The K-9 Clinic

I just don’t appreciate that the k-​9 clinic *never* answers their business phone & rarely do they return calls. It’s frustrating to say the least.

Eight months ago, when I saw behavioral changes in my dog Scout I felt hopeless. Thank goodness I found The K9 Clinic. From the first evaluation I knew I had not only found the perfect solution for my dog but a kinship with the trainers as well. The Bootcamp was the best decision I’ve ever made. Not only did it re-​set the mind/​behavior of my dog but they also taught me the appropriate skills to be a handler for my specific dog.
Before I started with The K9 Clinic Scout was unable to be off leash, around other dogs and her «naughty» behaviors felt unmanageable.
Happy to report none of that applies today! Group classes, private lessons; we do them all!
Thanks to The K9 Clinic I have the dog I always dreamed of!
Monique Cook
Santa Cruz, CA

Took our boxer to lance and Christi when he was 7 months old and getting full of himself at the recommendation of our vet. Dog owner hierarchy way out of balance. Left him for boot camp. I am the last person that thought I would ever invest money in training my dog. One of the best investments we made. He came back to us a week later a different dog. They then proceeded to train me instead of letting my dog train me. 2 ½ years ago we still participate in Saturday classes. A kind, knowledgable and talented group of trainers.

We took our two dogs (a Pit Bull and an Italian Greyhound/​Mutt) to their two week bootcamp. At first I was really hesitant because my dogs are 5 years and 9 years old and they are my babies, but they were both dog aggressive and NOT well behaved dogs.
I wish I took my dogs here years ago! I also wish I did a before and after video because I still cannot believe how well behaved my dogs are now after their 2 week bootcamp. My Pit who was VERY dog aggressive now walks past dogs with ease and could careless about the other dogs around him.
Also, Lance, Christi-​Ann and Talinda were FABULOUS to work with. All of them are very knowledgable and took wonderful care of my dogs while they were in their hands.
I would HIGHLY recommend the K9 Clinic!

My boyfriend and I are raising a beautiful one and a half year old English bulldog named brawlie. About 3 months ago, she began to aggress towards males on our property and in and around our neighborhood. We were completely terrified and lost. Close family and friends recommended us to the k9 clinic and they told us, «you will not regret it».
Since the inception of services Lance, Christi-​Ann, Telinda and the rest of theK9 staff have taken incredible care of us. In short of a month they have COMPLETElY changed our dogs behavior and have also changed our approach in raising our beautiful bully. The concepts and methodologies make so much sense and have improved our little girls life as well as our own!
Thank you K9, we are so grateful And now confident in our dog and the environment in which we are raising her in:)

Lance understands dogs, how they think and why they behave the way they do … both good and bad. Lance understands dog owners too. We have watched tons of episodes of the Dog Whisper on TV. What Ceasar can’t do on his TV show is what Lance and his trainers do when we are in the class with them. Ceasar cannot look through the TV screen and tell me how I can improve what I am doing as I train my dog.
Lance and his first class staff are constantly watching us and giving us tips about how we work with our dogs. «Mike, praise that dog when he does what you want. More praise, more praise!» «Your correction is coming too slow. Watch him and be sure to correct at the right time. Timing is everything.» «Great job. He was sitting with 7 other dogs and when those 7 others all got up to run yours waited for your command. That’s awesome!» Real time feedback from people who understand and love dogs … that’s what makes the big difference.
Another huge advantage that the K-​9 Clinic has over all the other trainers in the area is the facility. The fenced in training area is about half the size of a football field. All the various obstacles in the training area are there to teach you and your dog to trust each other and work together as a team. Lance and his trainers have us doing different things in different ways with different obstacles each week. The goal is for us and our dogs to be comfortable when confronted by different situations out in the real world. This cannot be duplicated in a 30 foot by 40 foot section of a pet store or someone’s yard.
I know that I can put my dog in a Down/​Stay off leash out in the real world with other strange dogs and people around him and he will stay there until I give him the command. We got the ultimate compliment recently from someone at our local dog park. After seeing me working with my dog, they said, «You’ve raised the standard for the rest of us around here.» I didn’t raise the standard … Lance Stackhouse did!

We took our adult male (neutered) golden retriever to the K9 clinic for some advanced training. He was a rescue and had been badly abused, and as often happens with such animals, he bonded extra-​strong to me. To the extent that he would protect me at all costs and from anything. Delivery people. Other dogs at the vet’s office. Etc. We felt he was dangerous, and when he got the wind up we couldn’t control him. He spent a week at the K9 clinic, he went to camp with his Uncle Lance, and came home behaving much better. And also with an appetite for hot dogs, which is what they used for training treats! He was still his happy self but a lot less hair-​trigger which is exactly what we wanted.
Sadly, our beloved dog died last spring – but we’re getting ready to take our puppy there next month for the regular puppy class. Our new dog has none of the problems of the previous one, he’s just young and needs some basic training.

There’s a saying: If you have 3 dog trainers in a room, the only thing you can get 2 of them to agree on, is that the 3^rd trainer is no good. Having said that, I am a fan of Lance and his training staff. His methods worked for my wonderful, wild, thermo-​nuclear energetic, and deliriously happy rescue dog.
LIKE: Trainers and class start off with about a 5-​minute chat on general dog-​related news, what’s new with our dogs, etc. After that, Lance and his trainers always had us moving and working with our dogs.
LIKE: Agility equipment set up for intermendiate and advanced classes. Not competitive, just for confidence building. The drills were fun and my dog’s confidence level soared. He is now king of the world. (shhh… don’t tell the cat.)
LIKE: There are several trainers working at the same time, so people often get one-​on-​one instruction as needed or requested if there is
a problem learning a move or command.
LIKE: The fenced in area for training is HUGE! Poopie gets picked up pronto, so people can concentrate on obedience training and not having to watch where they step. (Although it’s still not a bad idea)
NOT SO LIKE: $$$$ Might be cheaper to put my dog through Stanford.
LEARNED TO NOT DISLIKE: The prong collar. (I tried the prong on my own arm first, and went forward with using it on my dog.)More than anything, I want my dog to be healthy and safe; to come/​sit/​stay when I say. Reward-​based training didn’t work for him, but correction did, and it’s never dampened his spirit or darkened his demeanor.
For me and my dog, K9 Clinic was great.

