I can't speak more highly about Elizabeth and Doug and my experience with Tenderfoot Training. I brought Ember to them, my 3 year old, newly adopted Wolf-hybrid. She is smart and stubborn and has previously been through four other owners and homes. She has a fear of men, and yet, immediately took to Doug. He explained his knowledge of pressure within animal language, and non-threatening body communication, and was able to get her trust and attention immediately. Doug was thorough and so incredibly educated within this training style, I wouldn't recommend going to any other trainer but them, as they train the bond, and trust and respect to a lifelong relationship between you and your dog to thrive ( without food). I am looking forward to continuing sessions and continuing to refer clients to them, as I know they are selective and in high demand. It was a blessing to be able to train with them. Kate & Ember read more

Tenderfoot Training - Pet Training Near Me - Boulder, Colorado

I have worked with numerous dog trainers over the years and have watched innumerable dog training videos with minimal results. Elizabeth and Doug have shown us a wonderful magical gentle training program for our highly reactive dog!! I am no longer at my wits end and we are extremely grateful. We recommend Tenderfoot Training highly and without reservation. If you're having difficulty stop wasting your resources on methods that do not work. read more

Doug & Elizabeth are skilled dog trainers. I would go so far to say, 'Dog Whisperers'. They are gentle, soft-spoken, and extremely mellow on their teaching method. I have a puppy pittie terrier, and they work their magic on him. It's a hands-on approach, training me, as well as my dog. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for an exceptional training experience. They are flexible, professional & have an awesome staff. They get the highest marks, from me. read more

If you're wondering whether you should use Tenderfoot, the answer is YES. Yes, they can help you. Yes you should trust them. Yes it will work (even on your dog(s). As I'm writing this review, a worker is on my front porch making all sorts of noise. And the garbage truck is making the rounds. My two German shepherds are fast asleep at my feet . This would have been an IMPOSSIBLE scenario just two weeks ago. I'm so happy I could cry (if you have a reactive dog, you know what I mean... ) My 2 GSDs have very different personalities but they were both extremely reactive to people and animals. The change in such a short time is remarkable. They pay attention, they respond and they are calm and relaxed because we have learned to communicate differently. I could go on and on but the foundations work. Doug and Elizabeth are amazing human beings. They genuinely care about their clients and are super responsive. They explain the concepts in ways that allowed me to quickly internalize. The 3 foundations are deceptively simple, but they absolutely work. I've tried several trainers, worked with them for months and while I did see changes in behavior, it was nothing like Im getting with Tenderfoot. If you are considering using Tenderfoot training, I would 1,000% recommend it. The only thing I would do differently is I would have bought the video training first so that I could use my initial 1:1 call more efficiently. Having said that, Doug and Elizabeth went above and beyond teaching me the concepts and thoroughly answering ALL of my questions. They are extremely dedicated and patient, I never felt rushed, even when we went over our agreed upon time. I am in Argentina, we did our training sessions over Zoom. They taught me the principles, I practiced on the call, Doug helped me get the technique and timing right. Their philosophy of love, trust and respect along with the tools to effectively communicate with my dogs works beautifully, and it is congruent with how I want to be with them. I am so grateful to be able to have this new relationship with my dogs. I'm grateful to Doug and Elizabeth for sharing their knowledge so that my dogs are happier and relaxed. And I'm excited to continue to learn from Doug and Elizabeth. I give Tenderfoot and read more

