We have a totally different dog!! Our rather large black lab, Sully, was rescued from the backwoods of Georgia. Sully was 3 months old when we received him and he is now a year and a half. We learned very quickly that we have a dominant alpha male that has more energy than we have and wanted everything his way and on his time schedule. We tried many different approaches to training Sully; tips gathered from books, television shows, and, of course, family and friends. All our efforts didnt make much of an impact on Sullys strong, dominant will. Then we found a Smart Dogs ad and decided we needed to take the first step. Thanks to a call to Stephanie, Kristy was at our door in no time. Within an hour, even Kristy was astounded by Sullys strength and will; but by the end of that hour, she had him walking next to us without his usual pulling us at his desired pace. What a difference! We knew we were in the right hands with Smart Dogs, but also knew that it was going to take several visits to help and train us and Sully. In the end, we went for the lodge and learn program. Sully stayed with Kristy and Ian for 12 days. They truly worked a miracle. They quickly discovered he is a dog who needs more than just the average walk a day. He now loves to walk on the treadmill, run next to the bike, street walks like a dream, and listens to commands to sit, stay, come, and place. We are so satisfied, and we highly recommend Smart Dogs. Kristy and Ian----we dont know what we would have done without you. You have made this a very happy home. Thank you!!!!

When we first adopted Cody, we had pictured many different things. Never once, however, did we envision the issues that we experienced. The biggest and worst one had to be the fact that our adorable new puppy had no issue whatsoever urinating in the house and even in his crateand then laying in it. This occurred several times a day! We were giving him baths almost daily. It was horrible. While I hate to admit it, we actually considered bringing Cody back to the shelter, even though my family and I were completely in love with him. Instead, as a last resort, we called Smart Dogs. If someone would have told me that my dog would have virtually no accidents after just a one-hour session with Kristy, I never would have believed it. Thats exactly what happened, though. Kristy and Ian have taught us how to interact with Cody in a loving but firm way, establishing him as part of the family but also letting him know his role in our pack. Cody is a wonderful and friendly pup who makes everyone who meets him want to get one of their own! He has earned a tremendous amount of freedom now! He is a joy to walk on a leash; he rings a bell on our back door whenever he needs to go outside; he is amazing with our children; he sits, stays, heels, comes I could go on and on. Weve only had a handful of sessions with Kristy and Ian, and we look forward to many more! I cant say enough positive things about Smart Dogs! I recommend them to everyone I know who has a new puppy or an old dog who needs to learn new tricks! Please, please, PLEASE call them before finding a new home for your dog!!!!!

The best trainers ever!! Our 11 months old puppy spent 12 days in their house and came back to us with new spirits, skills, and manners. He just got back there again a week ago for 6 more days to learn to be a therapy dog. He's a good puppy to begin with but now he's so great that we are so proud of him. We are so grateful that Kristy and Ian take care our puppy Rupert with so much love. Rupert doesn't pull anymore when we walk, also he would sit still and stay until I say ok. He would sit and wait for his bowl of food until I put it down on his table and say ok. And if we say no, Rupert knows that we really mean no. We enjoy walking and bike ride now. Tired dog is a good dog, he is more calm now and no more of that figure 8 running in the house. We would recommend smart dogs training and lodging to everyone, they are the best and know what they are talking about! And they really treat the dogs like they were their own, so much care and love. We will definitely bring Rupert to them again to get his doctorate degree, he has his bachelor and master now :)

Smart Dogs came to our rescue when we rescued Baron, our 1 year old German Shepard. Baron was very stubborn, and reluctant to our methods of training. We had tried other dog trainers with no luck and contemplated the possibility of sending him back to the foster family. That is when we came across Smart Dogs and they have forever changed our lives along with Barons. He spent two weeks with Ian and Kristy at their home, where they trained him daily and gave him unconditional love. He is now home with us where we enjoy seeing the progress he continues to make and being part of our family. We cant thank Ian and Kristy enough. Bill and Leslie

Smart Dogs came to our rescue when we rescued Baron, our 1 year old German Shepard. Baron was very stubborn, and reluctant to our methods of training. We had tried other dog trainers with no luck and contemplated the possibility of sending him back to the foster family. That is when we came across Smart Dogs and they have forever changed our lives along with Barons. He spent two weeks with Ian and Kristy at their home, where they trained him daily and gave him unconditional love. He is now home with us where we enjoy seeing the progress he continues to make and being part of our family. We cant thank Ian and Kristy enough. Bill and Leslie

