K9 Behavior College - Keene, California

Alyssa Miller-Nur

We can’t thank Lisa enough for her support and guidance, as she completely transformed our relationship with our dog. After months of trying to navigate challenges with our pup on our own, we felt lost, disconnected, and had a lack of trust in our dog. He had turned our lives upside down, and at that point it was hard to see how having this dog was sustainable for us in the long run. From the start, Lisa was responsive, listened to our story, and gave thoughtful advice, even before we could get him in for board and train. Our pup came home after 10 days of board and train and Lisa spent 4 days in our home teaching us everything we needed to know. When he came home, we were shocked and overjoyed with how much progress he had made. He was calmer and more manageable in the home. He was less reactive on walks and less impulsive. His confidence grew tremendously. We were able to groom him, which we had never been able to do before. Vet visits were less anxiety provoking for both him and us. He was able to enjoy time at the park off leash. Walks and hikes are finally FUN! We learned so many tools and techniques to work with him, and Lisa helped us set boundaries and feel more in control. And most importantly our connection and trust started to rebuild with our pup, who is so much happier now. The relationship we have with him is more positive and rewarding for both us and him now. Lisa truly changed our lives and we are BEYOND grateful for her.

Leigh A Swanson

We are so grateful we found Lisa! We were having behavioral issues with our dog that we were not equipped to deal with, and we almost gave up. Then we found Lisa! She and her wonderful team rehabilitated our dog and us, giving us the skills, tools, understanding, knowledge, and confidence to work with her. In addition, Lisa was always available to answer questions and supported us every step of the way even after we took her home. We can’t thank Lisa enough for her professionalism and for giving us back our relationship with our girl. She is an amazing trainer.

Susan Jones

Calling the K9 Behavior College (Lisa Porter) was the BEST phone call I've ever made! We had just adopted two shelter dogs, one an American Bully of 3 months and the other a Staffy at 1.5 years. The Bully was pretty mellow but needed training. The Staffy, Chula, is super hyper and a handful. We wanted to make sure that she was not dog aggressive because she would sometimes seem like she was when on her leash. She's VERY INTENSE! We had just lost our 14 year old Pittie who was extremely dog aggressive and we vowed to not go through that again. We wanted dogs we could take to our friends' homes and have them play or just be around other animals. We met Lisa and honestly, from the get go we loved her. She doesn't sugar coat anything or make promises she can't keep. She is an awesome trainer and person. We went through her 4 day training with our dogs and at the end, decided to leave Chula with her for 5 weeks for a board and train. We were traveling in an RV and didn't want to set her up for failure. Again, the best decision ever! Lisa and her team kept in constant contact with us, giving us status reports of Chula's progress and sharing video's of her training. Chula did remarkably well. She's a smart dog and wants to please and of course, we were doing all of the wrong things. Go figure. After we picked her up, 5 weeks later, she was so good that we left Boomer with them for a week of board and train. He's a mellow dude but needed some exposure to things as he can be a bit timid. When we got him back, we could tell that his confidence was much better. It's been a year since we had them trained by Lisa, Caitlin and Adam and our pups are still rocking it! The much needed base was established and we know that any time they act out, it's our fault because we've given them too many orders or allowed them to slip up (spoiled them). We go camping a lot and Chula and Boomer are with us every time. They are such wonderful ambassadors for their breeds. Thank you Lisa!!! Thank you Caitlin and Adam! You are now a member of our pack!

