Whole Dog University

Hi, We adopted a female 3 yo pit bull / staffy mix that lived as a stray then 10 months in a shelter. We have owned couch potato, EB's for a number of years so this was going to be a big change. She is a high energy, powerful dog, but we fell in love with her and was not going to leave her in the shelter for any longer. We soon found out that we were going to need some professional training to help with her reactivity to other dogs, leash walking and basic obedience. She is beautiful around people of all ages. We did a search for professional trainers in the Waynesville area and Whole Dog popped up with great reviews. We called Ruth and made an appointment for a consultation and that started the whole process. The behavioral concerns we addressed were: 1 Leash reactivity to other dogs. 2 Impulse control 3 Not listening, when locked in on something that she's interested in. 4 Pulling hard while on the leash. 5 Wanting to chase after cats are other small animals. 6 Over arousal. 7 Early stage separation anxiety. 8 And of course, basic obedience. We got started with our first session and it was really about training me as the owner. I found out I really needed that. I was simply blown away with how knowledgeable Ruth is about training dogs. She is definitely a pro. Peaches and I learned so much during each session, and we are so blessed to have a dog that is so smart and responded to the training as well as peaches did. We highly recommend to anyone out there looking for a professional trainer to use Whole Dog University. You will be so happy that you did. Thank you, Ruth and God bless you. Hope the best for your new operation in your new place. It is super nice!

Whole Dog University exceeded my expectations! Our trainer was incredibly friendly and knowledgeable — she had a real gift for reading dogs and sharing insights about Riley that we never would have figured out on our own. Her instructions were always clear and easy to follow, which made the whole process feel manageable and enjoyable. We’ve already seen a noticeable difference in Riley’s behavior. I’d highly recommend Whole Dog University to any dog owner looking for a trainer who truly knows their stuff!

I brought Yeti, my 4 month old German Shepherd puppy, to Whole Dog University and we just completed his Comprehensive Basic Obedience training! Ruth has been an incredible teacher and is so knowledgeable about all things dog related and really cares about what she does. She provides you with all the right tools in order to accomplish whatever your goal is with your dog. She is very responsive and always willing to help guide us through any situation that we came across. She went above and beyond with helping us teach our dog! When we first started with Ruth, all my dog knew was sit and down and we had some unwanted behaviors that we wanted to address. He is now well equipped with a lot of great basic obedience commands and we have seen so much growth in his behaviors and his ability to listen and control impulses. We have also created an amazing bond with our dog through training. I highly recommend Whole Dog University and Ruth will absolutely be my go to trainer for any future training. I also wanted to note that Whole Dog University is a small business and I feel like we got a lot more out of training with Ruth than we ever would have at one of those larger corporation ran dog training facilities.

The puppy training at Whole Dog with Ruth was different than what I’d seen with past dogs I’ve owned. And I loved it! The emphasis at Whole Dog on socialization and confidence building, along with breed-specific needs, transforms the puppy class from the usual “This is how you train sit” to “This is how you get a dog that isn’t reactive or afraid and will view you as the leader, but is also ok with being alone”. And I’m absolutely seeing the positive results with my 15 week Cavachon, George. Obedience training will be the next step and we’ll be returning for that. And maybe even for some more advanced off-leash training.

We got our pup at 6mo of age and she was basically feral at the time. So, everything she encountered was new to her. She was VERY reactive and not fun to walk or meet new people despite being very smart and quick to learn basic commands. At 14mo of age we gave up and enrolled her in Ruth's residence program where she was with Ruth every single day, all day long, for 2 weeks. Ruth got her around every type of person, store, noise, object available, and by the end of the 2 weeks, we had a new dog! Using her instructions, we've even been able to walk with her and not experience her growling/barking at other dogs or pulling on the leash. It was worth every penny to get this training. The socialization and de-escalation techniques are working so well while the obedience commands were an extra bonus for us. Ruth knows her stuff and is always available for random questions/instructions. She truly knows dogs! Highly recommend.