ACC (Applied Canine Concepts LLC)

I am 50 yrs old. I have owned GSD since born through out their lives enjoying them and grieving them as well. I have always trained them by myself. Well at my parents they did the job and I did it for the two previos to this own in my own house. Meadow, the one I currently have, is my first reactive dog and I had the fortune to get Ginas and AAC details for help. Sending Meadow to them has completely changed my life as a dog owner for so much better. Even though always in love and connected with my dogs I had never felt this kind of connection and love. Pfff the most incredible feeling. She is now calm, friendly, secure, obedient and reads my mind and it is like she only cares about making us happy and enjoying her life. For SURE my next dog, reactive or not will go boarding at ACC to get the very best out of it as well. Thank you Gina and Fabian for letting me enjoy Meadow so much and also teaching me that I did not know all about dogs and that I was able to enjoy them even more.

In a world of so called trainers I am VERY pleased to have had ACC and Gina Pfeffer recommended to me. We live near Atlanta and there are literally dozens of trainers, “obedience schools” and such here as options, but most of them seemed to be reciting a canned sales pitch when I talked with them. I have a Dutch Shepherd we rescued who had an unknown history and unknown baggage accompany him when we brought him here and I needed to find someone who knows high drive working dogs (or is at least familiar with the breeds tendencies) and did not try to force a square peg ie. rigidly set program with no thought to the specific dogs temperament drive levels and possible baggage ability etc into a round hole (the dog). After speaking with a client of Gina’s that I know here I spoke with Gina by phone and was very pleased with the fact that she actually listened to what I had to say about my dog here and what had been done so far with him. No canned responses were heard and she was very candid about what I would like to do, what the possibilities were and how to go about it … no smoke blowing just to gain a paying client like I was use to getting here locally. Due to the distance between ACC and my home we decided to go the remote training and support route with vid exchanges to see progress, phone calls and texts if and when necessary to see what I could do here when something came up that was not expected. Every trainer around here would tell me if there was a question about something that I needed to bring the dog in and for another amount of money and they would again “re-assess” my dog to see what can be done …if anything. ACC truly cares about the dogs over strictly seeing them as a means to charge owners every and any which way they can to make another buck. An example of this was due to the distance between their facility and us here she referred us to a local trainer and handler to see what he thought about my dogs potential and give a general assessment at no financial gain to them. They truly want he clients to be happy and will go out of their way to accommodate a clients needs but will be honest and tell you what they think not what you want to hear, and that is something I can truly appreciate. I was not expecting the service and responsiveness to questions that I received from ACC and Gina but for any of my future training needs and questions I may have they have it covered and I will be a continuing client. My dog has made tremendous progress with the help of ACC and continues to do so with their help. I cannot recommend them enough they are courteous knowledgeable responsive and very professional!. 6 stars would be awarded if it was possible.

We took our 10 month old German Shepherd to ACC after only having him for 3 weeks. He had not been properly socialized so we experienced high reactivity to other dogs, growling at strangers and mild prey drive with our cat. We knew that we needed professional guidance for such a strong and intelligent breed. We dropped Duke off for a 3 week program which included on and off leash training. Staff was friendly and accommodating and Gina sent updates throughout the 3 weeks. After 3 weeks we had an off boarding lesson for some hands on training with Duke which lasted a couple hours. Admittedly our heads were swimming because it was a ton of information but we knew it was going to be a process that WE were going to have to master through patience and practice. It has now been 3 weeks since graduation and It has been a ton of hard work and required a ton of patience, follow up texts to Gina, refresher sessions with Fabian etc. However, they have stayed committed to us through this journey. It took us 3 weeks post training to really understand what Fabian meant when he said you need to “spend more time being his boss and less time trying to be his friend”. Duke does not pull at all on the leash anymore, does not chase our cat, and has no problem being around strangers on walks. We have almost completely eliminated his reactivity to other dogs through utilizing the training. We still get the occasional episode when a dog randomly comes out of a house and startles us but those are fewer and far between. People should understand that it is up to the dog owner to utilize the training consistently. The training works if We consistently work it. We appreciate Gina and Fabian and look forward to this continued journey.

I have a large pure bread European Doberman Pinscher that comes from a working line. He is very high energy and needs alot of exercise. He is more my sons dog then mine, my son is 14 and we got our puppy 3 years ago after loosing our out of control doberman to cancer. My previous dobermam came to us later in his life and had no training. He was a wonderful dog and I enjoyed every moment with him, but this breed absolutely needs training and direction( or should i say ALL breeds need training!) so decided to get help with my new puppy at the time so he didnt try to dominate our home. I can't thank Gina and Fabian enough for teaching my son and I how to work him and play with him so he doesn't get mentally bored. They taught both my son and I how important this is for our pets. They have taught us how when we as owners follow there directions in handling our pets the relationship and trust cannot be broken from animal to owner. My son and his dog are the real deal of a boy and his dog being the very best of friends. The work they have done to help us is hands down worth it everyday. I still have moments where i have questions and they are ready and willing to help. Our puppy Riot is exactly that a big riot of a fun trusting lovable fur friend because of Applied Cacine concept.