George & Friends Dog Training Portland, Oregon

I can’t say enough good things about Risa! She has completely changed our lives and we have only been working with her for a few months. We came to her with three rescue dogs under 2 years old that all had their own unique set of issues. One has VERY VERY high anxiety, one has tons of energy and anxiety, and the third barks at every noise, person, or dog he sees. When we started seeing Risa, we couldn’t even teach the one with high anxiety to sit on command. After one session we were not only able to get her to sit, but also to come, look, and lay down! She also noticed that one of our dogs was having some weird symptoms that she told us we needed to get checked out because they seemed related to seizures. We took her into the neurologist and it turns out she was having seizures, even though our regular vet had told us it was nothing when we brought up the concerns months before. We got her on anticonvulsants and some of her issues resolved immediately. There is nothing we could ever do thank Risa enough. She really cares for all of her clients (both human and dog!) and goes out of her way to really learn what every dog needs. She also looked at their food, toys, treats, and medicine, and really takes the dog’s whole environment into account instead of just focusing on the training. We had tried two other trainers before finding Risa and no one was able to make a dent. I can’t recommend Risa enough! (Photo is our barking dog totally calm in the busy airport!)

We have been working with Risa and Zach, George & Friends, since March 2021 for our dog Asha. They have been incredibly insightful, knowledgeable, and life saving for us and our sweet "monster"! We have really appreciated their positive reinforcement approach to all of the training, their commitment to helping train us, and the love they show for Asha! Without any hesitation at all, we highly recommend them for your People/Dog Training needs.

Risa was super helpful with my 18 month old Dachshund! Buddy was a rescue and probably came from an abusive home so he is very anxious and suffers from severe separation anxiety. Risa was able to help me build his confidence up over 3 sessions (about 5 weeks) to a point where he has become much more comfortable with himself. It’s going to be a long term process to train him to be fine alone at home but he is already so much better than he was before! I HIGHLY recommend Risa to anybody who needs quick, reliable help and support.