from NH every year and I need her to be calm in the airport and not look at other dogs. 6 weeks after we started with Kelly we had to fly back to CA. Maisie was amazing. She was perfect. At 10 weeks out, she saw a dog long before I did. She sat and looked right at me without any instruction from me. THANK YOU KELLY!!!!!!! Can't wait to get back to NH this spring and tune up her service dog training and do some agility! Thank you again!!

Oh my goodness! Kelly is amazing. Absolutely the best around. She's done wonders with my pup's…read morebehavior issues and all with positive reinforcement. Birdie

They took well care of my chihuahuas while we were on vacation. They are sweet staff and respectful.read more

I want to thank and acknowledge each of the trainers (especially Joe) for the 7 week training and…read moreexperience my two, 5 year old pitbulls received. My dogs were loved, bonded with, and cared for while getting incredible training. They allowed my dogs to sleep together at night which made me feel extra comforted while they were away. I didn't know what to expect when they started and being without your dogs for that long of a time requires a lot of trust. There was so much care put into communicating with me during their time away, including occasional video updates showing me how they were progressing. I would say my dogs were pretty well behaved before going to training, but theres a lot of prejudice in the world against pitbulls. Thanks to Joe and his team I now have the confidence and comfortability going to public parks, beaches and even being in my own yard knowing that when I call they will come. They were trained to walk on and off leash and to respond to commands necessary. They came back calmer, their coats were shinier and looking healthier than ever. Not only were the dogs given the training, but Joe then took the time and care to ensure I was ready to bring them home and keep the work going. He has taken many phone calls from me with questions and continues to work with both myself, family members and my dogs post the 7 week training. I can't say enough how grateful I am for how they have cared for my dogs. I highly recommend K9 to anyone who needs boarding or training.

My poor pup needed a sanitary grooming desperately and I was out of town in Wells ME. They took her…read moreimmediately and completed the grooming in minutes and did not want to charge me!! Such nice friendly people and great service. I left the groomer a nice tip.

My pup came home with a very bloody ear and when I called about it and told them they hung up and…read morewouldn't answer when I attempted to call again