Canine University

The agility trainer there named Jen was the reason we stopped training there. She was a pompous ass and condescending. She would come to class like she had not bathed in weeks, rolled out of bed and put on some wrinkled mismatched outfit and brought her attitude to class. She actually allowed one aggressive dog in our class and we all had to stay away from it. Too bad the owner never figured out what am was wrong there. Wish I could give a zero instead of one star. Would not recommend!

Going with Amy for my puppy training has been the best decision. She has provided me with a wealth of information, tips and techniques that has helped to make life with my brand new puppy such a pleasure! For now, the training sessions have been via ZOOM and the process has worked out wonderfully. Amy emails training notes and videos after each session that reinforces all the training techniques. My little golden is 4 months old and has mastered so many skills! Thanks Amy!

Amy is an amazing trainer. She uses positive reinforcements, easy training techniques and she loves dogs. I have gone through Amy's therapy dog training with one of my dogs and have started going through the puppy training with our new puppy. She has a wide variety of training programs for everyone.

Amy was a great trainer! Our dog is 8 years old and had a late start to her therapy dog endeavors but Amy made the experience very encouraging. The classes were small enough that we each had individual attention. She would send a follow up email each week with videos and explanations of what we reviewed which was so helpful! It can be a lot of information but she does a great job at reviewing the previous week at the beginning of each session.

I think the cost of $120/ class cycle was fair and seemed comparable to other classes we looked into. It's a lot of work between classes but it's worth it when you see how much your dog can progress with her helpful training!

Amy is a wonderful Dog Trainer. She has a special gift of relating to dogs and owners alike. The results are thinking, well behaved dogs that are nice to be around. She is very caring and professional. I would and do recommend her to anyone who wants a happy well adjusted pet.

Amy is not only a great trainer with so much knowledge, but she is kind and genuinely wants to help! Our puppy is being a bit challenging, and Amy has helped with hands on advice as well as going above and beyond to reach out to other professionals for more ideas! I wish I had known her when we got our first dogs 10 years ago!

I would highly recommend the classes offered. I took one dog through from basic obedience all the way to get his therapy certification. I am currently working with Amy and a new pup. Classes are convenient and the length of time is perfect as to not wear the dog out. Instruction given is as much for the owner as the dog. The class notes provided make it easy to train outside of class. Amy is truly dedicated to see the dogs develop into well behaved companions. These classes are a must do for all dog owners.

Amy was so helpful with Bella. She shared so many helpful tips that helped Bella pass her Therapy Dogs International test on the first try. I recommend Amy without reservations. I plan to use her again in the future! Thank you Amy.

Amy Gutmann (K9U) was instrumental in turning a scared 2 year old rescue dog into a well behaved, confident and secure long time companion. Her positive approach to training was the perfect method for Joey. Amy was also incredibly honest and compassionate in helping me to evaluate another rescue dog who ultimately needed a much more isolated environment than I could provide. I highly recommend Amy for her training, her thoroughness in evaluation, feedback and her passion and compassion.

I brought my 13 week old dachshund to puppy socialization classes. They never told me all the other dogs enrolled were German shepherds and bigger! The owner who led the classes was detached, bored and borderline rude. Questions were not answered unless she took a liking to your dogs and their specific issues. Won't take another dog there

Amy has been a lifesaver! We secured a Service dog (Diabetic Alert dog, or DAD) near Houston, Texas for our teenage son a couple of years ago. Since we knew very little about training dogs, we wanted to make sure we had some support here once we got our new dog home. Thank gosh we found her! Amy was so fascinated by the idea of a dog actually helping a child with Diabetes stay safe that she flew out to Texas at her own expense to learn as much as she could about DADs!

When we finally brought Nova, our dog home, we were facing many problems and difficulties with alerting and behaviors - without Amy's help, our son and his DAD would never have become the successful team that they are today. Although we paid the organization in Texas for a "fully trained Service Dog", we were sold a young dog with a myriad of problems- from pulling instead of heeling to missing life-saving alerts. Amy not only worked with Nova, but also worked with our whole family to help us learn how to work with him on our own.

