Testimonials

Thank you thank you thank you!

We just got our 2 ½ year-old Shepherd, Lily, back from a 2 ½ week’s board & train. It’s still early days but already I can see a positive change in her. She has stopped her incessant jumping and mouthing and overall is a much calmer, balanced dog. In this calmer state she pays more attention to us and less about all the distractions we have around, i.e. deer, fox etc. Laurie also sent home an extensive summary of her stay along with a lot of good reading material. Lily isn’t perfect but we feel she has been given a good foundation for us to move forward. I highly recommend Dog Days.

JUST LISTEN!!! They really really know what they’re doing and it WORKS!

We got our sweet lab pup at 10 weeks. We knew we wanted a well trained dog that we could walk off leash, hike with, have around our daughter and her friends, etc...so we contacted Laurie and made our initial reservation for board and train before we’d even brought Rizzo home!!
We were committed to training and followed their instruction but, regardless of training, puppies are hard! Rizzo was wild and up to 80lbs in the blink of an eye, I remember going in to drop him off crying my eyes out, so frustrated, even talking about giving him back. Laurie and her staff were amazing, they’d reassure me, tell me it was normal and what was happening with the dog at that stage, and what to expect in the coming months, that things would ebb and flow, peaks and valleys, etc. Just to stay with it and be consistent, that it works! So we did. He’s 1.5yrs old now.
Laurie kept saying he’s doing so well and he should be hiking off leash, which didn’t make sense to us at all because we were still struggling so much at home with walks and his fighting us on leash, jumping at other dogs, etc..he’s so high energy and strong...I knew I had to be missing something so I asked if she would please start a class for us and a few other dogs so she could watch and train me, correct or redirect me, and do it there in a safe environment with distractions and dogs and in real time, so I could learn. She did. It was the single greatest thing that ever happened because within 2 classes he was walking off leash, responding to my commands, working for me, etc.. and has become the dog we’ve always wanted! He’s been going to Dog Days since he was 10 weeks old so, it wasn't magic, they’d been doing the training there with him and we’d been training at home, he already knew what to do. Her showing ME what to look for, how to anticipate things, how to respond and more importantly WHEN to respond was the eye opening part. It was like a light switch flipped! It was amazing! It’s incredible how well he works when I learned how to work and handle him correctly!
I can’t recommend Dog Days, Laurie, her staff enough. They do amazing work and are always willing to help with any issues.
My biggest take home lessons:
1. JUST LISTEN!!! They really really know what they’re doing and it WORKS! You just have to trust them, they know what they’re talking about and do it and be consistent.
2. It takes time!! You can’t go to one class and all of a sudden your dog is trained. It takes work but it is SO worth it. You will get the dog you want and you’ll both be SO much happier!!!
Rizzo is such a big part of our life and having him trained and being able to enjoy him is priceless, we couldn’t be more thankful for Dog Days and all they’ve done for us!

I love applying what I have learned from her each and every day

In picture L to R: Reegan, Jaidyn, Cleo, MacKenzie

Laurie has forever changed my dog handling and training experience. So much so that I am confident enough to enjoy the companionship of four dogs, three which are deaf. I first met Laurie and her staff four years ago when the concept of board and train caught my attention. She took in my hearing and deaf dog and guided them over a 10 day period to a new way of learning. I was so impressed that I immediately began taking my dogs to her obedience classes.

With each class, Laurie bestowed upon me such a wide range of knowledge that provided insight on how I needed to handle my dogs in every situation.  The tools, skills, and mindset that I took away from each class were immediately put into practice. Her experience with deaf dogs, provided additional pointers, but foremost, convinced me that dogs generally learn better without words and will watch non-verbal commands. Seeing the behavior that has come from this philosophy has proven great success for me.

With the recent addition to my family, my third deaf dog, I immediately sought out the expertise of Laurie. Within one hour she was able to introduce a frightened and defensive social dog to an environment that was stress free, safe, and fun. I am grateful for Laurie’s dog behavior and training qualities and experience. I love applying what I have learned from her each and every day.

~Diane Loucks

Wonderful family companion

I first came to Dog Days Training Center about 7 years ago.  Laurie Buffington was recommended to me by my veterinarian.  I can’t thank Laurie enough for all she has done to help the shy little Golden Retriever puppy I brought with me become the wonderful family companion she is today.

