Testimonials

So many thanks to Alyssa and those of you that worked with Jersey. Thanks to you she is a different dog. For the very first time she had the run of our yard (1 1/2 acres) over the weekend while we did yard work and planted flowers. She made no attempts to run and came immediately when called. She has always loved being outside but could never be trusted to stay in the yard or come when called. She knows all her commands at the drop of a hat AND her Separation anxiety appears to be gone. So thank you for making such a difference for our family. . . . YOUR AMZING !!

Thank you Alyssa for literally making miracles happen with Allie! You are so wonderful and I REALLY appreciate all that you did for us! Thank you so so much.

Thank you all so much! Andy you are wonderful! ...Cougar is better than we even imagined! This was the best money we've ever spent! Thank you again!

Before Darwin K9 evolutionized my dog... All I needed was one word to describe my dog, CHAOS! His name is Wolfie, a German Shepherd. Had him since he was 2 months old, knowing that he was going to grow up really fast, I've tried training him myself, but he's not a big fan of food. I have at least 20 different treats with different flavor/texture. He'd try them, but he'll split them back out after trying a few. Tried training with toys, but couldn't get much training done. When he was 5 months old, I knew I had to get help, he’s growing too fast. So I sent him to a dog training school. Wasn't satisfied, couldn't tell much difference when he got home, spent a lot of money only to learn how to train the dog myself. Obviously it didn't work out, I'm not a professional dog trainer. At 9months old, he grew up to 80lbs, taking him out to walk wa s the exercise of the day. When off leash, it could take 5minutes each time to recall him, or I have to physically chase him down. Worse if there are other dogs around, not cool dragging a 80lb dog. He pushed down a couple of people, I almost fell off the stairs couple of times. After Darwin k9 evolutionized Wolfie…. Walking my dog is like walking with a newborn puppy, he follows everywhere I goes, side by side, stops when I stop without having to say anything or do anything. Respond time was less than 3 second. Results are as promised. With Darwin K9's training, off leash really means off leash, I have walked with my dog completely off leash in my neighborhood, absolutely perfect, no chasing after animals... It was beyond my expectation. What amazed me the most is that I didn't have to do anything, I didn't have to remind him every time (Collar was always on, but wasn't necessary to use it)... Wolfie came back knowing what he is supposed to do. It made me wonder what they did to my dog in such a short amount of time. It clearly shows a difference between training the dog myself and having my dog trained by true professionals. Just like that, my dog is evolutionized. Sending Wolfie to Darwin k9 is the best investment I have made for my dog. Thanks to Darwin K9, I don’t ever have to feel like my dog is out of control. I gained confidence when I take my dog out for a walk, instead of the other way around.

My husband and I rescued our GSD Sniper from a shelter in Nash County at the approximate age of 4 months. After a few months of attempting to train him ourselves, we decided that we needed the assistance of a professional trainer. Sniper went to two different training schools within 3 months. Unfortunately, all that he seemed to pick up from both experiences was a brief memorization of associating a treat of food with essentially performing a trick. He did not learn anything. We were at our wits end with his bad behavior and not obeying commands he was supposedly taught. Thankfully, we found Darwin K9. I cannot begin to tell you the difference in Sniper’s behavior and overall demeanor. Not only has he learned discipline and obedience, he matured while under Andy’s care. He now obeys our commands, even without the ‘tap on the shoulder’ prompting from his static collar. (However, we always have the collar on him when we have him out for his safety.) Also, he is just so much more generally calmer overall. The walks we take in the neighborhood and other places are now completely off-leash and basically effortless. Our walks are normally in and around our neighborhood school. We normally greet the Principal, Mr. Lee, every school day. To alleviate any misgivings that he would have about a GSD roaming his campus in the mornings and afternoons, I ran Sniper thru a drill of his commands; he performed perfectly! Mr. Lee told me that if we ever get tired of Sniper, he would love to have “that special boy.” When walking Sniper at the school, I have parents and students call out to me that I have such a well-behaved dog and that they are amazed at how well-trained he is. Since he was obeying us and being such a good boy, we started letting him get farther out from us on walks (but never out of sight). By allowing him to sort of do his own thing and enjoy all of the smells and such to be had on our walks, Sniper gets much more exercise and enjoyment out of his walks than he would if he were having to remain right at my side all of the time like he would have to if he were walking on a leash. If I decide I want Sniper closer to me for any reason, I simply call him to and give him the proper commands to remain by my side as we walk. We have even had patrolling officers with the local police department stop to watch us go thru our drills when we are out on our walks and give us ‘thumbs-up’ at Sniper’s obedience. After having Sniper home for a month and him doing just great with his walks and other obedience in our home and neighborhood, I took him out to the family farm so that he could explore new territory and experience a more open space. My Daddy had warned me that if I let Sniper be off-leash there that he would run away and I’d never see him again. But training that Sniper received from Andy paid off greatly! Sniper was on his best behavior and did not even come close to running away. He remained close to us and whenever he was getting further away than I was comfortable with, I just called him back to me and he came. This evening when we were headed out on our walk I saw that one of our neighbors and her dog, Daisy, were out on their walk. While Sniper has handled many distractions well on our walks, I had not yet trusted him to be out off-leash whenever Daisy was out as she really likes to bark at anything and everything. I just hadn’t trusted Sniper to handle this big of a distraction yet. Tonight, however, I decided that both he and I were ready. Although I had to correct him by saying “Eh-eh” a few times and had to provide a mild correction with his collar, he did not rush Daisy despite her barking and just kept on walking. I was so proud! By remaining strict and abiding by the guidelines that Andy set for both Sniper and us as his masters, I have no doubt that Sniper will continue his good behavior. However, I know that if Sniper ever starts to regress all I have to do is arrange a free refresher session with Andy. Its lifetime guarantee is one of the main reasons we initially chose Darwin K9. Also, I know I can always just email Andy with any question I have regarding Sniper’s behavior. Andy, thank you so much for not only improving Sniper’s obedience but for also making our lives so much more easier. Walks and other activities with Sniper used to be such a dreaded chore. Now, they are effortless and enjoyable for both dog and master(s).

