I learned a lot of things about dog training that weren't on my list. In the future, I will be…read moreinterviewing trainers. I will have a list of my goals, my desired outcomes, my desired behaviors, my philosophies, my opinions on technique and whether or not I assign any value to that. Personally, I don't think it matters how I hold a leash. Nor am I impressed by anyone who thinks that their ability to get a dog to follow their commands is impressive when they have cheese in their pocket. I also don't think that a two-year-old dog is an " older" dog. I did inform the owner/trainer that the dog I was bringing to her class was a rescue and that she had already been trained to some extent. She did not seem at all inclined to meet with me for 15 minutes to see if an introduction to obedience class was necessary or if we should instead pursue one-on-one classes before going on the canine good citizen. This would have been a better use of my time and money. All that to say that if the AKC route is what you are looking for or you have a puppy that has never been trained, Cheryl may be a good option. But, I would recommend you have a conversation with her first, about what your goals and outcomes look like. This experience has been eye opening.

We have one class left, but I feel I can review the course now. Cheryl Huffman runs the Smart Paws…read moreAcademy. She is the dog whisperer. She can make the very naughty Oola Fandango do anything within seconds. It's magical. Better yet, she can train US to make Oola do anything. That is also magical. We haven't had as much time as we would like to train because of holidays, work and family stuff happening, but I feel I have a solid foundation and we can be successful when we can truly devote the time. Oola is already better behaved and following more commands more reliably. You get a DVD and workbook when you sign up for a course. The first lecture is just with the humans and Cheryl; you bring your dog to class after that. The teaching occurs in an unheated, no air conditioning barn on Cheryl's property, so in the winter dress warm, in the summer bring water. All the dogs are trained at the same time but she is happy to give you a few moments of one on one time, she asks for praises and problems from each owner at the beginning of each session, and is available by phone or email with questions. And it's cheap! Under 100 bucks for the series. She does obedience, agility, all sorts of stuff; we were in the beginning obedience class. Granted it is in Oregon City, so it's a hike for most people, but it is totally worth it. She has evening and weekend classes. Everything Cheryl does makes sense and she only uses positive training methods. There is no yelling, hitting, or pinch collars, and Cheryl is very clear that she expects you to treat your animal with respect and kindness. So, in summary, Cheryl Huffman ROCKS the dog world. In a few short weeks we have Oola off the halter and only using a collar, walking better on leash, sometimes comes when called, can sit and lay down on command, and is learning to stay with some success. Her behavior overall is better and we are less stressed. There is more training to do and we have the tools and the workbook so we can continue to improve when the class is over. Consider Smart Paws for dog training. You and your dog will be good canine citizens when you are finished. http://www.smartpawsacademy.com

We took our 31/2 year old black lab to stay at Kalik Acres while we took a family vacation this…read moreJuly. It was our first experience boarding, and we looked at allot of options before deciding on Kalik Acres. After taking Reggie to Kalik Acres for an introduction prior to our trip, we felt very comfortable with Elizabeth, the environment, and the fact that Reggie would be cared for like one of their own dogs without kennels and able to have a large outdoor play area and sleep in the house with his new friends just like at home. We are very happy with their care and would use them again for our next trip. We would highly recommend their services.

Our vacation plans changed on a dime and we needed a place for our 2 old puggies. One couldn't walk…read morewell and the other is almost blind. I was very nervous to locate a place that didn't lock the dogs up in a kennel. I contacted Elizabeth at Kalik Acres and she had us booked for about 13 days without any trouble. We were very relieved that our old pugs were in a family setting with an easy access to outdoors, special beds for naps and plenty of interaction with people. We received update texts and pictures almost daily. Their grandchildren fed the pugs dinner one night - bite by bite. Their home and yard is safe from traffic. I could tell the old pugs were part of this family and never missed a meal or a nap! Since our first visit there our oldest puggy has passed on. We have taken the almost blind one back for a stay and he is happy to be in their care. We will continue to call on Kalik Acres to care for our old puggy.

I took my new puppy to Huffman K-9 for their basic obedience training class. Unlike the other…read moretrainers I used in the past, this was the first time that the trainer had me do the training. I was the one on the end of the leash working the dog. My Remington was only 14 weeks old and learning how to walk across beams and other skills. But the best part of the training was that I learned a lot about myself. I was able to take that training to the next level and train my Remington to be my service. The theory is you get about 10 hours with the trainer. A dog needs about 100 hours to master all the commands you are teaching them. Do it falls onto the dog owner to maintain the training. So why not train the owner to be the trainer? It costs about $1,500 for the 10 week training but the results don't lie.

