Island Canine Academy, LLC

So we sent our dog to Island Canine Academy a few weeks ago, and just got him back this Monday... And all I can say is wow ! We got our sheepadoodle Astro last February, it's our first dog together as a family, and we knew it would be like having another child lol. What we didn't realize was the frustration it could cause when he would destroy things in our house, or sprint out the door the second the kiddos open it or the babysitter when we aren't home, jumping on people and the excitement so overpowering that he would tackle people haha, all of this being said, he is absolutely the sweetest puppy in the world, he loves on our kiddos and any other person or dog he encounters. He is so playful, happy and energetic! We just couldn't seem to fully get him to stop jumping on our tables and all the little I betweens I mentioned before. My neighbor mentioned to me for months to send him to a woman they knew and have sent multiple dogs to, meanwhile I always see their dog off leash, well behaved and her listening is incredible, so I saw first hand.. whatever they did.. we needed! We did our consult and they got us in about 2 months later which gave us some time to budget the training in, and they were very thorough in the explaining what they would be doing with him. All of that being said, we went to get him, my whole family and I, he was sooooo beyond excited to see the kids and my fiance and I, yet still followed his commands before we could greet him said it all! I was so impressed she went through all of the commands, what he learned and how to do things before we could see him, and had us show her with him that we understood before we left which was super helpful! His life is ten fold better, we don't raise our voice to him ever.. we don't need to, he listens and everything they said about needing the collar and following through is true, most times I don't even need to press the button to make him refocus it's unbelievable. We live in the woods, half our backyard is woods, and we just let him go with no fence and he just plays and stays in our yard now, walks through the woods no leash, the trails, and he comes, he doesn't take off... He's much happier because we trust him, and he sees that and he lives so much more now that he's not chained in the backyard or yanking our arm off as we walk him ! They did tell us we would have our moments because my house is filled with distractions (3 kiddos between 2 and 6 yrs old) and it's true the only times he gets tempted to break his training is with them lol, but we have been following up diligently like they said to make sure this sticks permanently and one day we won't even need to collar ! We love our dog and we love what they did for us !!! Thankyou so so much for helping us and Astro so we can all enjoy each day that much more ! We will be in touch! Recommend this facility to anyone interested:) and lastly, it's always so amazing to see people not just doing a job, but very clearly loving what they do.. and all the dogs they get to work with ❤️

We worked with Julia and her team at Island Canine Academy to train our rescue Lab, and we can't say enough about them. First, they love dogs, and it shows. They train both the dog and, as importantly, the owner, and are always available afterward to answer questions or provide refreshers. Our Bella finished her training with a solid understanding of commands and was eager to please. I would recommend Island Canine to anyone who wants to have a happy, well-trained dog.

So for the longest time I wanted to write a positive review for island canine academy. If you want to pay almost two grand for your dog to sit, stay, and down, and not eat things because you push a button, if their collar is on, then by all means this is the place for you. The first consultation I had with them I was apprehensive about them utilizing the ecollar with my dog, and they had me test it on myself saying this is what it’s like, (very low setting they did on my hand) and it was fine. Fast forward two weeks and my dog seems great and they offer their “services” free of charge after the boarding to “guide you”. Well let me tell you what happened after my dog stayed with them. She had some unpredictable behavior changes that progressed from prior to them staying with her that most likely is linked to a health issue that we’re figuring out with multiple specialists. They offer their services “free of charge” after boarding. When she can finally text you back. Now my dog is a different dog. Her personality is different. I know my dog. Been obsessed with her and spent every minute with her for over a year. Visually and physically I can see she’s not right, and an x ray confirmed something is wrong, vets confirmed something is wrong, so most likely this is what’s led to the change in personality. Well canine academy doesn’t believe in dogs being unwell and acting differently. While me and my family, who have loved my dog, given her everything and more, granted kept her in the living room because she ate things but everyone was in there all day which is more than dogs in a crate for eight hours, and are looking for guidance from our trainer and professionals, who we paid to navigate what she’s going though and help her and us, because we love her. Our trainer recommends upping the number on her collar to correct her for every reaction. Or better yet, putting her around our family and other dog when she’s been unpredictable randomly because they haven’t seen it, even though we have on multiple occasions. Un leash her in the yard and say she’s trained, when we’ve seen her run off for cats and every thing else. In multiple situations. There has been no real life day to day guidance for at home life other than upping pushing a button to “correct” her. While my dog is struggling and not herself, and while her family is looking for guidance, and willing to pay for everything, for every diagnostic test to figure out what is going on and willing to work with her, as well as a trainer to navigate this, and paying them to help us, island canine academy is saying “it’s not a match” and to rehome her, because she’s so anxious she’s waking out of her sleep every night and even when we’re in another room she lunges at us, and it must be us, we’re the problem, the home she’s had that she’s loved for over a year,and was fine with outside of training for eating things, because we didn’t know how to set boundaries with a deaf dog since she was seven weeks old lol, and they have such an incredible massive problem with utilizing medications temporarily and listening to the vets and physical therapists and behavioral vets and specialists, but have absolutely no problem at all pressing the highest setting on that e collar in my own home in front of me to “train” an unwanted behavior out with my dog when she goes for a gas stove button. I urge you to put that setting on yourself for the consultation when you sit down with them. Wish they did that with me for the consultation as to what I could potentially subject my dog to while entrusting them to her care when it came to e collar training. Imagine every time you were having a hard time going through that on top of it. At the end of the day me and my family were looking for guidance for training a stubborn bully who had deficits with visual impairments as well as being auditory impaired. Very easy to teach sit, down, and stay But really there’s no guidance for day to day life and problems within the household.

Julia and her team did an amazing job training my 1 year old Shihpoo. Before he went in for his 2 week board and train, he was lunging at every car, dog that he passed, jumped on my little kid while playing, and was not leash trained. After his program, he is much calmer, does not lunge or jumps, and mostly listens to all the commands he was trained. Of course, from here on, it is consistency on our behalf for the success to be carried on. She also offers help post the program is complete. Thank you, Julia and team, for helping Boots and us.