Canine Ph.D

Marlee came to our home to help us work with our energetic 5 year old boxer mix who we just adopted from PAWS. I was referred to Canine PhD from PAWS, as a trainer from this group had worked with our dog at the shelter in the past. Marlee was excellent. The hour and a half that she worked with my husband and I and Maggie our dog (and with our second dog and also our 3 cats!) was well worth the cost of the session. We had scheduled the home visit to get help assessing Maggie for safety with our cats and Marlee did assess her and also gave us a lot of support and guidance around working with adjusting our new pup to the cats, helping our new dog and old dog get to know one another, and familiarized us with basic training concepts that we have been using in the week since the visit.
I cannot say enough good things about Marlee. She was very professional and knowledgable and a wonderful teacher. She is warm and personable and encouraging. We enjoyed working with her and our dog (s) engaged with her easily. Some of what we learned was from what she showed us and we also learned by imitating her calm and happy way of interacting with the dogs.
We plan to have Marlee return for follow up visits. Today, we are beginning a 6 week «Manners» class at Canine PhD with our new dog!

Just finished Puppy Headstart with Betty-​, who is awesome and amazing with the dogs-​Already signed up to do the next course (Manners 101). The class provided tons of useful tips for puppy training (e.g., verbal commands, leash walking, playing nicely with other dogs, learning new environments etc) and gave us plenty to work on in between classes (I took a Sunday afternoon class). The content was easy to grasp and implement and my pup has already improved in so many ways. Looking forward to the next round. Highly recommended!

I have attended three courses at Canine Ph. D for my puppy and I cannot express how much I recommend them to anybody considering dog training classes. Initially, I did a one on one session with MarLee. My pup was about 10 weeks old at the time and MarLee did a great job kick starting the training.
From there I did Puppy Head Start and Family Manners 101, both with Betty. Betty is amazing! She has the patience and knowledge to make courses like this effective and fun. The trainers are really training the dog owners on how to train their dogs, so having a warm personality to accomplish that goes a long way.
One of the main benefits of these courses is a controlled environment for your dog to learn with strange people, other dogs, and environmental distractions. It’s up to the owners to do most of the training outside of the class environment. But if you are up to it, by the end of the class it’s astounding the progress your dog will make.
Most memorable to me is an exercise where my puppy was walking on a loose leash, weaving through other dogs, their owners, and other distractions, sitting when commanded, and focusing on me when prompted. Seeing how crazy my puppy was at the beginning of her Canine Ph. D training, it seemed incredible. This was the culmination of weeks of training and just can’t be taught outside of a class environment like this.
If you are looking for effective dog training, you can stop here. You will not be disappointed, as evidenced by the repeat customers in the Family Manners course who were also in the Puppy Head Start course. It was so effective (and we liked Betty so much) that we kept the training going.

Meredith and MarLee have been working with us and our 9 month Labradoodle puppy who has acute separation anxiety, hyper-​attachment to me, crate phobia, etc. We are using Canine Ph. D for day training for 4 – 6 hour stays a couple of times a week. Our dog gets three our four structured training sessions in a day stay that are tailored to his issues. Day training also includes socializing him with other dogs that are in and out of the center. They have taught our dog to relax on cue, learn basic manners (sit, stay, drop, walk, etc.), play scent tracking games that stimulate his mind, and to start gaining confidence. All of this is helping him start progressing to being able to be alone and not so anxious. They have also been training us to do what they do with him to ensure consistency! They have helped us feel hopeful that we will have a balanced dog! Great experience for all of us.

My experience with Canine PhD has been amazing. Meredith is a wonderful person and trainer that really dedicates herself to animal welfare, strengthening the bond between animals and their humans, and teaching people how to communicate with their pets. Training classes are positive for the dogs and for the people – both gain confidence and mutual respect through her guidance.
My experience with Betty has also been wonderful. The dogs love her and the people do too. She takes her time with the pets and is patient with us people as well. I have met Richard once, and he was able to give me helpful pointers on things I could do at home that were beneficial to the dog I was working with.
All around an amazing group of people who will truely care about your pet, you, and the relationship you mold together. They explore new and positive training methods and are always eager to learn and improve. This is the first training facility I have been to where I felt completely secure and confident that I was doing the right work with the dog I love. I know all the courses would be great, but I personally recommend the reactive dog class for those of you who have found yourself a little over your head!

Meredith is incredible. She had to help us make a very difficult decision about re-​homing our dog, and we appreciate her honesty. She told us up front that this dog could make great strides, but was not meant for our home with kids. As heartbreaking as the decision was, we are thankful that someone who makes their living training dogs with behavior problems was genuine enough to not take financial advantage of the situation and have us keep coming back when she knew the dog’s limitations. Thank you, Canine PhD!