In 2024, we introduced a third dog to our household—a Staffordshire Bull Terrier named Phoebe. From the start, we knew we wanted our new puppy to develop good habits, so we began researching trainers before we even brought her home.
After interviewing several trainers in the area, K-9 Conditioning really stood out. Stephen answered all of our questions and clearly had deep knowledge of dog behavior and training.
Once Phoebe came home, we quickly realized we had another issue to address with our Jack Russell, Loki. He was very aggressive toward Phoebe, and we had to keep them separated. K-9 Conditioning recommended bringing both dogs in for their board-and-train program.
Loki is a rescue, and we had never fully invested the time to build strong training foundations with him. He pulled on the leash and would lunge and bark at other dogs during walks. We knew we couldn’t allow those behaviors to continue—especially with a new puppy in the house.
We decided to enroll both dogs in the four-week board-and-train program. Throughout the process we received daily updates and could quickly see their progress. We also had several sessions with Stephen where he worked with us and the dogs to teach us the proper commands and how to maintain the training once they returned home.
After four weeks, Loki was a completely different dog. His leash habits had dramatically improved and he seemed far more confident. Phoebe came home with a strong foundation in leash skills and basic commands. Most importantly, for the first time in six months we were able to have both dogs in the same room together.
We continued using the training principles Stephen taught us, and within a few months Phoebe and Loki were getting along great.
Phoebe is now almost two years old, and we constantly receive compliments about how well trained she is. I can confidently say I will never bring another dog into our home without putting them through K-9 Conditioning training first. It’s far easier to build good habits from the beginning than it is to break bad ones later.
