We worked with Kara (Polite Pooches) with both of our dogs: KC, an 8 year old rescue and Sam, a 3 year old rescue. Both pups had undesirable qualities that we did not know how to “fix” or how to train them with more desirable traits. Kara had so much knowledge and great training tools for both of them! We did not know that we were the ones that needed the most training and she was awesome at training us as well! I loved Kara’s treat based training and positive/reward based training. It was very effective and both pups responded so well. With her methods of training, it was quick to see how much the dogs wanted to please us. We now have well behaved pups and training skills that continue to help us with our fury loved ones. Kara was loved by our dogs (and us!).

We worked with Kara and Polite Pooches who really made a difference in our family’s life. Lucy, our older and spirited Springer Spaniel had horrible separation anxiety. She would jump through glass windows, rip up our furniture, tear up dry wall, and rip molding off from around doorways. If outside, she would hurt herself jumping over our 6 foot fence. We took Lucy to Polite Pooches and Kara was so passionate and understanding. She did not make us feel like we were doing anything wrong, but instead showed us what we needed to do to help Lucy. We worked with Kara, and continue to work with her on strategies that have made all the difference, using her behavior modification training. Lucy is now happier, although not perfect yet, she no longer tears things up, nor destroys the house when we are gone. She has learned, as we have, how to manage her stress, and we are so much happier knowing that we do not have to send her to a kennel and we know she will be fine when we return.

We adopted Annie from the National Mill Dog Rescue and she came to us fearful, food dominant and urinated wherever and whenever she wanted. She would not walk on a leash and did not know how to play. She did not know how to be a dog nor how to live in a family. We returned to Polite Pooches and Kara listened to our concerns and addressed Annie’s history and showed us how Annie must be feeling in this point in her life and how scared she must feel. She then showed us steps to take to help Annie slowly. We were not bombarded with learning nor teaching Annie too much too soon, but we took it slow, one or two strategies at a time. With consistency, rewards and love, using techniques Kara showed us, Annie is much happier. She now loves her leash and will even bring it to us. She will notify us when she needs to go outside and is much better at not protecting her food. She is loving her dog sister and will cuddle up with her as well as her human sister to take naps. I’m not sure how things would have gone without Kara’s help.

We had Polite Pooches come out to our house for several training sessions with our English Bulldog, Roxy. Kara was very easy to work with and spent a good amount of time getting to know us and Roxy. She walked us through some basics to get Roxy started, and continued to guide us in the steps necessary to get and keep our dog on track to become a well-behaved Bulldog. Kara made it fun for all of us, and the time with her went by very quickly. We highly recommend Polite Pooches to anyone that wants their puppy or adult dog to be a better behaved companion. We will continue to use Kara when we get new dogs, and for refresher lessons now.

FIVE out of FIVE stars!!

We hired Kara for 6 sessions to train our hyper, energetic puppy. It was obvious from the beginning that Kara is a very professional, knowledgeable, and experienced dog trainer. Our puppy fell in love with her, and was always excited to see her and "work" with her. Kara showed us ways to successfully and effectively approach our dog. She taught our puppy basic commands, and us how to control his hyperactivity. Highly recommended!

I would highly recommend 'Polite Pooches' for dog training. Kara was very knowledgeable, and uses positive,reward-based training (as opposed to ways that can be detrimental to a dogs wellbeing). Kara came to our house, and helped us train our puppy, in our environment. This was really helpful with two young kids and a busy puppy. Kara was very flexible and the price was reasonable. She helped us teach our puppy basic commands, while helping us set our puppy up for success. We look forward to training with her in the future!

Kara is very patient with (the human and dog) clients. She only uses positive reinforcement and can help with everything from puppies to older dogs. Our dog, Comet, was always a little shy around other dogs and then started acting more aggressively towards other dogs at the dog park. It finally got to the point where we couldn't go out where there were other animals. Kara helped us & Comet to recognize the signs of distress and modifications to head off or deal with the situation early before it escalated. We are getting better every day and can go for walks again without worry. Thanks, Kara!