Doggone Fit

We started our dog with Doggone fit as a puppy and it’s been the BEST decision we’ve ever made! He loves going on his adventure hikes and getting exercise, and the added discipline/training element that’s built in has made him into such a remarkably well behaved and enjoyable dog. It’s been so much easier to be consistent at home when we have a Doggone trainer who is setting the tone for expected behavior. We HIGHLY recommend Doggone Fit over any other doggy daycare/dog walking options!

All I need to say about Doggone Fit is. They pushed forward with my dog where others refused to even try, and achieved results that have opened up a path where his quality of life can far exceed what was ever assumed and expected. We worked specifically with Richie, and his knowledge and passion for what he does is easily witnessed when you see the outcomes of his training. He is honest about what we needed to change if we wanted to keep from training regression, but never told us what we had to do. He opened our eyes to a completely different view of training, and let us make the choices on what to move forward with. We will continue to work with the trainers at facility, as the amount of growth and success we have seen in a matter of months, is more than was ever thought possible. We will be forever grateful for the work they have done, and continue to do. As it literally may have saved our dogs life. Just like we refused to give up on our pup, do did they.

Richie has been working with our puppy since she was 12 weeks old. She has gone from a scared little one who shook and wouldn’t walk past cars to a delightful, confident and friendly dog with people and animals. I originally hired Doggone fit for Ellie to have exercise and activity with other dogs (which has been great for tiring her out) but I totally underestimated the value of the training the dogs get while out with their pack. She sits patiently at corners when we walk her, she plays politely with other dogs, and she has excellent recall already at age 5.5 months. Heidi, the owner, is wonderful at getting back to you quickly about any scheduling or billing questions. Matt, one of the other trainers also boarded Ellie for a night and was great about updating us about how she was doing and picked her up at our house and dropped her off without any issues. Everyone is wonderful and I really can’t say enough about how great Richie has been. Doggone fit is worth every penny (it’s a little more costly than a short walk) and is helping us raise a well adjusted, obedient, and friendly family pet. Do yourself a favor and call them.

We had a fabulous experience! Richie was kind, considerate and non-judge mental. Our 185 lb dog was becoming a behavior issue and we needed help. Richie taught us that we were not communicating and getting respect. We learned how to use a few tools and our dog is now manageable by all members of our family. We still have work to do but Richie is patient and continues to encourage us!!! The owner was easy to work with and extremely accommodating - highly recommend!!!!

We recently adopted two very large senior labradors, sweet dogs but with some behavioral/anxiety problems. We had lost our dog a year before and thought they would fit in nicely with our family. After six months of trying in earnest to make it work we were feeling very overwhelmed and we nearly threw in the towel. Then a kind neighbor suggested we seek help from a trainer. I found Doggone Fit through a posting on a local FB board and gave them a call. From the moment the owner answered they have been amazing to work with. I highly recommend them if you are in need of some help getting some help with handling your dog. If you want more detail, read on: We were connected to a trainer who coincidentally lives a few blocks from our home in Holden, Richie. He was a last ditch effort to save our relationship with these dogs, and we are happy to report that he did. He did this by teaching us what we needed to know and showing us what our dogs needed from us. As is typical, we were unwittingly causing most of the problems. He introduced us to E-Collars, which to be honest we were very reluctant to consider. Not a little reluctant, extremely so. He suggested we try them on ourselves before putting them on the dogs. They were not painful, merely briefly uncomfortable. In that first session Richie took our most problematic dog Cooper and fixed the main problem in about a half hour using the e-collar. Cooper has needed some reminders as to what his expected behavior is but for the most part Richie taught him what he needed to know while also giving us the tools to know how to reinforce it. To me, this was remarkable. In a few training sessions Richie taught us methods and gave us advice on how to handle the dogs, use the collars, and how to correct their behavior. It has been a couple months since then and I'm very happy to report that while two dogs equaling 200 lbs (!) are still overwhelming at times we have figured out how to live together in relative peace. We learned our role and the dogs have too. They still need some work but Richie, the e-Collars, and our consistency has definitely changed our dogs for the better. With Richie's helpful, patient guidance our dogs have become far easier to handle. One last thought about the e-collar. After using them for a few months, I finally realized it is a way for you to clearly communicate with your dog, it's like a radio that speaks a language that dogs understand. We had sweet dogs who wanted to please but before the collars we were speaking a language they didn't understand, now they do and everything has improved since then. Best of luck to you and happy tails!