Your Dog's Friend

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I am a foster who was given very little notice about a dog that needed a temporary home. He came to me with severe anxiety with other dogs and I couldn't take him out to use the bathroom without losing his mind. I was calm in the beginning and tried to implement the and quot;Cesarand quot; techniques which briefly worked but before I knew it the poor dog was worse than before. I called 3 or 4 trainers, that charged upwards of $200 a visit, and most required a year contract. I don't have the money but I was desperate, thankfully I received a call from Debra Ekman who founded and runs Your Dog's Friend. She explained to me that she has a program that was organized for the purpose of educating and supporting fosters, the best part... it's only $60 for 3 months!! I received help I needed, given great advice, and educated on new training techniques. BEST OPTION FOR FOSTERS!

I had rescued two dogs in July, and really needed help with the adjustment. Fortunately there were three or four trainers present for every class -- and they all provided wonderful individual advice and encouragement all along the way. The stress is on gently guiding your dog into the desired behaviors, and the approach mostly worked very well with my high energy dogs. I would highly recommend the class to most anyone starting out with a new dog -- no matter the dog's age. And I'm really glad I learned about the organization on Angie's List!

I have a rescue dog that is always in need of mental stimulation and the Nosework I class wears him out mentally. He sleeps for hours after we get home.
First, this is my dog's second time taking the Nosework I class. It was not an issue with the instruction-my dog has severe anxiety and had a very hard time focusing in the new environment during the first few weeks of class. Jacy was great and tailored the searches to my dog's ability so he would always be successful and have fun. I spoke to Jacy about re-taking the class and he was very supportive and made sure there was a space available for my dog. We are now on our second go-round and my dog is much more comfortable in the classroom and functioning in a place where there are other dogs.
This class is designed so that each dog has their own pod or safe space. Kennels are available if you have a dog (like mine) who feels safer in a kennel. Because of the setup, reactive dogs are also allowed to take this class.
Overall, this class has done wonders for my dog's confidence and his behavior. Jacy always makes sure he is successful and only has positive experiences while searching. I would definitely recommend this class and I hope my dog and I will be able to advance to the next class after this session is complete.

We adopted Pixie from a wonderful, local rescue in June of 2011. From the beginning she has been a tough dog to work with. We were taking lots of classes: puppy, obedience, agility, flyball but none helped to specifically address the escalating behavior issues toward other dogs. Your Dog's Friend was recommended by the rescue from which we adopted Pixie and from a flyball teammate who had taken a reactive dog class with them. I did some research and I liked what I read so I signed Pixie up for the Reactive Dogs class last March. The class was 8 weeks of pure learning, taught by Michelle and Debra. The first two were without dogs. We were assigned our own, personal coach and in those two weeks of quiet and calm we learned key techniques for working with our reactive dogs. The entire class was like having a private lesson in a group setting, it was a wonderful learning environment. The class was structured for safety with every dog/owner/coach combo in their own private pod. The dogs were challenged but never over-faced. Each week built upon the last and the dogs learned how to better cope with challenging situations and the humans learned how to be observant and help their dogs. We were given detailed, informative and light-hearted handouts every week to remind us of what we learned and guide us through our homework. I could see a change in my dog from start to finish. Since taking the class I have continued to use the tools we learned to help Pixie on her journey and she is doing fantastic. Just this past weekend we attended a flyball tournament in WV. Pixie no longer barks in her crate, she no longer triggers crate barking from other dogs as we pass by and she no longer reacts toward other dogs with all of their frenzied flyball energy. We had an incident with a Jack Russell, it was totally my fault and Pixie handled it like a champ. We were walking back into the building and my attention got diverted from Pixie. She paused to sniff the JRT as we passed and he, in turn, growled, barked and lunged at her. Pixie just turned toward the front and started walking with me again, no reaction whatsoever...not even raised hackles along her back and that's her signature move! I am very proud of her and I am so grateful to YDF (Michelle, Debra and Jean - our coach) for the lessons and tools they gave us!

Review of Your Dog's Friend Dog-Reactive Dog Class, Summer 2013 We were skeptical that our dog would even go into the room with other dogs when we signed up for the and quot;Dog-reactive Dogand quot; class at Your Dog's Friend. But Bella did it every week with the help of the excellent trainers and coaches at YDF. The class is very well organized and sequenced so that the dogs are only given as much as they could handle with each week's activities building on the last. We learned invaluable techniques that have made walking Bella so much easier. Having an individual coach for each dog really made it a highly individualized experience. Each dog is in his or her own enclosure and is only exposed to other dogs little by little as they are ready. The trainers even arrange where clients should park and the timing of each dog's entrance into the class with your coach meeting you at your car. We highly recommend YDF for classes and other dog-related resources, such as pet sitters and how to deal with other dog behavior issues. We plan to take our dogs to more classes there.

Excellent way for small dogs to meet one another during the two segments of the class time devoted to unstructured play. Games were Find It and Agility Course.

See above. I still have more classes to go but definitely am finding them beneficial and so is my dog.

I enrolled my hound mix in the Reactive Dogs class after getting recommendations from several veterinarians.
The eight week class was excellent and provided us with tools that we'll be able to use with our reactive hound in years to come.
Moreover the staff and coaches were quick to give feedback and suggestions in the weeks in between classes.
We were very satisfied with the results and would be happy to recommend to anyone with a reactive dog.

My dog really enjoyed the classes and looked forward to them every week. He's more obedient there than at home, but repetition has helped quite a bit. Plus, we all understand each other more.

I train my dogs to compete in performance events, but I like to get my new puppies into a good kindergarten to get them socialized and to practice the basics with some distractions.
I have loved our experience @ Your Dog's Friend! The training methods they use are positive and sound, based on our current scientific understanding of how dogs learn. We took classes from Sarah, and she was upbeat, helpful, and encouraging. I saw all of the puppies learn and flourish while we were there. And we had a lot of fun! My little puppy wanted to pull me to the front door for each class, she loved it so much (but no, I didn't let her pull on the leash...she had to learn patience!).
I especially appreciate that you can start in a puppy kindergarten as soon as there is an opening. We had our puppy for 3 days and were able to get into a class. It was great to get her started learning so soon. And the supervised puppy play time is so great for puppies to learn good play manners in a safe environment.
Added bonus: I know that our tuition is helping other dogs who are being fostered/rescued.

I haven't yet taken advantage of the classes you pay for, WITH your dog, mainly because of my crazy schedule, but the same great trainers who present the free workshops lead these classes too.

It is a 501-C3 non profit organization. They are animal centric. They are all about the animal welfare and behavior and solving any problems. They are not heavy handed and use shouting, all positive reinforcement. It works and we have a little monster that is coming around.