Balanced K9 Services

Ryan has been working with our Spanish Water Dog puppy and I cannot overstate how helpful he has been. This is my first dog and I was anxiously researching how I could train her for months before we picked her up. Just like with babies, you cannot 100% anticipate how many challenges a puppy can throw your way. Our puppy is naturally very bitey and anti-social. For the first month I had her, I was wearing boots in the house because she would nip at my feet every chance she could. After working with Ryan to identify training strategies/practices, she isn't biting nearly as much and she walking up and meeting new dogs/people. When we first got our puppy, I was worried that I had made a mistake and was in over my head. Ryan has given me the tools I need to confidently lead and shape my dog to a brighter future. Ryan is extremely flexible with scheduling and genuinely loves working with dogs. He has shared videos and clips with us, exposing us to experts in the field, and he is even bringing one of his dogs to our house later today so that our dog can socialize. Overall, I can't root for him and his business enough.

We have use used Balanced K9 for both our dogs. Ryan really takes the time to work with the dogs and train them. An added benefit is Ryan comes over to the house as many times as needed to reinforce the training and work with the family to follow through. We noticed a substantial difference in our rescue dog upon his return. He is now able to listen, take walks without causing us and himself stress and he is overall less reactive.

My puppy, Deacon, instantly liked Ryan. As Ryan held him when I dropped him off, Deacon gave him kisses. Ryan fosters a mutual and loving respect between your dog and himself. He has a deep understanding of how to train well behaved dogs while giving them opportunities to just be a dog. The onsite training site has a large yard in the country. There are multiple dogs training at the same time so in addition to spending a lot of individual time with your dog, there is additional training with many distractions. The multiple dogs trsining together allows ample time for the dogs to learn to play together appropriately. During Deacon’s stay with Ryan, I received multiple texts, photos and videos to keep me updated. I was given the opportunity to call or text anytime. After intensive onsite training Ryan comes every week or two to work on solidifying behavior management in the puppy’s own environment. When he comes to our home, Deacon is always excited to see him. Notably, Deacon minds him perfectly. Deacon is becoming a mature and well behaved dog. I highly recommend Ryan and his gentle, respectful training style.

We adopted our Australian Labradoodle puppy when she was 8 weeks old. By the time Luna was 12 weeks, we were mentally exhausted and at our wits end. We tried REALLY hard to address behaviors on our own, such as puppy biting, aggressive chewing, jumping on people and furniture, challenges transporting her safely in our vehicle, impulse control, and even simply taking her for a walk. We had already interacted with 2 other trainers over that 4 week period and we just weren’t getting the results we needed. We don’t have kids or other pets so we were very concerned about how she would behave around children and other animals. I heard about Ryan through a coworker and called him up. We set Luna up for a 2-week Board & Train. It was the BEST decision we ever made and worth EVERY PENNY. We picked Luna up after 2 weeks and she was a different puppy (in a really good way)! That weekend, we took Luna to the beach for the first time and she did great. After the beach, we took her to a restaurant and she sat under the table at our feet and silently chewed on her toy. It has now been 2 weeks, and she has really evolved into a well-behaved dog. We have taken her on short weekend trips to Charlottesville and our friends comment on how good of a puppy she is. She gets along great with other dogs too. Overall, I would say Luna has improved on all the behaviors I mentioned above by about 80%. There are days when we have hiccups, but she’s only 16 weeks old and is still learning; and so are we. We can’t thank Ryan enough for how much he has helped us and Luna. We now have our sanity back and it definitely takes some reinforcing and simple reminders with Luna, but the foundation is now there and she will be ready in July for us to leave her with Ryan for another Board & Train to begin her next level of obedience training. Ryan is an excellent communicator, responds to messages within a reasonable time frame, and is very easy to work with. He genuinely cares about animals and this truly shines through in the quality of his work. If you’re contemplating sending your pup for training (for whatever reason), JUST DO IT. Ryan is the best out there. We consider this a long term investment in our new family member. Luna will carry these skills throughout the remainder of her life and it will only get better with time; and for this, it’s worth every penny.

We have two young malamute/Husky/Shepherd mixes who are smart but stubborn. We have worked extensively with other training programs. It was to the point where one could unlatch the gate to our fence. Ryan helped both become able to enjoy being the smart dogs they are but safely, as now I can trust them. The gentle approach to training was perfect and the dogs want to perform. We couldn’t be happier with the outcome of their board and train experience. Highly recommended! An 11 on a 10 scale. Edit: June 2024: We continue to bring our dogs back for refreshers and boarding and everyone comments on their “perfect” behavior. Our 7 month old puppy is there now, he’s very large and feisty but I know he will come home and I will be confident that he will be manageable in any situation including off leash. For intense training, no one is better than Ryan.