Testimonials
Rebel, our 8 1/2 month old lab finished his 2 week board & train last weekend. What Kenzie was able to do with him in that amount of time is nothing short of amazing. Rebel, who may have been overly spoiled was very reactive to strangers, nuisance barked until got his way, pulled so hard on a leash our teenage boy was drug across the front yard, and loved to chase the cats. I love that we can now take him in public without constantly barking at people. We now get to play in the yard with NO leash, no chasing the cats, and have leisurely walks off and on leash. He’s still a happy and loved puppy, just with better manners, obedience, and freedom. Coming from someone who was very apprehensive about sending her pup away, it was so worth it and I’d do it again.
- Tricia Beatty
Rebel | Labrador Retriever
2 Week Board and Train
Sending our Aggie to Elite was the smartest and best thing we could have done for her. When she entered our lives, she was only six months old. All of her brothers and sisters had long been adopted, and she had already been through several foster homes. And If im being 100% truthful. I fully expected we would be just one more. But she was timid, destructive, resource-guarded people and toys, and was extremely fearful of men. Given her "quirks," we knew that her chances of finding a home that would be willing and able to work with her were nill. We couldnt let this baby bounce around anymore. She had been through enough. So, it was decided: Aggie would join the family permanently and become not only our first ever foster but also our first ever foster fail!
Aggie was at her forever home, but we knew she needed more help than we could provide alone. So, we began our search for an obedience school, and we knew it would need to be intensive. Those 1 or 2 night a week offerings at the big box pet store werent going to cut it. Aggie needed help! Daniel & Miyagi level help!
Highly recommended by multiple people we trusted, including our vet, the foster organization we got her from, and a friend/co-worker. Elite and Kenzie to the rescue. And they did not disapoint! The transformation Kenzie brought on in her four weeks with Aggie: it's truely nothing short of miraculous, and we could not be more grateful.
Kenzie took a dog that desperately needed help – a dog that crawled under the car and hid during our evaluation meeting, a dog that would run away anytime I walked into the room, a dog that had no understanding of pack order or social cues – and brought her out of her shell.
Aggie is now the happy, brave, goofy and well-behaved (mostly) girl we knew she could be. We still have A LOT of work to do now that she is back home, but with the foundation Kenzie laid, Aggie is on her way to a whole new life.
Kenzie, We thank you. Aggie thanks you! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!
- Matt Wright
Aggie | Husky Mix
4 Week Board and Train
"I brought my pup to class with Kenzie hoping to teach her some basic commands and self-control. I quickly learned that it wasn't my dog being taught, it was me! Kenzie very quickly instructed the class on basic obedience skills, and I have been amazed at the progress my pup and I have made. As a retired school administrator, I have years of experience observing outstanding teachers. Kenzie shows a natural ability to teach, scaffolding her instruction so that what is being taught makes sense to her human students and their canine friends. She is a natural teacher. This is the best money I've spent in a long time, and my pup and I will be moving on into future classes."
- Joel Schutte
Murphy | Mixed Breed
Basic Obedience Group Class
We decided to have our 5 and a half month old GSD complete 1 month of board and train with Kenzie. She is very knowledgeable and has a tremendous skill set! Our main focus was obedience and off leash training. It was definitely a long month to be away from our puppy but it was worth it. Kenzie set our GSD up for success and is transitioning very well! I would recommend This company a thousand times!
- Sam LoBurgio
Ziva | German Shepherd
4 Week Board and Train
Our 9-month-old doodle mix just finished his 2-week board & train with Kenzie and he is doing amazing- she seriously worked wonders. He is no longer jumping on people and comes when called while off-leash. The training was so much more comprehensive and effective than anything we could have tried to accomplish on our own. He’s got his lovable and goofy personality minus the rude behaviors- highly recommend!
- Michele Huerter
Roscoe | Bernedoodle
2 Week Board and Train
I worked with Shanna in Ankeny and did the one month board and train. It was worth every penny! We were having a couple issues with my Wire Fox Terrier Mahomes and my boyfriend and I were worried that we wouldn’t be able to keep him. Shanna did an AMAZING job and was in touch with us the whole time. We were nervous about sending him away because he was still our dog, but she sent us pictures all the time and we talked to her daily!! Mahomes went from being a dog that was exhausting to be around to the best boy ever. He learned so many things and we get so many compliments about him in public being the best boy. If you are on the fence about doing the board and train, I highly recommend doing it! It helped us so much with our Goose!! Love Shanna!!!!
- Macee Pruisner
Mahomes | Wire Fox Terrier
4 Week Board and Train
My wife and I adopted a very reactive 6-month-old German Shepherd named Kona from the local animal hospital. As far as we knew, Kona had been running the city streets with her mother her whole young life. We live on an acreage with horses, Alpacas, chickens, and cats, so having a dog that we can trust to be calm around our animals while being protective of them and us is very important. We have owned several farm dogs, but never a very reactive German Shepherd. Cynthia was excellent to work with before, during, and after Kona's month-long board and training. Cynthia worked with us to develop a plan that would give Kona the structure, training, and confidence to become less reactive to other animals and human strangers. During the training, Cynthia sent us videos that showed us the manner in which she was training Kona and the progress Kona was making. When we picked up Kona from the month-long training, the learning time with our dog under Cynthia's supervision during pickup was very helpful because we were able to ask a lot of questions and have her help us troubleshoot potential challenges we might have after taking Kona home.
I am pleased to say that several months after the training, Kona is much more manageable and continues to show signs of gradual improvement thanks to Cynthia's training (of both us and Kona). We are very happy that we chose to utilize Elite Obedience Training and would recommend them highly.
- Jason Shepherd
Kona | German Shepherd
4 Week Board and Train
Shanna is by far the kindest and best trainer to work with!! We were at a loss with some dog to dog aggression we were dealing with. We had already sought out professional training before, or so we had thought, and had made not even a DENT compared to the changes that Shanna was able to make with Benson during his 4 week board and train. The communication was amazing from start to finish, and she kept us updated throughout with occasional pictures of him. It’s clear she cares so much about the work she does, and we felt comfortable leaving our sweet guy with her. We will forever be grateful to Shanna and Elite Obedience!
- Madison Houska
Benson | Golden Retriever
4 Week Board and Train