K-Nine Solutions Dog Training

We went to K9 Solutions at the end of 2023. We got our ~2 year old dog from the shelter early October and about a month in, we had several negative incidents with off-leash dogs. Not sure if it was these incidents, or him finally coming out of his shell after a month, but he became dog aggressive/reactive. We had plans to spend the holidays in a house with 2 other dogs, so we felt urgency to find a training program quickly. We had our intro meeting with Eric, and he left us feeling that this goal was very doable with their 4 week day training. He also implied he would be involved in the training saying something like "I am excited to work with [our dog]", but did not seem to have really worked with our dog during the program. It did not seem very personalized to the training stimulus our dog needed to fix his issues. During the first week of using the prong collar, we realized at home that he had scabs all around his neck. K-Nine said he was allergic to metal... (we went to our vet, who disagreed and said he was 'allergic' to the metal pinching his skin). They moved to a different collar during the training, but continued pushing a prong collar on our dog during the pack walks. No, I do not think it's appropriate to use a tool that we know causes wounds on our dog. We did learn some good tips from Maureen during our 1-1 sessions. We did not complete the pack walks, because it felt like I was fighting with the trainers trying to advocate for my dog. Did we accomplish our goal of having him peacefully coexist with dogs during the holidays? No, he had to be physically separated the whole time. Did stepping out the door with him because less stressful after K-Nine? No. Did we feel a strengthened bond with our dog? No, I felt like we broke his trust. He had loose stools from stress by the end of his time at K-Nine. They rely very heavily on punishment (they didn't even use the pager/vibrate function on the e-collar during our training, only shocks) It seems like this place is great for a lot of dogs, but it was not a good experience for ours, and it cost about 6k.

Unfortunately really poor experience where negative reinforcement did not work for my dog and increased his anxiety. He became fearful of the facility and could not continue to train there. I was offered a refund initially and then the owner changed his mind and provided a partial refund. I would be cautious of using a large facility if your dog has any anxiety/fear and utilize a personal dog trainer instead.

This is quite possibly the best money we have EVER spent. This review is dedicated to all five people in Santa Barbara living on a budget, haha. Our one-year old retriever puppy was super destructive despite his heart of gold. We held out on training for so long because we didn't feel we could afford it. Finally, after two hospital visits (both from the puppy eating things he shouldn't have), we realized we could either spend the money on vet bills and replacing broken items OR we could invest in a well-behaved pup. After four weeks day training at K-Nine, our dog is almost unrecognizable; all of the good, none of the bad. He's almost entirely stopped jumping and counter surfing. He sits in place while we're cooking and eating. He has amazing recall off-leash at the beach. It's incredible. To Adam, Eric and everyone at K-Nine who helped us with Pismo, thank you. We are grateful. And if you are considering training at K-Nine, we highly recommend Adam. I was intimidated by him at first -- he's approximately 6'10 with a military background -- but I'm pretty sure that's part of what makes him a dog whisperer, haha. Dogs know he means business!!!! Our puppy worships him and we really enjoyed working with him. One additional note, in case it's helpful to anyone doubting: I had some real hesitation and anxiety about using the e-collar as we went into training. I got over that quickly. If you are worried about it, just know that our dog seems much HAPPIER now that we use it. He's eager to please and loves doing a good job, and now he actually understands how we want him to behave. It's given us clear communication with him - a language he understands. I am so glad I buckled up and went for it because it has made all the difference.