Citizen K9 Dog Training And Agility

Everyone at Citizen K9 is fantastic, but I specifically want to highlight Brandy for her amazing work with our reactive dog. I adopted our dog in my early 20s when he was about 4-5 months old, and he was my first dog so I was clueless on how to properly raise a dog, let alone a high-energy herding dog who was extremely anxious. After he was attacked by another dog on a walk, he developed a severe reactivity to dogs and eventually, also to people. In the past (almost) 10 years together, my dog and I have tried 4 different trainers using all of the common training methods. The trainer I worked with the longest used the popular "balanced training" methods, which include using a prong collar for sharp corrections of "unwanted" behaviors. I was very ignorant of the way this method can affect a dog over time, especially an anxious one like my own boy. His reactivity never improved. I moved away from that area and found another "balanced" trainer, yet again with no improvement to his reactivity. I began to think my dog would never improve. Then one day, I was looking for another trainer and I found Citizen K9's website. I called and the woman at the front desk was so kind and patient with my questions. I decided to give them a try, and I am so so thankful I did! Over the past few months working with Brandy and her team, my boy has improved SO much! His confidence level is growing, and his anxiety is calming down to the point where we can almost always walk past other dogs with little to no reaction. My boyfriend and I are learning (and unlearning!) so much at the group classes, and personally I am becoming less anxious as well. I wish I could have worked with Brandy from the start. It is abundantly clear that she is an expert at training, and I love that she does not use aversive methods. Our dog loves her, and it's obvious she loves him too. She can work with any dog, but it's the owners that need the most training! You will learn so much, and your dog will thank you!

I would like to say a huge thank you to Brandy and her team. I brought my German Shepherd, Archie, to her for the 4 week board and train. The difference that she made is night and day. When I brought him in, I can't even describe how scared of life he was. If anyone besides my husband or I tried to get near him he would go crazy and either bark until they backed away or he would even go so far as to becoming incontinent because he was so afraid. He has transformed SO much in the month that she had him. At our pickup session, he willingly would go up to everyone in the office and take treats without barking or going crazy. I've taken him on a few walks and he was able to meet a person new to him, he took treats from his new friend and even allowed pets which most definitely would not have been possible before working with Brandy. Because of Brandy and her team, he's well on his way to becoming the good boy I knew he could be and I look forward to continuing to work with them.