Island Dog Obedience

When we first brought Kona to Kristi in October 2025, he had severe anxiety. He was terrified of strangers and wouldn’t let anyone he didn’t know or trust pet him. We completed our training sessions with Kristi in January 2026, but what she taught us was just the beginning. She gave us the tools, guidance, and confidence to continue working with Kona every day. Fast forward to June 2026, and we had a moment that made us realize just how far he’s come. We took Kona to the KCC Farmers Market, and for the first time, he calmly approached complete strangers and allowed them to pet him. Not only did he tolerate it—he actually seemed to enjoy it! His ears weren’t pinned back, his tail wasn’t tucked, and he looked relaxed and confident. This progress didn’t happen overnight. It took months of consistency, patience, and trusting the process. Training doesn’t end when the sessions are over—you have to keep putting in the work. Thanks to Kristi’s guidance and everything we’ve continued to practice, Kona is a completely different dog than he was when we first met her. We truly can’t thank Kristi enough for helping Kona build confidence and learn that the world isn’t such a scary place. We love Kristi, and she’s the only person we trust to watch Kona when we’re away. If you’re looking for a trainer who genuinely cares about your dog and sets you up for long-term success, we can’t recommend her enough. ❤️🐾

We worked with Kristi to introduce e-collar training to our reactive german shepherd mix and am so glad we did. Knowing his problems, we thought we’d have to do 8 lessons but only ended up needing 3. After our 3 lessons, we saw HUGE improvements in our dog’s reactivity and we felt we had all the necessary tools to reinforce his training on our own. I appreciate that Island Dog Obedience didn’t just try to grab our money. They didn’t try to over-sell packages with extensive numbers of lessons that our dog didn’t actually need. Instead, they equipped us with the training skills that made us feel confident training our dog on our own going forward. I really appreciated that Kristi consistently brought other dogs to our training sessions so that my dog had real opportunities to put his new skills to the test and show that his reactivity could be controlled. My only reason for 4 stars instead of 5 is because Kristi didn’t seem super organized or professional at times. She accidentally missed one of our first sessions without prior notice and would sometimes ask the same questions at different training sessions because she didn’t keep any kind of “file” or notes on our dog. My husband and I are both type A people, so that just naturally clashed with us a bit, but other people may not have an issue with that. Overall we got the results we were looking for and are super grateful to Kristi!

We recently adopted our 1.5 year old golden retriever who would always pull when leashed and was not kennel trained. With our golden being 60 pounds, very strong, energetic and stubborn, we knew we have to get seek professional help for him. We met with Raya for a consultation for 2 week board and train and it was the best investment ever. During the board and train, Raya would send us daily pictures and updates. In the videos, she would send, she would also explain in detail what she was doing and why she was doing it which I highly appreciated. Upon pick up, we did an hour long training where she went over the training with me so I can stay consistent in my boy’s training. He will sometimes pull when walking but only when distracted but it’s something that I’m working on with him. And his overall obedience has been so much better. I highly recommended to any dog parent that is wanting to making behavior changes for the furry loved ones!

Lilo did very well she learned so much in just two weeks. she learned her commands and had a great time with her trainer! She went from being extremely shy to being very confident and obedient. One thing I really love is that her personality stayed she just learned her lessons and improved so much with her trainer. The price was definitely worth it because of how much we love lilo and want her to be safe around other people, dogs, and even kids !

We enrolled our dog for the 2-week board and train and had a great experience with trainer Ryan. His calm and confident approach has helped our dog improve in obedience, leash manners, and socialization. We were kept up to date with photos and videos, which not only showed the progress our dog has made but also how happy he was while boarding at their home. As we continue his training ourselves, words cannot express how grateful we are to Ryan and the tools and tips he has shared with us to upkeep these good habits. The great communication and support also extends beyond the program, as Ryan continues to help with questions we have post graduation. Ryan and Island Dog Obedience have truly helped us improve our daily routine and lifestyle. Both our family and our dog have gained a greater confidence, allowing us to enjoy more of the world together. Thank you so much, Ryan!