Centurion Canine

I highly recommend Centurion Canine—they truly saved my dog’s life. We were at the point of considering behavioral euthanasia due to his extreme dog reactivity on neighborhood walks. We rescued Blue, a 2-year-old American Staffy, from a kill shelter in Texas through a local foster-based rescue in Pittsburgh. Our original goal was to foster him and help him find a permanent home, but his dog-reactivity made that incredibly challenging. At times, his anxiety and fear would escalate to the point where he redirected onto us, causing nips and scratches. Other dog walkers in our neighborhood would even turn around to avoid us when they saw us coming. What made it even more difficult was that Blue was such a good dog at home. He was great with our cats, safe to be left loose in the house with our other dog, and not reactive to people at all—only to other dogs. He walked beautifully on a leash, except when another dog appeared. Our other dog, a reactive Chihuahua-Corgi-Heeler mix, may have contributed to the issue as well. Before finding Centurion Canine, I interviewed about five different board-and-train programs and initially chose another trainer (a big mistake). While that trainer could handle Blue without issues, we saw little improvement when we were the ones working with him. It was frustrating and discouraging. Out of love for Blue, we decided to try Centurion Canine’s board-and-train program—and it made all the difference. David and Victoria were incredibly patient and supportive, even though we hadn’t chosen them initially. I was very skeptical that Blue could become off-leash trained, learn solid obedience, and walk calmly through the neighborhood—but they proved me wrong. After the six-week Board and Train at Centurion Canine, Blue was transformed. We ended up adopting him, and he is now amazing off leash. Following the board and train program, we also enrolled both of our dogs in day training and private lessons. I’ll admit that my biggest challenge has been maintaining consistent follow-through at home with commands like “place,” “sit,” “down,” and “heel,” but Blue’s recall (“come”) is outstanding, and his behavior around other dogs has improved dramatically. He now does wonderfully with several off-leash neighbor dogs in our backyard. We plan to continue using Centurion Canine for boarding and occasional refresher training—not just for Blue, but honestly for my own “training” as well. Victoria has been our trainer, and she is fantastic. I’ve learned so much from both her and David, and I’m incredibly grateful for everything they’ve done for our family.

We had an incredible experience with the 6-week board and train program for our older dog. The transformation has honestly been amazing. He feels like a completely new dog. Before training, walks were stressful and unenjoyable. He would bark, lunge, and pull at anything that passed by. At home, he was like a bull in a china shop whenever guests came over, would dart out the front door the second it opened, and even figured out how to open the pantry and steal food. It felt overwhelming at times. After completing the program, all of those behaviors have drastically improved. Not only is he calmer and more well-behaved, but we also now have the tools and confidence to manage his impulses and reinforce what he’s learned. He’s more relaxed, more confident, and truly a joy to be around. We can now walk him peacefully, have him out with us when guests are over, trust him off leash, and even have him calmly hang out in the kitchen during gatherings. He’s also perfectly content in his crate when needed, which has been a huge help. Most importantly, our family genuinely loves having him around now in a way we couldn’t fully enjoy before. We’re so grateful for the care, structure, and guidance this program provided and highly recommend to anyone considering it!

We had such a great experience working with Mariah for the 6-week day training program! Our 7 month old pitbull puppy just finished the program and he learned all the skills he needs to be a very good boy. His recall is amazing - better than any dog we’ve ever had - and he is so much more polite with house guests and obedient in general. Everyone is so nice and the training actually works/is easy to stick to at home. So so happy with the program!

I had an amazing experience with Centurion Canine! My 6-month-old puppy was quite a challenge when he arrived on Christmas Day. Shortly after, we signed up for a two-week boot camp. He came back so well-behaved and made life and walks enjoyable! The follow-up sessions really helped enforce all his training he received during boot camp. I would highly recommend anyone that has the time and means to commit to their service to take advantage of the benefits. It was life-changing for me. And his brother🐕 kudos to all the staff, especially Mariah!! Total professionals all the way around!!