Pawtopia Dog Training

I knew that dog training was for people more so than it was for dogs, so when I got my first dog a little over 2 years ago, I hired Jack Houseknecht, whom I had met when he did a home visit for one of the shelters, to train me. He provided terrific guidance on how to teach Reilly basic behavioral rules (and me to be consistent with them) and over time I could see how Reilly became more and more relaxed and confident in my home. It brings me such joy to see that a dog that had been abandoned (and who knows what) could have her confidence in people restored and know that she is loved and cared for in a forever home. One of the greatest thrills is seeing her smile, which she does often, and she's been puppy-like (at age 7) in her joy of playing and interacting. Several times over the past few years, I have asked Jake's advice on something or other -- most recently on how to introduce Reilly, who had a built-in tendency to be reactive to other dogs, to my friend's dog whom I was going to house sit. He gave me point-by-point instructions on where and how to introduce the dogs, and not only did that work, but I've seen how relaxed and joyful my friend's dog has been in my home, despite the fact that she was new to me (and even to my friend who had adopted her only two weeks earlier). The dogs get along great, and Reilly doesn't seem to feel the slightest insecurity about not being an "only" (temporarily). I'm so pleased to have been able to bring happiness to my dog (and my friend's) and they have given so much to me because Jake helped me to understand her language. I wish this kind of training had been available when I first became a parent, because I was clueless!

Alexa is amazing! We've completed several private training sessions with Alexa. Our dog Merlin has an incredible amount of energy with a free spirit. After having sent Merlin to a local doggie day care for over a year, he was asked to leave for "poor behavior" and we were told his behavior was hard to correct by this other company. I was honestly heartbroken by this news and was worried with having an infant in our house, we might not be able to keep Merlin. After our first one hour visit with Alexa, honest to goodness, our anxieties and fears were completely eased.There are so many other good things I can say about Alexa but the bottom line is, we had tried other trainers and no one gave the attention or care to Merlin, my husband, and I like Alex has.

I am just amazed at the level of knowledge, compassion and professionalism that Colleen and her team of trainers have at Pawtopia. From the most basic potty training suggestions to the more serious training for aggression and separation anxiety, Pawtopia has proven to me time and time again that they know how to get results from both the dog AND the owner to solve these issues. I also love the personal attention they give, responding right away to my emails, questions and working around my schedule/needs. I definitely recommend using Pawtopia.