My wife and I have had our dog Winston for almost 7 years. He's a good dog, but he would…read moreoccasionally be aggressive with other dogs and bark too much when we have guests or deliveries at the front door. We reached out to Connie because we were thinking of getting a second dog and wanted to get a "tune up" for Winston before we made that decision. The process to set up the initial meeting was thorough - we filled out an initial form, we talked with someone on the phone and we were provided with material to read before we ever met Connie. We appreciated the documentation as it set reasonable expectations about the process. When Connie came to the house, the first thing she did was ask us about our goals for the training. She's a great listener and really took the time to investigate our situation and ensure she truly understood the issues that we were having. Once she had gotten our story, she explained the root cause of the issues with Winston and educated us on how to better communicate with our dog. There was a lot of useful BarkBusters material that she shared that was specifically relevant to the problems we were having. Once we got past the theory, we did a few different exercises with Winston to put the ideas into practice. We saw an immediate impact with Winston after the first session. We felt more confident once we were equipped with the knowledge and skills to handle the problematic situations. We followed up on the homework that Connie shared and the results only continued to improve in the weeks following our initial visit. When she met us for the second time, she was surprised with how well Winston had responded to training and provided some small feedback about how we can continue to improve. We are over the moon with how much improvement we've seen with Winston and are so happy we worked with Connie! With the lifetime guarantee, we know we can reach out in the future if Winston develops other issues. Working with Connie was worth every penny and we highly recommend that others reach out if they're looking to improve their dog's behavior!

Connie is wonderful!!! she really takes her time and make sure to understand everything you're…read moreexplaining to her. She made me feel at ease that I can contact her at any time with any questions I may have. After spending three hours with her, I can tell, not only does she enjoy her work, but is very good at it. I highly recommend her.

We love the dog spot! We adopted a rescue dog with seperation anxiety so found ourselves…read moreunexpectedly looking for doggy daycare. The team here is so supportive and understanding and have been great working with our new pup. It is great that they keep the play groups small and allow the dogs to have rest time during the day. He absolutely loves going to daycare and runs in happy everyday. Love the report cards and pictures they provide as well!

Everything is great. The staff really love the pups! Always eager to interact with my pup.read more

Lisa was so great! We have a wild pup and i was very impressed with how well she was able to get…read moreour dog to listen and learn new tricks. We learned so much from her!

We can't say enough great things about Lise! She was very thorough and so knowledgeable. She made…read moreour training sessions fun and easy. Our boy is a rescue and he has a lot of anxiety. She was very patient with him and he enjoyed his time with her. Thank you so much Lise! We now have the tools we need to make sure Jax has a wonderful life ahead of him.

We rescued a Great Dane mix who was a street dog in Mexico. She was very frustrated on a leash. She…read moreis very social and wants to meet all the dogs she sees but she's big and looks aggressive when she sees a dog on a leash. Mary was referred to us by our vet. We had an amazing experience with her. She taught us how to help Annabel not practice her leash frustration. With consistent practice, Annabel's progress was significant and it has made our lives with her so much more enjoyable. We have even taken her camping with a campsite full of dogs and she done so well. I am so proud of her and so grateful for Mary. She is the true dog whisperer!

The team is extremely dedicated to improving behavior in pets, and it was very clear that they are…read moreenthusiastic and care about dogs. I do want to note this aspect as a positive prior to the rest of my review. My hubby and I viewed the rest of the experience as strange and similar to an SNL skit that played out in our own lives. Read on to hear the whole saga... We chose not to move forward with them because of a bizarre experience with them. From the beginning, it was a very strange interaction as they focused exclusively on building a relationship with our dog but not with me. One of their trainers called me on the phone (kind of like a secret agent tasked with a mission) and parked a ways away from my home on an easement that runs on the border of my house. When I met her, like a typical hu-man I was going to say hi to her and started approaching her, but she commanded me to walk away from her and not make any contact. Um, ok...weird but if it helps my anxious pup fine. I walked away from her, and they proceed to follow us, throwing cheese and meat at me and my dog. Um...ok...getting super weird and pretty rude to not introduce yourself and then proceed to throw meat and cheese at me and my dog on my property but I guess you're trying to show everyone who's the alpha. My dog honestly looked really confusedly at them. She didn't bark and happily ate the food but I was pretty uncomfortable. Next I was instructed to follow them. NO, not that close, back up they noted (I was already about 6 feet away). At this point, in the hot son with cheese and meat being thrown at my feet I was done, especially because they walked into my property and home and immediately tried to establish dominance with not just my pup, but me personally. Uh...sorry you're still a guest on my property. They comically threw cheese everywhere on my property, with my dog confused and sometimes not eating it. I watched as a piece slipped through the slats of my porch, likely to mold and cause a bad smell when the sun got to it, because my dog didn't have a chance to (might I add they had fanny packs and were just whipping the food at both of us at this point). We got into the house and it got worse. I thought they were just going to ask us questions and show some helpful tips, but they instead sat down at our table, asking if my cat had an allergy to the food. No...i said...before they immediately started throwing cheese and meat on the ground in our home. I looked in horror, as they hadn't asked about my son who did have a severe (anaphylactic) dairy allergy but they kept on. My dog was pretty good about eating it, but during their convo I watched as small pieces of cheese got stuck to our floor. [My husband reading this review asked me to add this: at one point the cheese got stuck to my toe, with the trainer apologizing, necessitating the words 'the cheese that just bounced off of me? that's ok...just keep going.' which is still a joke in our household to this day'. Making matters worse, their 'interview', while thorough lasted the entire 2 hours. They did not suggest improvements, and did random things like measure pupilary dilation (um, yes my dog is a nervous wreck and you're making the entire household one too!) or where her tail was when it was pretty clear holistically what was going on with her. We finally had to ask them to leave because it was going over time (about 3 hours) and they hadn't shown us any techniques, telling us they were establishing 'rapport'. In the end, we were left cleaning up a sticky cheese floor, with an aversion to dog training, and with a still anxious pup.

