Marcum K9 Obedience: Dog Training

WOW! Where do I start? 5 day boarding for my 11 month old German Shepherd, Freya. I loved her of course, but to say she was a handful is putting it mildly. I opted to try out the first 5 day boarding class. The class centered around every day manners, "come", and "place" ("stay here until I say not to", basically) among many other valuable things. Dropping her off was a breeze, and I received daily videos of her progress. I could not believe when I received a video of my little maniac calmly staying put while the door at the training facility was knocked on and a doorbell rang. She sat there alert but calm. I was amazed. I really could go on and on with examples of how every day life is far less frustrating, but I guess I could sum it up like this: My dog and are are just closer now. The training staff trained me as much they trained Freya. There is far less frustration between my dog and me since we have something of a common language now. I'm less frustrated because she better understands what I expect out of her, and she's less frustrated because I better understand her communication. It's really hard to describe, but we are closer than ever now. More walks and dog park time because we both have better experiences with these since we have such better communication and a much deeper bond. In early 2025 I fully intend to do the other two 5 day boarding classes. I can't recommend this trainer enough. Oh and by the way, if you're wondering if your dog will forget who you are after the time away at the trainer (as I did along with many others), all I can say is that the reunion was amazing. She was so excited to see me. It was something special. :)

We took our puppy (13week) Australian Shepherd for initial puppy training with Allison. I am absolutely impressed with Bindis training. It’s very evident that Allison’s goal is to have both owner and puppy “trained” with realistic expectations. In our case, she exceeded our expectations completely! In 8 days at Marcum K9 Obedience Bindi has learned sit, down, place, walk on loose leash, and so much more! I know it was WELL worth the 3 hour drive. We will be back for second board and train in a couple weeks for continued service/therapy training. Another bonus is that Bindi absolutely loves Allison. I can relax knowing she is well taken care of and learning more than I ever expected. Thank you Allison .. Marcum K9 Obedience!

Update- 2 years later— Our pup still retained all of his commands and is a very very good boy. He still uses and knows all of his commands from marcum. He will sit in place on an object, come when called, walk like a gentleman and Stop when we say no what ever the circumstances. Will definitely be using them to teach our next dog basic commands and behaviors. Incredible work and well worth the price. The five day package was a little expensive for our budget but we know for a life long companion it’s worth it. We brought our 6month old pup here for the 5 day board and train and we are very happy with the tools they gave us to help communicate with our boy. It has been one month and his recall, place and walk commands are wonderful. He is not 100% on it all of the time(being a puppy) but being able to correct him and reinforce him he will only get better as we keep up on the training. Communication with our trainer left something to be desired, we were told we would get videos and pictures of him every day but we only got two updates, and I had to ask for them around 7-8 at night. Other than that we are happy with our investment in our dogs future. We are still waiting for our one month follow up so when that happens I will update this review.

Board and train program We have a 5-year-old French bulldog who was very spoiled until our first baby arrived, leading to jealousy and stress. He destroyed furniture when he was ignored and bolted out the door when visitors arrived, making newborn life even more chaotic. He had always been terrible to walk on a leash and that lead to us leaving him at home more often than necessary. Ahead of the birth of our second son, we tried the 10-day board and train program—and it was life-changing. During training, we received daily progress videos, and after 10 days, had two in-home sessions with Allison, who showed us how to apply the new commands. Our dog learned to: - Sit or stay when doors open (even with distractions). - Stay off the couch (despite testing boundaries!). We were unsure of this because stitch loves to cuddle so much but it’s been so nice to not worry about him pouncing on a pregnant belly and eventually a newborn - Walk calmly on a leash and sit when stopping. - Place for long periods, even in other homes. Some things took extra effort, like backdoor training and using the e-collar, but Allison guided us through it. The results have been incredible: less stress, no yelling, and a much happier relationship with our dog. Overall it really wasn’t much work on our part, and working on his newly learned skills takes between 5-15 minutes a day. Our dog has adjusted and we’re feeling like we did a great thing ahead of the birth of our second son. We only wish we had done this sooner—highly recommend, especially for new parents!