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We have a 1 year old , very active husky As you can imagine she was a handful! while very smart, she had a mind of her own and with a new born baby at home we were getting over our heads trying to take her out for walks while also pushing a stroller or carrying the baby. Every time we passed by another dog she would get so excited and pull. She will pull most of the time, which made walks very tiresome and draining for us, to the point where we didn't want to take her for walks! Which as you can imagine made things worse. We are soooo happy with the results. She is a totally different dog now. So much more calm. Always listens to her commands. She comes when called. Doesn’t pull on a leash. Doesn't go after other dogs or squirrels or birds. At home she is very calm And we can trust she will stay in place when instructed. We are even able to let her have supervised off leash play time and know she will come When called. We are so happy and confident in her training that we are comfortable taking her out in public to restaurants, parks, hiking and anywhere really. We highly recommend Asheville Dog academy!

When it comes to working with, training, and just understanding dogs, Chris is a genius! (And I don't use that word lightly.) First the $: We are a solidly middle class family, and I seriously wondered if paying for a trainer would be worth it. (After all, it's just a dog!) After going through the Basic and Advanced Training I can say with total sincerity that training with Chris is worth EVERY single penny! Drawing from his vast knowledge and wisdom about dogs, Chris got us through the very stressful first 2 weeks of potty and crate training. He responded to texts and calls right away and reassured us every step of the way. Chris has a systematic method to training that I could replicate at home. Chris gives clear exercises to do at home and they build on each other in a way that makes everyone successful! When you work with Chris you immediately see that he loves dogs. He was able to quickly see Ollie's unique personality and work with me to train Ollie in the way that would give Ollie both confidence and obedience. If you want to happily and successfully train your dog -- I highly recommend Chris and the Asheville Dog Academy!

Our dog is a Sheprador. The makeup of his personality is accurately reflected in his German Shepard/Yellow Labrador mix. His nature, temperament and disposition closely resemble both breeds of dogs. He is physically and emotionally strong. He is intelligent, vigilant, alert, confident and strong willed. He is also very loving. Our dog is also anxious and highly excitable which contributes to occasional inappropriate interactions with people and other dogs. At 10 months we realized we needed some guidance with our GSD/Lab mix puppy. We were led to Chris at the Asheville Dog Academy. After visiting with Chris, we enrolled our puppy in the Board and Train program. To make a long story short, Chris trained and boarded our dog for three weeks. We were updated with comments and daily photos that Chris sent through email and texts. In each communication we were able to witness our dog’s stages of behavioral transformation. After three weeks we drove to the Academy Dog Academy to pick up our dog. We were truly astounded. The positive transformation was impressive. Our beloved dog was able to perform basic as well as advanced dog obedience commands at ease. Before we left the Asheville Dog Academy, Chris explained the work he had completed with our dog. Most importantly he provided a couple of hours to answer questions and show the procedures needed for us to continue the obedience training in a consistent manner that was necessary for continued success. Since that day, we visited with Chris whenever we needed to talk with him about unusual circumstances regarding an occasional behavioral issue. Chris has also worked with us at the dog park and in our home. I am pleased to report that after 10 weeks we have a puppy who is loved by everyone. Again, we are still comfortable contacting Chris at any time. He has always been available to trouble shoot any behavioral circumstances that may arise during our dog’s complete change. Chris’ organizational mastery, teaching techniques, communication skills and follow-up plan are more than commendable. We place him in a rating category of 5+ on a five point scale. However, the most revealing traits of the Chris and his wife Violet are their passion and dedication for their chosen calling and their love extended to our dog. Our beloved puppy was treated with affection and understanding while learning the nuances of making the adjustment from a confused “rescue” to a responsible member of our family. Doug and Jacque McLaughlin

Our goldador, Wyatt, is a lot of dog - sweet, but couldn’t manage his energy. While we’re still fine tuning a few things since his 21 day board and train, we are enjoying him SIGNIFICANTLY more now and he seems so much happier. We took him to Carrier Park recently and noticed several dog owners struggling with dogs pulling, whining, and just generally not listening to them. It reminded me of how we used to struggle with Wyatt, despite working diligently to train him on our own for nearly 1.5 years. I felt so relieved that we’re not struggling like that anymore! Chris and his team at Asheville Dog Academy did wonders with Wyatt. In addition to being much more manageable in public, he’s so much calmer at home as well. While quite the investment, totally worth the money! Chris has made it clear that this is a lifetime guarantee and we’re confident that he’ll continue to work with us and Wyatt, as/if needed.

We have been amazed with results of the 21 day board and train program, hold on for a long review and the story of our pup. When our beloved German Shepard passed away from old age last year we decided to get another dog, a 6 month old golden retriever...meet Sampson! We were admittedly not prepared for the energy he brought into our household! We have two young kids (2 and 4) and while he was really sweet with them he was very rambunctious, mouthy, jumpy (especially at the door), and had really bad leash manners. He would also run away if given the opportunity. As he grew quickly to 80lbs he got very hard to handle and life inside the house was stressful. Releasing his energy was difficult since he was so bad on the leash...he would bite through harnesses, tug of war on the leash, jump and bite us, he even flipped our stroller with the kids in it. We are very active outside and my dream of a well mannered off leash dog seemed very distant, we couldn't even walk in the neighborhood! We met with other trainers and just weren't making progress, with a temporary move to Oregon coming up we were actually considering re-homing him. There was a dog in our neighborhood that had great manners who we watched walk on and off leash each morning, I finally stopped and talked briefly with his owner and found out he had been to the Asheville Dog Academy with Chris and the team. After talking with Chris we decided to sign up for the 21 day board and train, at this time Sampson was 10 months old. Luckily Chris was able to accommodate our schedule and get Sampson in quickly so we could be prepared for the move. During the 3 weeks Chris provided excellent communication with pictures each day and a few videos, what we saw was incredible. Chris also provided a great video series to prepare us for the hand-off as well. When the time came to pick up Mr. Sampson we were amazed at the change, we saw a strong recall, loose leash walking and healing, the ability to stay in place when commanded, and his jumping and nipping was almost non existent. It has been a little over a month since we picked him up and we have been working with Sampson daily to solidify training and help with generalization. Chris has been very supportive, answering any of my questions and meeting several times to help with my technique. Sampson is absolutely amazing now, it has been a game changer for our family, everyone is much happier. Sampson will stay in his place while the kids eat dinner or snack on the floor. He has a really nice loose leash heel and loves walking every day, we have even transitioned to off leash heeling both walking and riding bikes!! His off leash manners have been excellent he is now allowed to roam a bit in our driveway, front yard, and explore in the woods and creeks without fear of him running away. He is still the same pup with tons of energy but he has the ability to control it and will listen to us. We are truly impressed and others have noticed as well with many compliments on his behavior and disbelief at his age. We highly recommend the program, our expectations were exceeded!

After the 21 day program Sassy is no longer pulling me or running wild. We go outside and play fetch and she is the fun loving well behaved dog we always wanted. Chris and Violet took Sassy into their home treating her as one of the family. I felt reassured with the love and discipline Sassy received she was happy and healthy for the 21 days she was away I would do it all over again, thank you Chris. Cathy & Richard Nigro