Elizabeth and Doug are knowledgable about both dogs and their owners, though I think they got a few things wrong with my rescue pup (not actually so surprising, and I'm not upset about that. It's hard to know with some dogs, especially in the days immediately following adoption). The reason for the three star review is because of something they said to me, the new rescue dog owner who reached out immediately to get support for my dog and I. They met her, worked with her a bit, then said: "She is the best dog. Just don't ruin her." I agreed, let their assumptions about me go unchallenged (what did I know compared to them, anyways?!), and I have genuinely tried my best not to 'ruin her'...but those words haunt me. Every time my dog's anxiety bubbles over or she has a reaction to another dog, they come back to me. I mean, she IS the best dog, and we've worked hard to make the progress we have, but neither of us are perfect. Anyways, I've debated whether or not to post this for a while because it's relatively minor, but I suppose I just don't want other folks to go nuts doubting themselves all of the time. In summary: they, like many trainers, know a ton about dogs (and horses) and are genuinely really helpful in some ways. But remember that advocating for your dog AND yourself, even to a trainer, is important. read more

Elizabeth and Doug are magical. Their unique methods help owners build stronger bonds with their dogs. Elizabeth is a "dog whisperer" - my sassy miniature poodle puppy took to her quickly and his behavior has improved rapidly and drastically since we started training regularly. We plan to keep working with Tenderfoot Training for a while since my life gets easier with every new skill he masters...and he loves it! Scheduling is always easy (shout-out to Cindy) and I love that I can ask questions via email or phone at any time. Highly recommend for anyone and everyone with a dog! read more

My husband tried to get in touch with these folks repeatedly for about three weeks to see whether they could help us and our newly blind rescue dog, but they never returned any calls or emails. At first we thought they might be on vacation, but in that time they were posting to their Facebook business page. Pretty disappointing after reading all these positive reviews. read more

It was amazing to watch my dog respond so positive to Elizabeth, our Tenderfoot Trainer and the Tenderfoot three-step. We really loved the explanations as to how dogs learn and why certain training was important. The approach was positive and my dog quickly wanted to please her. After the first training, my dog learned some new, positive behaviors. I can't wait to keep working on the drills to help stop my dog's leash pulling and jumping on people. We even worked on desensitizing my dog from his fear of plastic bags. In a short time, Elizabeth had my dog eating a snack off of a plastic bag. I am excited to continue teaching my dog using Tenderfoot training. I feel like the program sets your dog and the guardian up to succeed. read more

I had a session with Elizabeth and she was absolutely amazing. Her ability to communicate with my dog and teach me to have a better, healthier mutual relationship was magical. Really love her and tenderfoot. Amazing philosophy and great people! read more

I can not say enough positive things about Tenderfoot Training: a couple--Doug & Elizabeth--that help you re-establish a relationship with your dog. The first session was supposed to be two hours. Elizabeth worked with me and my dog for almost three hours. Their philosophy is NOT based on clickers, shock collars, or treats. It is about respect and developing a positive relationship with your dog. After doing the "drills" with my dog for a week, everyone in my house noticed a difference in her demeanor. My dog know nows the names of some of her toys, the names of two rooms in the house--and goes to one of them when told to--and knows when I say "out" she needs to leave the room. In short, if your looking for a training method to help you establish a relationship with your dog based on trust and respect, then Tenderfoot Training is for you. Oh yeah, they are really good about calling you back and answering your questions--free of charge. Happy Trails... read more

I took my dog to Tenderfoot a couple of years ago, before I even knew about Yelp. They are the best trainers. My dog and I had fallen out of good graces after she ruined my computer, and Elizabeth worked with me to regain respect and trust in our relationship. It sounds hokey, but it is the real deal. My dog behaved a million times better after leaving. I forget how many words a dog can lean, but my dog learned the names of her different toys, different rooms, and several other commands like, "water," and "potty." These people really work with the humans and less with the dogs, which is what I needed. Honestly, I think it was that training, in combination with basic obedience, and crate training her that made her an amazing mammal to be around. read more

I have a 2 year old 100 pound black lab/mastiff/rotty who was a bully. Not anymore :) They rehabilitated him and trained us. Doug and Elizabeth are the best! read more

