Pro K9 Center

Ruby was chosen for me at 4 weeks old by Andres Aportella; owner and head trainer at Pro Canine Center in Frenchtown, NJ. To say it was a lengthy search is an understatement. He reached out to his many contacts here in the US and around the world. He turned down a lot of dogs before he chose the one he thought was the best dog for me. Ruby was trained under the watchful eye of Andres and a brilliant young trainer named Chiara Tonelli. She had the difficult task of learning all she could about my disabilities so she could train Ruby to be my service dog. This was no easy task as I have mobility issues due to advanced Parkinson’s disease and a variety of neurological problems including a stroke and hearing loss from long Covid. I also suffer from PTSD. Chiara and the team at Pro Canine trained with Ruby and kept me up to date with videos and text messages. I needed training as well and I always came home with videos for reference. They worked hard with Ruby and I. In all of my hours there never once did I see anyone lose their patience, especially with me. I was much more difficult to train than Ruby. I’m a retired engineer so I ask a million questions, compounded by my neurological deficits I was a challenge. Through Chiara’s careful consistent tutelage and fantastic dog training skills, Ruby and I learned to communicate, respect and above all trust each other. We succeeded in a way that was beyond my expectations. Because of Andres’ and Chiara’s amazing work with Ruby and I, I’m getting my life back. Ruby prevents me from falling, helps me up and down stairs, she helps me to navigate the outside world, and now I even go out with friends again. She spends countless hours calmly at my side during my many hospital stays, medical tests and lengthy treatments. She helps me navigate though NYC, including trains, subways, busses and cabs to get to the doctors and hospitals there. She handles all of this as easily as walk to our local park. My ER visits have gone from 1-2 a month to none since Ruby finished her training and has been living with me full time. Ruby’s attention to me never wavers, even when people ignore her service vest and pet her or offer her food. Her training is incomparable, having earned her the respect of the K9 officers in the hospital and my local K9 officers (who continually threaten to steal her for the police force). There is a gentlemen living in my neighborhood who is a well respected dog trainer himself. He tried to break Ruby’s concentration as a test while speaking with me and she even ignored him. It was no surprise that guessed correctly that she was trained at Pro Canine because of her excellent behavior. Andres and Chiara along with the entire team at ProCanine have my utmost respect and full endorsement. I will forever be grateful, without them I’m not sure I’d be here to write this.

Brief history- I had purchased a protection dog in 2022 from a trainer in North Carolina. I had been assured through many phone conversations with the owner and staff of the North Carolina training facility that it was reputable and would provide me with a safe, well trained protection dog for my farm. Part of the contract was that I would pay the trainer of the dog to travel to the farm to oversee the transition. The dog was delivered in 2023. The trainer's time in introducing me to the dog and the other dogs at the farm equaled about 4 and 1/2 hours (that included a demonstration of bite work) before he said he had to leave to catch a plane . After in initial 6 weeks the dog of being totally on a leash, I realized that the dog I had received was very weak in basic obedience and over time the dog proved very reactive to specific situations in my farm environment. I was also informed during one of my phone conversations when asking for help from the trainer in North Carolina, that I was expected as a dog handler to be proficient with use of the E-Collar for both training and correction; however, the use of an e-collar was never mentioned either in the phone conversations or on the contract I signed. I made numerous phone calls to the purchase site without resolution. One phone conversation when asking for help, I was told to "fry" the dog to stop the unwanted behavior! Needless to say, I was very anxious and distressed! I am ever so thankful to Andres that when I called him and briefly explained my situation he told me immediately "bring the dog over to ProCanine!" His thorough assessment of my dog gave me immediate peace of mind that I had found the right person. The skills of both he and his staff over the following 7 months proved successful to redirect and train my dog to be both safe on and off the farm, maintaining his protection instincts, but with good control. I would highly recommend ProCanine to anyone either looking for a high quality dog or seeking training for the dog they have. I was also able to purchase from ProCanine an amazing companion German Shepherd with excellent training and sweet temperment after the passing of my 13 yr old female German Shepherd, Annie, due to cancer. I BIG THANK YOU to ALL. Could not thank you enough!

I've adopted a 11m old Belgian Malinois and I was referred to Andres by a neighbor. Honestly I am so far Very happy she did! He is extremely smart, and knowledgeable about his dogs. Nutrition he recommends is doing such a good change esp bowel movements for my pup and training so far is going extremely well, may be short classes but if you think about it.. My dog is getting exhausted it's not about the length of the class, it's about the work I do with my pup .. his brain is fried.. can only repeat a single command so many times before he gets cranky with me and don't want to listen. Andres is very good about that.. he knows when your pup needs a break, he would never push too hard. I'm very satisfied, can't wait to see what more there is for my boy! HIGHLY RECOMMEND

Chiara trained my German Shepherd, Roxy, for me. She is a knowledgeable, competent, and patient trainer who is pleasant to work with. She is positive and encouraging, and both my dog and I enjoyed our time with her. Chiara was always there to answer any questions I had and to review what I needed to work on. I’m very pleased with how obedient Roxy still is now that our training is complete. All of the staff at Pro Canine are friendly, helpful, and supportive.