Laurie is a very knowledgeable and talented dog trainer.  She has the ability to assess each dog individually and help the handler learn training methods that work for each specific dog.   She had the patience and understanding that allowed me and my soft, shy dog work at our own pace, giving us much needed guidance along the way.  Over the years I have seen her work with many dogs of all breeds and temperaments bringing out each dog’s potential to be happy, well-mannered members of their homes.

Laurie has a premier facility and knowledgeable, helpful staff.  I will continue to bring my now 7 year old Golden to Saturday classes because it has become one of our favorite family outings.  I continue to learn from Laurie each week and look forward to many classes to come.

I would highly recommend Dog Days Training Center to anyone wishing to enhance their relationship with the canine companion in their life.

Words cannot express how grateful we are

Laurie and the team at Dog Days literally saved our family!  My husband and I purchased two chocolate lab littermate puppies without realizing how difficult the training would be.  Although we had successfully trained other puppies in the past, we were in way over our heads with our two new girls.  Despite our best efforts they were hyperactive and totally out of control.

We decided our only hope was to seek professional help, so we did lots of research and spoke with many local trainers.  We were told repeatedly that we would never get them to behave and were encouraged to give one up, which was heart-breaking and very discouraging.  In desperation we reached out to our vet and he recommended Laurie and the Dog Days team.  Laurie was kind enough to accept them into the board and train program.  After 12 days we saw amazing improvement in their behavior and ability to focus.  Laurie agreed that we had a very difficult task ahead of us but gave us hope along with the tools to be successful.  We started taking our girls to Dog Days intermediate training classes and continued to make huge progress.  A few weeks ago Laurie told us that we were ready to move up to the advance class which literally brought tears to my eyes.  We look forward to the ability to take our girls hiking and snowshoeing off leash and we are certain that we will achieve that goal!

Words cannot express how grateful we are to Laurie and her team!  We encourage anyone to participate in the classes and the fantastic board and train program and plan to be clients for life.

-Kacy & Tim Sable

I know he and I have a long way to go….but wow!  Thank you!!!!!!

Hi All!

Here is a photo of Ranger with my very fragile 80 year old mom.  He sat with her for an entire wedding event this weekend, with other loose dogs present, and did not tug on her or give her one bit of trouble the entire time.
I know he and I have a long way to go….but wow!  Thank you!!!!!!
See you soon!
Julie

Truly a reflection of all the hard work that you and your team invested in him

Hello,

I wanted to give you the Raven Report! What an amazing transformation he has undergone. It is truly a reflection of all the hard work (=hours and hours) that you and your team invested in him. Yesterday, he had his final round of vaccinations and WOWED his vet and the techs in Estes Park. He calmly did everything he was asked to do and even lay down (with the hip relaxed) while we discussed him. We weren’t able to “catch” a urine sample so I’ll keep at it. He was even invited to meet a very dog-tolerant big cat by the cat’s owner and just scooted forward politely. He backed up at the first hiss and got behind me. There has been no frenetic barking tho’ some predictable whining. He re-met—calmly—the tots next door and there was no jumping or any attempt to do so—or mouthiness. A bit of hand-licking, which garnered a giggle from wee Nash, and then we were out the door on a positive note.

So, I can only give you my profound thanks for the progress to date and my promise to follow through on training as requested. We’ll see you on the 16th! I’ll email as the date approaches and I’ve reached Don to coordinate with Rook’s arrival.

All the best,
Audrey

What you guys did with Trooper is a miracle!

Hi everyone,
 I’ve been meaning to write this for a couple of weeks and just finally got a moment.
What you guys did with Trooper is a miracle!  He is so much more fun to be around and easy to live with!
He’s responded very well to the e-collar but there were a couple of days when we forgot to turn it on and he still did well, even in a crowd!
He calms down quickly, lies quietly at our feet, greets people calmly at the door, does well on walks, LISTENS!!
He doesn’t mouth us, is affectionate, doesn’t jump on us or counters, plays nicely with his toys, LOOKS AT US FOR WHATEVER HE WANTS!
We took him camping for the first time this past weekend and he makes a great camping dog!  No barking!  Loved being with us.  Great with friends.
We can’t say enough about him.  I think 9-months-old is going to be our favorite age instead of the worst!
Thank you, thank you!