We have a 5 year old plott hound rescue named Sophie. She had several issues, but she is such a loving dog that we wanted to see if we could do something for her anxiety, barking, and mild aggression. We were at our wits end. Sophie was the leader and I knew it was our fault we had to do something about it. Googling Dog Trainers brought us to Smart Dogs. I sent an email on a Saturday and Kristy called me back in just a few hours. After a few minutes of talking to Kristy on the phone I knew that we had found our answer to Sophies problems. Kristy came to our house and worked a bit with Sophie and our other dog Thunder and we made a list of Sophies issues so that Kristy and Ian knew what to work with her on during her 15 day stay at Smart Dogs. Kristy kept me posted on Sophies progress thru text messages, emails and phone calls. When we picked up Sophie after her stay she was like a completely new dog. She is so much calmer, doesnt bark as much and we have not seen any aggression in the week that she has been home. We could not be happier with Kristy and Ian and the way they worked with Sophie. She learned to walk with other dogs, walk on a treadmill, and run with a bicycle. I bought a bicycle and Sophie and I will be hitting the streets. When we picked Sophie up Kristy and Ian went over everything we would need to know to keep up on her training and we have worked hard on it. We have never caged any of our dogs, but we bought Sophie a cage after Kristy suggested it and she seems happy in there at night. When Kristy comes to our house for the next training session I hope that she is happy with what we have done. Kristy and Ian treated Sophie as if she was their own. I highly, highly recommend Smart Dogs. The money is well worth it to have a happy well-adjusted dog. I have no regrets and would not hesitate to bring another dog to Smart Dogs.

I cant say enough about how helpful Smart Dogs Training has been to us with our Golden Doodle, Gordon. After only 20 minutes of instruction, they had Gordon walking right by my side rather than pulling so hard on his leash. One of our biggest concerns was when Gordon and our neighbors dogs would all be outside at the same time. Although we do have a fenced yard, Gordon would be running back and forth at the fence barking nonstop and we did not know how to get him in control. Kristy showed us how to use a remote control collar to correct Gordon. We have had the collar for over 2 months and I can honestly say we have only had to correct Gordon 3 or 4 times at the very lowest level. Now when he sees the neighbor dogs outside, he responds to my command of Gordon no and he comes running happily over to me for praise. It has been a true blessing and we are looking forward the spring and summer and being able to be spend time in the yard with Gordon being happy and calm. Smart Dogs also helped us to keep Gordon in control inside the house when the doorbell rings and someone comes in. He will sit in his spot waiting patiently until I tell him ok. It has made having company arrive at our home a pleasant situation and Gordon just seems like a happier dog! Kristy and Ian are truly pros!

Thank you Ian and Kristy! Our first experience ever with a dog brought us to Oscar, an very lively and strong willed puppy. We were facing quite a difficult decision on how to proceed with Oscar and his aggressive/alpha dog behavior when we came across Smart Dogs. After the 10 day "Boot Camp", we saw a dog with great potential to be a member of our family, You trained Oscar, but more importantly, you taught and trained us 2 legged creatures how to interact with him. Your willingness to answer any questions, follow up with additional training tools has proven to be invaluable. We give Smart Dogs 4 Paws Up!

i.e., A local favorite, or highly recommended Being 130 pounds at 10 months old, my mastiff puppy Arnold could look pretty threatening. He would become very protective of the house when we had visitors, and would bark and growl at people when they were in the house. People didnt want to come into our house because they were scared of Arnold. After he bit someone, I knew I needed help, so I called Smart Dogs. I have to say it was one of the best decisions Ive made! I am now completely comfortable inviting people into my house. Instead of barking and growling at visitors, Arnold is very relaxed and comfortable, which makes everyone else relaxed and comfortable. Also, since he is so big, Arnold was hard to control on walks, but Ian gave us tips on how to walk him, and now he walks right by my side at all times. The training worked so fast, and I saw an improvement after just the first session. I highly recommend Smart Dogs!

