Be a part of Cincinnati Dog Training Success Stories!

Read on to hear how we’ve helped others succeed with their dogs…

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Dog behavior CAN change! Below are a few recent stories from our clients about how we’ve helped them overcome their dog’s behavior problems. We would love to add you to this page! 

If you’d like to see this type of improvement in your dog, I can help. Contact me through Raise the Bar Dog Training at 513.342.0458 or by e-mailing me through the contact page. Change is possible!

 Contacting Raise the Bar Dog training was one of the best decisions I have ever made.  We adopted Kaycee in February 2020.  When we adopted her, we were told she was great with other dogs.  Unfortunately, that was not the case.  Whenever we walked and she encountered another dog, she became very reactive, pulling and barking.  We hired a trainer in 2020 but nothing improved.  Every walk became stressful.  I would pray that we wouldn’t see another dog.  I finally reached my limit and contacted Raise the Bar.  Mark has been a Godsend!  The behavioral change in Kaycee is incredible.  Mark is very patient, thoughtful and informative.  He responds to any questions between training sessions. I feel more in control when walking Kaycee, and I no longer dread taking her out.  I would highly recommend Mark and Raise the Bar to anyone who is looking for a trainer!

Brian H.

            Contacting Raise the Bar Dog Training was a pivotal point in the projection of being a dog owner. I have always been one to choose a puppy from a litter and start training from early on. However, I had found a listing for a free Chihuahua mix from craigslist and after multiple doggy dates, moved forward with bringing her into my home. For the past 9 years I have dealt with her attacking my other dog, boyfriends, as well as myself. I have never dealt with aggression past growling and now I had a dog that would literally shake my arm like a ragdoll if she got ahold of it.

            One might ask why I waited so long to hire someone or do anything further, and I would have to say financial struggles and being young. I don’t know what Stella had been through in her early years of life and kept trying to convince myself that time and work would fix the problems. It wasn’t until I brought a kitten home that made me realize a change needed to happen. Stella had been raised with cats over the years and there has never been a problem. Not until I forgot to grab the kitten after feeding the dogs. That mistake cost me $500 for emergency surgery due to a hernia caused by Stella shaking the kitten. The kitten is alive and well.

            It was at this point that I was heavily considering having Stella euthanized. She’s 11 years old, tasted blood, and I was at a loss and honestly afraid of her. As a last-ditch effort, I reached out to Raise the Bar and Cheryl was assigned to us. I can not preface this enough, Cheryl saved Stella. I was taught and provided with the knowledge and tools to maintain Stella. As for Stella, she finally sees me as being in charge, she obeys commands and is a completely different dog. Yes, she does still have her moments of acting out but I can control those situations whereas before I could not.

Whomever said you can’t teach an old dog new tricks needs to work with Cheryl. If you have an older dog that needs work, don’t think “this is just how it has to be” because it could be so much better. And if you have a puppy, set both yourself and your dog up for success because the training is worth it. Many thanks to Cheryl for the time, understanding and patience you have had with us. Stella and I look forward to continuing to work with you.

Margarita C.

My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed our experience with our puppy, Finn, at the weekly puppy training classes. We always felt welcomed. We always felt he learned something new or became better at a skill we were already working on. We felt that even though we had been working with Finn before we started classes that each week we were offered new ways to improve his progress. Finn loved the socialization with the other puppies and he learned so much from that interaction, as well. Overall, our experience and our fur babies experience exceeded our expectations. Thank you so much. We are now planning to return to the next level of training so Finn can get his Good Citizen certification.
This customer rated you highly for responsiveness, value, and punctuality.
Tammy K.

Hi Cheryl! I have to tell you… I just had 3 moms over, a set of twin babies, a toddler and another new born plus my little guy.  Louie was such a good dog! I took him to meet each guest as they arrived and then he would go right back and stay in his bed, not making a sound for the whole visit! A year ago I would have never had this many people over. It was so nice to be able to visit and have good conversations with my guests and not have a furry dog jumping on me or barking at me! I just can’t thank you enough for all your help training Louie!
Sarah N.

