Golden Retriever Training in Grand Rapids, MI

Carrie was terrific— good w us and great w our dogs We learned a lot and so did the dogs— we highly recommend her

We couldn’t be happier with the results we’ve seen from working with Carrie at Dog Training Elite. From the very first session, it was clear that Carrie is not only highly knowledgeable and professional, but also genuinely passionate about helping dogs and their owners succeed. She took the time to understand our dog (Boomer) unique personality and needs, and tailored the training accordingly. Her calm, confident, and engaging approach put both us and our dog at ease, and we saw real progress after just a few sessions. What we appreciated most was how she empowered us as owners to feel confident and in control, using clear, effective techniques that truly work. Thanks to Carrie, our dog is more focused, better behaved, and happier overall. We’re so grateful for the positive impact she’s had on our lives and are looking forward to our next few weeks of training. Highly recommend Carrie to anyone looking for high-quality, compassionate dog training!

Carrie has been great to work with It took some getting used to her approach but it works!I highly recommend Dog Training Elite West Michigan. Mary Nalbach

Carrie's expertise was so appreciated We needed to get our black lab that was adopted at age 3 to learn to heel on walks. Fantastic coaching!! Rocky will be great on a leash because of her.

Carrie has been absolutely amazing with my girls. We saw an immediate improvement in their focus and attitude after the first meeting. I never knew my girls were so smart and eager to learn. Thank you Carrie for helping us keep our little stubborn one. What you have taught us and them has truly transformed the way we all interact.

Would HIGHLY recommend Dog Training Elite! We have worked with Carrie and are so impressed with her knowledge, professionalism, and care. She has been invaluable in teaching us how to best train our dog. She makes a point to understand our family and home so she can best help us to train our dog effectively. We have already seen such gains with our dog (that is only 6 months old). We are so grateful for Dog Training Elite.

We have been working with Carrie for a few weeks now and are seeing some very positive results! The e-collar is an excellent tool to communicate with our dog and has helped us with some frustrations. Carrie is very knowledgeable and patient with us. In a positive way, she has brought to our attention things we were doing as owners that weren't so helpful. I have enjoyed the in home training session because I am able to learn the commands first hand. This type of personalized training has helped me gain more confidenc. I am looking forward to group training soon and learning more!

We are so thankful for Carrie and her expertise! We contacted Carrie once we were at our wits end with our 6 month old puppy who had separation anxiety and aggression. She helped us feel more in control and she gave us tools to help our puppy (and us!) feel successful! Carrie is a life saver!

We trained with Carrie about 8 months ago. The website said she was good with training dogs with anxiety and aggression. This was why we hired her. We have 2 rescue dogs. Our youngest had a lot of anxiety and was acting aggressively. Challenge was she wasn't even a year old and we wanted to help train the fear and aggression out of her. Unfortunately, when they were tired they got into a fight. My husband put his hand in-between them and was bitten. This was NOT a normal thing and it has not happened again. As expensive as the training was, we couldn't complete the socialization group classes because she insisted we put a muzzle on her. We tried and the amount of anxiety, fear and aggression increased with the muzzle. So we couldn't go to the classes. We have been socializing her and she LOVES people now. She shows zero aggression and is no longer so fearful! The tools the trainer used were good and we are still using them. I am only doing this review so other dog parents dont try to use this company for anxiety and aggression training. What worked is a lot of love, using the buttons and keeping them from rough housing when playing. The buttons work however we now just have to show them we are about to button them for them to do exactly what we ask them to. They do seem to understand English! So in a lot of ways this training gave us some great tools. Socialization has happened on lots of walks and the vet. They sit before meeting anyone and are doing really well. Just keep in mind the suggestion for muzzles for aggressive dogs with anxiety. The pictures below are our dogs. The youngest one is the one thinking she is a cat!

Carrie has been amazing to work with, and we have seen incredible results with our Golden Retriever (Moose). We started working with Dog Training Elite West Michigan when Moose was a puppy. My wife is new to dog ownership and Carrie gave us tips and training that made even the puppy stage a blast. We are now training with the e-collar, and seeing incredible results. I'll be honest I was initially skeptical because I figured e-collar meant shock training. This is completely different, the e-collar serves more as gentle nudge to each command, not a shock for punishment. We all even tested the feeling of the e-collar as a family prior to using. I appreciate Carrie's professionalism, and highly recommend Dog Training Elite West Michigan.

We have had such a positive experience with Carrie and Dog Training Elite! They have been helpful and patient and clearly love the animals they work with and believe in the work they are doing.

Carrie is the best! We have two dogs. One is seven years old and one is three months old. She started training them at the same time and it’s made a world of difference after just three sessions!

I’ve been very impressed with Ozzy’s progress. He loves working with his trainer, and he’s eager to learn and practice new tasks—largely because of what he and my daughter are learning together. This has been a very good choice for our family.

I am so thankful to have found Dog Training Elite. Their unique training approach has been a perfect fit for us. I am always impressed by the passion, dedication and progress in our sessions. Eloise is already such a well behaved member of our family and will one day be a great therapy dog. Highly recommended this company!

This training has been absolute gold! What I’m learning about training my dog and, maybe more importantly, communicating and working with my dog, is truly priceless.

Carrie was so kind and patient with my girl Billy and I. I’m so happy and proud of the progress we have made and would HIGHLY recommend dog training elite west Michigan to anyone

Carrie was so kind and patient with my girl Billy and I. I’m so happy and proud of the progress we have made and would HIGHLY recommend dog training elite west Michigan to anyone

I’m a 62 year old woman who rescued a beautiful black and tan on hound. She is as strong as a bull and sweet as pie. She pulled me to my knees to many times to count and when guest came over she would almost knock them over with affection.i needed help and a friend found elite training for me. I signed up and with some training myself and a little help with my dog my dog is a well behaved love who will stay put until I give the command. Carrie worked miracles at showing my pup and myself who we could be. 💜

I’m a 62 year old woman who rescued a beautiful black and tan on hound. She is as strong as a bull and sweet as pie. She pulled me to my knees to many times to count and when guest came over she would almost knock them over with affection.i needed help and a friend found elite training for me. I signed up and with some training myself and a little help with my dog my dog is a well behaved love who will stay put until I give the command. Carrie worked miracles at showing my pup and myself who we could be. 💜

We have been blessed with a few wonderful dogs as family pets. But in September we had the opportunity to get a Belgian Malinois puppy, Dakota. She is a joy, but we knew that for her to reach her full potential as our pet, we would need professional help. Carrie and Dog Training Elite West Michigan have been a tremendous help and Dakota is making amazing progress! With each training session we see growth and discipline in Dakota's behavior. My husband and I agree it is money very well spent for our furry companion! Dog Training Elite is convenient, professional, knowledgeable, and all around fantastic!! Carrie takes her job very serious for the sake of our dog and our family, and has exceeded all of our expectations!!