What I liked about Lance was he realizes that it is more about training the owner than the dog. I built a lot of confidence in these classes, and I am able to handle most any dog now and train it at least minimally in a short period of time.
However Cara, his wife, who handles most of the business side of things is not very nice. She drives prices up and maintains anti-​customer policies, including not letting you make up a class should you miss one. Also the boarding was nice, however they wanted me to pay for an extra day, even though i prepaid and everything was find, they make you pay for every day your dog is there, not just the nights… so it ends up costing more per day+one extra day, compared to what any other boarder does.

My husband and I have a 1 year old yellow lab. We adopted him at 7 weeks old and took him to «puppy training» at a local pet store. Well by the time he was 7 months old and over 60 lbs we had ourselves in quite a mess with a hyper puppy who we had no control over.
SO we googled and googled and searched and searched for a trainer who could help us. We interviewed a lot of trainers and finally a neighbor of my mom’s recommended the K9 Clinic to us. We drove almost an hour to get there, but after meeting Lance & Christi-​Ann – we would drive twice as long for their help!
Lance & Christi-​Ann taught us how to be trainers ourselves, and helped lay the foundation of our training. They explained to us the rationale behind every command. They explained things to us in a way that better helped us understand what our dog was thinking and why he was doing the things he was doing-​and how what WE were doing would in return make him act a certain way.
In ONE private session our pup was walking on a leash. And I don’t mean just walking – I mean HEALING, not pulling, and looking UP to us for praise because of what a good job he was doing! He now sits at every corner before crossing the street without being told and waits for his command to get up and walk and heel again.
Lance & Christi-​Ann helped us form a bond with our puppy. He looks to us as his pack leaders, instead of being the leader of the pack. They helped us gain control over our very hyper puppy, and our friends like to come over again and play with him.
There are many trainers at the K9 Clinic, but Lance & Christi-​Ann are the 2 we worked with, as we paid to do 7 private sessions – and it was worth every penny. We are now continuing to take our now 1 year old pup to their Saturday classes.
My husband and I were blown away at our first group class. Our pup after 7 private sessions, fit right into the intermediate class, and is already ready for the advanced class starting next week. All the dogs were having fun, and it was so neat to see the bonds between dog & owners.
I cannot say enough good things about the K9 Clinic. We will continue to take our puppy to class until he no longer needs it, but I will 100% recommend them to all of our friends who get pups, or dogs that need more training. We would use them again in a heartbeat if we ever got another dog, and IT IS WORTH THE HOUR LONG DRIVE.

I was referred to Lance Stackhouse and the K9 Clinic almost eleven years ago. I was looking for a German Shepherd dog. I phoned the K9 Clinic and Lance spent a long time talking with me about the clinic and his dogs. He invited me to come to a training session to witness a session and so that we could meet.
When I went to the training, I was literally amazed. The dogs were happy and wagging and genuinely looked like they were having fun. The people were attentive and listening and bonding with their dogs.
After the class, Lance took additional time to answer my questions and many more hours over the phone. When he informed me he had some puppies coming up for homes, I was ready. Lance had already checked the puppies for temperament and all I had to do was come and see them to select one. He prepared me in advance on what to get, what to do, what to expect, and how to handle a new puppy.
Lance showed me how he had checked for temperament (which we had discussed many times before over the phone and in person) in puppies and displayed this check with Saxon and his sister. When I saw Saxon Dog as a puppy playing with his little sister, I was in love.
Saxon was a wonderful and sweet puppy and has grown to be a gentle, loving, and funny adult dog! We started training with the K9 Clinic immediately with puppy bonding classes and training. I’ve seen Lance work miracles with dogs and their owners (it’s not just the dogs that need training). I’ve seen dogs that couldn’t care less about their owners who, after a mere 30 – 45 minutes in class, are recalling (coming) to their owners with big bounds and wagging tails or heeling and wagging and having fun. I’ve referred many people to the K9 Clinic (it’s about an hour drive for those of us in San Jose). Those who were willing to make the drive to the Aptos area, tell me that they were so happy they did and wondered why they ever delayed it. Training sessions are such a great time to bond with your dog in a constructive and fun way.
Saxon is well mannered (thanks to Lance’s wonderful training classes we attend) and he’s genuinely a gentle soul. Saxon has never had any problems with my roommates or landlords. He’s also permitted in several businesses in the area who have even permitted me to train him off-​leash in their establishment (after seeing how well mannered he is). He is also the only dog that was approved to come to work at my previous company because of his temperament and training. The only fault Saxon had was that he didn’t want to play Frisbee, but with a little encouragement, he’s learned how and loves it!
The site for K9 clinic sure has changed over the last 11 years — but the people and quality of training has not.
I would have never been able to raise such a wonderful dog without Lance and the K9 Clinic. This review is already very lengthy, but I think the reader gets the impression that Lance Stackhouse is a special breeder and trainer. While Saxon is exceptional, he’s not unique… all of dogs under Lance’s care are well mannered like Saxon (have the potential to be).
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