Can't believe how helpful this was. My relationship with my 1 year old Cattle Dog is flipped 100%. I am the pack leader and have her respect. She is calm and feeling safe knowing she can defer to me for her choices. I have been to two other trainers who used either Coersion (treats) and Force (choke collar) and nothing has had such dramatic and REAL change in our dynamic as the boundary setting techniques shared by Doug from Tenderfoot. These people have dogs, parrots, cats and horses, and they live their teachings. The trainer I went to before Tenderfoot, after our two hour session I asked her what kind of dog she had and she told me she had never actually had her own dog. I was shocked. Nellie has had severe separation anxiety, and back from TenderFoot, I have left her at home for 5 minutes + without a cry or bark. TEARFULLY GRATEFUL to come home with this new relationship in place, after driving up to the training teary eyed from HOPELESSNESS after Nellie attacked and bit my boyfriend yesterday. read more

I just can't praise these folks enough!! I was starting to feel extremely helpless with our dog. From the beginning things were difficult - he was a stray, in the shelter for awhile, transported around, likely been abused, etc. He was overly excited, had attacked us multiple times, and I could barely control him on the leash. I'd cry during the afternoon walks. He recently started CATCHING SQUIRRELS and chasing coyotes! It was getting bad, bad. So it was with a heavy heart that I went up to meet Elizabeth & Doug. Within MINUTES my dog was listening to Doug and staying near him on the leash--without fighting, jumping, biting, tugging, attacking. In the almost year we've had our dog, I had never witnessed ANYTHING like this. I nearly cried. And it only got better. We had been to multiple trainers, but they all seemed to be tiptoeing around the issues with treats, games, distractions, etc. What Tenderfoot does makes complete SENSE. It feels right on a deep, deep level, but it is hard work-- changing habits and dealing with frustration. I'm reminded of the importance of MY relationship with Happy...and I've been given the foundation of how to work on that. For that alone, I am SO SO grateful and then on top of that I've been given tools and techniques to improve that relationship. It has been 3 days. Happy is a completely different dog. He's a little more focused on me, he's calmer, he is no longer attacking my husband or JUMPING, BITING, or getting crazy. I appreciate that at this level it is pretty straight forward-- the drills and overall approach. I definitely see us heading back up there for another lesson in the coming weeks to refresh and check back. I want to learn from them- they're just so special. I wish I had gone up to them sooner. I think because the mainstream approach is with treats and clickers, we think: OK, well, I'll do that. If you want to grow your relationship with your dog (and yourself as an individual), don't hesitate. Give them a call :) read more

We just moved to Boulder, and our reactive little schnoodle has been going nuts on the trails; he's a sweet dog but gets super reactive when he first meets other dogs. How lucky we were to find Tenderfoot; after only one three hour lesson we feel very much on the path to a completely different relationship with our dog. It's not about his habits; it's about ours. Benson has been very responsive to what Elizabeth and Doug taught us, and we are looking forward to seeing where this goes. Unbelievably helpful. Thank you Tenderfoot! read more

Doug and Elizabeth seem like very nice people. That's about all they have going for them, really. My pup has some separation anxiety and hadn't been exercised at all during his first 8 months, so I was overwhelmed with the hours necessary to get him enough exercise to chill out and with teaching him all the things he needed to learn to be a good companion (not to jump on people, for example). I had the intro training session with my dog during which we covered a lot of material. They discouraged me from using CM's dog psychology tactics, saying that "corrections" were too aggressive and didn't foster a good relationship with your dog. I was willing to believe them, this being my first dog and my learning curve being steep. Concerned about retaining all of info from the training and wanting to slow down, they insisted that they were available on the phone anytime I had questions. Great so far. Dog and I worked for the next week on the things they taught us, and when I called to ask a question, they got back to me (in three days, not one as promised) not to answer the question or discuss it, but to schedule another training. Bait and switch. I didn't have the cash to schedule one, so kept working on the drills on my own, and through trial and error managed to make some progress (dog still jumping on people I was getting faster at stopping him once he started). A month or so later, when I hit a wall, I called in tears to schedule another training. They never called back. Now, I understand that getting an emotional call from a client could be unappealing. I don't fault them for perhaps not wanting to continue to work with us. Not calling back at all was intensely unprofessional, however, and is the reason I'm taking time to write a negative review, something I don't like to do. About another month after my tearful call, Elizabeth finally got back to me, saying that they had been on vacation and that the person who was supposed to be returning calls had dropped the ball. Too busy to change your voicemail greeting? Again, unprofessional. The great thing is that because of their lack of attentiveness, I had to find another trainer, and found one (Brian at Uptown Dog in Longmont) who has worked with me steadily for months, and Dog and I have a MUCH closer relationship and we're both much happier. He handled the jumping up with noise aversion in two days. Done. Dog only needs occasional reminders now, and as we progress though his teens he needs them less and less often. Silver lining, etc. Don't waste your time. Find an attentive trainer. If you need help, you need to be able to rely on someone. read more