Connie Baker May 2015

You and your team have changed everything for me

Hazelnut has been officially transformed by you and your team! Her entire character has changed… in the best way ever. These are the things we noticed within the first few days:

  • She is more confident and in turn, calmer.
  • She is more affectionate with me, which is what I was hoping for in the long run (how did you do this?!)
  • She isn’t nearly as mouthy with us.
  • The gentle leader is a God send. Literally. No more pulling and she walks like a dog who knows who her pack leader is.
  • She is more obedient. I am no longer her playmate. (whew)

Laurie, thank you again for your training, diligence and care with Hazelnut while she stayed with you. I was at the end of the road with Nut when I met you. Now, I’m at the beginning again, with a new dog that I adore. You and your team have changed everything for me.

Sending much love and big gratitude!
Janice
Oct 1, 2016

Truly impressed

I just wanted to say thank you for the wonderful training that your facility is giving our dog. We went camping this past weekend with 15 children (ranging from 1-14yrs) and 22 adults. We were a little nervous about how Tilly would handle so many people and so much going on, but she did AWESOME!!  Not once did she jump up on or nip at any of the kids. She always sat and waited patiently until they came up to pet her. And even though it was very hard to keep the kids from running up to her, jumping around her, petting her while eating ect….. Tilly never showed signs of being nervous, agitated scared or uncomfortable. We never left her side, just incase, but we were constantly getting comments about how well behaved she was. People couldn’t believe she is only 5 months old and could lay quietly by the campfire with so much going on around her.Everyone, including us was truly impressed by how she handled herself. It’s really very cool to see Tilly becoming more confident and enjoying herself in many new enviroments.

Thanks again,
Kim
July 2016

Calm, well behaved, and gentle

I am not sure it is possible to put into words how much we appreciate what the folks at Dog Days have done for our 5 year old Ridgeback (and us), but I’ll try.Bringing a soon-to-be 100lb Ridgeback puppy safely into our home with our 1 year old toddler was going to take some effort, and we couldn’t have done it without Laurie, Shantel and their team. The obedience classes taught me how to be a better dog owner, and gave us a solid base that has turned Whiskey into a phenomenal family dog. Everyone comments on how calm, well behaved, and gentle he is – and we trace that all back to puppy classes at Dog Days followed by weeks of training. We take him everywhere, including kids soccer games and trips to the park, and his focus never leaves me – which was 100% the result of the Dog Days program.We have since moved about an hour away from Dog Days, but we still book a stay for Whiskey with Laurie and Shantel whenever we go on vacation. We know he will be taken care of, and (even more importantly) Whiskey absolutely loves staying with them.

I can’t say enough about the Dog Days team – everyone that works with them agrees that they are awesome!

Laurie saw something redeeming in me

Dear Laurie & Staff,

One year ago I was a nervous, out of control rescue puppy who had a tough beginning.  My owners weren’t sure they could keep me.  As I walked into the building for an evaluation, my hackles were up and I acted very wary.  Fortunately, Laurie saw something redeeming in me.

A year later, after training, I have manners, obey commands (most of the time), don’t bark at other dogs, like my kennel and am attached to my owners (and them to me).  I look a little funny with my long skinny legs and curled up tail, but I am smart, healthy and a loyal companion.

Thanks to all of you; Laurie, Shantel, Kara and Adam for helping me be the dog I am now.  I’ll see you in the spring!

Love,

Scout (of Gene & Susan Mossberg)

THANK YOU

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!  Tiki is the BEST trained ever!

Dear Dog Days,

Can not thank you all enough for your training Tiki (and me).  She’s the VERY best trained we’ve ever had! (She’s our 9th Samoyed, plus a few lab mixes).  I’ve certainly been through enough obedience classes with all of our dogs, but yours is by far the VERY BEST.  I’ve recommended you to many friends.

On a recent trip I took her for an off lead hike.  She started after a rabbit, but came back IMMEDIATELY when called.  Her favorite trail game is to come on command at full speed, and “down” in route.   Also had her walking on and off lead on urban trails and streets.  She’ll sit on command when meeting other people/dogs, and wait for permission to encounter.

