We adopted two young adult dogs this past summer. They were both really into barking and charging when they saw other dogs or people. Our home is in a community with many walking paths, one being along the side of our home. If we dared let them out when someone was walking on the path they would charge to the fence like crazy dogs. Our next door neighbor had two aging dachshunds and our dogs loved to terrorize them as well. We wanted the kind of behavior that would get them invited to play dates! After checking many websites we found Laurie. I called her and explained our dilemma and she offered reassurance that those negative behaviors could be remedied. She did a free consultation at our home so she could observe for herself and come up with a behavior modification program that would work. And work it did! Her techniques are easy and make sense. Best of all they are effective as long as you put them to use! That is the key. I love that she brings at least one of her own dogs with her so that if you want some interaction with another dog she can provide that. There is none of the "Oh, I'll have to take your dog to my place for 4-5 weeks to train them" with Laurie. She is not into the "shame and blame" game, she wants the dog owners to be successful! And work it did! Her techniques are easy and make sense. Best of all they are effective as long as you put them to use! That is the key. I love that she brings at least one of her own dogs with her so that if you want some interaction with another dog she can provide that. None of this "I'll have to take your dogs to my place for a few weeks" with Laurie. None of the "blame and shame" game, either. She's amazing! Thank you, Laurie, you're the BEST! read more

So...we have a lovely 9 year old border collie Max who decide to become incredibly aggressive is his old age for really no apparent reason. It could have been because we adopted another younger cattle dog mix. It could have also been how anxious he always has been. Nonetheless, we over time soon had a huge mess...not able to walk either one on leashes without them attacking other dogs, charging the door, jumping on people. Max was trying to eat both cats and our African grey parrot who he had grown up with, and at times even coming after us. We had worked through an entire year with tiny successes that only ended in worse behavior and failures for our Max. Laurie walked in the door and had both dogs obeying in one session. It was not a miracle cure, because Max had developed some significant behavior issues. But we are now at a point with Laurie's methodology, able to walk the dogs together and they are usually the best behaved of the dogs we encounter. Max is only having very minor outburst now, which we know how to effectively handle and we are all back to being "one big happy zoo." I am not sure what we would have done if we had not had Laurie's help to get Max back to a more normal, happy self. She was able to take a very scary situation and help us understand what was going on and how to fix it. Very amazing and incredible!! She has a real skill working with dogs, in particular, dogs who have developed issues because of age, physical and mental impairments. I would recommend her to anyone. Thanks Laurie! Mo & Val read more

Laurie 100% saved our dogs life. We adopted a pit mix and put him through obedience training with a different company in town. He was the most obedient "aggressive" dog on the planet. After several bite incidents (stiches required) we reached out to 8 trainers (some "behaviorists") in Colorado Springs - every one of them advised he was a 1% dog where he was deemed a dangerous animal and euthanizing him was the only and responsible outcome. We had previously owned several dogs and fostered many many dogs. This dog had us completely stumped. We had the appointment set with our vet and our hearts were beyond broken. The day before his appointment I came across Laurie's website and everything changed. She came and spent three hours in our home same day. She watched him, assessed him and really came to understand him. What others had deemed aggressive behavior, Laurie identified as resource guarding. We absolutely did not have an aggressive dog. She explained the difference between obedience training and behavior modification. She showed us how to effectively and very easily MODIFY his behavior. She helped us to better understand him. It has been 8 months and we have not had another incident - from that one appointment! There is never a way we will be able to thank Laurie enough for her time, talent, knowledge, patience and true dedication to guiding people to help their animals live balanced and happy lives. I hope this review finds others that find themselves facing the ultimate decision before it is too late. read more

Laurie was recommended to me from a friend. I was very happy that he did. Before meeting with Laurie, we talked on the telephone about our dog's behavior problems. This was to determine if she could be of assistance or not. We then setup a time and Laurie came to our house to work with us and our dog. Our dog always wants to be near you. We had issues with leaving our dog alone. He would bark and rip up things. We kenneled him when we went out and he ripped apart the kennel bed and floor. Laurie met with us and instructed us how to deal with this issue. She provided the tools needed and demonstrated how to use the tools. We saw the change with the dog and continue to use the technique. We are able to use this training tool with other issues. We are using it to reinforce basic commands - sit, stay, come. Also, rushing the door when the doorbell rings. We only had Laurie meet with us once as we felt we could continue with the training without meeting with her again. However, she did make it clear that we could contact anytime if we needed further on-site training with her assistance. Also she said she would help via email or phone call questions. Laurie has studied various training techniques and understands dog behavior. I am very happy with how our dog has reacted to the training and is becoming a better dog. Laurie is very personable and she understands dog behaviors. I would not hesitate to recommend Laurie to anyone with a dog behavior issue or training. read more

