Off Leash K9 Training, Charlottesville

My wife and I once again used Off Leash K9 Training with our trainer Tyla! Back in September, we had our 18month old puppy Bruce attend the 2 week board and train and had so much success and positive change in him that we decided to send our 5 year old Aussie Cattle Dog Mix Harley (2 week board and train) as well! Harley suffered from trauma and abuse prior to us adopting her 4 years ago causing her to become very protective of us and reactive when people would get within 5 feet from her. We were very happy and proud of the amount of progress our Harley girl made! We know she is quite stubborn and older than an impressionable puppy, but Tyla was absolutely amazing with her. Tyla was the perfect match for her as she really knew how to approach Harleys case (which was different than her approach with our other dog Bruce) as well as being very patient. She spent a lot of time building that trust up with Harley and focused on building her confidence, especially out in public, around people, and other dogs. We've noticed such a difference with Harley as we've been working with her and her brother Bruce. She no longer lunges, barks, reacts, and pulls when on the leash and we are working well with her off leash as well! Harley listens and waits for her cues and you can truly see she is eager to please and follow her commands. We are excited to continue working with her and Tyla as we transition to bringing both Harley and Bruce on walks in command with only one of us walking with the 2 dogs. Tyla has continued to be an amazing resource from Bruce to Harley to onward. We give her a lot of updates and as some people may not want to be bothered, Tyla instead shows continued enthusiasm when hearing about their progress and is eager to continue sharing advice and support! We said it back in October and we will say it again: we couldn't recommend Tyla & Off Leash K9 more! We are very grateful our paths have crossed with Tyla and our pups continue to show so much progress. Our walks are no longer stressful and uncomfortable, and instead, they are relaxing, fun, and honestly more exhilarating / mentally stimulating for our pups as well!

Our experience in utilizing Off Leash K9 Training for our one-and-a-half-year-old cavapoo, Hessie, far exceeded our expectations. Lauren, the designated trainer for our pup was the best---a remarkable trainer with great experience and skills--not only in what she was able to accomplish with Hessie, but in the genuine love and enthusiasm she brought to the training. We left Hessie with her while my husband, Bob, and I went on a 12 day cruise to celebrate our 55th wedding anniversary. Lauren told us that she would be sending us a report card each day so that we could see the progress Hessie was making. We were really focused on enjoying our trip, but as the report cards began to come in, it got to be that we couldn't wait for evening to come where we could see Lauren working with Hessie, and the amazing progress she was making. Each report card came with a few still pictures of Hessie (how she got her to pose so well, we'll never know!), a few videos from a variety of public sites Lauren took her to to be around people and other dogs, and then an extensive, written report detailing the day's activities and the commands she was working on--come, sit, down, heel, off, and perhaps Hessie's favorite, "break", which meant that she was free at the moment from that training exercise, and could leisurely be about doing what she wanted to do. One of our goals was to see Hessie trained to be able to walk with us off-leash, where she wouldn't be distracted and run away when there were other people or dogs around that she would naturally and impulsively run off to to see or to explore. By the end of the training, Lauren was able to bring her to the point where she could do that. We never thought we would see the day that she would behave like this, but with Loren's devoted and disciplined efforts, we're looking forward to having our dog back and to be able to enjoy her in ways that we were not able to prior to the training. Lauren was a great, positive motivator, rewarding Hessie for good behavior with treats, praise, physical touch and hugs (including belly-rubs), and great enthusiasm in expressing pleasure to Hessie for her obedience and a job well done. (It will be hard to compete with that standard of excellence that she possesses as a trainer, but we will do our best to follow-through and continue to cultivate the behavior skills that Lauren so effectively was able to accomplish with her.) We feel very fortunate to have been able to work with Lauren and with Off Leash. We couldn't recommend Lauren and the training methods employed by Off Leash highly enough for those who are truly interested in having well behaved pets and, with continued work, having the frustration removed of not having a pet that they are able to control and enjoy to the fullest.

My 1 year old mixed breed dog, Dillon (Mr. Pickles) was so stubborn. I felt like I’m never going to be able to stop telling him no. I’ve never had a dog as stubborn as him. I felt like a failure. I am able to train 1200lb horses, but I can’t get my 81lb dog to listen. I finally threw in the towel and called OLK9. We went with the 2 week train and board. It was the best decision we ever made. Our Trainer Malachi, was absolutely the best thing that happened to our family. He was so informative and kind. I knew he loved animals as much as I did. While it was very hard to let my boy leave for 2 weeks, I knew he was in very good hands. The report cards, pictures and videos were very reassuring and it was great to see him progress every day. If you are on fence about whether or not you should spend the money on training, you absolutely should. It was the best money I’ve ever spent. I look forward to progressing with our training. It’s nice to know that if I am stuck, I can message Malachi and he can help me. If I’m really stuck, I can schedule a refresher course as many times as I need too. So, thank you, thank you, thank you Malachi. I just can’t thank you enough. Much love from Mr. Pickles and Heathermichelle.