Andy did a great job with my pit Gunny. I wish I found out about Darwin K9 a long time ago. Gunny is a very high energy, powerfull, stubborn dog. He would only listen when he wanted to. I just got him back today and had him out in the front yard off leash without any problems. Before he would have been gone down the road and it wouldve been hours to get him back, and it was a workout just to walk him. Not anymore. Thank you Andy and the rest of Darwin for the work you do.

I just wanted to thank Darwin K9 for the awesome job they have done with my Lady! She had severe separation anxiety when I got her from the SPCA and I was at my wit's end at what to do. They have really helped her to do a 180! She is a true testimony to the great work that they do! When she showed the slightest change Andy came to our rescue and helped her regain her confidence! Darwin K9 goes the extra mile for dogs and their owners by helping even after they are finished with their training by coming to you and your pets home! I am so proud to be Lady's owner and I thank Darwin K9 for saving my dog's life! I recommend them to everyone I know!

As the proud owner of Buck-O it is a true transformation. Thank you Darwin K9 & Andy for the awesome job you have done with Buck-O.

OMG! Before taking my puppy Que (a Pit Bull) in for training, he was the typical pit bull. Pulling when walking him, stopping short when he wanted too during those walks when he was in unfamiliar surroundings. The kids would get home from shool and he would go crazy! Running all over the house, not listening to me, jumping up on me as I would come near him. HOWEVER.....Since he has had his training. He has completely changed. I have been telling and showing everyone I know and come in contact with. My friends in Texas will come to North Carolina to get their puppy trained. Here's a great testimony to how well you have trained my puppy. I was charging Que's e-collar while we were out and he was in his kennel. Once we got back home the collar was still charging but I wanted to take him out. So I let him out to see if he would still follow his commands without having it on....he DID!!! I am so VERY GREATFUL to the entire staff there at Darwin K9. Que answers when I call, he sits when he is suppose too, he lays down when told too. He goes to his bed he I say to, he doesn't pull when he walk, I also am obeying my training tips (ha ha) I don't baby him, or treat him like its ok if he does something wrong I stand my ground and we are building a really strong relationship. I am way beyond pleased! I am telling everyone that they need to come to you guys,...don't even think twice about it. There is no doubt, you guys have made a big difference in our family's life between us and Que. Again...a MILLION times over and over again Thank you!

Took Clancy to the vet the day after he completed his training. All the dogs in the waiting room were pulling on their owners' leashes - just being dogs. I gave Clancy the down command and down he went. Many of the owners commented on how well behaved my dog was. Thanks Darwin K9 for that moment of pride!

I am so glad that Darwin K9 is around. When I first thought about adopting 'Max' from the pound I knew that my first job is to set him up for success. Dogs wind up at the pound for a reason. My other dog Molly is a typical Cattle Dog and has been "protective" of me and full of anxiety. I'm glad that when I called - Alexia was very helpful and helped me to decide to put both of my dogs in training. I believe both Molly and Max are bonding with each other, gaining confidence as well as obsorbing obedience. I know that this is the best investment I have made for both of my dogs. - Thanks Darwin K9!