My dog was suffering from separation anxiety and I had three more days before I started back up my 8 hour work days. He would bark from when I left to when I came back and I live in an apartment so I did not want to be that neighbor. I had tried everything from desensitization training to thundershirts to even a bark collar. I had read countless articles and watched so many videos. After being at my wits end and even considering rehoming him, I called Laurie and she right away put me at ease. We met on a Friday and after a two hour session I saw a ton of progress. She was so knowledgeable and drew on her previous experiences to help with my dog. I had Saturday and Sunday to continue the training and we texted throughout the weekend. Eventually Monday comes around and he did a lot better but still a lot of barking. Laurie assured me to have patience and if it persisted we could try something else. As the week went by, he got better and better. He went from barking almost all day on Monday to barking only 2 TIMES on Friday!!! Now, he does not bark at all when I leave. I 10/10 would recommend Laurie. I thank her so much for what she has done for my dog. I do not have to stress about leaving my dog alone anymore. If your dog is struggling with any type of anxiety and nothing seems to be working, please give Laurie a call!!! She will get the job done! read more

We adopted a Belgian Malinois 5 month old from a rescue and he turned aggressive towards other people, nipping, biting, barking, and growling. It was to the point that other people did not feel safe in our house. Laurie came to our house for an initial session and WOW!! What a difference it made. She taught us how to use a clicker correctly, and how to redirect his fear (which was making him aggressive) and show him that he was safe, and that behavior was not allowed. Also helped us with our 2 year old "energetic" Golden Retriever who was a jumper, especially when people came over. It used to take her time to calm down, and now there is no jumping at all. We scheduled another session to follow up and make sure we were doing our part correctly to avoid any regression and keep moving forward with correct behavior for all of our dogs. After about 10 minutes, we moved on to target training with our Belgian. He took to it like a natural. I would recommend Laurie for any type of training needed! Other places wanted thousands of dollars to sign up for a training plan, not even giving us any idea of what the training was going to do. Even had an initial consultation with one where they sent a salesman and not a trainer. Didn't even look at our dogs, only gave us the usual sales pitch, which had nothing for aggressive dogs. read more

Laurie Yakish has been the best thing to happen to our house. I have 2 lab mix dogs that had a lot of different problems going on and they were out of control. My dogs were supposed to be helping me with my medical issues keeping me active so that things don't get worse for me. Instead they were hurting me causing me to fall down a flight of concrete stairs or outside somewhere because they were so aggressive when they saw people or dogs. There were other issues going on in the house as well with my girl having anxiety issues about everything and my boy just being a brat all the time and not listening to anything or getting mad at everything. I had contemplated having to give up both dogs due to their problems. With the help of Harley's Hope Foundation they offered to help us and got me in touch with Laurie as a last ditch effort to keep us all together. The training we have been receiving has already made a huge difference for us and our dogs. Everyone is much happier and learning that good behavior is rewarded and that there are consequences for bad behavior. The dogs are doing great and we are looking forward to more training to get all the issues resolved. I would recommend Laurie and TPR Dog Training to anyone. This training has been a life savor and I am forever greatful!! read more

Laurie is a top notch dog trainer. She works effectively with behavior problems, as well as obedience, house manners, etc. She helped turn one of my dogs around. He was very reactive and difficult to live with. Working with a number of "positive only" dog trainers only made him worse. They told me he was probably wired wrong. Laurie uses punishment and reward. Lots of reward. Punishment is used judiciously and fairly, with intelligence. She proved that my dog was wired just fine. I simply didn't know how to work with him. After that we worked on recall with distractions and other things with all of my dogs. So many trainers will tell you that you can never fix this or that problem, that you can only manage the problem. They are wrong. They are only telling you about their limitations. Those of you in and around Colorado Springs are lucky. I drove a long ways to work with her. read more

