Aligned K9

I started following Aligned K9 on Instagram for the training tips as a first time Belgian Malinois mixed breed dog parent. When the timing and circumstance aligned for me to send Samson to stay with Noelle for a 6 week board and train I was both excited to see all he would learn and anxious about his well being and being apart from him so long. I picked Aligned K9 because the training style and level of love and affection I saw matched what I hoped for my dog and my own style if I were more skilled. The regular video and photo updates were helpful to me as an anxious owner in both showing how much love and affection he was getting as part of his training, but also in teaching me the appropriate style of training. It was obvious from the videos how engaged and happy my dog was during training sessions and how much care, effort and love Noelle was putting into her work. I was able to take Samson on an off leash hike for the first time ever just a week after bringing him home and it has given us both so much room to enjoy exploring and bond.

We sent our Kai Ken (primitive Japanese 13 month old dog) to a 6-week board and train with Noelle. He went from having a very low drive (would play with toys for 30 seconds to a minute and then lose interest, refuse treats quite often, and not care much about praise while almost never checking in) to being more food, toy, and praise motivated. He checks in regularly no matter where we are now when before he NEVER checked in outside! Noelle taught him to be calm in different situations, increased his durations for holding sit, down, and place, taught a crate command, taught jump into the car, increased his paw handling tolerance, taught recall, and e-collar trained him. She also taught him how to understand what we want; new vocabulary includes yes/yep, okay, good, and nope. The before and after are night and day. We went from having a growling/mouthy stubborn boy to a super calm, mostly obedient, and confident boy. We now have the proper tools to communicate with our boy. Thank you, Noelle!

I highly recommend Noelle as a dog trainer; she is very skilled. Her training style is calm, positive, and playful. She uses positive and negative reinforcement methods very effectively to teach impulse control, discipline, and obedience. Noelle understands dog behavior and psychology very well, especially for herding breeds. Her approach is very structured, but also flexible enough to adjust the pace of training to the dog’s needs. You can tell her whole heart is in it, and she cares about every dog she trains. Noelle also had a great way to explain the training concepts to me so I could implement them after getting my dog back. I rescued an at the time 4-year-old German Shepherd mix (Taffy) in Fall 2023. She has a dog biting history from when she was a young dog due to her high prey drive, and she had become dog reactive over time before I got her from a rescue organization. Awesome dog with people, but definitely a challenge around animals. After working on her reactivity on my own for over a year, I realized I hit a wall and needed professional help. I was unable to get her to focus on me outside of a controlled environment. I reached out to Noelle after following her on Instagram, and realizing how close she actually was located in SoCal. Noelle took on the challenge to work with Taffy for a total of 5 weeks of Board & Train and I was amazed at what she accomplished in such a short time frame, given Taffy's first 4 years of limited training and lack of socialization. Noelle taught Taffy to focus and respond even with other dogs around. Taffy was e-collar trained as well. Noelle helped Taffy to be less impulsive and anxious. It was so much easier to work with her after I got her back. Now she is able to walk side-by-side with dogs she is familiar with, and we’ve even been able to get through a few stranger nose-to-nose introductions without incident so far. Such great progress! This was definitely the best decision for my dog and me. Thank you, Noelle!