Elite Obedience Training

Kenzie is nothing short of life changing. We were at the point of having to make a heartbreaking decision to re-home our German shepherd, Max. He had grown into an unmanageable adolescent male GSD: extremely reactive while on leash toward strangers and other dogs, abhorrent behavior while at the vet’s office, and uncontrollable in our home when any guests came to visit. It’s not that he wasn’t without basic obedience training: he would mind us at home when it was ONLY us. But we were slowly having to shrink down our lives into being homebodies who had to cater to our dog’s misbehavior. It just wasn’t sustainable anymore. In a last ditch effort, we reached out to Kenzie. The first thing I appreciated was her humanness and her honesty. She sounded optimistic about being able to work with Max, but also realistic. I was feeling really hopeful when we dropped Max off for his training, especially knowing that she has a passion for high-drive dogs like GSDs. (Full disclosure: my husband and daughter were a mess during the four weeks Max was gone for his training. That might have been the worst part of this whole process!) When we picked Max up after his board-and train, we knew all our worries about potentially rehoming him were behind us. He really is a good boy! He still has all of his dramatic personality quirks that make him “Max,” but he’s no longer the ruler of the house. And Kenzie’s coaching of us at pick-up has had a lasting impact. She built up our confidence, which had been a missing component to this whole story. WE are in charge and are no longer fooled by his too-smart-for-his-own-good manipulations. We can take him on walks and it’s actually a pleasure! Our young daughter’s friends have started visiting again, now that they’re not afraid of being bowled over by his joyful, but obnoxious jumping and barking. Ultimately, I don’t have this constant sense of dread in the back of my mind anymore that we don’t know how to control our own dog. That mental calm itself is well worth the investment in Kenzie’s training. I hope by sharing our experience we can help others in similar situations. She has a gift and we will be forever grateful to her!

Kenzie is beyond amazing in what she’s able to accomplish in two weeks. We are repeat customers. We just brought home our 6 month chocolate female lab from her 2 week board & train. Oakley is the bestest girl and it is such a relief to have her roaming the house with her brother and not chase cats. She went for basic obedience and came home able to be off leash with excellent recall, proper greeting manners, and plethora of knowledge for obedience. Do not hesitate to send your loved fur babies to Kenzie! After a year follow up with our other lab he remembered her and loved seeing her cementing our decision to send our newest fur baby. Best decision you could make!

Elite Obedience is phenomenal! My 6-month-old pup completed a 4-week board and train program at the Kansas location with Kenzie. During that time, she learned household manners, basic obedience, and the foundations of competition behaviors. I'll be the first to admit my pup is quite nutty, but Kenzie was thoughtful about finding techniques that worked for her. It was clear in our handoff lesson that Kenzie had earned both my pup's love and respect. In addition to the training itself, Kenzie went above and beyond to keep my pup happy and healthy during her stay—this included posting her ears (iykyk it's no small task), dremeling her nails, and maintaining her raw diet. Once Kenzie worked her magic on my pup, she did a fantastic job training me! We had a thorough handoff lesson during which she showed me how to hold my pup accountable, reinforce her new manners, and work towards our more advanced obedience objectives. It was not easy to leave my four-legged daughter for a month, but I slept well knowing she was in capable, compassionate hands. I can't recommend Elite Obedience (and Kenzie) enough!

We worked with Shanna in Des Moines, Iowa. This experience once again is proof that paying a professional to do their job matters. Shanna was an absolute joy to work with. From our free consultation to signing up, dropping off and picking up - every single part of the experience was driven by her vision for excellence and making her clients feel comfortable. If you are concerned about leaving your dog with someone you don’t know (we all are), that concern will quickly vanish. These folks will treat your dog like their own. Their professional and proven training has helped our dog Louie overcome behavioral obstacles we wouldn’t have been able to address. In two weeks of training and returning to our home, he’s stopped barking, he listens and he’s become an even better dog. This is also not a one and done scenario. Shanna truly cares for your success. She’s interested in how your dog is doing and is always willing to help and assist with issues. Her experience and care for animals made our experience wonderful. We won’t go anywhere else for training. If you want results, this is the place.