Freaking A. What incredible luck I had…read more.. So 3 years ago I met Jensen at his Malinois Jax at the sellwood food truck (before the pandemic). After chatting with him I come to find he's a dog trainer. Seeing HOW incredibly well behaved Jax was I knew that no matter what dog I would adopt next I would bring them to Jensen. Fast forward a year, I had to put down my dog and remembered how incredible Jax was. I went on the website to find Jax and Butter's is having a litter. Im so excited I call them to get on the waitlist. I speak with Jensen's wife Alina (wonderfully lovely woman) who speaks to me at length and ultimately talks me out of buying one of their puppies because we were planning another baby. I loved how honest she was and decided to put Belgian malinois as a breed for my family aside for at least 10 years. Present day, I rescued a Malinois from Texas... they said she was the most unique and calm and good family malinois there ever was. I adopted her in a heartbeat. At first I was worried because she was behaving like a typical malinois... so I quickly called huffmans and got an appointment. Unfortunately the appointment was for 1.5 months.. I asked to be put on the cancellation list and boom got a cancellation. First off get in fast, make an appointment like yesterday, they are booked out SO far. They also have several trainers who are ALSO booked out, and for good reason. They are good and they are worth it. I first met Brooke at the facility who told me who to speak with, she has Incredible energy, super friendly, I hope I get to work with her! Then I meet David who basically saved me from being dragged across their property trying to walk my very excited mal. He took my dogs leash and helped me walk her calmly back towards where I was to meet Jensen. Then I meet Jensen. Wow. I mean seriously. Wow. I've had my dog for a week and she wouldn't listen to me whatsoever. He said took her leash and within 3 minutes she was everything I wanted her to be. I learned so much in my 2 hour assessment that I was speechless when he taught me how to handle my dog. I wish there was more time for me to gush about my experience at Huffman k9 but having already met half the staff and seriously really appreciating them within such a short time speaks volumes for me. This is the place. Anyone with any type of dog needs to come here. Speechless at how quickly my dog behaved!

Youngblood was on time, very friendly and my dog even liked him right off. He gave us great…read moreinstructions on what we were doing wrong and what we should be doing. It is not easy for me to change my ways but my little dog is doing better than I am. Youngblood was very patient with us. I highly recommend him to anyone.

We adopted Hunter after his being in 3 foster homes. As a one and a half year old golden, being…read moretossed around his whole life, he naturally had several "issues". Our friends recommended Youngblood, and we are so grateful they did. After just one lesson, Hunter seemed more at ease, and not as scared. We just finished our 5th lesson, and Hunter is a new dog. Calm, manners, not afraid. Can't thank you enough Youngblood and have already recommended you to a friend. Wish there was a higher Yelp rating to give you. Paul, Pam & Hunter

Positive Solutions is THE best way to train your dog. Dawn Gilkinson is a great trainer of dogs and…read moredog owners. She provides online support, plus a training manual that is very helpful, along with in home visits that are so beneficial. We have one dog, a very enthusiastic puppy, and she has turned our frantic puppy into a well behaved young dog. I would highly recommend Positive Solutions to any one out there, rather their dog is a pup or older. With Positive Solutions, you can even teach an old dog better behaviors.

Dawn is a "Professional" in every sense of the word. She provides all the materials necessary to…read moreachieve your objectives. She is patient to a fault, and demonstrates everything you need to learn in order to train your dog. Golden Bond Rescue provided Dawn when I adopted my Golden Retriever, Chloe. There are many "Trainers" out there in the world...BUT only one Dawn. I will be using her services in the future when I reach the next level with Chloe. You can shop around...or, save yourself the hassle and contact Dawn...It's that simple. Respectfully, Mike Bischoff