We did six 1 hour training classes with David. He was great with our dog, Sophie. You can tell he…read morereally cares about the dogs and knows what he is talking about. We have seen great progress with our dog after working with David. I highly recommend him!

So happy I found you. Augie's first groom turned out really well. Leanna did a fantastic job, Augie…read morelooks great. Thank you!

Shawna is Amazing. We have friends that have used her and loved her so when we found the puppy we…read morewanted to train as my service animal as a disabled vet we met with Shawna. First, we started with puppy classes for basic manners. After that, we switched to service Dog Training. The video with the light switch is at her facility. The second video is at our house. For the service Dog Training we train at both locations. It is nice that she comes to our house once a week rather than us having to travel to her location only. Highly recommend. Nala turns 1 year old tomorrow and is doing so good.

I would highly recommend Shawna to any puppy or adult dog owners! For the first 7 months of having…read moreour first puppy, I read and watched fair amount of dog training books and videos, thought I had my pandemic puppy well trained and don't need a trainer. I was wrong! Those only sustained me through the first 6 months. When the puppy transitions into its adolescent phase, I encountered many challenges that I did not observe before and would like to address. I needed affirmation and correct ways to train immediately. Shawna was professional, prompt, and very pleasant to work with. She recommended the best approach (social walk club) and guided me through most economical way to continue my adolescent puppy's training. The program is so worth it with many customized tips and tricks. My puppy is so happy to be on the weekly social walk club program. Love his new friends and Shawna! I can see his steady improvements over just 4 visits!

After suddenly losing one of our dogs in October 2025, our 10 yo Doberman was so heartbroken. He…read morebecame critically ill, resulting in over $5,000 in emergency vet bills and little improvement. We swore to no more dogs but then we saw Mia, a 9-month-old, Doberman puppy found on the street in LA by animal control. Her leg was degloved, necrotic and filled with maggots. She was intercepted by a rehab, received amputation and much needed medical attention. We followed her story for a couple months, hoping she would find a home, but she didn't. Somehow, we caved, did the unthinkable and flew to Los Angeles, scooping her up and driving her back to Washington in a rental car mid-winter. She was terrified, ferrell and full of dominant "spicy" energy so we booked an appointment with one of the top positive-treat-based trainers with reactive-dog expertise in the state, to help us introduce our dogs upon return and it was a disaster. Our senior exploded in pure terror, barking and lunging. She tossed treats; they ignored her. Twenty minutes in she shrugged, said she had "no magic wand," sent us home and refunded half our session. 2 days later she emailed us suggesting we rehome Mia to a foster "for our safety" which felt like a slap in the face. The very next day we thoroughly researched every trainer in Washington, and Nitro K-9 stood head and shoulders above the rest. I emailed Steve and he called back within minutes with genuine understanding, zero judgment, got us in within days and made our 2-hour commute in separate cars well worth it. In the first ten minutes Steve had both dogs calmly obeying, walking together on leash, and listening! He instantly saw what the other trainer missed: our senior was fear-reactive, meaning he was scared. Steve and North have taught us clear communication and connection with our dogs. They've taught us how to properly command quick correction and full attention using high-quality prong collars, like a mother dog's natural nips. No pain, no fear, no endless treats or bribes, just genuine praise, affection, and connection, the way real bonds and parenting work. He showed us how to step into calm leadership so our dogs could relax, trust, and stop carrying the burden themselves. He stayed by our side through every panicked text, every "what now?" and our dog's transformation is nothing short of miraculous. Mia is happy, confident and loves her big brother now. Our senior knows his role and is playing with her like a puppy again. They love each other and actually enjoy being together! If you're a reactive, rescue, fearful or high-drive dog parent, have been let down by "treat-motivated training" and have avoided prong collars because of the myths, you have been misinformed like we were. Don't give up, stop scrolling and call Nitro, I promise you won't regret it! IWe are forever grateful!

