Archie went to camp with Gina for three weeks and came home a different dog. I'm still a little…read moreamazed. He's a five-pound chihuahua who shakes when someone new walks in the room and basically lived on my lap or behind my knees. I'd worried a trainer would either give up on him or scare him worse, but from the very first day Gina put so much thought into making him feel safe. She texted that afternoon to say he'd already jumped into her daughter's arms. When he barely ate the first couple days and I got worried, she talked me through it and told me he'd come around, which he did. She took him on long walks around the park and the neighborhood to burn off his nerves before she ever asked anything of him. His crate became his safe spot at her house, a familiar place that was all his in the middle of a busy home with other dogs and parrots and training going on. And she started him on tiny, predictable rules, sitting before a door, coming when called, so he always had something he understood to hold onto in a new situation. She explained that for an anxious dog, knowing what to expect is half the battle. She also refused to pick him up every time he got scared, and warned me that part would be harder for me than for him. She was right. Somewhere around the second week he started smiling in the photos. He was hanging out with her little dogs and her family, going on field trips to the park and coffee shops, staying on his place while she walked away, heeling next to her. He knows sit, place, heel and here now, and he does them for me too. The turnover at my apartment took a couple hours and it was real work. She sat me down and explained everything before we ever touched the dog, then had me practice with Archie while she corrected what I was doing wrong. She's kept sending reminders and answering my questions since, including a few dumb ones about shampoo and brushes. Here's the part I still can't get over. We went to a party a couple weeks after he got home, which is a huge deal for Archie. He sat on other people's laps. He licked hands. He barely cowered. Six weeks ago he would have spent the whole night shaking under my chair. Everyone at the party noticed and commented on the change in his demeanor. I was a proud mama that day! If your dog is the anxious type, the one who hides, trembles, won't eat around strangers, or has to be carried everywhere, I really want you to hear this. A lot of trainers are set up for big confident dogs and don't know what to do with a scared little one. Gina does. She never rushed him, never forced him, and never made me feel silly for babying him all these years. She reads a nervous dog and meets them where they are, then slowly builds them up until they can handle the world on their own. That's exactly what Archie needed. I honestly feel like Gina is just getting started with him, and I'm already thinking of when I can work with her again. If you have a tiny, anxious dog and you're on the fence, go with Gina. Archie is a different dog and so am I. Thank you again for everything you did for him, and for me. Archie sends smooches. Sheri

I can't say enough good things about Brandi and Perry Bailey of RSK9. Their work has given my pup…read moreand I so much freedom and balance. Pebbles (blue heeler, 1.5 years old) would never listen to me, would not sit or lay still, and had a lot of other obedience issues that caused her to be stressed or confused. She was a TOUGH dog to train and I was concerned I couldn't find the solution for her to get basic concepts. This view has completely changed since working with RSK9's 3 week program. I would HIGHLY recommend them and their methods - you can tell they genuinely love working with dogs and it's made a huge difference in giving my dog the chance to find real rest at home. They send DAILY updates with photos and videos which was so nice. This isn't a regular class or something you just pay for; it's truly an investment that you and your dog will be using for the time you get to share together. Side note: it's worth doing 3 weeks versus 2 weeks. At the 2 week mark is when Pebbles really started to understand her marks and cues. From here there is so much more that can be refined and Brandi/Perry really capitalize on that threshold being crossed!

Awesome, experienced staff that makes you feel at ease leaving your pups! Gift shop is also super…read morecute.

My puppy just finished the puppy K class. It is a nice, low-pressure way to start training your…read morepuppy in the basic commands. Truth be told, he already knew most of them before we started, but it was great for his socialization to meet all of the other puppies of various sizes and their owners. There is also a cute little store to buy some nice toys, leashes, and food. A few inevitable "accidents" happened on the floor, even my pup had one during the last class; but there was a mop ready for the occasion and the trainer did not make a big deal out of it. This was so much better than another business that I tried that used clicker training where they told you over and over that your pup had better not have an accident or else and the training method looked like it was going to be stressful for both dogs and owners. We left that one after the first class. I highly recommend Dog Day Afternoon.

Nancy the trainer/owner at Doggy Do Right was amazing to work with. Our 6 month old English lab…read moreBiscuit was notorious for eating everything on our walks and pulling on the leash, jumping on other dogs during walks. It was our first family dog and we didn't know how to communicate with our puppy. Biscuit was boarded with Nancy for a week to be trained. Our Biscuit came back a brand new obedient puppy. Nancy also did a great job training us! After he came home, he came back a different dog. Our walks with him are completely different now, Nancy has taught us the right methods to go for fun walks and to "heel", and how to discipline him. It was a very good investment to hire Nancy, and we would 100% recommend Nancy! She's the dog whisperer!