I would leave a zero if I could. we used the boarding facility with dog training. We told her a dog…read morehad anxiety and what we really wanted was training everyday. My dog was taken into the boarding area which is nice enough with heated floors. As our dog was walking through the door her little dogs came charging at him (behind fencing) and Started our dog. Then our dog was put into a kennel surrounded by 3 other kennels and my dog freaked out. So we told her this wasn't going to work and she moved him to the other side of the room which was better for him. I wasn't so sure if this was a good place for him and told her if there was any problems to call us ASAP. We called her later to check in and she said he was fine. When we returned after 7 days we found out he had been stressed all week, had diarrhea and she didn't want him back. I asked her if had had any training or any exercise outside and she said NO. I also asked her why she didn't call us because I don't want my dog going through this - she said oh I didn't think you had anyway to take him!!!! when she knew our other dog was home and we wanted Marley to come stay and get training!!! So our dog was locked up for a week - stressed out . I told her I just want my dog now - when I went in the back he was back into the kennel that was in the middle of all the other dogs - the one that he was moved out of before. I'm guessing she didn't want to walk across the room to feed him. My dog is so messed up right now due to this abuse!!!! Btw the 2 times I was there while all the dogs were stressed (due to her little dogs) she never once tried to console any of them!!! I can't imagine her being a good dog trainer seeing how she treated my dog, or the lack of empathy I saw for the other dogs there. I suppose if you just want your dogs locked in a kennel this is the place to go.

I took my pup here to get trained and he has learned a lot! Brenda uses the clicker training which…read moreI think is a great tool. I also think that the individual training classes are extremely beneficial. Since there aren't other dogs around, Brenda's able to focus on just my pup and the things he needs to work on. Side note - You'll need to practice everything you learn on your own to see progress!!!

I have just had the Good Dog Game Plan visit so far. David…read morereally knows dogs, and provided a lot of advice in that first visit. Looking forward to taking his private lessons.

What an amazing trainer and such a nice person! He walked me through defining my real issues and…read moreprovided invaluable advice. And made sure I have continued access to him for any needed follow-up. A real jewel!

We are so grateful to have found Kelsey! We have been working with Kelsey since our rescue puppy,…read moreMaverick, was 9 weeks old. He is now 5 months old! From her offerings, we chose private virtual sessions, the bimonthly puppy afterschool sessions and signed up for her membership which gives us great training videos and access to the monthly meet ups as well as the monthly q&a. I highly suggest the private virtual sessions, they were a game changer for us. Kelsey is an AMAZING positive reinforcement trainer. I would give her more than 5 stars, and think everyone could benefit from working with her - especially anyone with a puppy! She has a wealth of knowledge in dog behavior and focuses first and foremost in this area. Her training videos and 1:1 direction literally, and I mean literally, helped me so much during some really challenging moments with Maverick. She also took the time to give us tips and ideas between sessions. I was sure we had the bitiest puppy that ever lived..he was literally a little shark running mouth first! Let's just say that Kelsey went above and beyond to help us here. Setting Maverick up with the right foundation through Kelsey's guidance has made all the difference and he's thriving today. He does great with other dogs, kids, adults. Next step, trying to get our cat to love him as much as we do! Thank you Kelsey, you ROCK!

Kelsey fostered and raised my puppy's litter from the Willamette Humane Society using Puppy Culture…read moremethods and lots of volunteer time. She did an amazing job with socialization and basic training. I am immensely thankful for the solid foundation because my puppy is very important - she is a service dog in training. I couldn't have asked for a better person to raise my puppy. Teaching my puppy new behaviors is a breeze because her foundation with Kelsey set her up to be attentive and patient. In the past two months since bringing my puppy home we have been working with Kelsey each week in group classes as well as private and one-on-one sessions. I will continue working with Kelsey throughout our training. She is above all an observant and knowledgeable trainer, and very pleasant to work with.

Jesse Wilson, Dog Trainer @ Hand n' Paws K-9…read more Trainer, Jess, is the best! The bestest trainer in the west! He gets my Missy to comply, He is an awesome trainer guy! He takes her out and out about! That is what I love to shout! Gets her used to new vibrations! Showing "training" in situations! Other pups and other stuff! I do swear - it's not a bluff! Calming her to greet the day! No surprises, by the way!! Familiarity does NOT breed contempt! Her new manner not unkempt! Though she has long way to go! She's a puppy in the know! Makes her Mama very proud! Show her off when in a crowd! Thank you, Jesse! See you on the 25th (I think!)

