Neuman Academy changed our dog's and our lives. If you have struggled with a reactive dog you know how stressful even normal daily activities can be. When we adopted a 1 year old australian shepherd mix from a shelter we knew we had our work cut out for us. In the first photo you can see him having a meltdown lunging at another dog and just his general looking stressed. He was very resource protective about food and toys which also added stress.
He has been home for two months after the 12 week bootcamp program and he is amazing. He still has his goofy personality but we now have tools to help him manage every day situations. You can see how much more relaxed he is just by his facial expressions. He is able to drop things on command, we can have people come in the house with him in a "place command" so we can manage the greeting - which greatly reduces his stress and ours. He can interact with other dogs without having a meltdown and we have skills to make sure introductions to new dogs get off on a positive note. His off leash recall is amazing and Neuman did a great job of educating us as owners on how to properly handle him and keep up his new skills.
Thank you, Neuman! Our dog can join us in so many more parts of our lives because of the skills he learned at bootcamp.
-Morgan
My Dolly is a graduate of Newman K-9 Academy’s 12-week Boot Camp. Sending Dolly to Neuman K-9 Academy was a big decision, not only because of the financial commitment but the time we would be separated. However, I have only positive things to say about our experience with the staff and training at the Academy. The campus itself is extremely impressive with beautiful facilities and immaculate grounds. The staff obviously love their jobs and our dogs. Communication during Dolly’s absence was excellent. I looked forward to the weekly email updates which thoroughly detailed Dolly’s training and progress. The corresponding photos were a weekly treasure! I found them to be reassuring at how well taken care of and happy Dolly seemed. The final day of training with Dolly was so enlightening. The staff members were patient and reassuring as they led me through Dolly’s training experience. The assigned training materials I received were thorough, easy to follow and helpful. I continue to be a work in progress in working on everything we learned and any lapses in Dolly’s behavior are a reflection of me rather than Dolly & her training during Boot Camp. I am so grateful to Josiah, Summer and the rest of the staff for the love, care and incomparable training that Dolly received while she was with them. I would not hesitate to recommend Neuman K-9 Academy to anyone. Your dog will be loved while learning to be a well-trained companion.
-Ann
Osa was two years old when she stayed at Neuman’s K9 Academy for 8 weeks. Spinone’s are an Italian hunting dog. Unfortunately no one in our family hunts. She is a high energy dog and once her nose was to the ground, was in ‘hunting mode’ and nothing could get her attention. My daughter had sent her golden, also an alpha hunting female, to Neuman’s with excellent results.
When my daughter would visit us and Osa would greet her with her enthusiastic ‘shot out of a cannon’ welcome, my daughter would tell me that the Neuman program was worth every penny.
She was right!
Now Osa’s recall is excellent, she understands the commands and expectations. I had concerns that I would not be able to devote the time to maintain the consistency of her training but because of the time, skill and repetition she received at Neuman’s and the owner training that they do I am able to reinforce Osa’s skills every day in small but consistent ways that help maintain her abilities.
Last week I was dog sitting 3 dogs that had been through the Neuman K-9 program more than six months ago. I asked all three for a down /stay and three dogs hit the ground and focused on my every move until I released them. That’s the result of excellent training and retention.
-Trish
Many thanks to you both (Josiah and Summer) and to your team for your excellent work with Maddie. Working with you all has been wonderful. I appreciate your responsiveness and have already recommended your business to others. Thank you also for taking so much time to teach me so that I can carry forward with her training.
A series a miracles and windows between storms allowed us to arrive home safely last night (Juneau, Alaska).
Maddie traveled unbelievably well. We were crammed into a spot next to a cat, behind children who repeatedly dropped socks and their plastic dinosaurs, and in front of other children who spilled a bag of red hot Cheetos. Through it all, Maddie behaved extremely well. Car, airport, shuttle train, And lyft with infinite competitions for her attention. It was a marathon day for her and she handled it better than anyone could imagine.
Attached are photos from a walk on the beach this afternoon. It was too cold to stop for photos but I was able to capture a couple of our very happy dog in motion. And I was very happy to be able to let her run, knowing she had excellent recall.
I’m confident she will have a better life and our family will enjoy our time with her so much more due to her excellent training.
-Kathy
Stella was a 7-month-old rescue dog when we adopted her in July 2020, and she is a September 2021 graduate from Neuman’s 8-week Bootcamp. The camp was a huge success for Stella and our family. I have no regrets about my investment, and I wonder why it took me so long to take action.