Love this place! The building is a charming historic building on the edge of downtown Leesburg…read more It is by far one of the best dog obedience and doggy daycare that I have seen! I have known the owner Nancy for the last two years and find her to be very knowledgeable and friendly. I was made to feel very welcomed and would highly recommend this dog training business.

We worked with Julie to have our 10mo old Australian Shepherd trained. The entire process was very…read moresmooth, from the consultation to training, to the transition home. We spent a lot of time reviewing our goals together and our trainer followed through with the plan that we set together. She stayed in constant contact with transparent updates about the puppy's progress and answered any questions we had. Given the puppy's breed and determination, she required quite a bit of foundational training. Since returning home, she's a pro on the leash (complete transformation). Walks are far more enjoyable - no more barking, pulling, lunging towards moving vehicles, and now has a peaceful relationship with the mail box and trash can. Another high priority was addressing the puppy's reactiveness to our child - puppy is now able to follow my lead during potentially chaotic interactions. Overall our program length was 6 weeks long and completely worth it. We are thrilled to have these foundations instilled by a professional who also cares for the dog. Highly recommend!

Our family highly recommends Controlled K9! We adopted our boy Mortimer last year after he had been…read moreliving as a stray, and we were really struggling when he came home with basic manners, reactivity, and having him settle in with our other dog. We ended up sending both of our boys for a six-week board and train with Kelia. It seemed to only make sense to send both dogs so they would have the same baseline training. Kelia was amazing! She kept us informed just about every day with videos and texts so we could see that the boys were happy and making progress. When Kelia brought the boys home, she spent a few hours with us, showing all the commands and techniques that she taught them, so we had a seamless transition. The "place" command alone has been lifechanging. (Although as you can see in the picture, they sometimes refuse to use separate mats, LOL.) We use the command before we feed them, initially when guests come by, and when we just need them to settle down a bit. It has reduced the stress and chaos in our house tenfold, and we actually can see the boys relax when they know they have a place to go and chill out. Kelia also gave us the tools to make leash walking and general obedience so much more successful. There are a lot of options out there for training. What set Controlled K9 apart for us was (1) our boys lived with Kelia, her family, and her dogs during training - they were not staying in a kennel and were in a real-life, loving environment, and (2) the promise of lifetime, free follow-up support. The boys have been home now for about 3 months. The training has stuck, and we feel like we really have the tools we need to make life pleasant for all of us, including the boys. Kelia has also proactively checked in to make sure things are going well, provided tips on the best way to reinforce training, and has responded quickly when we have follow-up questions, including offering a visit. Over three months later, we are still completely satisfied with the training and support provided by Controlled K9 and Kelia, and we would use them again in a heartbeat.

Marnie has a wealth of useful knowledge and is very patient with new dog owners .She is very…read moreresponsive.

Marnie of Joyful Dog is the most positive of positive trainers. Our two tiny shy dogs simply adore…read moreher. My boy dog (who loves training) learned so much via his online courses during the pandemic. I feel like he's a little genius Einstein pup. Every time they hear Marnie's voice they wag and wiggle like crazy and get so excited, then they focus like excellent little students. She's also great about training us humans how to treat our dogs respectfully and speak their own language to them. 10 stars : )

This cute little pet store has all the bells and whistles including a very clean self serve dog…read morewash. Online appointments are easy and you pay ahead so you don't need to worry about it when you are holding a wet dog. Each wash station has aprons, towels, treats and shampoos. The water pressure is great. The aprons and tubs are clean. The store also has a huge variety of treats and pet foods. I love how the staff is very education on the products they carry.

I have been a happy customer for over two years. I have a dog that has special dietary needs. The…read morestaff has been very helpful with supplying the food I need. When necessary they have special ordered the food for my Lilly. They are always friendly and helpful. I also find their prices very competitive with other pet stores. I would definitely recommend this other pet owners.

The WORST! I heard this place is supposed to be great. What I have learned is they are impossible…read moreto reach by phone. They took a week to answer a simple email after a follow up request yet still no real info. No one can call you to talk to you. Just register and give them your money - that is just unacceptable. If there are good trainers here we may never know. Frustrated and disappointed.