She loves the “brick” game too.

Thanks so very much for making her my very best companion ever – and a delight to our friends too!

Flora Larson

Truly dog’s best friend

Although much has been written about man’s best friend, Laurie is truly dog’s best friend.  Her many years in the field of behavior and training are emphasized through herrelationships with dogs, and her ability to blend clinical work with science.  She is excellent at data collection and has been a sub-investigator in numerous rigorous studies on dog behavior.  Her approach is authentic and her compassion and respect for life is immense.   I am honored to work with such a colleague.

-Dr. Camille King

Canine Education Center, LLC

Applied Animal Behaviorist

Never fails to elicit comments about his good behavior

Due to construction at our house, Levante has been coming into the office most week days and he never fails to elicit comments about his good behavior.  People who remember him from 2 years ago state “I would have NEVER thought you could keep that pup uncrated at the office”.  Thanks!

Healthy, happy and tired.

Mickie has been coming to Dog Days since she was a puppy.  In these past 8 years, Laurie’s Board and Train program has helped us tremendously with our headstrong cattle dog.  Unlike a kennel, Laurie trains and boards, and she is always happy to work on specific ‘problem areas’ in my dog’s behavior.  She also get lots of exercise – from walking the pasture in the morning before breakfast to swims in the pond in the afternoon; so she comes home healthy, happy and tired.  Mickie loves to come to Dog Days so much that we can’t even mention “Dog Days” or “Laurie” in a conversation until the day we take her there, or Mickie will get so excited she won’t sleep!

Laurie taught me what I needed to do

Gogo, our bullmastiff, joined our family as a small cuddly puppy—full of puppy energy.  My family did the basic training we knew.  But she grew and grew and grew.  By the time she was 6 months old we discovered we really had no clue how to train a dog as big as Gogo. All I can say is thank goodness for Laurie and the staff at Dog Days. The first thing every owner learns from Laurie is that it’s not the dog. (Which is so hard to hear).  Gogo was the one stealing the food off the counter.  Gogo was the one eating things that were never meant to be eaten. Gogo was the one giving me the blank stare when I scolded her. But it was me who didn’t know how to communicate.  I have to be honest, hearing I was part of the problem was not easy. Laurie taught me what I needed to do so Gogo learned that my direction is the be all, end all and I learned how to give directions so she follows them.  I can go on forever about how Laurie changed our lives.  Gogo is a no longer a small cuddly puppy–she is a big cuddly dog now.  And we love having her be a part of our family.

Amazed

Dog Days Training Center and its staff have exceeded our expectations and continue to do so every week when we attend class with our great dane Bentley. You’ll be continually amazed at the things you would never think about, but end up being so important when training your dog. The obvious skill and knowledge base that you’ll find at Dog Days is truly impressive and you WON’T regret it. You’ll come to find that we, humans, seem to need more training on what to do/not to do more than our dogs! The quality of the training SOARS above other resources with NO contest. I would recommend Dog Days to every dog owner I know! Thanks Dog Days!

She helped make our dogs a joy to be around

Laurie Buffington at Dog days Training center has changed our life with our dogs. We have two Labrador retrievers and live in the mountains west of Boulder Colorado. Our dogs have hunting genes in their background and we needed help to get them to stop chasing deer and foxes so that we could go on safe off leash hikes with them  protecting the wildlife as well as protecting our dogs from ranging out in front of us and running into a bear or Mountain lion. In addition Laurie’s classes emphasize proper socialization so that when encountering unfamiliar dogs on the trail our dogs will act appropriately. She helped make our dogs happy healthy well adjusted members of the family who are a joy to be around.

-Alex and Marcia Barber

August 23, 2012

Happy and healthy

My two Weimeraner sisters, Max and Scout, first came to Dog Days when they were almost six months old.  Over the next nine and a half years, they probably spent more nights there than any other dogs in Laurie Buffington’s care.  I travel a lot for work and at one point I was transferred to London.  As a result, the girls spent their required six months of quarantine at Dog Days.  After that time, they successfully flew to London happy and healthy!

