We took or rescue Zoe to Atlantic K9 for some basic training as well as to address some specific issues. Zoe is a great dog but with a lot of adult rescues the come with some unwanted behaviors. We have used other trainers for our other dogs, but Zoe is special and needed a certain level of caring due to being a bit skittish. We researched various trainers and considered our previous one but after interviewing a couple of them, as well as Atlantic K9, we felt they were the best match for our needs. We made the right choice.
Zoe participated in a 2-week boot camp at their facility in Boxford, a large spacious farm with multiple trainers. I was hesitant about sending her away for 2 weeks, but we decided to go with it. I will admit that was very difficult to do. They provided pictures of her almost every day and made themselves available during the 2 weeks to answer questions and update us. After the 2 weeks, Atlantic K9 followed up with our progress and had another in person training session. The staff was excellent. We dealt with the owner, Kathleen, and trainer, Ari. It was delightful to see how much they cared about Zoe and what our expectations were. Ari has so much energy and Zoe reacted to that energy so well.
Our Zoe is a stray from Kentucky that is a medium size dog that we are told was Cattle dog and American Bulldog. We don’t really see the Bulldog in her. More like a cattle dog and a Gazelle. She has a ton of energy that we needed to direct in a positive way instead of some behaviors she showed. Also, Zoe was reactive to other dogs during our walks, she would bark and shy away scared of them. After the boot camp we saw a great improvement in her leash skills and the reactivity. I can’t stress enough how important it is to continue with the training that they started. We plan on getting training sessions with them as Zoe advances in her training.