Specialty Dog Training

Our puppy Ravioli, born 11/17/15, is an English Cream Golden Retriever. We are due with a (human) baby on 9/15/16 and decided that we wanted to make sure our puppy would be ready to be a big brother and also have some basic house manners down. We started doing our research and came across some great options. We visited and interviewed a few different places/people. I think fate led us to Specialty Dog Training. They have been the BEST thing that has ever happened to us. In specific I want to write this review about Braelyn (although Graham the owner is awesome, and Christina who does sales is basically our bff now! We LOVE everyone!! Lori who runs Paw Paradise, the boarder, on site, is also amazing!). Braelyn is so naturally talented with dogs and animals. It was really her calling since she was 6 years old! We found out that she has trained 4 generations of chocolate labs for one family- we are so glad Braelyn is so young because she will be our dog trainer for life now! In regards to what kind of training we were after, we were not a super typical case since we did not need to correct any behaviors. We simply wanted to establish good habits with our new puppy. We decided to go with the 3 week package (we got new wood floors and had to move out of our house for 2 weeks, and then a couple weeks later we took a week long babymoon and Rav did his last week). This worked really well for us since we got to break it up and that also meant breaking down the cost. In regards to cost, I wouldn't think twice about it. It's a huge chunk of change but this is going towards your new family member who will be around for over a decade. Braelyn is not only an amazing dog trainer but she is very compassionate and truly loves every dog she works with like her own. This was so important to us as Ravioli is our sweet baby and we didn't want him in a kennel getting minimal training and no love. Braelyn gave him the best of both worlds. She taught him so much and he came back a better dog. With the fate thing- we got so lucky because Braelyn recently had a baby and she brought Ravioli around her son and reassured us he would be a great big brother!! Even as a 7 month old puppy he is calmer (still has his goofy personality) and LISTENS to us. And not only listens but he understands!!! He hasn't barked once since coming back this last time. He does what we say, such as going to his PLACE and staying there (he is still a pup so we are still working on this- we think he has ADD haha). He is perfect at sitting, lying down, healing, drop-it, leave-it, and so much more I can't even think of it all. He is very obedient now and we constantly get compliments on him while out in public. People are shocked that he is so young. We work with him everyday to keep up the training he has learned (this is very important!) but Braelyn also texts us everyday or we text her to see how he is and to get updates. We feel fully supported by her and the whole Specialty team. These people feel like family now. We could not be more happy with our choice of Specialty Dog Training. We will be sending Rav back in the future for refreshers and new stuff too. We love them all so much! Thank you!

My wife and I rescued a doberman in July 2015. After 9 months of trying every trick, class and almost every article suggested, we had almost given up on having a well trained dog. We went to Graham as a last attempt for help and it is the best thing we did for our dog. Graham met with us and we knew right then and there that he was the saviour we and our dog needed. After his suggested training regiment we have our dog back and could not be happier with the results.

I've been very impressed with Graham and his team at Specialty Dog Training, and all the wonderful training assistance he's provided for our dog, Gracie. Last year, my husband and I got an 8-wk. old German shepherd puppy at a local rescue and set about training her. Having had shepherds before, we felt confident that we would be able to manage her training. But the combination of her being on the larger size, and our desire for her to be well-trained enough that we could relaxedly take her to the park and feel confident she would come when called, AND be on leash and not react to other dogs, led us to explore investing in professional training. When she was 8-months old, we sent Gracie to the boot camp that SDT offers - initially for 4 weeks, but ultimately kept her there for a total of 6 weeks. Graham and Christina did a great job keeping us apprised of her progress and sending us pics and videos. The results have been nothing short of amazing - Gracie has gone from a very sweet but unruly and independent-minded puppy, to a consistently obedient and reliable dog. She not only knows all of the basic commands, but is now a joy to take to the park and on walks, and is very predictable with people or dogs she meets. What was once so stressful for us, has completely turned around. Graham is an amazing "dog whisperer', and is a passionate promoter of how to live well with your canine companion. He truly cares about the dogs he brings into his SDT family, and has gone the "extra mile" to make sure that Gracie's transition back to her family life from boot camp has gone well. This was a big decision for us - but it has turned out to be a great decision for us and for Gracie. She continues to amaze us, and we have Graham, Christina, and the rest of SDT to thank for her incredible progress! I highly recommend Graham and his team - they will exceed your expectations.

