Call of the K9

I met Anne through the Puppy Best Start program at Dog Days Vandalia, and have since attended many of her classes with my Wheaten Terrier/Poodle, Cosmo. I have attended so many classes around the cities but Anne’s classes at Call of the K9 are truly unique. Anne recognizes how much enrichment dogs truly need to be happy and thriving, and that is reflective in how she teaches. Anne’s classes often include periodic breaks for dogs to play. At the end of the play break handlers must use the skills they are learning to get their dog’s attention back on them. This was initially very challenging for me and my dog. It was challenging for me not to get flustered as my dog continued to run around and amp up the other dogs…but it was a real life scenario not often experienced in other training classes. Every time it happened Anne patiently modeled what I needed to do to get my dog’s attention back on me. Over the summer Cosmo and I took Anne’s hiking class and worked with her privately on off leash recall. I was very appreciative that she could work with us before we took Cosmo on a family trip to the Boundary Waters. I can’t imagine having had to leash him crossing portages, at camp, etc. He lived his best life, swimming in the lakes, pursuing red squirrels up the pines, and always coming back when called. He came home a changed dog. After taking many of Anne’s classes I feel empowered with the knowledge and tools to reflect and do better when things don’t go as planned with my pup. She has helped me realize that so much of dog training is training yourself as their human companion. Her classes have helped me develop a great bond with Cosmo where we are both getting our needs met and understanding each other (most of the time ;)

Anne has been working with my dog Kinsey since she was 4 months old at the Puppy Best Start program at Dog Days Vandalia and Kinsey still attends now (in the Tweeners group). Since then, we have done many group classes with Anne as well as several private sessions. We particularly loved the Leash + Recall class where we worked on leash skills, recall, and just being around other people and dogs on hikes. We also did private e-collar/off leash training sessions this summer and we have so much fun now going on hikes with Kinsey knowing she can run free and explore like she was meant to! Anne has such a wonderful understanding of Kinsey as an individual dog, as well as how Kinsey’s breed mix contributes to her behaviors. She has been a fantastic teacher over the last year and we have learned so much about how to meet Kinsey’s needs. Kinsey has become the adventure dog we always dreamed of, thanks to Anne!

I trust Anne and her team so much on helping my pup in her development, past trauma, and helping me provide the best life for her. I have now gone through 2 classes (in person and online) and truly I felt "heard" about EVERYTHING. From my dog's past (as a pound puppy), her breed mix, my concerns, my busy schedule, but overall especially the goals I have for myself and my pup. I am just signing up for my 3rd class and will continue to sign up if the classes fit for my pup. UPDATE: I have gone to so many classes now and have had private sessions and honestly she is the best. The in-person classes were great because of the discussions with my prior conversations with Anne we were able to accommodate the class to make my pup successful and more on her reactivity instead of commands (which mine already had prior to classes). Once we started going to the Sr High classes the amount of dogs in the place was much less which then allowed my dog to come out of her bubble. Our private sessions continued to build her recall to me, counterconditioning to her reactivity and etc. Though my road of reactivity is not done, my pup has come a LONG way in almost 2 years.

My dog, Bindi, took the Puppy Socialization Class and Puppy Jr High. The early exposure to other dogs, interacting with other people, exposure to tunnels, jumps, playhouses, wheelchairs, helped her grow to be very confident. The style of training helped us build a bond that has helped us succeed in her additional training. She became an AKC Good Citizen at 8 1/2 months and we became a Therapy Dog team at just under 13 months. Our success is due to the strong base at Call of the K9. Anne is very talented.

I recently adopted my first dog, a young puppy. In the first weeks, I was feeling overwhelmed and had a lot of questions. There is so much information out there, and I had a hard time sorting through it all and deciding what might be helpful. I found Anne through my breeder and gave her a call. Anne went way above and beyond, patiently listening and helping me to understand the most important things to do. She is experienced and knowledgeable about dogs of all ages, and equally skillful at working with anxious owners. : - ) Her practical suggestions put my mind at ease and set me in the right direction. I am most grateful and would highly recommend that you connect with her.