North Star Family K-9

I recently had my dog Loki stay here for the 3 week Board and Train and couldn’t be happier with the experience! From the moment I dropped him off, the staff made me feel like my dog was in loving, capable hands. What sets this place apart is their daily report cards and pictures — every single day I received an update with sweet details about what my pup did, how he ate, played, and interacted, plus a few great photos that totally put my mind at ease. The training portion was equally impressive — they worked with him on manners and basic commands with patience and consistency. By the time I picked him up, I could already see a noticeable improvement in his behavior! The facility is clean, well-organized, and the staff clearly loves dogs. I felt completely comfortable leaving my dog there and appreciated the peace of mind that came with those daily updates. Highly recommend to anyone looking for top-notch boarding and training with lots of love and communication! 🐶❤️

I used K9SF for board and training my first dog, "Asher", and did immense research prior to choosing one. I appreciated the video consult and how they asked all of my needs/desires/and learned more about Asher before I committed. I purchased the 2-week B&T with behavior modification and a 4-pack of private lessons. The board and train was close to $3k and then the four pack of lessons was around $800 total. We did one lesson prior to the B&T which was nice because he got to meet Milo and see the facility. I dropped him off a couple weeks later. I really appreciated the daily report cards and pics/vids/being able to see Asher's progress. He got prong collar trained as his biggest issue was leash pulling. He also learned some other basic commands. I saw towards the end of his training in pics they had utilized an e-collar, which from the start I told them I wanted to use as I wanted to eventually have off-leash freedom using that tool, but then when he came home, I was only taught prong collar stuff and not much with the e-collar which I wondered why they didn't just use the e-collar the whole time because I would've bought it and gotten him used to it. I did the debriefing w/ Milo on his last day & it was clear Asher learned a lot. He seemed happy. Unfortunately, a week after getting home I realized the prong collar had caused some open sores so I had to stop using it. This is when I reached out about our follow up lessons and using an e-collar because he had regressed over two weeks and was back to pulling completely again, unless he was on the prong. I had 3 private lessons after, one at the facility, two at home, one with Milo and one with another trainer (I think Emily?). Anyways. E-collar seemed to help him heel better and we basically switched to using that at home. My dog had no reactivity issues prior to K9SF. He was a sweet boy and loved all humans. Men, women, kids. He never showed any fear or reactivity until about 3 weeks after leaving K9SF when he was greeting one of my neighbors and ended up jumping towards his face and then proceeded to bark. The next month after that, it was more of the same, he ended up growling at a man at the groomer, becoming more jumpy, and stressed around certain people. Especially men at first, and it was mainly white men which was weird because Asher had a white male trainer. He ended up jumping up and biting my stepdad's lip after he had met him already 3 times previously so that was weird because there were no overstimulating activities around us & we were in my home. He bit another random man's hand after getting loose one day, And eventually, I brought him to the vet to consult about his behavior and reactivity, and he bit the vet tech who was a woman. I'm not saying something happened at his training but it was definitely strange the switch that flipped after he was done with it. He gradually turned into a different dog and I was unsure why. When I called and spoke with Milo about this all after his first two bites, he told me Asher needed an intense 4-week B&T or he needed to be humanely euthanized. I felt like I wasn't being offered realistic help or options because he already did 2 weeks and I spent over $3k, and a four week B&T would be even more..I feel like they could've empathized with me more or offered a free consult to see what his reactivity was like/etc...especially since he didn't have this before training and they never mentioned anything about it. I ended up putting Asher down just four days ago. It was heart breaking and he was gone way too soon. I really wish I could say I had a different experience. I consulted with another board and train that was $3k total for one month and included the mini educator e-collar in it. He also would've been off-leash trained for that one. I almost did it and really should've trusted my instinct. I don't think two weeks one is enough for them to really know your dog, and two, it was incredibly expensive for the outcome I had. I would do your research prior to sending your dog here and consider all of your options.

Hank is a truly remarkable trainer with an exceptional gift for understanding dog behavior. Every time you watch him work with the animals, it feels like witnessing a real-life Dr. Doolittle moment. He doesn’t just train dogs—he connects with them. He reads their emotions, understands their needs and wants, and identifies their anxieties or discomforts with an intuition that can’t be taught. His staff at North Star K9 are equally impressive. They are attentive, compassionate, and treat every dog with the same love and gentleness they would give their own fur babies. Their professionalism, patience, and genuine care create an environment where dogs feel safe, supported, and able to thrive. I trust Hank and his entire team at North Star K9 completely. Their expertise, empathy, and dedication make this one of the best canine training programs anywhere.

Phenomenal experience and highly recommend North Star Family K-9. We used Hank for a 3-week boot camp as our rescue puppy had bitten numerous people. We had previously used two other professional trainers but she continued to be very aggressive towards people at our house and thought we might have to do the unthinkable, as she bit a stranger and the police got involved. Thankfully we spoke to Hank and he literally might have saved her life. She came back with a ton more confidence, well trained and is now kennel trained to boot. Hank has so much passion for what he does and really poors his heart and soul into the training. My wife and I also appreciated the detailed explanations about what challenges our puppy was dealing with and Hank's approach. As I said earlier, I would highly recommend him. Cheers, Luke