Jeannette Vasquez

Had the most incredible experience with Lisa. First of all her energy is everything - it’s impossible to not feel good around her. Our dog Zoe just recently complete a 4 week Board and Train with her. One thing about me when it comes to my dog is I do a ton of research and this was no exception when looking for a trainer for B&T. I also asked around in the industry and talked to many other trainers who have worked with her- she came highly recommended and over exceeded our expectations. Might I add I traveled all the way from New Jersey to work with her.
Zoe was an obedient dog but she struggled with never being able to be calm and could never just CHILL and surrender. She’s a sensitive dog & lived life anxiously and on edge all the time. It really made day to day life difficult let alone enjoyable. Fast forward to the dog I saw start to accept the world and just overall be so calm. Zoe’s confidence grew so much while she navigated through things that used to be scary. No more scary vet visits, or reactivity to dogs and squirrels, or fighting to do nails or fighting the crate. Today we went on our first family hike. There were dogs EVERYWHERE at all times including some reactive and some off leash zooming around. Zoe walked WITH us the entire time, she was curious at times about dogs but stayed with us. It was so magical to experience such structure with her we even were able to find a grassy area at the end where she got to be off leash (while tons of people and dogs passed) and she just ran and played with US the entire time. So THANK YOU Lisa because this new life and freedom would not be possible without you!!

Anders DiBiccari

Lisa & Caitlin are phenomenal. We were having aggression issues with our golden retriever towards other dogs. We tried many training/restraint tools that we could, went to other trainers who would take him, train with him and then say he was a great, obedient dog only to have the same issues rear up within a couple weeks. Lisa & Caitlin took him for a month and incorporated us into the training (be prepared for your tests, Lisa doesn’t grade on a curve ;)) and we are happy to say, although he doesn’t play with other dogs, we aren’t fearful/embarrassed to be near other dogs anymore! We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend anyone take their furry friend to see Lisa & Caitlin, they treat them like royalty while instilling trust and confidence in every family member involved in the training.

Stacy Stern

I am truly so grateful for Lisa’s expertise, kindness and patience with helping to train my dog Henry. Before Henry went to training, I was so stressed out by Henry’s barking, pulling on the leash, stealing food and territorial behavior around other dogs/food. Throughout the 3 week stay with Lisa, Henry learned new tools to lead a happier and calmer life. More importantly, Lisa took the time to train me in how to implement the structure that would lead to Henry’s success. Henry is doing so great after the training, and everyone who knew us before has been blown away by Henry’s progress. I can’t thank you enough Lisa

Jennifer Ensminger

Lisa came highly recommended to help with our dog’s behavior issues—obsessive barking, extreme reactivity to other dogs, sneaky eating of random stuff outside. After 10 days with Lisa, we couldn’t believe how much more tolerant he was of prior triggers. Throughout that process, she kept us updated with photos and videos showing his progress.

With four days of in-home intensive training, we learned how to use rules and structure to boost his confidence and earn his respect. Lisa walked us through various situations and challenges, showing us how to address problems when they arose.

Lisa’s energy and patience were endless, & she made sure we had the tools to continue to work with him. He is not only better behaved, but he’s noticeably happier & more relaxed. We’re so glad we trusted Lisa; she changed our little family for the better!

Pamela Fagan Hutchins

We have now worked with Lisa on training us 😉 to work with 3 of our dogs. Yes, she trains the dogs, but the best part is that she supports the family's success in their home environments... with patience, consistency, and just the right amount of firmness and no-nonsensedness for the humans. We had a jerk of an old Boston terrier who drove our very instinctual Alaskan Malamute to behaviors they both regretted afterward (think ‘lots of stitches’). She helped us prolong the BT's life by how we managed our household and enforced rules so that the Malamute didn’t feel a need to enforce them for us. Next came our confinement phobic Alaskan Malamute who could not be crated without a) risk of her hurting herself by breaking out and b) triggering insanity in anyone within earshot of her endless, loud, shrill screaming. Again, so much of it was about how to modify our person-dog relationship and our home, segueing from what the dog learned with Lisa to what she needed to unlearn and learn differently with us. I've been very impressed with Lisa’s empathy for dogs, provided in a safe environment with plenty of physical and mental exercise and social interaction. Don't read empathy as being soft -- read it as getting into their psyche, being kind, trying to understand how to redirect behavior from its source to a place of calm and respect, and how to make them successful in their human-centric worlds. In the end, our Malamute must not bite our BT — but it was all about how she got them and us there. Thank you Lisa (and Caitlin!) for taking such good care of our family. Your communication, videos, and photos were wonderful. We appreciate you, and we highly recommend you.