Henry

Hal and I want to thank you for seeing the potential ability in our Golden Doodle, Henry.  We brought you a dog with little behavioral training and picked up a dog with inner discipline.  As you may remember, Henry was very poor at walking on a leash, (pulling and tugging), greeting people and other dogs, jumping on the little grandchildren, and continuous barking.  We had tried the traditional training methods with food awards and several training tools to control barking.  We had a closet full of training collars and leashes that were useless.  As he reached 50 pounds it was almost impossible for us to walk him anywhere with confidence and enjoyment.  We called your K-9 Academy International as a last resort.  We left Henry with you for several weeks.  On one phone call, you stated that Henry was a very smart dog; he always had a plan A, B, and C for whatever it was that he wanted to do.

Imagine our joy when we returned to pick him up and discovered a much more internally disciplined dog.  He still was fun-loving, gentle, and dominant but controlled.  Henry could now heel, walk free on the leash, respond to commands of direction: (right or left), down, stay, sit, up, and no and come (on or off leash).  The barking was now used for warning and ceased when he was assured that it was “OK”.  The little babies and young children can crawl around the floor free of the dog on top of them.  He no longer jumps on the older children and knocks them down.  Henry has truly become a member of our family and neighborhood.  Everyone loves Henry and so do we.

We have also used the Academy’s kennel program and were again very pleased.  The prices are comparable to other kennels but additional exercise/playtime and included training updates make the choice simple.  Henry is always very happy to arrive and remembers his training friend Nino.  On occasions we, as owners, get lazy or start accepting less of Henry’s behavior than we should.  We really appreciate your continuous willingness to teach us skills and techniques to bring Henry’s behavior back to “highly acceptable”, usually within 20 minutes.

Thanks for staying involved and helping pet owners, like us, learn how to be leaders for our dogs.

Sincerely:

Hal and Karen Horlings

Lobo

I just want to take a moment to thank Nino and his staff at K9 Academy International.  My wife Deb and I have a 1 ½ year old Siberian Husky/Shepherd mix male named Lobo.  Previous to bringing Lobo in for the 6 week training course Lobo was experiencing extreme separation anxiety.  So much so that he was causing physical damage to himself as well as our house.  We were to the point that we actually considered giving Lobo away.  But as a last resort we decided to give Nino and his staff a chance to help him.  Nino came out to our house and visited with us and Lobo.  Nino explained the various training options that he offered.  Deb and I were a little hesitant but decided to go ahead and have Lobo go through the 6 weeks of training.  Well needless to say that was the best decision we have made for Lobo and ourselves.  Since getting Lobo back from the academy he has been nothing short of amazing.  Before the training I could not even walk Lobo down the walking trail by our house because he was so uncontrollable whenever we came upon any other people or dogs.  Now Lobo is so controllable it is actually relaxing to go for a walk!  As for his separation anxiety…  Lobo is much better behaved when we leave him now.  He has much more control and confidence in himself.  He is just a pleasure to have.  So to Nino and your staff…  Thank you for making our lives with Lobo so much more enjoyable.  You and your staff do amazing work.  I would not hesitate to recommend K9 Academy to anyone.

Thanks,

Tom, Deb and Lobo

Oskar and Zeena

We had been training Oskar with other trainers since he was a puppy, but still found ourselves frustrated (at 1½ years old) with his unacceptable behaviors. Although we were quite hesitant about leaving our dog for 6 weeks of training, we now realize the importance of that intensive, uninterrupted approach to training and behavior modification. One of the neatest things for us to witness after the training was the bond that Nino created with our dog. Oskar respected him not only as a trainer, but also a friend. Now we have an obedient dog that is a joy to be around. Thank you Nino - you are truly AMAZING!!

Minna

Hi Nino,

Just a word regarding the conversation we had last week.  In regards to training a dog, "you are the best"!  I am very satisfied with the methods you use, the manner with which you handle a dog, and the helpful hints you gave me to help me to learn to teach "Minna" how to behave.  I would be happy to refer anyone to you, and will do so if the need should arise!  I am enclosing a picture of my "K9 Academy" trained Doberman.

Thank you and continued success!

