Amy Fischer
Jun. 12, 2026
Here’s a polished version that incorporates your additional feedback about Larissa’s work with your family and her approach to e-collar training: Our experience with Dog Training Elite was excellent from start to finish. Larissa was professional, knowledgeable, and genuinely invested in Nala’s success. She took the time to understand our long-term goal of helping Nala progress toward becoming a psychiatric service dog and tailored the training to her specific needs, temperament, and learning style. The instruction was clear and easy for our family to follow, making practice at home highly effective. One of the biggest improvements was teaching Nala to focus on us and look to us for direction rather than making her own decisions. Larissa helped us establish consistent leadership so Nala understands that we are the ones in control, not the other way around. After just three sessions, we saw major improvements in her obedience, engagement, focus, and responsiveness. By the end of the program, Nala was reliably following commands at home and in distracting public environments while maintaining much better attention on her handlers. Larissa was also incredibly patient in teaching us, as owners, how to properly train and communicate with Nala. She took the time to explain the purpose and correct use of the e-collar as a training tool, emphasizing that it is meant to reinforce communication and consistency rather than punishment. She even offered to speak with any member of our household to ensure everyone understood the training methods and the importance of using the e-collar correctly and consistently. What impressed us most was the focus on building the handler-dog relationship that is essential for a future psychiatric service dog. Nala learned to check in with us more consistently, remain calm around distractions, and respond confidently to direction. Daily walks became more structured and enjoyable, unwanted behaviors decreased significantly, and we felt much more confident handling her in a variety of situations. We are grateful for the skills, leadership techniques, and confidence Larissa helped us develop, and we highly recommend Dog Training Elite to anyone seeking professional, high-quality dog training.