Top notch dog training facility, owner and instructors. Plenty of room inside for training and…read morecrating, state of the art agility equipment, great running surface/turf condition, nicely climate controlled. Good parking and potty areas. Well worth the long drive from pa for trials and seminars. 5 stars all the way

Mark is the best trainer we have ever used! Head and shoulders above the rest! We have more than…read moreone dog and he has improved everything about them. He essentially teaches us ( the owners techniques) that dogs as pack animals, understand. Within literally a few minutes of his visits our guys were totally different. I unconditionally recommend Mark. He is smart, kind and very professional. He delivered what our dongs needed and more. Worth every penny and more! The best there is out there!

First a little back story. 13.5 years ago we came home with Oscar and Tony. They are brothers…read more(JRT). They had never been apart until February when poor Oscar passed away from lymphoma. Brought home Dudley around a month ago. Dudley is now 8 month. Dudley and Tony seem to tolerate each other out side and on walks but can't be left alone inside as they will go at it which is initiated by Dudley most times but not always. As mentioned Tony is almost 14 and has some hearing and sight loss but certainly can get around. Presently we keep them separated by either room or put Dudley in his create ( he is totally crate trained and sleeps in it). Yesterday we had Mark from Bark Buster. For the first hour he went over with us how a dog thinks and reacts. He then proceeded to teach us some tools to help the dogs better understand who in charge. For Dudley the responds was basically instant he immediately started to responds and listen and IMO he is already 75 percent near where he needs to be. Tony still needs work but he is definitely obeying more. What Mark has achieved in one day is unbelievable and this is all done without scolding or treats. I was very concern before Mark came this wasn't resolvable. I see it will take time but certainly will be resolved . I can't say enough how awesome Mark is.

We just recently hired Scott to work with us and the pooch we rescued in January. Our dog is a…read moreHusky mix, and is a little over 4 years old. While basically a good dog in many respects, Riggins displays anxiety and shuts down during walks, which manifested in his past as fear aggression. This is not something we had dealt with with our previous pets, and knew that we needed to ensure against any kind of dangerous situation. We understood when we adopted Riggins we'd need to work with him on these ingrained bad habits. Shortly after we adopted him, we tried out group training sessions. It was clear the group training was for working on basic stuff, a lot of which our dog already knew. We felt the best option was to go with 1-1 training. And so glad we did. It was worth every penny. Scott gave us the tools to work with Riggins, as well as manage our expectations and learn how to deal with a variety of situations. We signed up for five training sessions with Scott, and as others mentioned in their reviews, the training started as soon as Scott entered the house. He made an immediate connection with Riggins and so amazing to see how the dog just snapped to attention for him. Such a great talent to have. Basically Scott told us we need to completely reprogram our dog. We're continuing to work on that, and probably will for the foreseeable future. But there's been a definite improvement in the way we deal with Riggins, and I see daily 'baby step' progress on walks. We've also been bike riding with Riggins, which he seems to enjoy and is great at draining his energy. The bike rides also ensure that the dog is following me, I'm in the lead and have control over the situation. So thanks to Scott for his help. We may well call him again for a tune-up, but for right now, we're putting his recommendations in place and are seeing a difference.

My fiance and I are new dog owners. We had only been relying on online puppy training videos to…read morehouse break our 8 week old goldendoodle pup, but still needed some more in-person guidance. I researched many different dog trainers in my area and ultimately decided to contact Scott. We first spoke over the phone to see if the training would be a good fit. He asked me what my goals were and then explained what his style of training was. We booked a double day session for 2 hours and it was intense, but so helpful, educational, and so rewarding! Our puppy's nipping has really lessened and she definitely is paying more attention than before. Scott taught us various ways to walk a dog and the importance of keeping them safe in different environments. He also gave us great insight on the dogs' point of view which really helped us understand our puppy's behavior more. Scott made sure my fiance and I were highly involved with the training and it helped boost our confidence for when we'd continue training our puppy on our own. Although the training already made a big difference, Scott also reminded us that our puppy is still so young and that we need to remain realistic and patient. The reassurance, constructive criticism, and encouragement created a very positive environment for the session. I am overall very impressed! Thank you so much, Scott!

First time visiting this pet store. They carry the prescription food for my dog…read more I loved ordering through their app. It checks stock and the app emails me on status. I had to upload my vets paperwork. In 2 days, my order was ready for pickup. The amazing service was their pickup area. They clearly make the bags with our name. I like that it's self service and I don't have to wait for a busy staff person to help me.

Love this place. They have a deal for spiky balls my dog adores and the staff is always very…read morehelpful.