I think this will take me at least a day or 2 to write because there's just so much genuine good to…read morewrite about this place. We really stumbled upon this place via a home trainer we got who was positive reinforcement only (prior to that we were at hufdmans's - this will be important later). The positive reinforcement trainer though nice.. I felt wasn't equipped to help me train my 2 year old Belgian Malinois. Not very many people have experience training a high drive dog like malinois so that was the reason why I took my girl to Huffman's who specializes in working breed malinois. Anyways, after 8 sessions with Huffmans (who is a balanced trainer) and 2-3 sessions with the positive only trainer I was at a loss for a trainer that could actually help us with our Mal. *quick backstory* we rescued our Mal (Beatrice) from a rescue in Texas when she was 16 months old or so. She was found with 9 puppies who she took such good care of. Apparently she was "sad" after her puppy's were adopted out. She was transported to us from Texas (where perhaps I didn't give her enough time to decompress) and from then she showed a lot of leash reactivity. She was amazing while in the house but was super over the top when we were on walks in the neighborhood. At a loss, I asked our positive only trainer if they did boarding or board and training and he said he didn't but works very closely with a trainer who does. Cue in Merissa. I contact Merissa possibly minutes after, I tell her my situation and she quickly accommodates a meet and greet for us. We were leaving out of the country for 3 weeks so we needed someone we could trust. When I met Merissa I instantly felt at ease her super calm and cool demeanor made me feel safe. However I was still skeptical that anyone would be able to reform my dog. After 8 sessions with huffman's and 2-3 sessions with the other trainer, Beatrice was still pulling and lunging like crazy. This is not due to a lack of practice with me as the owner, I trained and did everything all the trainers told me to do everyday for 1-2 hours a day! So because of this I felt that Beatrice may only get better minimally. At drop off I meet Raine who did my intake. She was very friendly and efficient. Beatrice went to her easily, but I knew Beatrice wasn't reactive to strangers but dogs. After the first 2-3 weeks I was anxious because I didn't see very many updates about Beatrice from instagram or the FB page.. I voiced this concern to Kota the Admin for Paw and Hands and she quickly got me in touch with Charlee, Beatrice's main handler. First off, let me tell you HOW responsive Kota and Charlee are. Beatrice may not have gotten a ton of updates (I'm a helicopter mom, what can I say) but speaking to Kota and Charlee always put me at ease. Both of them were always transparent. Charlee reassured me that all the training I had previously was not for naught. My training with Huffmans made Beatrice a super confident dog but Beatrice had major control issues, she may have been over confident thus creating a know it all. My training with Lucid made Beatrice better at obedience, but on her time. When I told Beatrice to do any commands she knew them all but would take her very precious time getting into that command. After being at P&H her obedience was almost as good as the sport dogs - almost... she's got crappy genes from bad breeding but she's the ABSOLUTE best version of her she can be. At the go home session Charlee went through a ton of information I knew and a ton I didn't know. She told me how she'd be in contact with me and would be calling me in a few days. The fact that these trainers and admin staff are so dedicated to the dogs and the owners speaks absolute volumes. And the funny thing is, upon leaving the facility I left with the impression that Beatrice is (slightly) better but of course there will still be a lot of continued work at home (which I already expected, 2-3 hours of exercise, play and training a day - no problem I've allocated time specifically for this). When I got her home. OH MY GOD. I don't know if it's because it's her first day back but DAMN she's WAYYYY better than I EVER expected. I was FLOORED. She never left her bed stay during dinner, her recall was SECONDS, her heel was... incredible. I honestly felt like I had a sport dog. I'll give an update after Beatrice has settled but if this is how she'll be for the rest of the time at home, this dog is completely reformed. THANK YOU CHARLEE, KOTA and MERISSA... for literally everything, every second you put in Beatrice, all the love and handling, the extra effort to make sure she's her best version of her, THANK YOU.

Jeannine has been great with my rescue, Sophie. Sophie was 10 months old with little to no human…read moreinteraction/socialization when I got her. We started out with 10 private lessons and have continued on with another 6 private lessons. I'm happy with the progress that Sophie and I have made and look forward to the happy puppy I know she's learning to be. Thanks for all of your hard work with us both. We're becoming quite the duo thanks to Jeannine

Jeannine was recommended to me by a co-worker at Providence St V's in Portland…read more I had fallen ill and after two hospitalizations was unable to participate in our 16 wk old puppies socialization and basic training. Jeannine came to my home, met Molly and I was able to discuss concerns already developing in her demeanor. I choose to have Jeannine take Molly that very day to her training facility in Oregon City. Molly would remain there for two weeks. After that period of time I began working under the tutelage of Jeannine as an active participant in Mollys developmental training. Jeannine has Many years of experience training, handling and judging canines of all breeds. Jeannine also provides support to all ages of clients in many venues, like, seminars, dog shows, and on her revised website; Goodlifedogtraining.com. Molly is a work in process and will be for the foreseeable future. She is a Border collie and Pitbull mix, 50# of solid muscle and obstanicy. I cannot say enough about the support, knowledge base and gentle means of training both dog and owner through combined methods she has studied the last 35 years and promulgated into her pedigogy. Kay Donaldson