We love our rescue dog Lucy so much, but she was having a really difficult time adjusting to our house and her behavior was so inconsistent. She was cuddly and sweet, but then wouldnt ever listen to anything we said. She was friendly to us, but would jump and bark at guests as soon as they walked in. We were told she could never be crated because she was older, so we never did and it resulted in her completing freaking out when we got homebarking, crying, jumping, and running around like crazy. We realized early she had some serious anxiety issues as well as fear and had no idea what we could do. To say the least, we were stressed out and thought maybe we werent able to meet her needs, but couldnt imagine the thought of giving her back. A friend referred us to Kristy and Ian and I have never met such compassionate and caring people ever in terms of our welfare as well as Lucys. Lucy is a work in progress, but knowing that Kristy and Ian are there to ask questions and to share successes makes you feel like you have a support team on your side. We signed her up for the Lodge & Learn program. Shes been back for two weeks and is so much better. She is comfortable, she listens, and she is crate trained! She is amazing on walks, never pulling. When people come over she is calm, most of the time not even barking when the doorbell rings. Our life is so much easier now. She is happier and less nervous knowing that we are in charge and each day we see improvement. The skills that Kristy & Ian taught all of us has made Lucys transition into her forever home so much better because we know why she acts the way she does and how to react appropriately. Most importantly, we now set expectations of her behavior to create an environment where she always knows what she is supposed to do in situations that are new. I cant imagine not seeking out SmartDogs. I know anywhere else wouldnt have worked for her needs. They are so attentive and caring. They want to see success as much as you do! I feel like weve met people well always be in touch with, they are so amazing!

My husband and I recently purchased an American Mastiff puppy named Kya. Our excitement for having a new family member was quickly overshadowed by our frustration with Kyas problem behaviors. Kya was having accidents in the house, running off when allowed outside, and not able to follow any commands. It was getting to the point that we were considering getting rid of her. A dear friend of ours suggested Smart Dogs Training to assist us. I contacted Kristy and Ian by email and received a call the very next day. They talked me through their program and what Smart Dogs Training is all about. We were extremely hesitant to ship our dog off for a month, but ultimately decided that it was necessary in order to have some calm brought back to our home. Kya stayed with Ian and Kristy for 30 days and we received frequent updates of her progress. The communication really put us at ease. Knowing Kya was in a loving home while learning how to be a well-behaved dog took away so much stress and worry. We picked Kya up a couple of days ago and we are absolutely blown away by the progress she made while at Smart Dogs Training. We follow the plan Ian and Kristy developed and she has responded wonderfully. My biggest worry at the start of this process was that the training would not transfer back into our home. Boy, was I wrong!! Kya responds to our commands, walks on a leash, uses the bells to be let out, and is an absolute joy!! We love having her home and knowing that we did the best thing for her and us as a family! Smart Dogs Training did an incredible job and we cannot thank you enough!!!

i.e., A lSmart Dogs Training is an amazing service! We have a young, yellow lab who desperately needed training in just about every area. Kristy trained AJ and we saw IMMEDIATE results. On the very first visit, she taught him how to walk on the leash without pulling. She taught him to stay off furniture and beds. She taught him to sit and stay when the door bell rings and to not jump on people. I could go on and on. I would recommend Smart Dogs Training to everyone. If they can train AJ, they can train your dog. You will be very pleased. We give them five stars!!!ocal favorite, or highly recommended because

Our puppy, Lobo, is a very energetic Siberian husky that needed to learn some manners and obedience. Since we are in the military and travel quite often, we thought it would be a good opportunity to take advantage of the Lodge and Learn service while we were away for the weekend. We took Lobo to Smart Dogs and met up with Kristy and Ian and we immediately felt like our puppy was welcome into their home. Kristy explained what Lobo would be learning over the three days that he would be training with them from learning how to be on a treadmill, walking and running on a leash/ next to a bike, going to his place, sitting and staying, and no nipping. They made us feel very comfortable and we knew that we could trust them and leave him there. Over the weekend, Kristy maintained good communication and kept us updated on Lobos progress. When we picked Lobo up on Monday, Kristy taught us how to transition his training into our home and how to keep him going with the things that he has learned. Lobo is still energetic but he listens very well and now does what we say on command. He is so much more docile and we can take him to our familys homes without feeling like he is going to make a mess. We are so pleased with the results thanks to Lobos training at Smart Dogs Training and Lodging with Kristy and Ian Dilworth! - Carolyne Garduno ( Maywood, IL)

