No Xcuses K9 - Maine

In 2021 I took my one year old pup in for training. I took her due to severe anxiety issues, after putting my trust into this program and spending a good amount of money thinking I was putting her in the hands of knowledgeable trainers. Kristina was AMAZING but unfortunately it was only the consult and first few classes that she hosted. I was very shocked and disturbed by one of the trainers Nick, who ended up taking over these classes and the approach and handling of my puppy was unethical. My puppy was very scared and he forced her into the tunnels and courses with forced tugs and choking from the leash to the point where he was lifting her from her neck which made her squeal and squirm in a way I had never heard from her before. She was terrified, and all the other dogs in the class started whining due to her obvious distress. I did not go back to the class, and received a few messages from other people in the class how unacceptable that was. My puppy was traumatized and if I had known that would be the outcome or Nick would be training instead of Kristina I would not have enrolled. My dog is much better now two years later, after slow introductions and positive interactions and trust that I will never put her in the hands of someone who will do that to her again. Needless to say that ‘training’ class took us back many steps after that incident and it’s deeply unfortunate.

We took our dog here to be assessed for his anxiety invoked aggression. When we got there the doors were locked and the lights were off. I called and no one answered. I did get a call back and was told the trainer was supposed to be there. The owner (I assume) called him and we were finally let in. I was not at all impressed with the assessment process. My dog is dog reactive and had to endure being triggered not once but twice through glass. Not only that but the trainer took it once step further and had the other dog stay outside and aggressive bark at my dog. It was awful. After that, they wanted to see how he was with his “fully trained” dog. To me it was more about showing off how well trained his dog was and not about what was best for my dog. When I called the trainer to discuss more questions, he didn’t respond until 3 days later.