Just wanted to let you know Elvis is doing fantastic! We have been able to walk around our property with no problems and today we went to the park and again had no problems, we were able to play ball and run and no issues. Thank you!

I decided to take Liberty to a different environment today--working off leash. We rounded the corner to my neighbors yard and what did we see? 10 running, free roaming chickens. Aghhh! Liberty started running after them and I called her. Guess what? She came to me without hesitation. Thank you Darwin K9. A month ago those chickens would have been dinner!

I am extremely happy with Bella's behavior. I believe she is much happier, knowing where her boundaries lie, and I know that I am. Thanks! By the way, I sing your dog training praises whenever I get the chance!

She (Ramona) is a changed creature! We sent away a maniac and got back a delightful lap dog.

"If you know the quote, "It takes a village to raise a child", then you will understand how appreciative we are of Darwin K9. Here at PACE Academy, we want to offer our students as many opportunities as possible to enhance their learning experience while in High School. I first met Alexia while trying to find volunteer opportunities for students who were interested in working with animals. Alexia was so amazing and on board with everything we were trying to accomplish with our students. We came to her facility for a tour and demonstration by Nero and met Andy and his dog as well. We now have a student working as a volunteer with Alexia on a weekly basis. This student, for the first time, is motivated to work hard in school so that he can go to work each week with Darwin K9. Last semester, Alexia and her amazing dog Nero came to PACE Academy to meet a large group of our students as a career presenter. Nero was able to demonstrate his Cadaver detection skills and just "wowed" the students with his training abilities. Darwin K9 is the elite example for Community-Based Learning! We look forward to sharing a partnership with them and are their number 1 fans!"

"My dog Cooper is a rescue with aggression and anxiety issues, and after a Veterinarian informed me that I needed to put him down, I turned to Darwin K9 for help. Fortunately, Alexia and Andy not only saw the great, loveable dog that I did, they taught him how to obey and to be less anxious. I am so happy that Darwin K9 saved my best friend! I think Alexia and Andy are the best. If they can train Cooper, they can handle any challenge brought to them. I can't thank them enough!"

"I had been watching Darwin K9 for some time-Since the Olympics in '09 where Niko won the best trick competition. I was hoping they would add group lessons which they added during the summer of '10 at Dogtopia Cary. My desire to work with Darwin K9 was strong enough for us to drive over 3 hours for classes. Group lessons were important because Tri was a VERY under socialized mini German Shepherd. When taken out in public he would dive under what was available, try to run away, or if stuck in "bad place" for him he would do the meltdown. After the classes ended, Tri seems to enjoy going places and meeting new people and dogs. Who would have thought? He even has a Howl O Ween costume which he has worn on numerous occasions. His whole personality has changed. He seems very proud and we are very proud parents. TRI HAS EVOLVED. The classes are individualized. Each dog is doing what he needs to do. Problems and issues are addressed on an individual bases. Basic obedience is addressed in a manner which meets the needs of each participant. Every participant can be doing something different. That's individual attention. I found the quality of instruction to be excellent. The instructors were very qualified and genuinely interested in the well being of their students. They will do NO harm. I found the cost of the classes to be reasonable. A thorough evaluation is given and more than enough classes are provided to meet your needs and those of your canine friend. They are really great folks!!! Thank you Alexia for your 'little voice'."

"I can't begin to tell you what an asset Andy and Alexia have been to 2PawsUp. When I have an issue or question about any of our dogs I immediately reach out to Darwin and they are always there to help. We often receive animals that have issues that need to be worked through and with their time, dedication, and guidance they help turn an untrained dog into a wonderful, obedient companion. In more ways than one, they have been a life saver to many "problem" dogs within our rescue. They have even created a foster training booklet for all new foster parents with tips and guidelines to be a successful foster home. Darwin K9 has been an ongoing blessing to 2PawsUp and we owe our success in rehabilitating many dogs to Andy and Alexia!"

"When I first called DarwinK9, I was literally crying. My husband and I were at wits end with our two pups we adopted a few weeks earlier. It was wrestle mania at our house. My husband was at the point where one dog had to go. Everything I knew about training was not working and I felt like I was letting down my two beautiful little girls. Then came Alexia and Andy, my two angels. Before, I was scared to have guests over because the girls would be howling and barking in their cages. Now, I have people over, just a few months later, and the girls lay on their beds until I tell them to get up. It is an unbelievable transformation. DarwinK9 brought us sanity and two well behaved dogs! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!"