PLAY! K9 Academy

Nina is the best thing that’s ever happened to us. We rescued Marlo a pit bull mix a little over a year old, we had no idea what her background was. She was found a stray and when we got her she was all over the place. She was scared of her own shadow and VERY leash reactive. It got to the point where we built a fence because I couldn’t even walk her. She would bark and lunge and at just about everything (people, squirrels, cars, dogs, birds). I had no control over her. A few trainers I reached out to told me to wait atleast a month before starting training, but then I found Nina. She wanted to start right away. To teach Marlo obedience, confidence and structure. We did the 6 week in home program which allowed Marlo to still be home and decompress. For the first few sessions Nina came to our house and we worked on just teaching Marlo how to be a dog! And of course obedience and play. We worked on walks in the neighborhood and eventually we were doing public outings. Marlo also had issues with my roommate, where she began bullying him. Following him around, growling, not giving him any space, essentially just pushing him around and in a way resource guarding me. Nina came over and in one day she fixed the behavior. And the best part overall is the Saturday group classes that come with the training. It’s Marlo’s favorite day of the week. We work on not only obedience but it allows Marlo to practice neutrality, being around other dogs without having to interact or play. All she knew before with her foster mom was dog parks and playing, so being around other dogs and just co-existing without play was very hard for her! Fast forward and today I was able to walk her in downtown St. Pete with hundreds of people, dogs, and squirrels walking by and sit for an hour on a restaurant patio with multiple other dogs. Marlo had not one reaction. She has gained so much confidence over these past few months and has learned so much. Not only has she learned so much, we’ve learned so much! Nina also offers boarding to her clients which gives us so much peace of mind for traveling. Marlo has made so much progress but of course she can still be timid. Knowing that when we go out of town, she will be with Nina who she knows and trusts makes us so happy. We’re so happy we went with Nina!!!!

We couldn’t be happier with the transformation we’ve seen in our dog, Luna, thanks to Nina and her team! Luna is a German Wirehaired Pointer, so she is naturally very high-energy, strong-willed, and easily distracted. On top of that, she came to us as a rescue with very little training. She would constantly jump on us, counter surf, bite our hands, pull terribly on the leash, and get into absolutely everything. Even while I was working from home, I had to keep her crated because I couldn’t trust her to be loose in the house. During her 4-week board & train, Luna learned to sit and lay down and stay in those positions until released, learned “come” and how to properly heel (including with off leash walking!), stopped counter surfing, and learned to listen to us in a way she never had before. She had never known how to heel before training, so learning this from the ground up has been such a huge accomplishment. We’ve also learned that continuing to practice and reinforce her training is so important, especially with heel work, and Nina has been wonderful about teaching us how to properly handle Luna and continue building on what she learned. One of the biggest changes for me is that I can now leave Luna loose in the house with me all day while I work. I only crate her when we leave the house, which is something I never would have imagined before her training. Nina has continued to work with us through both one-on-one and group training sessions, and that continued support has been instrumental in Luna’s success. It’s not just about training the dog—it’s about teaching the owners how to communicate with and handle their dog properly, and Nina has been amazing at that. Of course, it’s not perfect, and training is still a work in progress! We know consistency and continued practice are key. But the foundation Nina gave us has been invaluable, and we truly could not have gotten this far with Luna without her guidance and support. We’ve had Luna home for about two months now, and it has genuinely been so enjoyable having her around. The training has changed both her life and ours, and we couldn’t be happier with the money we invested. I highly recommend Nina and her training program to anyone who wants to see a real difference in their dog!

I called Play K9 because my dog has a reactivity issues. After talking to the owner Nina, it was decided we would use their day train plan. We set up a payment plan and we’re connected with Emily, our trainer. The whole experience has been so positive. From the start, we were put an ease and saw changes after the first day. Emily not only worked with our dog, she was able to coach my husband. My husband has a TBI, so teaching him to work together with our dog was so important. Emily is very knowledgeable and able to teach/coach with patience. I highly recommend Play K9 to anyone wanting to make a positive change in their lives!

I am so glad I chose Play! K-9 Academy for Gunther. From my very first conversation with Nina, I knew this was the right place for him. Gunther is a rescue from the shelter. He was found skinny, starving, and heartworm positive. He stayed with us as a foster while he went through treatment, and by the time he was medically cleared, we had fallen in love and adopted him. He has always been the sweetest dog, but he knew zero commands and was very reactive to other dogs and animals. Walks were stressful—I was being dragged everywhere and even took a few falls thanks to unexpected squirrel sightings! After just one month at Play! K-9 Academy, the difference has been incredible. Gunther listens, his confidence has grown, and his recall—our biggest challenge—is now fantastic. The follow-up session at our home with Nina was invaluable because she taught us how to continue building on everything Gunther learned. The Saturday group classes are such a great bonus, and we’ll definitely keep going. Thank you, Nina and the entire Play! K-9 Academy team, for giving Gunther the skills and confidence to thrive. In just five months, he went from surviving on the streets to being a well-trained, confident dog with a forever home. We couldn’t be more grateful.