Atlantic Coast K-9 Training Service

Before I tell you anything, if you’re looking for a trainer who is passionate about their craft, adores dogs, is an all round honest and caring person, stop reading and just call Ralph already, he is your guy. Here’s the rest of the information: We adopted two rescue beagles (2 years old and 7) back in April. One had been caged her whole life in a puppy mill and was one of 3 out of 40 that survived after being seized by authorities, the other was found roaming the mountains in NC. For strays, they both had great hearts and we bonded instantly. We tried training them both at home but couldn’t get a whole lot done due to full-time jobs and living in a busy apartment complex full of other dogs; we were doing them a disservice by not providing them with the proper training they deserved. We did our research and found Ralph to be our top pick. Years of experience, highly decorated in the show dog world, with many people leaving 5 star reviews we thought we’d reach out. I’m so glad we did because our girls are confident and fully settled at home post-training. We opted for the board and train packages for both dogs, giving us the chance to work with the one at home while Ralph worked his magic with the dog in boarding. (Be warned, Ralph is a popular choice and gets booked up VERY quickly.) Truth be told, I am the helicopter type dog mom, but after meeting Ralph when we first dropped Mara off, I felt comfortable and fully trusted Ralph would take care of her and was happy with a weekly summary and some photos/videos when the training set in and they mastered commands. If you expect more, communicate those expectations and be honest. I’ve read a couple of reviews which I do not feel are accurate and are unfair to Ralph. Training takes time, and if you have a beagle or a hound, you seriously need to be patient. They won’t be trained overnight. Hounds are among the most stubborn of dogs. We’ve always had beagles and know they truly are their own characters, so we didn’t expect much from our puppy-mill rescue with her being older and suffering from years of trauma, but she far exceeded our expectations and came back to us as an obedient soul, a far cry from the wild and feral girl we rescued. Ralph got our girls to be the best version of themselves and that’s more than we could have hoped for them. We still wanted them to be dogs, but have the structure they needed to be confident and comfortable in our home and out in public, and that’s exactly what we got. I am taking extra 1:1 training with Ralph and my older beagle, but not because she has regressed, it’s for my own benefit. I need to be better and more confident for her when out and about, and it’s important to strengthen that bond between us and build upon the trust we have. Ralph, you’re an inspiration and an awesome person; we are blessed you were a part of our girls journey and thank you for your patience and kindness. x2 Proud Atlantic Coast K-9 Alumni, Lola and Mara

We had our dog Dobie with Ralph to do silver and gold level training. The dramatic difference of what we took him in as and what we received is truly amazing. Ralph is a highly intelligent trainer that knows different dog breeds and understands their individual behaviors cannot necessarily be trained all the same way. Creativeness was something that helped in getting our dog trained due to him having a stubborn streak. Ralph clearly explained the training process and everything involved and took the necessary time to address any questions. We could not be happier with the communication as my family lives in Maryland and he was very accommodating to our travel. We will most definitely bring our next dog here for training, as well. Thank you again, Ralph.

Ralph at Atlantic Coast K-9 trained both of our dogs. For the first one, a foxhound, he boarded and trained the pup over 3 weeks in 2020. After hearing so many stories of difficult foxhounds, we are so happy we had Ralph train her as she is a wonderful companion. For our second dog, a German shepherd mix rescue, we trained weekly at the Atlantic Coast K-9 training facility. Our rescue has become a wonderful family member and we learned so much in the process. Ralph's methods are effective. Ralph is very well versed on training many dog breeds and dog breed owners. He is very patient & knowledgable. We will most certainly use him, if he has availability, to train any future dogs that may become a member of our family. If I have any questions, I can text Ralph and he answers timely. He is a great resource. We have had great experiences with Atlantic Coast K-9. Highly recommend!