" Bean"

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Bean was trained through the Off-Leash Program in 2009 and continues to board with us when her family travels. They spend extended time in France each year and Bean enjoys her time with friends at the Canine Academy. Here is what her owners have to say.... 

Happy New Year! Lisa, it's like she never left! You know there was no one else to consider for Bean's care, you've known her since she was just 4 months old. We were at the vet and she was squealing like a baby pig in the lobby. You picked her up and said "I can fix that" and you did! You definitely have the gift of understanding animal behavior and PEOPLE! We still anguish over leaving our Bean but know everyone at Canine Academy is well trained, doing more than just a job, and she is getting the best attention, exercise and training. I'm sure she loved spending time at the farm and we thank you for that. The puppy classes, (where I think you trained me along with her!), off leash program, boarding with continued training made me confident that we were leaving her in good hands. Our squealing little piggy is now a Great Dog!

All the Best for the New Year,
Gale Adams
Clarkston, MI and Paris, France

"Mayzie"

OMG! It's a miracle! That's what I've been saying ever since we brought our sweet Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier, Mayzie, home from the Off Leash program at Canine Academy. Our lovable, cute 2 ½ year old, was, to put it mildly, a very spunky gal. Being our fourth Wheaten, we are familiar with and love this breed so much, but could not get Mayzie's behavior under control. After talking to Lisa and her staff, we decided this was the best thing we could do for Mayzie and ourselves, even though we would miss her so much being away from home for the length of the program. WOW! We couldn't believe the positive changes we saw the very first time we were together again. Lisa did an amazing job! It really shows how dedicated and loving she is to the dogs and families she helps. My family and friends cannot get over how well trained Mayzie is! We are deeply committed to maintaining Canine Academy's progress with Mayzie at home and through the outings they offer for a year after completion of the program. In fact, she just received her Canine Good Citizen ribbon! I am so proud of Mayzie! We made the right decision and I would HIGHLY recommend Canine Academy and the Off Leash program to anyone who wants a GREAT DOG!

"Bruce"

Soon after we brought our Golden Retriever puppy, Bruce, home I realized I was in trouble. With three very busy kids and a 4-year old Golden Retriever already at home, I realized that I had bitten off a little more than I could chew. I just did not have the time to devote to the weekly training sessions that I did with my other dog. My cousin had sent her very "exuberant" lab to Lisa so based on her recommendation we decided to send Bruce to Canine Academy. Overall, as far as puppies go Bruce was a great puppy. However, he was a puppy, doing all those "naughty" things that puppies do. He left for training as a feisty 7-month old puppy that did not follow directions and loved to chew on area rugs. He came back as an unbelievably well behaved 9-month old puppy that follows commands and as a result can go anywhere with us. He is calm and confidant. He does not jump on guests, walks on the leash perfectly and sits calmly on his mat next to me at my kids' soccer games. People are just amazed by his good behavior when we are out and about. I wish I had known about Lisa and Canine Academy when my other dog was a puppy. I spent over a year and a half taking her to weekly obedience classes with mediocre results.

"Riley"

Riley graduated from The Canine Academy's Off Leash program on Friday, Sept 19th 2014. Here she is demonstrating how she has mastered 'Place'. She stayed on her 'Place' as our grand-kids came bursting into the room!!! She is so well behaved our walks are a joy for both of us!!! 

Thank you Lisa and everyone at The Canine Academy.

Kathy Borrusch

P.S. In this picture Riley is doing her impersonation of a sad dog and she does it so very well. She is smiling inside and her tail wags all of the time!

"Rosie"

We have had 2 dogs trained by Lisa and the Trainers at Canine Academy. Our first was 10 years ago and because she was trained so well we were able to have 10 fabulous years with our beloved Janie.

We have since acquired our 2nd Weimaraner and we are able to enjoy our very energetic puppy so much more than if we had tried training on our own. She listens to all of the commands that we were taught to use with her. I believe her training enhances our quality of life so much because we are not constantly frustrated by a puppy who does not know how to listen. 

Weimaraner's are very high energy dogs that need a lot of activity and space to run. I can take her for a long walk on or off leash and be sure that she will stay safe and respond when I call her. She is not a nuisance when people come over, we can put her on her Place and she will stay. We don't like a dog begging while we eat, we just put her on her Place and she stays until we are done. We are enjoying our puppy every day!! Thank you Lisa and everyone at Canine Academy :)

Sincerely,

Ed and Maureen LaBarge

"Sophie"

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We brought our 1 year old Morkie to the Canine Academy for training and we certainly are glad we did! Sophie suffered from extreme separation anxiety and we hoped they could help us find a way to calm her. She is doing extremely well and is completely relaxed when we leave and return. Sophie also sleeps restfully in her crate and even makes her way into the crate at bedtime on her own without any commands. Before her training we had great difficulty getting her into the crate much less resting comfortably.

Sophie walks beautifully on a leash without pulling and when commanded heels like a champ. She does very well off leash as well, staying, sitting, coming, she has a new found confidence. Sophie also will stay on her "place" when commanded and will stay until released. She has stayed as long as an hour while we had a plumber working in our kitchen and she stays on her place each time someone comes to our door and will not leave until commanded. It is a wonderful feeling knowing we don't have to worry about her jumping on guests as they enter our home.

