Do not use this trainer! Christina spoke to me for 40 minutes to make sure my rescue dog, Frankie, would be in the right type of training class. We agreed the "Fearful Fido" class would help him- I went ahead and registered him and paid in full- $335 . Next month when the class was to start- she emailed me the day before to cancel saying not enough people signed up. She said I would receive a refund in 3-5 business days. This was May 5- by May 14 no refund showing so I emailed to remind her- she said she would check- she got confused about which class I had enrolled in and said she did not see an email about a refund. I reminded her of the class and that she has canceled because there were not enough participants. She emailed back she was on the road and may have looked at the wrong invoice. She would check on it that evening. ..... crickets.... I emailed her again on May 20- to remind her again and she replied she resent the request. Sure enough it appeared next day in my bank but for only $325. I emailed her asking why I had to pay $10 when she canceled the class? She told me, "Laura , Paypal business accounts hit me for a fee for every payment and refund. I requested refund. They refunded you the amount minus what they charged me. As a merchant we pay a lot to have a business." Needless to say passing your mistakes and costs along to customers will cost you business- I will never use her services and suggest you don't either unless you are ok with donating your $. read more

After adopting our dog, Mirabel, this past April, we consulted with 5 different trainers on setting up obedience lessons. We were pretty shocked by several businesses that recommended shock collars and prong collars for our pup who was already calm and submissive. When we met with Christie, it was refreshing to learn about her positive and praise-focused approach to training-- and in our consultation session alone she taught Mirabel (and our family) how to walk properly with a leash and the sit command. The entire first visit was based on patience, building trust with our pup, and enjoying the time we spent training. We've taken several classes with Christie since, and every single one is based on the same approach that she introduced on Day 1. The classes are FUN and a great opportunity to meet other pets and their parents in a safe and welcoming environment. I hope Mirabel and I meet you and your pup soon! read more

Training Your Best Friend - Pet Training Near Me - Wake Forest, North Carolina

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I signed up for a "Rally Obedience" class with Christie at Training Your Best Friend, LLC. that was to begin on September 6, 2023. I would not recommend this class for anyone actually wanting to participate in Rally (whether AKC or UKC) because this trainer is not training to the basic rules of either organizations. As I entered Hollywood Pet Feed for the first night of class orientation (without a dog), I was met with Christie discussing her other clients in a negative way and how that clients dog was out of control. Once actual discussion about the class began, I was informed that collars were not to be used in her class because it's was "abuse." Being in the dog training world, I assumed she meant "aversives" like prongs or ecollars...no, she meant ANY collar (flat, martingale, etc)... It's in both AKC and UKC Regulations that a collar and leash must be used, so I immediately knew I was mislead based on the website. The photos on the website showed dogs wearing collars. The website also stated: "Mentoring for first time exhibitors, so you have all the information you need to know before you step into the rally ring." How can that be the case if your class standards don't match the rules and regulations? I promptly asked for a refund the day following orientation on September 7, 2023 and received the expected response from Christie 4 days later on September 11, 2023 with the following: "It is very clearly stated on my website across the board for all sports classes that these classes are non competition. It was clearly stated on my facebook ad that ran for 7 weeks. No one else has ever misunderstood this." Anyway, I'm now out $235.00, but posting a review in hopes nobody else is mislead in the future. I would not recommend this class or this trainer. read more

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Christine seems to have a problem with doing the right thing. She thinks that her changing her locations and times is not a problem for people and not worthy of a refund . Do not use a trainer with no honor or morals, integrity is lacking here. Say good bye to your money once she has it. I also see she does not make you Rally ready but makes you a Rally failure if you follow her training which contradicts the Rally regulations . YOU need to do better . Find that moral compass and refund people's money. read more

Christine is GREAT! She gets dogs and they are her first concern. I agree with Christie that it's on the dog owner to insure the dog is trained, happy, responsive, and the dog feels fulfilled. So happy I found her and got my dog off the pinch collar. Even my vet says how nice and well behaved he is. read more

I am so thankful to Christine for helping me and my Twinkie be better together. She help guide me on how to help my best friend be a better pet. Twinkie is better around other people and animals. I would recommend any of her class. Christine is a class act. read more