Besides training and caring for the girls, Laurie also saved Max’s life last year.  Her stomach got twisted and she bloated up and Laurie immediately recognized the symptoms and took her to the emergency room.  I was in New York on a business trip and the event happened in the middle of the night.  Laurie treated her with great care, as if she was her own dog, until my return the next day.

Laurie is a true professional and as such my girls are exceptionally well-trained.  She also maintains a very talented staff that is also great with the dogs.  In fact, when I moved to London, I asked Shantel to come for a week to train my new dog sitter.

My next generation of Weimeraners will definitely be trained by Laurie!

-Jane Miller

CEO

Rudi’s Organic Bakery

Boulder, CO

Not even a growl or nip

Hi there. I just wanted to drop y’all a short note about Diesel.  We went to the vet this morning for his last round of shots.  Diesel was incredible!  He tolerated all of the exam, including a hernia check and having his temp taken, like a champ.  Not even a growl or nip.  They picked him up on the table and he took all three immunizations with no problem.  He couldn’t have been better behaved.  The head vet was so impressed that he wanted your contact information, which we gave him (they actually already had it there but he didn’t know it).  He also asked about brochures to put out front so if you have any extra of those I’d be happy to grab them when we are out there tomorrow and drop them off at the vet.

-Billy Ricks

Our experience with Laurie was so good for all of us

About Dog Days Training and Laurie and Her Staff

Don and Cissi here,

We met Laurie following a biting incident involving our Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier. The court required us to have Bentley evaluated and that is how found Laurie. She came highly recommended by the Boulder County authorities and we now understand why.

Laurie was right up front with us and laid out the options and promised she would not compromise on her judgment once she had made it. She told us to be prepared to give Bentley up or put him down. She agreed to keep him for an evaluation period and we left him there.

Laurie let us know at the end of the evaluation period that Bentley was basically a very good dog and if there was any problem, it was us. Laurie’s ability to deliver the truth is one of her strongest qualities. She worked with a very demanding court system on our behalf and after a series of training classes, both Bentley and Cissi and I satisfied the Judge and were released from his authority.

Our experience with Laurie was so good for all of us, that we continued our training with her in multiple level classes and the results are fantastic. Bentley has great control now, which for a high strung terrier is not a small feat, and Cissi and I are much more responsible pet owners.

Laurie and her staff are the most caring and dedicated group I have encountered and I continue to tell everyone I know about her results and commitment to both Bentley and us. Laurie and her staff are the reason that Bentley is still with us and we are forever grateful.

Trust Laurie, listen to her and follow her advice and instructions and your dog will be the very best he is capable of.

Regards – Don Mullen

Works beautifully

It might be called dog obedience classes at Dog Days Training Center, but I know that it is really people obedience training.   I work with my dog and sometimes with mixed results.   It seems to be so obvious to Laurie as she can see in an instant what I am doing to get my mixed result.   I am the one who has some bad habits!    I can’t see myself, so I rely on and am totally grateful to Laurie’s well trained eye.   “Try this,” says Laurie.    “That is just too simple,”  I tell myself.   I try it and it works beautifully!

Laurie bridges the communication gap between me and my dog, Kona.    This knowledge allows me to really understand why Kona is behaving in a certain way, and what I did or did not do that encourages that behavior – good and bad.   During part of the classes, Laurie has the dogs interact with the other dogs off leash and their people.   By example, Laurie points out the communication between the dogs –  what is play, what is over-stimulation, what is aggression, and what to do about it as the dog owner.

Kona and I have taken doggie classes at other facilities.    I learned the mechanics of how to get Kona to react in certain ways.   With Laurie at Dog Days Training Center,  we are given the understanding behind the mechanics.    This knowledge gives me a much deeper understanding so that I can generalize to other related situations.

Training with Laurie is very satisfying.    The continual, positive results bring Kona and I even closer.   Working consistently with Kona takes a real effort, but it is a whole lot of fun!

The grounds, facilities and staff at Dog Days TrainingCenter are fantastic.  The Training Barn even has misters for those hot summer days.  At the end of class, the doggies get to race around in a very large fenced in areas with a huge pond.    Those lucky doggies!

You will be impressed with your private meeting with Laurie, as well as the group doggie classes.  I wish I would have found Laurie from the beginning.  She is the best!

Many thanks to Laurie and her very capable assistant Shantel!

