High On Kennels

My dog didn’t need rattlesnake avoidance, puppy training, or bird dog training. He needed major «you come when you’re called no matter what you’re doing» training. In a million years, I never thought I could be without my dog for 30 days (he went through the rigorous 30 day training with Greg and Ruth Weiss at the Santa Ysabel facility). I still can’t believe it happened. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
The hardest part: you can’t visit for the first two weeks. A part of me was worried they’d «break him» but he’s the same happy colt he was before. A part of me was worried they were going to do something awful the first week and he’d need the second week to heal and that’s why I couldn’t see him for the first two weeks. Of course my mind was spinning out of control, this is my dog and we hadn’t been apart for more than five nights for the 4 ½ years we’ve known each other (he’s five). But all my fears were ridiculous and unfounded. He’s not the least bit afraid of either of them, and if anything he has a special bond with them.
They were worried that my dog, being so stubborn, would need a bit more time so they kept him five extra days at no additional cost. They took him with them everywhere and fell in love with him a bit :) And he definitely enjoyed being with them.
It was the most horrible 35 days and also totally worth it. He’s the same dog he was when he left but now he comes when he’s called/minds/doesn’t chase cattle/isn’t Cujo when on a leash. I can’t recommend them enough.

Rattlesnake aversion training: We took our dog to HOC’s rattlesnake avoidance training class, and they were excellent.
Last year, our dog was trained by another outfit: sniff a baby rattlesnake, sniff a skin, hear a rattle, and meet an adult snake, and that’s it. Finished. 4 stations only. Further, it was windy, and that other outfit partly had our dog approach the snakes from upwind. And we’d waited an hour for our turn.
This year, we took our dog to HOC for the 1^st time. There was no wait when we arrived. Compared to the other outfit, these guys were much better:
– they had an additional snake (adult, but with the rattle taped silent),
– after a «cooling down break,» they allowed our dog a second «tour» through the snake circuit, and
– they approached each snake from downwind, so our dog could get the scent.
Great job by HOC.
My only complaint is that they don’t allow taking video of their training.

Made my dog enjoyable and love able as opposed to how he used to be — a terror (ist),

We enrolled our 7 month German Shorthaired Pointer girl with High On at their rural Santa Ysabel facility for a 1 month obedience course (Jan 2015). I can fully recommend Ruth, Greg, and the owner Fred. Here’s our experience below if you want to read details, but a phone call or a visit is the best way to know if their training or boarding is right for your dog.
Though we trained Maggie a great deal at home and took her to obedience classes, we couldn’t seem to make her pay attention to really important commands like «come» when she was distracted by other dogs or birds. This led to some scary incidents when she ran across the road. I felt we had to do some serious training in order to keep her safe in the future. She also pulled constantly on the leash, which made taking her out with us not as much fun as it should be.
She is young and the GSP breed is known for high energy, but we hoped they could get through to her in a way that we could not. They completely succeeded.
We visited after the first 2 weeks. I was worried she wouldn’t recognize us or have somehow changed in personality, but I was so pleased when she was thrilled to see us and was just as cheeky and cuddly as before. After 2 weeks of training she was heeling, sitting, staying and laying down with much more ease than before. Importantly, she had stopped fidgeting so much. She looked to Ruth for direction and actually paid attention.
Before, she was like a hyperactive child with no concept of focus or learning. Ruth and Greg have literally taught her how to learn (and taught us to be patient, consistent, and persistent). They had us take turns training her to reinforce that the commands are the same even when «mom and dad» are giving them. After 30 min of training she was exhausted from the effort of concentrating and went straight to sleep!
When we visited during weeks 3 & 4, we could see how they introduced the recall/​come command. In addition to positive reinforcement, they did use a few training tools that I wouldn’t have been trained to use myself. Maggie gets so distracted that sometimes a collar that pinches a bit when she pulls or employing an e-​collar will remind her of the command. I realize that people have strong opinions about e-​collars, and I’m not trying to engage in a debate about them here. In our situation, Ruth and Greg used the absolutely lowest settings possible to get Maggie’s attention — it is like a light vibration (I tried it on myself). It was the only way to get her attention when she is chasing a bird and train her to come back to us. It wasn’t a punishment, more like a reminder. And if given a choice between the e-​collar and a potential accident with a speeding car, I will take the e-​collar any day.
Maggie came home after a month, and the change is remarkable. She is so much more responsive and easier to be around, but still as cuddly and playful as before. We still need to reinforce the training on a daily basis as she matures, but at least we have a good chance of getting and keeping her attention. Most importantly, all three of us now know the rules.
Ruth drove over an hour to do a home visit within a week of our return so that Maggie could connect her learning at the kennels with what is expected at home. Maggie was delighted to see her!
Ruth and Greg are very kind and clearly love their 6 pointers and all their clients’ dogs. Though they are disciplined gun dog trainers, they understand that we don’t all take our dogs hunting and will train in a manner that suits your lifestyle. If you have a high energy dog of any breed that is hard to handle or train, you should seriously consider the High On obedience program. Dogs are for life, and an investment in their future early on will give you a much happier relationship with them in the long run. We’re very glad we did.
A note on the Facilities:
Each dog has their own indoor/​outdoor kennel. They close the outdoor portion at night and put a heater on inside so that the pups are all cozy. Our gal is really spoiled at home — sleeping in our bed and on the couch — so I wasn’t sure how she would adjust to «boarding school» conditions. It didn’t seem to faze her at all.
They have a large outdoor fenced play yard and all the dogs take turns for playtime to run around and blow off steam on a daily basis. Ruth and Greg pair up dogs that play well together so that they make friends, and they never put aggressive or un-​neutered dogs together. I think Maggie misses her buddy Tessa!
We brought her own food, bed, and toys. They are happy to administer any meds your dog might be on.
It’s a beautiful mountain setting with lovely, warm and knowledgable dog trainers who focus almost exclusively on high energy dogs like ours. We are considering taking her back for the 3 month gun dog training course. She seems to have the ability, but we’re unsure if we want to become hunters ourselves. We’ll definitely use them for boarding in future.