We have 7 month old Maltese puppy, Angel. I began working with Kristy individually and Angel made great progress with the basics. However, she has a stubborn puppy streak. She became out of control barking at everything and mouthing everyone with her teeth and I just could not seem to get this under control. Kristy mentioned the Lodge & Learn training and how this behavior could be worked on with some specific training in these areas. We decided this was the direction to take. Angel came back a completely different puppy. She is no longer barking and mouthing. In addition, Kristy and Ian taught her how to be a well behaved puppy. She is a pleasure to be around. I feel confident that I will be able to continue her new behavior. I have loved working with you both and Angel is nuts about you. This was one of the best decisions I have made. Our home is now peaceful and we are thrilled. She is a perfect little angel!

i.e., A local favorite, or highly recommended becauseIt was love at first sight when I first met Beau, a four year old American Staffordshire, Being a long time Cesar Millan fan, and never an alpha dog owner before, I knew that the breed can be determined , even though Beau first appears to be too submissive, and needs an assertive pack leader. I deliberately searched for a trainer who could help me be the kind of leader Beau needed, who had the same beliefs which I held, that dogs need exercise, discipline and a job as an important part of being a happy member of our pack. From the moment I met Ian, I knew Beau and I were in the right hands. Beau and I both are so excited to learn new behaviors, skills and new jobs that we have also been able to be examples of a happy pack with our friends and their dogs when we visit them, even calming their dogs just by going on a pack walk and letting Beau and me lead. Beau and I have also been able to change a couple of prejudiced minds about his

I was at wits end with my dog, Lego. He was running away every chance he had. I was really worried he would get run over by a car. I then came across an ad for Smart Dogs. I called and met with Kristy. She quickly realized that we had a stubborn dog on our hands! We enrolled him in her 10 day training in her home. When he came home, he was a new dog! He doesn't run away, he comes when called, and he is not jumping on people! You still have to reinforce what the dog has learned, and he is still learning we are the "alpha dogs", but he is doing great! Worth every penny! Kathy S.

My many thanks to Smart Dogs (Kristy & Ian) for their wonderful accomplishment of training my headstrong puppy, Bob. Prior to training with Smart Dogs, I almost thought I?d have to give up Bob because it was difficult for me to train him due to my arthritis and emphysema. After two weeks with Kristy and Ian, Bob is now a well-behaved, happy dog. Kristy and Ian are professional, dedicated and are truly gifted trainers. And I am thrilled with the solid foundation of good obedience they provided for Bob and for making my life easier!

CHAOS IS OUR 11 MONTH OLD DOBERMAN WHO WAS, IN A WORD, UNCONTROLLABLE. AT 80 LBS ALREADY, HE DOMINATED EVERY SITUATION; VERY STUBBORN AND DEFIANT. AFTER SPENDING SOME TIME WITH KRISTY AND IAN AT SMART DOGS, THE DIFFERENCE IS REMARKABLE. HE IS A PLEASURE TO HAVE IN OUR HOMEI

I cant say enough good things about Smart Dogs!!!!! I am a first time dog owner with a 1 year old Westie (we have owned him for one year). He looks very cute, but did not act so cute, and trying to figure out how to care for this very alpha dog was adding a HUGE amount of stress to my life!!! Then I finally made an appointment with Smart Dogs, and within 24 hours after just the first visit with Kristy, I noticed dramatic improvements!!! She helped everything fall into place for us, and now I am finally starting to enjoy having a dog! Now training him is NOT stressful. I am relaxed and he is responsive and it is AMAZING. The difference is now we are not trying to get our dog to do anythingwe are now showing him how to behave and he follows our lead. All I can say is I wish I would have called them sooner!!! I spent money on many things, in the mean time, trying to figure out solutions on my own. My money would have been much better spent just starting with Smart Dogs.

i.e., AWhat a difference Smart Dogs has made in the behavior of our dog, Zoey! Seriously, after only one lesson our daily walk changed from a nerve wracking, dismal obligation to a relaxing, fun activity. I know it sounds impossible, but one lesson is all it took. We were so impressed that we are now addressing other behaviors. Ian is showing my husband and me how to train Zoey to be a happy and well behaved part of our family. And Zoey is much calmer now that she understands what is expected of her. I really sense that she is relieved to know that she is no longer the boss of the house. I am so happy that we came across the ad for Smart Dogs. Their knowledge is amazing and their training techniques make sense. I highly recommend Smart Dogs. You will not be disappointed. local favorite, or highly recommended because