Marg Stearn=

Gittano Jr. von Harisburg

Hey Nino,

We couldn’t be happier with our GSD pup Gittano Jr.  The socialization and training early on has proven to be worth the time and investment.  His temperament allows us to bring him just about anywhere we go.  Looking forward to continuing protection training.  We don’t have to worry about feeling unsafe in our home, he is a great guard dog already.

Olive

Hi, Nino and Pamela,

Not a day goes by that we don’t comment on how great our dog is and  
how happy and relieved we are that we sent her to you.  As you know, I  
was an overprotective mother hen who wasn’t entirely convinced that we  
couldn’t handle her training ourselves (with a bit of guidance) and  
who really wasn’t sure that I could stand to leave her for 8 weeks.   
We’d had a dog in the past who was hard-headed and required firm  
training and consistent leadership, so we thought we were ready for  
Olive.  We were wrong.  As Olive’s wilfullness grew, we began to  
suspect we were in over our heads.  When she began to show signs of  
dog aggression after being bitten on the nose by a small dog at a pet  
store, we knew it.

Nothing we did worked to lessen the leash aggression she developed  
after that incident, and soon it was growing into leash aggression  
toward people passing by, as well.  She clearly did not see us  
(especially me, Amy) as being in charge, no matter how much training  
we did and no matter how many subtle cues we tried to give showing  
that we were Alpha.  She completely tuned us out when she was excited  
or mad and we spent all of our time yelling at her to stop doing  
something – chewing, stealing objects, growling, chasing the cats,  
jumping, mouthing us, etc..  I was very concerned that if she was  
showing signs of leash aggression toward dogs and people at the age of  
6 months, things were only going to get worse.  Furthermore, we  
recognized that as a Rottweiler, her behavior was going to be under  
the microscope even more than dogs we had owned in the past.  With  
some sense of desperation, we called Nino and made the trip to Lowell.

Eight long weeks later our Wild Olive was returned to us as Sweet  
Olive.  We can’t believe the difference.  She is still a puppy and has  
the same loveable personality she always had, but now she LISTENS to  
us!  If she goes astray and decides to try to eat the toilet paper, a  
simple “NO” promptly redirects her – no more chase or keep away or  
repeated yelling.  She came home a much calmer dog, far more  
comfortable and in control of herself and her role in our family.   
Nino’s training allowed us to gain control so that she feels  
comfortable with us as the boss and hears what we say.  While she is  
still very playful and sometimes even a bit wild, she remains in  
control of herself and her actions.  When we pass by other dogs on  
walks, she is alert but not aggressive.  She doesn’t get into a blind  
frenzy anymore.  While she tries to play with our aged, arthritic  
shepherd mix, she no longer leaps on her uncontrollably pushing her to  
the ground.

In hindsight I can clearly see that we would not have been capable of  
accomplishing this level of control ourselves.  Nino’s training  
methods and use of the e-collar proved to be profoundly more effective  
than the positive-only techniques that seem to be in vogue today.   
Furthermore, it seems that living among a lot of dogs all making noise  
and being in close proximity really helped to desensitize her a bit  
and alleviate some of her defensive aggression.  We went from  
questioning why we had decided to get a Rottweiler to realizing  
exactly why – and knowing that we’d do it again in a heartbeat now  
that she is such a wonderful companion and family member!

Thank You,
The Krone Family

Boomer and Thor

I've had Boomer & Thor since they were pups.  I thought I was doing the right thing with them.  Training them to do the basics....walking loose leash, sit, stay, come, etc.  They did those things very well.  They did not do well when it came to other people and dogs.  I read many articles on socializing.  My biggest problem is that I didn't have confidence in myself with them around others.  I needed to regroup and sought out Nino's help.  He and his staff worked with Boomer & Thor by getting others instead of me being with them.  Nino and I talked many times over the phone while he was training them.  Nino taught me as well...to be the pack leader.  I think I needed more training than the dogs.  Because of Nino's training, I gained more confidence and Boomer and Thor could sense that as well.  It's a pleasure now taking them on walks and to the park around other people and dogs.  They seem happier as well.  When people see me with the dogs and compliment with regarding their good behavior and how well they respond to me, I tell them Nino did a great job training me and the dogs.  Thank you Nino and your staff.