This company is great. I have 2 Labs and hike year round in Agora, Malibu, and Calabasas areas. Every summer I really worry about Rattlesnakes.
I heard about these guys from a friend and decided to try them. I’ve used the venom vaccine for 2 years but it only made sense to put them thru rattlesnake avoidance training. They come to Calabasas the first weekend of every month during the summer.
They were so busy that day but found the room to fit me in. Both dogs didn’t do well the first trial so they had to go thru the a second time after a water break and rest period. Well… the second time they would not go near the rattlesnakes. Wow!!!
They put a rattlesnake between the dogs and me and had me call to them to come.
They would not budge… I will for sure go back early next summer to take a refresher course.

Rattlesnake avoidance training was very effective. My dog immediately learned to avoid snakes after initially sniffing the snake.

Pros: friendly, kind and professional and highly effective
Cons: none
We have seen several rattlesnakes in our neighborhood and decided to consider rattlesnake avoidance training for our border collie mix who is 1.5 years old.
We already had the rattlesnake venom vaccine done by our veterinarian, who also suggested we look at training if we do hiking or let our dog run around the yard (we do both).
We drove to a beautiful location in Murrieta where the The Santa Rosa Plateau Riding Club is, and were totally impressed by how kind, professional and effective the High On Kennels team was.
They walked us through the entire course before hand, explained everything in great detail (purpose/​intent, process, and desired outcome… etc). It became clear very quickly that our dog is in good hands with dedicated professionals.
Our dog «got it» during the first run through the course, but they like to run dogs through twice to ensure successful implant of both the scent of a rattlesnake and the desired reaction/​response from the dog.
I have to admit that we were very apprehensive to do this as we had heard that they use shock collars, and just did not like the idea of our puppy getting zapped and possibly traumatized in order to learn how to avoid rattlesnakes.
We actually decided to do our own research beforehand, and bought and tried a popular shock collar on ourselves to see what it feels like before we subject our dog to it. At a setting of 3 out of 8 against my bare index finger it was sort of like the shock of a 9v battery hitting your tongue but 1.5 — 2 times stronger — a big jolt, no pain, but not something I want to do too often. So it is a definite attention getter.
I can tell you with 100% confidence that High On Kennels cares greatly about dogs, and that it was as non-​traumatic and uneventful as possible. We were so relieved, and watched everything within yards of our dog. They know how to calibrate the level shock so that it gets the dogs attention and is something they don’t want to experience again, but nothing more and it is only for a brief moment. Our dog needed a total of just two quick corrections, and got it. That was it.
I was very worried about doing this with our dog, but I came away totally impressed… it is probably the most gentle and effective way of training your dog to avoid a rattler. The other option is vaccination and being ready at anytime to take your dog to the vet for treatment and injections of anti-​venom ($$$$).
There were over 150 dogs signed up when we went, so High On Kennels has a great reputation. This was obviously our very first time, and had never heard of them.
If you live in Southern California, and your dog is not always indoors or with you on a leash outdoors, you owe it to your furry friend to get this life saving training for him/​her.
Highly Recommended!

If these people come to do a «Rattlesnake Avoidance» Training DO NOT LET THEM TOUCH YOUR DOG! Don’t waste your money with them. They came up to Big Bear and did a clinic and you only got to go through with your dog twice! When you asked the lady a questions or you questioned her she was VERY RUDE! I don’t think a dog understand when they only allowed them to go through twice. They even were wetting the shock collar prong on one dog then shocking them. Poor dog didn’t even know why he was being shocked. You should use the longer prongs for dogs that have more hair. I don’t see how these people have been in business for so long. Also if you don’t change out the rattle snakes and just keep using them, then loose their scent. Every time my dog went through (The two time) he was shocked repeatedly. Then they said «oh look at that, your dog gets it», he passed! So before you do this type of training look into the company, people.