Lisa's owner's training sessions were a valuable transition from the Academy to our home. During the 3 sessions, we were able to practice working with Sophie under Lisa's tutelage. We confidently learned the commands in realistic situations out in public and gained an understanding of the new commands. Lisa makes herself available after your dog returns home by promptly answering emails with questions you may have once you are on your own working with your dog.

I would recommend the Canine Academy to anyone who would like to improve their dog's behavior in a calm, orderly, clean and caring environment.

Jan Petcoff

"Dublin"

When we brought home Dublin in January of 2011, he was a 16 week old puppy.  He was full of energy and loved to get into mischief.  The breeder had let him sit on all the furniture.  Dublin was like Superman, and he could leap over coaches and chairs, it did not matter if people were in them when he pounced!  From the time we brought him home in January 2010 until he went into the program in August of 2011 we did not sit in our family room.  Dublin also loved to chew.  In fact, he ate the family room coach.   Another of Dublin’s tricks was to wait until people had their backs turned and take a running leap at the people with all four legs.  He loved to eat shoes, mittens, hats, gloves and socks.  We spent one happy occasion at the Vet after he ate a sock out of the dirty clothes and we had to give him medicine to throw it up.  Walking with Dublin was a game of tug of war and he usually won! He did go to obedience school and had several private training sessions but it did not seem to work.  We realized we needed help when our in laws, who had always watched our other dog, said Dublin was just too much for them.  We were going on a long vacation and did not have an option for Dublin.  Enter the Canine Academy.  I called Lisa and arranged a meeting.  My husband, Dublin, and I went to the meeting.  We were impressed!  After a family meeting we decided to send Dublin to camp.  The motto of the Canine Academy is Have a good dog….Want a great dog?™  Obviously we did not have a good dog, so I expected him to be better but certainly not great. Boy, was I wrong, Dublin is truly an amazing dog now! We missed him while he was away and my children thought that he would be a robot and lose all of his personality.  The change is amazing.  Dublin has kept his personality but he now has the tools to behave.  I would recommend this program to everyone!  The whole family loves going to the off leash classes and showing off our dog!!!!

Dan, Ann, Danny, Katie & Maggie Christ 
March 2012

"Major"

We sent Major, a Great Dane, away to school because we knew a big dog like a Great Dane would need to be a GREAT dog or we would be in trouble. We started beginner classes but decided the 6 week school program might work out better for us. 

We truly have a great dog now. He comes when called, goes to his place and stays there unless released. Our friends do not mind if I bring him with me to visit as they don't even know he is there unless they see him. 

I truly feel the Canine Academy lives up to all their advertising and if you experience the training you will never want another dog that is not trained to the caliber that this school offers!

Bob and Sherry Mosser
Oxford, Mi

" Macy"

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Macy was a 5yr old mixed breed when we enrolled her in the Canine Academy.  We got her from the Humane Society when she was a puppy.  She was always a good dog, but as our family expanded to 3 kids and things got busy with work we had less and less time work on her training.  She began to take over the house and do things on her terms.  She loved to be outside with the kids but would eventually lose interest in them and would leave the yard.  She would not come back when we called her.  We moved into a new house with a mail slot in the front door.  Macy would wait for the mailman by the door for 2 hours everyday.  When she heard the screen door open, she would start barking and as soon as the mail started coming through the slot she would pull it through and tear it up.  Of course, the mailman would always come when the baby was taking a nap.  A daily crying baby, an angry wife and torn up important mail from work lead to the ultimatum....."Find a new home for that dog or get her trained"  Unwilling to part with Macy we enrolled her in the off leash program. 

It was an amazing transformation after only 6 weeks; Macy definitely returned home a great dog.  Once we were "trained" to train her, we were able to fix the barking and mail problems.  We are so thankful to Lisa and Staff for the work they did with Macy. Sometimes she still gets the urge to wander from the yard but when we call, she comes immediately. 

Our only regret with the Canine Academy is that we didn't enroll Macy in it 5 years earlier. 

The Hoeglers
Birmingham, MI

"Harlie"

"Harlie" – German Shorthaired Pointer

Harlie is a German Shorthaired Pointer who was 10 months old when we decided to send her to the Off Leash Training Program at the Canine Academy.  We met Lisa and her staff in Frankenmuth at the "Dog Bowl" and were amazed with how well behaved the dogs were that were there representing the company.

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We got Harlie when she was 8 weeks old and had not had a puppy in 13 years.  After months of the yelling and destruction we realized we were not correcting any of the puppy problems or making anything easier for our family.  Having a puppy was becoming more of a problem than a joy.

After bringing Harlie home from the Academy, we were so thrilled with having our puppy back, being able to correct her properly and now getting to "enjoy" having her.
Lisa and her staff are absolutely amazing and this was the best thing we could have ever done not only for the Harlie but for our family.

I would highly recommend The Canine Academy to everyone who owns a dog and thinks they have a good dog, because when it's all said and done you will have a GREAT dog and it's so worth it!!!!! 

Heather McInchak-Worley
Dec. 2011