Before training: I spent money on assorted leashes, harnesses, treats and spent hours watching Google dog training videos. I even enrolled her in a weekly, 6-week long big box training class, all to no avail. Despite my efforts, I was left with sore shoulders from her pulling before switching to a waist belt which was equally challenging and dangerous. I was cautious walking her around assorted Minneapolis lake paths and had to pull her aside or stand between her and other dogs because she was unpredictable reacting to some of them and/or to squirrels, rabbits and geese. If she darted on her extended leash, she could crash into someone – lucky this never happened. Finally, I was limited to fenced-in dog parks ranging from 5 to 15 miles away - because I like variety, or I didn’t feel like walking.
Post-training: Amazing! I confidently go anywhere with Stella. Today, I observe fellow dog owners struggle with their reactive or pulling dog and realize that I no longer have to worry because she is safely positioned next to me. Her obedience training relieved me of the burdens and anxiety of a simple walk. As we stroll the lakes or around my neighborhood, I hear accolades regarding how well she behaves. At home, she is no longer restricted to the tie-on stakes in the yard; she is free to follow me around as I do my chores. I also realized that her new skills have yielded tremendous financial savings after I calculated my avoided dog park travel costs and/or avoided fencing (physical or invisible) installation that would have occurred. Wow!! Now my only challenge is consistently applying the handler training I received.
On drop-off day, I smiled and wished Josiah and his team “Good Luck.” He confidently replied, “We don’t need luck, we got this.” Upon reflection, I concur.
-Bob
We have had German Shepherds for over 25 years, but not until we discovered Neuman K-9 Academy, were our dogs able to experience the freedom that comes with being fully responsive and trustworthy. It has also substantially increased the quality of our lives as we don't have to take extraordinary measures when guests arrive, or when we pass other dogs on our walks.
We sent our first dog four years ago. He was a year-old male with a sweet temperament. I have "trained" my own dogs all my life and could get them to a very basic level of deportment, but when I worked with my newly trained dog, I felt like I had switched from riding a unicycle to driving a german sedan. He was attentive and well mannered, and could be in situations that I never would have tried before.
When we saw what they could do with our pup, I asked about their willingness to take on a very bull-headed and intimidating 6 year old hundred pound male. When we did my orientation with him three months later, his great qualities of strength and steadiness were polished, while his aggressive barking at other dogs was gone. I no longer had to limit our walks. We could let them be outside with us on our patio in town without having to juggle leashes. They could be a part of family activities without distracting from our entertaining. They were able to spend much more time with us, and be more a part of group.
The thing I learned at Neumans was how different dog psychology is from human psychology. By starting with how the dog sees the world and what the dog wants, they train confident dogs and confident handlers. We have participated in a variety of training approaches. This approach made my dog and I a team, while other methods felt like my dog was my customer. The method at Neumans is sound, satisfying and sustainable.
Communication before, during and after training is a key feature of the academy. Questions are answered clearly and quickly. We always looked forward to our weekly training updates, and we really understood the thinking beneath the method when we left handler orientation.
Our daughter sent her Cairn Terrier and Corgi to Neumans based on our experience, and now they are a pleasure to walk, and are a harmonious part of their household.
I can't recommend Neuman's K-9 Academy more highly.
-Andy
I would like to give you a little update on Marley Wieland. Marley will be 2 soon and I cannot express enough how grateful I am for you all. I can take her anywhere and everyone falls in love with her, as she has been trained so well by you and listens to my commands, often without any correction. There is not a day that goes by that she does not have the collar, which I never thought to be honest, I would follow through. We take her to soccer games to see a family member and she just lays there and watches. Kids and adults just love her, and she of course eats it up. At this point we have worked with her so much that she knows what is expected and in return we have a Golden that is loved so much.
We take her places often to get her used to people, places and smells, no dog parks though :) We do go into Petsmart for her food and I cannot state enough how people comment on her behavior. The first thing I state is your amazing facility and what you have done for her and our family. It definitely took reinforcement on our end, as I could see how easy she would slip back into a naughty puppy.
One note I do want to state, we have two young grandchildren, 2 and 3. When the whole family is here, the little kiddos like to sit and a "kids" table. Marley will just lay down on the floor and will not even think about taking the food. This is huge!!!
We love that she is so well behaved and had such a great foundation. We do kennel her when gone and at night. This is where she is happy and in return, we know that she is not misbehaving.
Thank you again, I have so much gratitude.
-Jen
Neuman K-9 Academy is THE BEST! We adopted a 1 year old pitbull who has bounced around owners and was 60lbs of excitement. As new dog owners we assumed when his bio said “good with other dogs” we weren’t going to have much behavioral issues. Turns out our Tank loves other dogs so much he pulls and barks like crazy! We were embarrassed from the harsh looks we got and him not representing how much of a lovable harmless pitbull he really is. His paws bled, his bark was muted from always pulling, and we were exhausted. I cried on multiple occasions wondering if he was going to work in our lives. We tried a choke collar, harness, gentle leader, e collar, treats, toys, distractions, literally anything you can scrounge up from the internet and YouTube.