Jo Schmidt

Loveland, Co

Look no further

To anyone who is considering Laurie Buffington and Dog Days training:

Look no further, Laurie Buffington and her team at Dog Days are the most effective and qualified dog trainers you will ever experience.

My first introduction to Laurie was with Jasper, my chocolate lab puppy. We participated in each level of training classes Dog Days offered and we emerged with the most wonderful, well trained dog possible.  That was the “easy dog”…then it got complicated …

After losing Jasper to cancer in early September 2011, I ventured down the rescue dog road.  I rescued “Annie” in late September of 2011, after DNA testing she turned out to be a full half golden retriever, border collie, bichon frise mix.  Against the advice of Laurie, a month later I rescued “Harry”.  After DNA testing I learnt he was a lab, retriever and German short haired pointer mix.

My life, then fell apart, I had two crazy pups who were so different from my beloved Jasper I was at my wits end.  Why did I go against Laurie’s advice to not get two?  Two puppies at the same time is a huge handful.  I am not exaggerating that without Laurie, I am not sure I would have been able to keep both.

Here are a couple of disasters which I conveyed to Laurie to explain my distress:

Dear Laurie

We had disaster at the reservoir/Coot area on Tuesday.  To cut a very long story short, I somehow managed to talk myself out of a $100 fine per dog.  Annie and Harry were doing great, holding downs while bikers, hikers etc came by us and then without a warning, they broke …………… ran flat out into an enclosed wildlife area.  I became invisible to them, I honestly thought they were gone, I THOUGHT they had seen cows in the distance, unbeknown st to me they had ran head long into a prairie dog colony. The prairie dogs were not visible.  Out of the corner of my eye I saw an official boulder county vehicle parked in a nearby parking lot, then of course, out of the bushes appears an official looking man screaming “go get your dogs now!”

After finally tracking the dogs down, we all got to meet Mr Matt, the Head guy at City of Boulder of Open Space, of course it had to be the boss.  Laurie, not sure how, but I managed to get him to crack a smile, maybe because when he asked me to confirm if the dogs were mine, I said “No, these are definitely NOT my dogs” as they sat sweetly at my feet, innocently staring up at me.  Luckily, I had my green tags on both dogs.

He actually turned out to be great and after discussing many things including my training efforts, sorry, but I had to mention you(!), he said he knew of you and your training, how seriously I take training, how hard I am trying,  bringing up how good Jasper was, praying on his emotions by telling him they were rescues … etc , etc he kindly said he would not ticket me in lieu of a ten minute lecture from him.  Phew!  He did inform that if they had come out with a prairie dog in their mouth it is currently a $450 fine.

I think he actually appreciated the fact that I am trying by using you and your training methods and acknowledged that with your help I am committed to training.  Needless to say it was a huge wake up call.  Environmentally, they are SO far from being 100% under voice and sight.  A bird, a duck, a rabbit turns them into different dogs, looks like I am heading down the e-collar collar road as you suggested, I may do it somewhat reluctantly.

The next disaster:

Twin lakes, both dogs off leash on the off leash trail, Harry had never swam, out of the bushes came a mama and papa duck with their ducklings swimming in the lake, Harry took off and swam after them, it was awful, he swam after them for 40 minutes in pursuit, as an all around animal lover it was killing me, I am not sure what would have happened if this time I had encountered a ranger, after what seemed like an eternity I cajoled Harry to the shore …. straight home and an email to Laurie, e-collar time.  The stress of having these dogs off leash in the environment had finally sent me over the edge…

Next steps:

Laurie and Shantel came to my house.  Laurie helped me deal with the environmental elements I deal with at home.  We live on on land with a lake, a dogs dream, but not a nervous dog owners dream.  Laurie helped with suggestions in controlling the dogs.

The dogs then spent 10 days board and train with Laurie. Laurie was able to learn so much about the dogs and their temperament/behavior.  This led her to being able to train the dogs appropriately.

She emphasized training ME was the most important part!

To say walking my dogs on off-leash trails has changed is an understatement.

I went from crying in frustration with these dogs who I loved, but were testing my patience to having passersby’s comment on well behaved they are.  Go figure …

Thank you Laurie.

-Sarah Mittlehaus