Laurie turned my destructive, disobedient puppy into a lovable member of the family. I kept saying he'd be a great dog when he grew up, but I wasn't sure I'd live to see the day. What a change! He is still a puppy--14 months old--but he understands the do's and don'ts for being a good member of the family. We have 2 other large dogs and I don't recall having the extent of behavior problems with them. I can't say enough good things about Laurie. In addition to her skill training dogs, she is a lovely person. I recommend her highly. I feel so lucky to have found her. read more

Laurie is a great dog trainer. Our Angus is a one year old Bernese Mountain dog and was totally out of control. Laurie gave us a lot of help and tools we could use to make him manageable. While he is still a work in progress, I feel like we have the means for him to continue to improve. She is very accommodating to work with and available for questions and help. I am so grateful for her assistance because I don't think we could have kept him with his obstinate behavior especially since he is so strong and powerful. I would recommend her highly and would use her again. read more

I started training with Laurie about 6 months ago for my new Aussie pup without really knowing what kind of trainer to look for. Well after our first meeting and since then I knew I had found one of the best! Not only is she very knowledgable about dogs and how to train them but she also was able to allay my fears about keeping my pup safe. Laurie is reliable, conscientious, personable and most of all she gets positive results! I would recommend her to anyone seeking basic training, behavioral problems and really any issue youre having with your best buddy read more

Laurie's methods of consequences and rewards worked amazingly on our pit bull! Macy was dog aggressive and horrible to walk if there were other dogs anywhere in the area. In a two-hour session, we and Macy learned the basics of redirection and confidence. Laurie left us with homework that we were fully capable of doing on our own. On our second session, Laurie brought her own dog to practice close proximity walking. We are still practicing, but now are able to walk past other dogs without Macy flailing, whimpering, or charging! Thank you so much! read more

When I called Laurie I had a dog that I wasn't even sure would change. I adopted him at 1.5 years and he hadn't been socialized with humans. He was scared and aggressive. He would lunge and people and almost bite them. I couldn't bring him anywhere! It was so hard bc I wanted to give him a good life but everything I tried wasn't working. Within the FIRST session with Laurie, my dog was able to lay down at a coffee shop without growling or barking or lunging. I was BLOWN AWAY. I learned so much from Laurie and I'm forever grateful for her! read more

Laurie was a God-send for us! My adorable, new-to-me, little Havanese dog adored me but was horribly snippy and snarly with my husband to the point where he once drew blood! Our daughter had Laurie's help with her dog and highly recommended her to me. I called Laurie and she came to our home very quickly, and over a 5-wk period of time she worked her magic to allow our dog to enjoy my husband's company too. That was over 2 years ago. All has been well ever since. Whew! Needless to say, I recommend Laurie very highly! read more

Laurie is amazing! We thought we would have to remove our dog because if behavior/aggression issues that developed after we moved here. She completely turned him around and now he is back to the amazing dog he was before. Actually he's better, and he listens to our two small children too. She included the whole family in training our dog which really helped everyone stay committed and improve results. Highly recommend Laurie for any behavior training, I am more than pleased with her results.​ read more

Laurie has worked with my charity, Harley's Hope Foundation, on several training cases. She has worked wonders for our clients and their pets and is responsible for helping to keep those pets in their homes. Laurie is professional, responsive to client needs, and produces quick and positive results. I highly recommend Laurie for anyone who truly wants to resolve behavioral issues in their pets and who is committed to following her lead. She knows what she's doing! read more

I have a7 month puppy with major issues. She had become aggressive to other people and dogs, she would run away from me and I couldn't catch . I contacted Laurie. After 2 hrs with her and I working with my puppy i saw a great improvement. Laurie was a godsend. She is totally awesome, she understands dogs and their problems, humans too. My puppy is a totally different dog. I thank Laurie every day. She is awesome. Thanks again Laurie read more

Laurie came to my house on a last minute call when she was in Albuquerque. I had just adopted a chi-weenie who was dubbed "the little heathen"! In less than 20 minutes Little Maggie was following commands. I am convinced Laurie is the dog whisperer. We also did a training virtually as she gave me instructions on next steps. Maggie is still puppy wild but much better thanks to Laurie! Sabra M. read more

My dog Tbone is a good dog but had behavioral issues that we didn't know how to fix, our daughter found ms lauries web page and we call her and made an appointment. Ms Laurie is an angel in disguise, she took care of Tbone parents by teaching us how to handle his behaviors and we have a completely new well behaved, wonderful dog. All this thanks to Ms. Laurie . We will be grateful forever read more