Life is dog, Inc

About a year ago I adopted a then 3 year old dog from out of state. I was well familiar with the breed, having had 9 over 35 years. I was hopeful that the rescue’s glowing review of her would prove to be true, particularly because she’d been in 3 homes + a foster in her 3 short years. I knew from experience that training classes would be a great way for us to bond but, after having her for a few weeks, knew she wasn’t ready for the hubbub of a typical program/setting. I was ecstatic to find LID. Their small classes, where dogs progress at their own rates while still having the opportunity to make friends—-people and pups—-was perfect for her. She progressed steadily but I never felt rushed to “move her up” a level. Sooner than I had expected she was ready to take (and pass) her Canine Good Citizen test and was well ahead of other dogs when she moved on to another facility to become certified as a therapy dog. My only disappointment was that there wasn’t another class for her to take at LID. But, no matter, when a new dog moves in we’ll be back!

Whether you’re looking for dog training or doggie day camp, I can’t recommend Life is Dog enough! As someone else here on yelp said—if I could give them 10 stars I would…but Yelp limits it to five! 😊 We started taking our pup to training at Life is Dog when she was about five months old, in the fall of 2019. We had gone through an eight-week puppy class before that—the kind that meets once a week—but we were looking for something more and had heard really good things about Life is Dog. Perhaps the biggest benefit—they operate like a gym membership. There’s a flat monthly fee, and it’s up to you how many classes you attend. Training is all about consistency—one class per week isn’t necessarily going to work! We usually attend 3-5 classes per week with our pup. And as the dogs progress through the “levels” they encourage you to keep going to lower level classes so your dog will continually be exposed to new humans and puppies and become and all around well-adjusted pooch (and learn to do the same tricks with new distractions around!) This is great on multiple levels—not only are newly learned skills being constantly reinforced, but the pups get so much have exposure to other dogs for socialization—something that was really key for us as the winter set in and we knew outdoor meet ups would be few and far between. The owners really care about the animals and about making sure you have all the tools you need to shape your pup’s personality. One time, one of the owners (Nance) recommended that I take my dog for walks with another dog/dog mom in class—my dog is very self-confident but at the time wasn’t a great loose leash walker, while the other dog was afraid of her own shadow but the best loose leash walker ever. They’d learn from each other on such walks, Nance said. It’s just one small example of how Life is Dog goes out of its way to enrich your pup’s life. Our girl also goes to puppy camp at Life is Dog three days a week – she is a Dalmatian and has endless energy…so having her play hard in a controlled setting with pups that are now her friends has been so great for us as well as her! The workers there are absolutely the best. It really is a unique community of pup-lovers and I am so glad we found it! Again, I can’t recommend Life is Dog enough.

We have sent our pup to Life is Dog for Day Camp and used the training program for just over 5 months now, and we love our experience there. The Day Camp is so great to burn off all of her extra energy (she just turned 1, so there is a lot of it) and help her socialization skills. We love that they have longer hours so it is not an inconvenience to drop off/pick up. Steph and Matt are amazing - they send us pictures, we get report cards, and there is never a doubt that they are treating our pup incredibly well. The training staff have also been great at helping us communicate more effectively with our dog to guide her behavior as she grows, and we love the flexibility of the membership class schedule so we don't have to commit to the same day every week.