Christie Fernandez/Training your Best Friend is an awesome training program if you want to strengthen your relationship with your dog, and teach your dog how to follow your commands and learn good manners. Christie is passionate about animals and has a wealth of knowledge. She teaches not the dogs but the dog owners how to train their dogs and how to take charge. In other words, we learn how to properly walk our dogs vs letting our dogs walk us! The commands she teaches are very simple, logical and effective. My dog Lily and I took a Basic Obedience class as well as an Obstacle Course class which was really fun. At the beginning of the obstacle course class, Lily refused to go into the big tube because she was scared. Christie got down on the ground which was a concrete parking lot and crawled into the tube herself to encourage Lily to go in. By the end of the 7 weeks Lily was running through the tube and jumping over high hurdles like a champ! That never would have happened without Christie's help. I also had a difficult time with getting Lily to cooperate with loose leash walking. She would pull. Christie taught us how to master that so now we can enjoy our walks without pulling. I highly recommend Christie and Training your Best Friend. Your dog will love you more for the focused time you'll spend training him or her, and this greatly strengthens the bond with your dog. read more

Very disappointed in my experience with Training your best friend LLC. I signed up last spring for a evening agility class, paid in full for the class. I spoke multiple times with Christine via phone and email, and explained due to a late meeting my husband and we would miss the second class. She said it was no problem she would allow us to use to for another class. The first class was cancelled last minute by her for an emergency (ok, not a big deal) she offered a make up date for that one then we had to already miss the second class, and by the time the 3rd class rolled around she emailed again changing the time to an hour earlier starting that she didn't realize with daylight savings it would be so dark at the class time. At the time my husband worked in downtown Raleigh and the class was at Joyner park. Since she moved the class time there was no way he'd make it from downtown Raleigh with traffic in time for the class. We have 2 dogs so I was unable to attend without my husband present. I get it that things come up out of our control, and certainly and flexible with that. However when the advertised time changes in the middle of the classes and makes it impossible for us to attend the class I feel like concessions should be made. I also understand non-refundable classes, but again when YOU change the class time then some accountability should be on you as well. I have for the past year reached out to Christine multiple times via email and Facebook messages to reschedule our class since I paid in full. She kept telling me for a while she was waiting on a building to come through for the agility classes, I asked about using the money I paid in full towards private lessons or therapy dog training and she hasn't replied to any of my emails or messages in the last two months. I'm sure she's a great trainer (she came personally recommended), but unfortunately we didn't have a good experience. I'm mostly disappointed for the dogs, who I know would have loved the agility class. read more

No stars. Signed up for 6 sessions. Went to one. My dog was totally out of control. No fault of Christie. Tried numerous times to contact her about private sessions of which I would pay more for. Never got a return call. Totally unacceptable and unprofessional. Would steer away from this trainer. read more

If there was a zero star..... I saw today that Christie Fernandez has opened this business after the Crenshaw Hall Wedding business went bankrupt. My heart dropped to my feet when I read people are possibly investing their time and money - and God forbid, leaving their beloved PETS with this woman. She is a fraud...an amateur. She will manipulate you to believe she is a jack of all trades, helpful and genuine - she is none of these. Take your time, your money and PLEASE take your pets somewhere else. If you do not believe me, just log into a wedding website and see what reviews people have wrote about Christie - she is a horror; and she is playing you. read more

Can't say enough good things about Training Your Best Friend. First off, Christie welcomes all breeds. Her training consists of in classroom classes but she also offers classes, like public manners which is held outside in real life situations. I have a pitbull that adapted to inside classes and did great but when I would take her out and about, she acted totally different. After taking classes with Christie, I can now take my pit bull out in public and she behaves beautifully! I have another pitbull that Christie has worked with as well, he was a little more stubborn and was horrible with pulling on walks. After working with Christie, he now walks by my side. Christie uses positive reinforcement in training which allows the dog to learn in a fun way and it helps build a strong relationship with the dog and the owner. Christie also makes training fun and interesting for the owner too. My dogs love her! Christie trains all types of behaviors too , she helps them all! She also offers "pack walks" to her clients that have been taking classes which is another way for you and your dog to practice in real life situations. read more