8 weeks seemed so long away from our new buddy and came with a big price tag. My husband and I literally read every review about this training and talked to other trainers as well. Neuman K-9 It is SO worth it. It is an investment into your pet and being able to take Tank for a walk without worrying about physically carrying him home is so wonderful! We took him to a volleyball tournament recently with so many distractions and we cannot believe the dog he used to be. They taught Tank how to control his excitement. He is still our same Tank who loves to play and be goofy but with some awesome leash manners now! He remembered us and shows zero signs of being scared of his pinch collar or his e collar. Our friends and family who knew the “old Tank” are absolutely amazed too! When we get compliments on how well behaved he is it just reassures us that the time and money was unbelievably worth it!
-Taylor
February 29, 2020, I drove from Canada to Hugo, MN to bring BELLA to her new home for the next 8 weeks, so I thought. We were greeted by staff and asked to attend inside the facility for further instruction. Josiah went thru a thorough 30 min presentation and then our babies were put in their care. Bella was so excited, and Summer took her into the facility, and she was gone.
I then drove back to Canada and a week later they were closing the borders due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. I contacted Josiah and he assured me she will be in great care un-til I can cross the border to retrieve her. Worse / best case scenario they will keep her there for the 12-week program.
The Canada / USA border closed, so I extended the training to the 12-week course, I was then denied access to the USA, to pick-up Bella, due to the COVID-19 closure.
May 25, 2020, the border advised that the only way I could get Bella back to Canada was that Neuman K-9 Academy bring her to the border. I am truly grateful as Summer was able to bring Bella to the Border and I met her in the Customs parking lot where I was able to have a mini-training session with her and Bella.
June 22, 2020, Bella has now been home for 1-month and I felt compelled to write a testimonial today. I can now allow Bella to exit the house freely. She waits for me at the bottom of the stairs and then we explore the property together. We have an acre and a half of lake front property where she can run freely with wildlife. The property is not fenced in. The training has been extremely helpful in controlling her to not chase wildlife into the bush. We have been practicing all her training daily all month long. We can walk on command off-leash and she will ignore wildlife around her and focus on me. Josiah stated that this would happen. Practice, Practice, Practice.
We enjoy our walks on the road in heel position on leash. A lot of distractions for her, some days are challenging. We will continue to practice, and each day gets easier. We are learning to work as a team. The training Bella received is absolutely priceless. Thank you to Josiah, Summer, and all staff for the tentative and caring work during the Covid-19 Pandemic.
-Lori
If I could give Neuman K-9 Academy more than 5 stars I would!
We took our puppy – Murphy to Neuman K-9 Academy for boot camp. He was 6 months old at the time and was enrolled in the 60-day program. I wanted to share my experience and hope it helps someone else as much as it has me.
I’ve wanted an English Goldendoodle for quite a while and was excited when we brought Murphy home. We haven’t had a puppy for + 8 years and our other dogs were both less than 10 lbs.
Prior to his training, it was getting harder to control him and his energy level. He was forming bad behaviors such as counter surfing (often), eating socks – to the point we thought he may have to have surgery because he swallowed an adult size sock that wasn’t moving through his system, jumping on people, barking, pulling on the leash for walks, eating feces. You get the picture.
I was losing control of his behavior and I was desperate because my elderly father was in and out of the hospital at this time and I didn’t have the time to devote to daily consistent training. I was spending money on doggy daycare to keep Murphy occupied and exercised. Then I received an email advising Murphy could not to come back to doggy daycare until he went through training because he had toy aggression. I knew he was a smart dog so started to research different dog trainers. I came upon Neuman’s K-9 Academy and read the reviews which were very insightful. I contacted them, spoke to Josiah who informed me of their program and found out they were starting a new 60-day boot camp in less than 2 weeks. I was able to get Murphy enrolled and off he went to boot camp. While he was gone, I realized how peaceful our home was and how much energy I was spending on keeping him out of mischief and/or trouble, but I wasn’t giving him any solid training. I was exhausted!
After 60 days of boot camp, Murphy is home. I cannot express how thankful I am to Josiah and his whole team of trainers! Murphy is a changed dog! He walks and heels next to me with NO leash pulling! He’s not counter surfing! He listens to me when I give him a command. I am Murphy’s main handler in our home and my life is calmer and much more organized and consistent now since I’m not constantly trying to get him to stop bad behaviors. I have learned invaluable information that I will continue using from Josiah and his team.
If you are considering training for your dog and want lasting results, I would highly recommend Neumann K-9 Academy.
-Deborah
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