The approach of the trainer, reward instead of punishment, differed drastically from prior training regimes which I attended.   My eleven year old son accompanied me.  We both found the training logical and easy to comprehend.  For lack of a better description, the ‘psychology’ of how to motivate our dog was clearly explained and demonstrated.  I left each lesson feeling confident my son and I understood the methodology behind incentivizing our dog to perform the demonstrated command.   Each lesson and command understandably proceeded to next week’s lesson. (click here to read the full review)

Joseph P.

We really appreciated all of Cheryl’s help with training our German Shepherd Sasha! Being a first time dog owner I wanted to make sure I was setting my dog up for success and she helped me do that. We also really enjoyed going through the good citizen class!

Taylor B.

Hi Cheryl! It’s Emily, Saxons mom. I had to share this. We had a wonderful walk this morning. He did so well and I think he knows it and is smiling for me in this picture I took right after. Thank you so much for all your help so far! We couldn’t be happier with the progress we’ve all made!

Emily S.

Sammy was rescued from someone who had him tied to a tree for most of his short life. When he came to live with the Cavanaugh’s, he was scared of everything and started to show some aggression. After working with him for only a month, he no longer shows aggression and is settling in to his new forever home. Here he is relaxing at his place, no longer retreating to his crate for safety. Mike and Barb sent  his pic and the following:

“Cheryl here’s Sammy relaxed in his place! I still can’t believe how great this works! It’s amazing! Thanks again for all you’ve done. We never thought in just a month he could have come from afraid and aggressive to calm and relaxed around strange people! Once again have a Merry Christmas!!”

Mike & Barb

Cheryl has shown us new techniques to training our strong minded Catahoula. He has been responding in a very positive way and I am grateful for that. I will definitely have Cheryl as my trainer for the fur baby we adopt.

Stephanie P.

Cheryl did an amazing job training my dog. He was only about 12 weeks when she started with him and he has progressed tremendously! She made sure he met all the goals we talked about. I highly recommend her!

Desirae P.

We had our baby boy on December 31st and Saxon has been absolutely amazing with him! Not only is he in love with his baby brother, but has been so happy and content when we have visitors and strangers (To him) in our home. We seriously can not thank you enough for all your help. He is the best dog, and we couldn’t be more happy!

Emily S.

Merry Christmas! Thank you for the gift of helping me train my dogs!! For the first time ever, Lucy went over the fence this morning and when I went out to call her in, not knowing she was outside the yard, I called to her louder and did my whistle. A few seconds later, my eye catches a stealthy white figure running and leaping through the brown woods! She came right to the fence and sat, alert and waiting for her next command. 😄. She’s a total goofball!!! I went around to the front of the house and called her to come again since she didn’t seem to realize she could jump back over the fence. She came and heeled all the way to the door and sat at the doorway and went inside with me. 😏

You’re training has paid off. I was able to introduce him to my friends here (as you saw in the photo) and I can’t imagine how that would have went without you. Actually I can imagine, not good! Now every time I have someone coming over I take him out and meet them on the street where they have treats and we go for a short walk. I’ve learned that coming back into the house it’s important to have them go in ahead of me and hold the door for Buddy to follow them in. Works perfectly every time!

Candace P.

“Chase and I are in disbelief of the massive improvement we’ve seen in Biffy! We thought it would take at least three months to see even half the amount of improvement we’ve seen in less than 48 hours!”

Biffy was ALMOST put on Prozac due to his anxiety issues, but after lesson one it’s clear no medication is needed 😀 Wohooo!

Jenn, Tilly and I wanted to thank you again for the great class! Not only did it help Tilly, but it helped the both of us as well. We really enjoyed it and it was great to know how much you care about the dogs, in my opinion you even go above and beyond by doing the in home consults as well! Thank you again, and I am sure we will see you again!

Jeff, Jenn, & Tilly