My mom went here for help training her new puppy. She walked out on the second lesson crying. We already have one full-grown dog at the house. The puppy went to puppy school already knowing how to sit and wait for dinner because the big dog has to do it. The head trainer Christie is very hard headed, rude, abrasive. She needs to go to school to learn people skills. I have never met a trainer that just walks up to you and takes your dog right out of your hands without asking but she does. Instead of letting you take your time to figure stuff out with your dog she gets very impatient and takes your dog from you to "show you how it's done" then asks "do you get it now?" In a not very nice tone. She expects you to have a certain harness that can cost almost $30 and a certain type of leash that can cost anywhere from $8 on Amazon to $20 in the store. She will reach into your treat pouch to give your dog treats even if you don't want to give your dog lots of treats and if you refuse to give treats to her for your dog she will get someone else's treats to feed to your dog. That's not OK because what if your dog has allergies, is she going to pay for the vet bill from anaphylactic shock? She's not I can tell you that. On the very first lesson she told us that we would always have to carry treats around because "we don't work for free and neither are our dogs". I have always grown up around dogs that you could tell to sit, lay down, rollover, back up, stay from 200 to 300 feet away they didn't even have to see you to listen to you and they never needed treats all the time either. She talks out of both sides of her mouth. She will say one thing and then two minutes later totally contradict herself by saying something else. She will tell you not to leave your dogs in the backyard but then she'll tell you about how her dogs go in the backyard. I personally do not like leaving my dogs locked up in crates all day nor do I like leaving them locked in the house all day. They are able to get into a doggy room I have set up so they have a place that is cool in the summer warm in the winter and there's a doggie door to go outside to the backyard so they can play and run around as much as they want. I'm not leaving my dogs free in my house when I am not there. This is just me, some people can leave their dogs loose in the house and not have to worry I on other hand have dogs that like to chew on everything it can be anything from a pen to a power cord or the couch so instead of me taking a chance on them ruining my furniture or getting electrocuted I set them up their own room. She's going to tell you if your dog barks is just gonna bark there's no real way of stopping it most places I have lived if your dog barks and won't stop you can get kicked out for being a nuisance. There was one dog in the class they kept barking and wouldn't stop it's a puppy in a puppy class it's excited they don't need to bark like that but you need to work with them she would tell the owner "cut the cord" to get the dog to stop. But remember our dogs "are just going to bark and we're going to have to deal with it". My mom would try to talk to her but Christie would just cut her off and lecture her and would not listen to her. I am not used to a dog trainer not at least listening to their clients and taking into account their lifestyles, what they are physically able to do, and their personalities between the owner and the dog. We will not be going back and that's money down the drain. I do not recommend her as a trainer. But she may work well with you and your dog every personality is different, every owner is different, every dog is different and everyone learns their own way. I hope my review has helped you in someway to make a decision about what you want to do. I wish the best of luck to you and your furry baby on your journey. read more

DO NOT use Christie Fernandez for training! I signed up for the agility class at Joyner a while back and it was awful! WHAT A HUGE WASTE OF MONEY! I was under the impression that she would be doing the training but shortly after signing up I found out it was another trainer that would be hosting the class. The first class was complete chaos with no trainer in charge. Christie was flitting here and there but offering no real training or instruction. The other trainer that was supposed to be handling the class never showed. My dog handled almost every obstacle with ease so we didn't receive any one on one time like the other dogs did that were having slight issues overcoming an obstacle. They also changed the time of the training and I was never notified. When I got to the class they were already a half hour into 'training'!! After looking back on my emails I NEVER received a notification about this time change. I had hoped that after this course I'd be able to accomplish an agility competition but after 4 classes and ZERO training I quit going. I did speak with Christie about switches my classes to do a Therapy Dog class but she required I pay more to do a full 6 week course for that! I basically paid to use the agility course...ha! I've trained one of my dogs myself to be a therapy dog so I'm not new to dog training and know what's to be expected. I just didn't know the agility world and was hoping for some real help and advice. Needless to say I was hugely disappointed. read more

If I could give this business 0 stars, I would. I signed up for a class in March 2018. Unfortunately, the first week of class, my son needed emergency brain surgery. Christie was very sweet and understanding, but didn't offer a refund. She did say I could attend another class when he heals. I reached out in May asking about another class, which she said would happen in July due to health issues with her husband. No problem. I reached out again and realized that the Wake Forest location shut down "due to her husbands' health issues" which I have now heard otherwise from very close sources. She no longer offers classes in Wake Forest. Instead, I have to travel 20 minutes to get to her new location at Pet People. I told her I couldn't do that. My son goes to bed at 730pm due to a very early school schedule - and I'm a single mom. I can't keep him awake that late on a school night. It was different when the class was 3 minutes from my house. With that being said, she won't offer any exceptions to her no refund policy which is crap. I understand the policy but there are ALWAYS exceptions to policies depending on the heart and soul of a business. BRAIN SURGERY might be one of those exceptions! Needless to say, I don't know how she lays her head down to sleep knowing she took $165 from me. I did not sign up for a class in Raleigh. I signed up for a class in Wake Forest. She should hold up her end of the "contract" as well. DO NOT GO TO HER! Shady. read more