Always Training K9s

Why can I only give five stars? Nikki deserves 100000000000*. We adopted Mack from the TN Holler earlier this year. When he was rescued he was not neutered, was underweight and had cigarette burns on his back. His incredible rescuer Miranda (Cannon County Community for Animals) took the best care of him and after his recovery, he came to live with us. He was clearly neglected and abused in his past life and still has some sadness in his eyes, but he grew leaps and bounds after training with Nikki this summer and stares into my eyes with all of the love in the world. Mack's biggest issues were: -Separation anxiety -Crate training -Accidents and boundaries around the home (clearly an outdoor dog before) -Racing past my small kids up and down the stairs The work Nikki does is truly incredible - not only because of how skilled she is at her profession, but also for how clear it is that she TRULY cares not only about the dogs in her care, but also their owners. I missed Mack terribly the two weeks he was in her board and train program, but her very frequent daily videos and pictures helped tremendously. Before, during and after training, Nikki was extremely responsive and helpful with my many questions as we worked as a team to best support Mack. Mack grew so much with Nikki - he gained confidence, learned to settle himself and hang in his crate and learned multiple commands that have been game changers for us! Mack lives with an older sister grump pup so I LOVED that Nikki not only engaged the dogs in her care 1:1 throughout the day, but allowed them to interact together once they were well adjusted. They also get to do fun things like go to Home Depot and chill on lunch patios so they can learn how to dog in public! Complete Dog Resort with expeditions. Nikki will provide you with all of the tools you need to continue your pup's training at home, and she even involves family members (including kids) on her follow-up visits. On Nikki's second visit to our home, my 5+11yo and I took Mack on a walk. I worked with him, then my 11yo and then my 5yo got to walk him the last part of the way to the house. My daughter felt so much more confident leading him on a leash and working with him on commands with Nikki's guidance. I am extremely picky about who cares for my kids and my pets, and never for one second did I have any concern about Mack being in Nikki's care. Nikki, Rebecca, Miranda - THANK YOU! <3

My husband and I needed help with our Weimaraner. We had a toddler and were about to have a new baby. My husband travels for a living so managing my toddler and 6.5 year old dog was hard enough when he was gone, even without a baby. Our dog has lived a life of “rule the house” you could say and as she got older, she tolerated child energy less and less - she had never been aggressive but showed very obvious signs that she needed her space from our daughter. I had no clue how to safely manage them and had so much anxiety about how I could continue to advocate for my children first, as well as advocate for Izzy, too. It honestly felt impossible and scary, I wondered so many times if giving Izzy up was the answer, but that felt like giving up and I knew there had to be something - some sort of tools that would allow me to account better for everyone. Especially adding a new baby to the mix. Nikki was SO incredibly informative with all of our questions in the process of deciding if this training would answer our need. We toured the Dog House and had HOURS of conversation with Nikki before committing. She was so generous with her time to help us determine what felt right for our family. The week we went to have our new baby, our dog started her 2 week training with Nikki. We were hesitant if it would work, given Izzy’s age. She came home a different dog…the training took awhile to get used to, for sure - especially with a 5 day old baby, learning everything was a lot. But Nikki was so patient to help us learn and made herself extremely available to us - even still, anytime I have a question or need advice for our dog, as our toddler grows and we need to tweak things, Nikki knows our family and personalizes a plan that we feel good and safe about. 8 months later, Izzy has truly become a different dog in the best way - before, she was always anxious and having GI issues due to anxiety and stress, she would constantly lick at her paws until they were wounds…she was never able to relax, so high strung. She was always counter surfing and just had no concept of general space. She was such a happy girl but was too nervous and anxious to relax and enjoy life. Now, Izzy is calm. She is relaxed and so at peace in our home. She knows her place in our family and home. She knows we will advocate for her, and that she doesn’t have to protect herself from crazy toddler energy, because she anticipates that we will advocate for her in those moments. I feel so empowered to have the training and tools that Nikki gave our family. I feel like my home is safe, with an aging dog and growing family, and that peace of mind really can’t be traded. We are so happy with the decision to trust Izzy with Nikki. It is definitely a financial investment but you will not regret it…the peace of mind for our family has been tenfold worth the financial sacrifice. I really wish we had trained Izzy with this type of training as a puppy and knew of these tools sooner- they are a game changer! Nikki continues to be available for us anytime we need something - if you are in need of a change for your family, to add structure without removing the joy that our pets can be, Nikki will guide you each step of the way.

Nikki is amazing! I had both of my dogs do the two week board & train with her in April/May. I loved how much she and her team communicated. During our initial conversation, she took the time to really get to know what was going on and the issues I was having. It’s really fun to watch your dog progress over the program via Instagram and you see how much they are working and engaging in real life outings at stores, parks and restaurants. At graduation and the follow-ups you have an opportunity to fine tune skills. Highly recommend Nikki!

We can’t say enough great things about Nikki! We had and continue to have a fantastic experience with Always Training K9s. We feel so lucky to have Nikki’s expertise to help us learn along with our dog. From the very first phone call, Nikki really took the time to listen to the struggles we described with our dog, spending time with us to understand what our dog was going to need. She described the board and train process, so we knew exactly what to expect and felt comfortable leaving our dog with her for two weeks. While our dog was there, Nikki sent us frequent videos and pictures which were not just rewarding, but also educational so we knew what to expect when our dog came home. We saw so much progress within just a few days! It was very impressive. Nikki clearly has a wealth of expertise and experience and learns how a dog behaves and why, and adjusts to what they need to be better- better manners, more calm demeanor, just overall happier dog and human interactions! Nikki then spent the time to help us adjust to working with our dog in new ways to help her continue the progress she had made. She talks about instilling confidence in both of us and how it’s not just about obedience. Nikki has continue to follow up with us, checking in on progress and has given us all the confidence we need to keep up the awesome progress she helped our dog achieve. Highly recommended!