Our son loved working with her as well, and they have become good friends. She was extremely sensitive to the feelings of a teenage boy stuck with a horrible disease and a dog he loved but didn't know how to control. Amy is bright, ethical and personable, and comes with a wealth of knowledge. When she isn't sure what to do- she is quick to seek out advice from experts who may have the answers.

For instance, she will call an endocrinologist to confirm something about the chemistry of low blood sugar. We jokingly call her "the Dog Whisperer" because dogs just seem to instantly behave when she holds their leash! Today our son and his DAD are sophomores in college 9 hours from home, and they are inseparable. Nova has saved his life countless times, and it is such a comfort to us to know that he is watching over our son.

We learned so much from working with Amy that we have since purchased a young puppy to train as a "Back-up" DAD ourselves. With Amy's continued support -our now 1 year old pup is doing really well, (she has already passed her therapy dog test), and seems like she will make a fantastic service dog in the future. As Amy's redirects her dog training business to concentrate on helping people train their own service dogs, I can't begin to explain what a valuable asset this is to North East Ohio. We are lucky to have her here.

I took my Border Collie there to learn agility. He is a really smart dog and also TDI certified. We were suppose to have 6 classes, but they made it 4, because just three dogs participated. Anyways, - we went over everything way too quick and the dog trainer did not explain things well. The other two dog owners already took their dogs to obedience classes before, so they new the lady, but I was the newby and didn't feel too welcomed.

My dog did a great job though and the dog trainer wouldn't give me or the dog any credit. She doesn't allow any socialization between the dogs and didn't bother meeting my dog or communicating with him at all. Not too happy about all that!

I originally did not mind Canine University - I was unimpressed during our first three courses due to the lack of individual attention my dog received, but I could let that slide without a wholly negative review, in spite of the fact $160 is quite a hefty fee to have your dog trained for in this area for it to NOT receive some individual attention. Unfortunately, the service went further downhill. 1.

We missed one class. K9U has a policy that does not allow you to make up the class - I understand that & was completely fine with that. I left a voicemail detailing why I had missed and asking if someone could call back to even offer vague hints on what was covered in the course so we could be practicing for the upcoming week. I never received a call back.

Our instructor sent out an email, so I responded asking again about the missed course - to no response. Note, I never asked to have my dog make up the class, never asked to meet with anyone, only wanted general information on what to work on, and I find the lack of acknowledgment rude and unprofessional in what should be a customer-service oriented business. 2.

The entire reason we took this course was so my dog could be therapy dog (TDI) trained. She passed 13/14 items on the test, but one item both my dog and another struggled on (greeting a person with a dog, without allowing the dogs to interact & the dogs must not try to greet the other dog). I knew this would be problematic for my dog as she's sociable (& the wording of the test item states the dogs can demonstrate "casual interest", which I took to mean they COULD interact so I thought she could still pass), and I worried that this vital lesson is what I missed during our missed course. However, the other student voiced that the instructor NEVER covered the material in the class, and the instructor then openly acknowledged that no, she had not covered the test item, but instead combined it with a completely different exercise (heeling your dog around a circle of other dogs).

The substitute exercise was obviously not remotely adequate for training a dog to sit within two feet of another dog & be expected to ignore the other dog. Thus, my dog failed the test. Did my dog deserve to fail the test, based on this portion? Yes - BECAUSE SHE WASN'T TRAINED. I find it ridiculous that I paid to have someone NOT give me the tools to train my dog correctly.

3 stars because this place works for some dogs and their owners and doesn't for others. Here's why I'm giving it 3 stars: The facility is clean and well equipped. They even sell Wellness brand foods. If you have a sporting or a herding breed, then this place is probably for you. If you have a guardian or working dog breed, then the trainers are mostly clueless, as they all own border collies and labs.

But hey, your dog learns how to behave and obey you with other people and dogs around. Their Canine Good Citizen classes are wonky. They don't offer the test at the end of the course like most training facilities, instead they have the test 3 weeks in (which many owners were frustrated about). Once again, if you have a herding or sporting breed then this place would work for you. If you have a working or a hound breed, you're better off looking elsewhere.