Training For Trust LLC

When we met Owen and Ellie from Training for Trust, we were out of options for caring for our 6 month old puppy Winnie. From the day we got her, she was uncomfortable in our home. Winnie was extremely anxious around our four children: she was nervous, barking, and unable to settle when the kids were around. And with no experience in owning or training dogs, my husband and I were in over our heads. We were looking at rehoming our dog when Owen offered us a raise and train option. Our kids had already become attached to her, so we thought it was worth a shot. As the months passed, we are amazed by Winnie’s progress! Owen sent us photos and videos of the things he was doing: basic training, exposure to other dogs and people, work on settling. We took Winnie home from time to time for trial periods, and gave feedback for what worked and didn’t. We all worked hard as a team, and it paid off! Winnie is now able to be home with our entire family. She plays gently and quietly with the kids, and most importantly, feels comfortable as part of the family. With Owen and Ellie, what you see is what you get - a dedicated, hardworking couple who has a passion for dog training and the expertise to back it up. So glad we found them!

We were lucky enough to find Training for Trust a few years ago when we were looking to train our dog Nova and to board both her and our other dog Luna when we go on vacation. It’s obvious that Owen and Elena care deeply for dogs, as evidenced by their humane training methods, effective guidance, and consistent drive to learn and understand more. Their home setup is excellent, as is the quality of food they provide for their boarded dogs. And watching Owen with Emma is as great an advertisement as one could hope for, seeing her stellar level of obedience and clear happiness. Nova was a nightmare on walks, constantly pulling and lunging at other dogs. Her recall was essentially nonexistent, and we could never trust her to be off-leash unless completely alone aside from Luna. After a four-week training stay and our 1:1 sessions with Owen (followed by months of practice and reinforcement), we’re now able to let Nova off her leash in many situations we never would have dreamed of before (park, beach, trails), knowing we can recall her to our side at any time from any distance. She’s still got issues with random dogs sometimes, but the difference is night and day. Likewise, when she is on-leash, Nova no longer pulls but instead gives us a nice J-leash and looks for approval before leaving a sitting state. Again, night and day. It’s remarkable how much growth we’ve seen, and it’s all because we listened to and followed Owen and Elena’s advice. If you’re looking to train and/or board your dogs, I can’t recommend anyone higher than Training for Trust :)

When we adopted our dog, we knew she came with a difficult past. She had been a stray with a history of biting, resource guarding, and reactivity toward other dogs. She could also be incredibly sweet, and those glimpses of the dog she could be gave us hope. We just needed help learning how to communicate with her and build the trust she had never really experienced. Finding a trainer who was both willing and capable of working with a dog like ours wasn’t easy. From our first conversations with Owen and Ellie, we knew we had found the right people. They never saw our dog as “too difficult”—they saw her potential and gave us the tools to help her succeed. The board-and-train program transformed not only our dog, but also our relationship with her. She now responds reliably to commands, is much more neutral around other dogs, and we’ve learned how to advocate for her so she’s set up for success instead of failure. One of our biggest milestones is that we can now groom her ourselves—something we never thought would be possible. More importantly, we’ve built something that was missing before: trust. Our girl looks to us for guidance, and we understand her in a way we never did before. That trust has brought out the sweet, affectionate dog we always knew was there. The best testament to Owen and Ellie’s work is our dog’s reaction every time she sees them. She absolutely lights up, gets the zoomies, and is so genuinely excited to be with them. For a dog who once struggled to trust people, that says everything. If you’re looking for trainers who truly understand behavior—not just obedience—and who are committed to helping both dogs and their owners succeed, we can’t recommend Owen, Ellie, and Training for Trust highly enough. We are forever grateful for everything they’ve done for our family.