KC Dawgz Dog Training Academy

We HIGHLY recommend KC DAWGZ at the Gladstone location! Our sweet, sassy, smart, and a lot stubborn 7 month old girl Zona was struggling with leash reactivity, anxiety, dog reactivity, etc. One of our neighbors recommended them so I called right away and from the first phone call I knew they were the ones to give us the help we needed! Richard has done AMAZING things for our whole family after 4 weeks-I even extended her training! Zona is just a happier girl and I’m no longer nervous taking a 70+lb guardian breed (at 8 months) out in public, greeting people, or on walks. And the girls who greet her every day are just as great! If you are considering professional training for your dog-just go for it. Richard worked with me to read her cues, loose leash walking, heeling, recall, working towards neutral with other dogs (WIP), and many more things. I’m as much a work in process as she is, but the patience they have shown is unmatched. 😆

Our big baby had zero manners and was for sure a wild one with destructive puppy behavior. Huey was trained by Richard and we saw an almost immediate change. After a months training he listens and is able to do things we never thought possible. With consistency and patience it’s a great program! We’ve decided Huey will continue to see Richard for a check up. I look at this as the same as doctors visit for us to keep us healthy! 😆

KC Dawgz exceeded all of our expectations! Our puppy, Luna, has grown so much since attending their Day Train program. Richard and Stephanie treated her like family and truly cared about her. Whenever she couldn’t attend, they would always check in to see how she was doing. Luna loved going to “school”—the moment we’d say it was time, her tail would start wagging with excitement. We always had complete peace of mind knowing she was in such caring hands. Every follow-up visit was informative and gave us the confidence to continue her training at home. We’re so grateful for everything Richard and Stephanie have done for Luna and highly recommend KC Dawgz to anyone looking for trainers who genuinely care about your dog.

Our dog Ruby just went through a 4 week behavior modification training program with Steph at the Gladstone location. Ruby was reactive on leash and at at our fence with the neighbor dogs, and had problems focusing on us (and what we wanted) while she was outside. She's the first non-food-motivated dog we've ever had, and so we had no idea how to get her attention when she was so focused on everything else. We had only ever trained with treats and that just wasn't working this time. But Steph did know how to train her. After training, our dog is calm and confident. She can loose leash walk in the neighborhood at heel. She's patient and well mannered. A model citizen. She will focus on us when we're outside and come when called, which used to be a struggle if there was a nice breeze, or an interesting leaf, or a bee, or the moon to gaze at. I highly recommend training through KC Dawgz and the associated Digs boarding facility/play group in Gladstone. We dropped Ruby off every morning and picked her up after work, and got to take home a well behaved dog in the evening. She learned while we were working, when we didn't have the time or expertise to do it ourselves. I'd give more than 5 stars if I could. If you just have a wacky four legged roommate or a furkid who has a tougher problem, Steph can sort them out for you. The initial consultation was free and easy to schedule and the package we went with included in-home training lessons to make sure everything worked out right at home, too. Some of the best money we have ever spent. (Thank you Steph!!!)

A friend recommended KC Dawgz Gladstone to us and specifically Richard as a trainer. We did a 4-week training program with Richard and our now 3yo German Shepherd is a new dog. Granted he is still a big goofball but listens to commands even when at the dog park with 20 other dogs around. Primarily Richard worked with our guy but we were able to see him with a couple of the other trainers as well and they were all great in how they worked and interacted. I am very protective over my boy and have no issues fully trusting the staff at KC Dawgz Gladstone with him.