The Prodigal Pooch

The Prodigal Pooch was my saving grace when I made the decision to get my bernedoodle puppy. As a first time dog owner with a million questions, Blake made the process so much easier from day 1. My dog and I went through puppy preschool, transitional leash-training classes, and finally a 3-week residential program where he learned both on and off-leash obedience. If you have a new puppy, I highly recommend starting them off in puppy classes which will build a foundation for success once they are a few months older. After the residency, my dog came back so well trained that I can walk him through a crowded park off-leash, and he stays right by my side. I am constantly stopped by strangers and asked how he is so well behaved at such a young age (7 months)! Thanks to Prodigal Pooch, my relationship with my dog is one of pure trust and enjoyment, and I am so glad I made the decision to trust them with his training. Could not recommend this business more!

My husband and I have a two year old German Shepherd named Heller. He’s incredibly sweet and smart, but we had two big problems: poor leash manners and dog reactivity. Any time he was on a leash and would see a dog he would lose his mind — growling, snarling, jumping. When I (a very small person) walked him it was always with nervousness and eventually that dwindled down to my husband being the only one to take him out. Enter: Blake. We sent Heller away to stay with Blake and were completely blown away by the dog he came back as. The same loving, funny personality, but now beyond well behaved. There was a total night and day difference in his leash walking; he now walks perfectly to heel without pulling. Blake also gave us the tools we need to communicate with Heller that his reaction to other dogs while on his leash is unacceptable. He showed us how to stop Heller’s reactivity before it happens, meaning now we can walk around our neighborhood without causing a scene. The four follow-up sessions have also been key. We really liked that Blake didn’t just tell us what Heller learned when we picked him up and then we never heard from him again. Training requires a lot of at home practice and long term commitment with your dog and inevitably we had a lot of situational questions — Blake was really happy to answer any one-off questions we had and the follow up sessions have been an incredible tool. If Heller isn’t responding how we want him to then Blake will observe and give corrections / suggestions. All in all — Blake has given us an amazing gift. Our and our dog’s lives will be better for it.

We were highly recommended to Blake from a friend who had used his services. We took our 2 year old Giant Schnauzer (Jasper) to Blake (The Prodigal Pooch) and did the 19 day resident training program. It was such an awesome experience ( and still continues to be)! During the training Blake posts videos of the training sessions, so you will get to see your pup in action. He was very easy to reach and quick to answer all messages we had while Jasper was away. Blake has a very soft spoken and gentle way of training, he genuinely loves dogs and his job. Our dog came back home with such good manners and a great understanding of all the basic commands. Now we are working on getting trained, LOL! We have been doing the follow sessions and Blake is teaching us how to work best with Jasper. He is a very patient instructor! I would highly recommend Blake (the Prodigal Pooch) to anybody...it has been a very positive experience for us and Jasper. Thank-you Blake!!