Steve and his team saved my dog and I. This is not an exaggeration. I got my cattle dog from a…read morereputable breeder, did the research. I spoke to other cattle dog owners and felt comfortable that this was the breed for me. I had a German Shorthair Pointer before getting Syd and was familiar with dogs that had a high drive. Training Annie (my former GSP) was a cake walk. She was so smart and I made sure she got her exercise(never needed any lures for her obedience*). 3 years after my dog past is when I brought home Sydney (cattle dog) at 8 weeks, she was a smart beautiful puppy and showed so much promise. I started her with puppy training at 12 weeks at a positive reinforcement style training "school". She did great with it at first but over time the novelty of snacks and toys wore off. I wasn't getting answers when at 6 months she became and absolute terror. I was being told that it must be something I was doing wrong, try this "game", avoid this type of contact/activity, exercise her more, more, more! Syd was getting daily walks plus an insane amount of fetch sessions(at times 12 a day), all the toys in the world, all the puzzles and mental stimulation toys/activities, nothing was working and her reactivty was tearing apart out home life. Looking back I can't believe I didn't see it earlier. You mean, stuffing old toilet paper rolls with treats before wrapping them in beach towels then shoving it in box for her to destroy into her own personal one dog confetti party wasn't the magic key to ending her reactivty/anxiety? Weird! It wasn't just her/me that suffered, my boyfriend's dogs were walking in eggshells around her and that was heartbreaking to witness. I was crying on a regular basis knowing I was failing my dog and I was no closer to figuring out how to help my dog. My vet had me put her on meds which didn't seem to do anything but make her sleepy, completely avoiding the problem. I tried another trainer and had them come by the house once a week. The positive reinforcement did not cut it. I was soon approaching the possibility of having to re home my dog. Something I didn't think I could EVER or would EVER consider but I was so far over my head. That's when I found Steve and his amazing team. It was my last ditch effort before finding a new home for Syd. From the reviews and webpage alone I knew this was a no BS route. Unfiltered and not for the faint of heart. At this point I would do anything if it meant keeping my dog. One session with Steve was all it took to understand that this could actually freaking work and I was elated! One of the first thing Steve had us do was get Syd off the meds. I was so happy to do that because it always felt like the lazy answer to a reactive/anxious dog problem. Over time and with hard work, Sydney has come further than I would have ever thought possible. With my voice alone I can have my dog stop mid full force fun for her ball(her favorite thing) and have her come back to me. I trust her and she trust me. She (like most cattle dogs) couldn't give an F less about engaging with any dogs/people outside of her circle, but gone are the days of lunging and barking at anyone who came near. She's no longer wearing a muzzle on a regular basis for vet visits/grooming/etc. Not only did Steve get her mind right, but her body as well. He guided me through the transition to raw food for Sydney. 3 months in and we've noticed a huge difference. She's starting to slim down and her coat is legitimately glistening. The difference in her bowel movements is night and day. I can feel better knowing that she feels better. She's eating real food and will have a healthy life to show for it. Steves passion and love for dogs is evident. You're not wasting your money here and I know that was a fear for me after failed attempts at training elsewhere. Steve empowers YOU through the mantra of "heeling heals" and it truly does. I am beyond grateful and thankful for Steve and his team. Proud to be another Nitro K9 success story.

We have been working with Kim at Lake Stevens K9 Academy since 2021. We enrolled our energetic…read moreBelgian Tervuren in a few puppy classes and he eventually completed his Canine Good Citizen test. It was a great way for him to be socialized and learn good manners. The classes were very low key and practical. We have continued to work with Kim and her team with dog boarding during our vacations and occasionally home drop ins when we have to work long hours. There's no one else we trust more! They always have great attention to detail and treat our dogs like family. We also have an elderly German Shepherd with reactivity and she does great with Kim as well. Highly recommend!

Kim and team has helped us with our rescue dog and again with our puppy. their patience helped us…read morehelp our rescue with being reactive and worked with us to help him be in public spaces and around other dogs without the same level of stress and aggression. our puppy has benefited greatly from the group classes where basic manners are taught in a way that is easy to understand and allowed us to bring those lessons home and use their methods to reinforce the classroom training! Kim and team have been wonderful!!

I recently boarded my dog for 2 weeks, and I couldn't be happier with the care and attention he…read morereceived. From the moment we arrived, the staff was warm, professional, and clearly passionate about animals. The check-in process was quick but thorough--they asked detailed questions about my dog's diet, medication schedule, and personality and they asked me about things I wanted him to work on while being boarded, which immediately gave me peace of mind. During his stay, I received updates about his progress with training. The facility itself was clean, spacious, and smelled fresh--always a good sign in a boarding environment. What impressed me most was how happy and relaxed my dog was when I picked him up. He wasn't stressed, anxious, or overly tired--instead, he seemed like he'd been on a vacation of his own. His bedding was clean, his food portions had been managed exactly as instructed. Im glad I found a great place for dog training and boarding as well as sitting in Mukilteo. What is especially great is that during the board and train there are several opportunities where me and my dog can meet up in areas that he's familiar in, which was great at identifying some of his stressors in a familiar environment.

We just recently got our new fur baby Chanel. What I love about Ohana is that they come to our home…read morefor private training and the professionalism is superb. 5 stars all the way.