I have a two-year old American bulldog mix, Cash, who I rescued about 5 months ago and he is incredibly stubborn, but sweet. After he got out of our house and ran down the street, I knew it was time to take him to experts for training. I had taken another dog to a different place for training years ago and hadn't been pleased, so I searched for more highly qualified trainers this time. From the first meeting we had with Braelyn, she understood Cash and knew exactly what to do to help him break old habits and learn to respect and obey me. After each session, we would practice what we had learned for about five minutes each day and now he is listening to my commands. Now, he walks perfectly on his leash, heels, ignores distractions and comes when he is called. I am so confident in his behavior now that I brought him to a friend's house for Thanksgiving and told him to lay in his bed while we prepared the meal. He stayed there despite other dogs running around and was the best behaved dog there. I highly recommend Braelyn and Specialty Dog Training; they truly care about the animals in their care and taught me how to be a better dog owner.

We have 2 rescue dogs, now ages 2 (Ecko) & 4 (Raven). About a year ago, Raven started to attack Ecko. We had seen some aggressive behavior and lack of socialization in Raven, before we brought Ecko home, but we never thought she would act out on it. Raven had lost her best friend / "sister" to cancer about 6 months prior to us adopting Ecko. We thought she was anti social because she was missing her friend. We also thought that adopting another dog would help ease that sorrow and bring back her playful spirit. The first attack happened at home. The girls were playing in the house and then Raven snapped over a toy and bit Ecko. They usually rough house a bit so at first I didn't think anything of it but once I heard Ecko yelping I ran over and separated them. Raven had broken skin. My husband and I started to work with the girls, getting them out more, to exercise and working one on one with each dog. We didn't know what Raven needed but thought some solo attention would help. About a month later Raven attacked Ecko again. This time it was worse. She bit her on the face, barely missing her eye. I broke down and told my husband we were not going to live like this. It wasn't fair to Ecko as she was becoming a very timid dog and she didn't deserve to live in fear. We either needed help or we would need to give Ecko up for adoption, as Raven would be harder to re-home. I asked friends about dog trainers and was recommended a few, but Specialty Dog Training was recommended by a few people and based on reviews seemed like the best choice. We contacted SDT and decided to purchase some in home training sessions, as most of our issues stemmed within the home. The training with our girls went back to basics; teaching them they were not the alpha and in charge, but that we were. We worked on basic commands (sit, stay, down ... etc) and built upon that base each week. While our girls knew these commands, we were enforcing them more constantly, giving them a more structured environment. After the first 2 lessons we were already seeing results. THat's not to say that Raven was better or we didn't worry about more attacks, but we could see that the training was working and they were respecting us more, thus creating a better home environment. The training progressed, the girls learned to stay for long periods of time, to ignore distractions, to 'leave it' when a dog passed or barked at them, and they learned to play like "sisters" again. It was a huge change for us as we were no longer walking on egg shells, waiting for the next attack. We learned a lot about how to properly train our dogs, to make them respect us and not be push overs when they act cute (that was mainly my learning curve!!), and how to introduce new dogs to a home environment that already has a dog. Everything we learned was hands on and something we can apply to future adoptions as well as something we can continue to practice at home. What I loved most about Specialty Dog Training is how easy they were to work with, how accommodating they were AND how passionate they are about what they do. I could tell right away that our trainer, Braelyn, was not here to make a buck, but she was genuinely interested in helping us keep our pups together and making our home a peaceful place once again. She still sends us messages, to check in and anytime i have questions she is readily available. I would (& have) recommend Specialty Dog Training to anyone seeking advice, training, boot camp for their dogs. They will evaluate the situation before offering services so they know they are actually addressing your issues in the environment in which makes the most sense.