Tenderfoot is Doug and Elizabeth. This wonderful wonderful couple taught me more about me than training my dog!. I have a 10-year-old dog that's a rescue. He comes with a lot of challenges. He could not walk into any unfamiliar house or store. He freaked out about floors, especially tile and linoleum and concrete. My goal was to get him to comfortably walk into any space in any store. With in one session, they had him seated and so focused that they would throw food around him and he would not move to get it. By the fourth session, I could take this old dog and walk him into any establishment on any flooring. They opened up a whole new world for my dog. And now I can travel across the world with him. These two went above and beyond. They undercharged and over delivered. they are the nicest people. And their method works. I cannot endorse them enough. read more

Elizabeth and Doug are amazing. I have a very stubborn, very fearful husky. They were able to help me control her better and alter some of her terrible behaviors and bad habits she has had since rescuing her from the Humane Society. Tenderfoot comes very highly recommended!! read more

Tenderfoot uses old school methods of training - ignoring modern research about how dogs communicate and learn best. The almost 3 hour training there caused aggressive behaviors in my puppy that I'd never seen before. As soon as I stopped using the methods Elizabeth taught me, (at the suggestion of my new trainer), the behaviors stopped and the dog went right back to previously seen good behaviors. Do not be fooled, like I was by them saying they use "tender" training. Not at all. It's about dominance - even though she'll say it's not. read more

I have owned malamutes over 25 years.. While I think I know a lot I don't. I came across tenderfoot training about a year ago. Doug and Elizabeth are probably the best set of professionals I have ever met. They get it.. They train without treats, but with respect . The results are fantastic. Remember training is for a lifetime, not a few sessions or even a year or two.. They are there for you in good and difficult times. I highly recommend them! read more

I have only had two sessions so far with Doug. After a year of working with various trainers ( and some successes) I felt I needed more. I have a dog rescued several times. Her history was one of instability and most likely neglect, if not abuse. She is young, so not only was I faced with development issues, the dog's trauma was also an issue. I initially had a good rapport with her, but it has been deteriorating. I wanted to work on my own communication skills to change the relationship dynamic. So far it has been very useful and effective. I am planning to continue working with them. read more

Elizabeth is incredibly kind and demonstrated an uncanny command over my otherwise rambunctious puppy within minutes of our training session beginning. Her drills have driven increased improvement as I continue to work with my pup (after just one 2 hour session with Elizabeth). She is available and responsive to further questions. Unrelated but noteworthy, I happened to notice I had a near-empty fuel tank as I went to pull out of her driveway, and without hesitation Elizabeth kindly followed me down the hill to make sure I made it to the gas station. read more

I highly recommend Tenderfoot Training. Doug and Elizabeth are completely dedicated to teaching. Their techniques are clear and consistent. A deeper relationship with your dog is the result. Whether you are looking to teach your new puppy good manners or to work with a developed behavioral issue, Doug and Elizabeth will show you how to lead your canine friend to a desired result. read more