Zenergy Dog Training

Zenergy Dog Training has been wonderful in helping our new Standard Poodle puppy JoJo grow and develop into a delightful member of our family and giving us the tools and understanding to deepen our relationship with her. Our puppy is very active and inquisitive, which initially meant constant challenges as she wanted to chew everything (including us), steal socks, etc. We tried an initial lesson with a different trainer, but her ‘positive only’ approach left us with no tools to correct unwanted behavior other than to ‘distract her’. Enter Zenergy Dog Training! It’s a 45-minute drive from our home in Mesa, but after the first lesson I knew we had found the right place to truly help JoJo and our family develop the best relationship possible. Zenergy is a balanced trainer, and our experience is that the balance so far is about 99% positive reinforcement and 1% correction. The difference however has been awesome in shaping JoJo’s behavior. She adores RJ and K and remains focused on them throughout the lessons and eager to please. JoJo was a great pup to begin with, but now she walks wonderfully on a leash, will go to her place upon command (when you need some time to clean around the house), and no longer tries to bolt out the door. Over time JoJo will only get better and better, but Zenergy Dog Training gave us a wonderful foundation. I can’t thank them enough!

I have a Goldendoodle puppy that I took to K and RJ for private lessons. The puppy was having many different issues--drawing blood on my toddler (trying to play), jumping on guests, swiping food off the table and out of our hands, and being extremely fearful on walks because of living in a high-traffic area. We had a phone consultation and chose to do private lessons, since we had ample time to work on training. We had 5 lessons after that and got so much great information. RJ explained how important human leadership is to a dog; all of these negative behaviors were stemming from our lack of leadership. So the lessons were really to teach us how to have a positive, authoritative relationship with our puppy, and how to use the correct training tools. If anyone is unsure of Zenergy's training methods, our puppy also LOVED the training, even though the process was not always "fun" for her. She loved training with RJ, and now has an uncanny respect for all bearded men! K and RJ made us very comfortable with the training also. We did not feel rushed during appointments, they were always available for phone and email questions (and responded very quickly), and everything they recommended was great. We really like the products they recommend--particularly the prong collar and leather leash from Pet Club and the chicken jerky training treats from Costco. They also recommend a raw food diet for dogs, which we transitioned to because of extensive tummy trouble. Though it was difficult to get the hang of at first, only good things have happened for our puppy (most importantly she is not underweight and sick all the time anymore). K and RJ helped us with raw feeding questions as well. Nowadays, our puppy does not have "perfect" behavior, but she does not hurt our toddler anymore, she can make it through a walk, and she knows to take us both seriously when we give a command. Any lack of obedience still occurring is 100% our fault and not a failure of training--we have exactly the behavior we've worked for, which is all we want. Our puppy is still a brat, but her attitude completely changes when she wears her prong collar or E-collar. Many times we do not even have to use these, simply wearing them is enough. With no collar she prances around doing whatever she wants; with a prong collar and leash on, she knows not to do anything outright "naughty"; and with the E-collar on, she is careful to pay attention to us. The private lessons were perfect for us. However, training was our whole life for at least a month and a half. So we would recommend the lessons only if you have the time, energy, and [most importantly] consistency to strictly stick to the program. And if your dog's behaviors are not extreme or severe. Otherwise, the bootcamp is probably the better option. Thank you K and RJ!

Zenergy dog training has been such a game changer for our pup Henry. We enrolled him in a five week bootcamp training due to his leash aggression and excessive barking and pulling on walks. He would lunge at other dogs and people on our walks and bark like crazy when people came to the house. Now he walks next to us like a champ so calmly. He is crate trained and so attentive to us while at home and out in public. We never thought we’d be able to travel with him and bring him out with us to restaurants but he is like a completely new pup now. We are over the moon excited and so thankful for the trainers at Zenergy.

My dog was impossible to walk, he would choke himself on his leash and chase bikes and scooters. He mouthed, jumped on the counters, and would get too excited and jump on house guests. K and RJ took the time and patience to teach him how to dog right. We did a 4 week boarding bootcamp and he came back a whole different dog! He's still young so he still has boundless energy, but we can communicate with each other now and it is a relief to have a calmer more focused dog. He loves to work and plays with my kids in a much safer way. He still goes to pack play and sometimes overnights when I'm traveling. I know that he gets his energy burned and plays with other dogs with structure and reinforced expectations from his training. No worries that he'll pick up bad habits or be in a puppy free-for-all. Not to mention the continued advice and support K and RJ have provided me, encouraging me along the way! So grateful I found Zenergy!