PLAY! K9 Academy

I have had German Shepherds all of my life, last year, at 54 years old,I got another German Shepherd puppy. I thought I was in for the same loving, loyal, obedient journey that I was familiar with. That is not what happened! Captain was an absolute nightmare! She was beautiful, but that’s about the only positive thing I could say. She she was smart, smart enough to know exactly how to piss you off. She bit everyone, including my 80-year-old parents. We were all covered in scratches and bite marks it was horrible! I tried everything I knew and nothing worked. She was this beautiful ball of unrelenting chaos. I felt like I had failed her as a dog parent and I felt horrible that I didn’t have the physical or emotional energy to keep trying. I was at my wits end, but decided I would try one more trainer before completely giving up on the both of us. Finding Nina absolutely saved my sanity, my marriage, and my relationship with Captain! Nina agreed to take Captain for a two week puppy Boot Camp and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done!. Nina knows exactly how these dogs work and she finally gave me the validation that I wasn’t losing my mind. Captain is indeed a very strong willed, dominant, high drive working dog. With a gleam in her eye, Nina told me that that’s exactly the kind of dog that she loves to work with! And she is amazing. If you are looking for someone that is really going to meet you where you are and teach you how to effectively communicate and meet the needs of your dog, this is the place! My favorite thing about Nina is that she holds me accountable for making my dog accountable. She takes the time to truly get to know every dog that she works with so that she can construct the most effective strategy to educate the dog. Then, she does the same thing with the dog parents. That is a vital component. Nina provides videos on her website to demonstrate training techniques and scenarios of all kinds and she is readily available with questions via text. The group classes are a great place for your dog to connect with their pack, for owners to commiserate with, congratulate and support fellow dog owners, to get valuable feedback on progress with your dog and sometimes…a greatly humbling experience. Nina is also a 100% genuinely authentic person who is brutally honest and wildly entertaining with a great sense of humor! If you love your dog, call Nina!

We rescued our puppy and immediately got her started with our long-time trainer. He had her for almost 4 weeks before she came home to us, and his first comment was that she wasn't right in the head. That sent us down the medicine path to deal with her anxiety. Not feeling satisfied, we found Nina. She called me back and spent over 30 minutes on the phone with me, learning about our dog and what we'd been through so far. She asked if she could meet her in person. She spent over an hour interacting with her and introducing her to some of the other dogs at her place. She asked us to get her off the Prozac before doing the board and train with her. When we got her back, she was like a new dog. Nina is an excellent trainer and has made our lives with Penelope so much better. My only wish is that we had found her sooner and been able to train all our dogs with her.