Happy Clients
Here’s What They’re Saying
The Weber's
BELLA
Like many people, we decided to get a COVID puppy (our first) She was a lot of fun in the beginning. We read some books on the basics and did an on-line class for common training commands and techniques. Everything seemed fine until a few months later when some concerning behavioral issues surfaced. Several trainers (and thousands of dollars) later, all we had were conflicting opinions on what the issue was and how to correct it. We tried several medications that were prescribed which worried us and honestly didn't seem to help. We were about to give up and try to find a new home for our pet when my wife said I had one more chance to figure it out and get it fixed. That's where Brittany came in. We signed up for Brittany's 4 week residential training program. After all of the failed attempts, we simply hoped for some modest improvement and a plan to continue working on it. What we got was a brand new dog! The behavioral problems were completely addressed and resolved and have not returned over a year later (with no medication). It's amazing what can be accomplished when someone knows what the dog needs and how to provide it - we learned that we were a significant part of the problem. Brittany taught us how to continue providing the right environment to reinforce the training at home. It's also a bonus that Brittany genuinely loves dogs and cares about their well-being and helping families develop positive, loving relationships. We have also taken advantage of the follow up/refresher courses that Brittany offers. Brittany saved my dog and for that I am very grateful. I enjoy her more and more each day.
Joy Sappington
JAG
Brittany saved us from a bad place that I was concerned we were heading. I had a wonderful, smart intelligent puppy who needed training. I tried to take him to puppy classes over and over but each time this poor pup threw up. He was so car sick, I could not make it to a class if I wanted to. We were stuck and I felt I had no other options.He was very good at not having accidents in my house, but things started to go bad when he was not getting along with my other dogs/cats, jumping on my grown children and friends. I was unable to have company over. He was now a bigger puppy and didn’t know his play was too aggressive. I called an unknown “board and train” company where he was to be trained in 1 month, 30 days! I was so excited that this was our answer. I was promised video, pictures, updates on a weekly basis. Sadly, that didn’t work out and Jagaer came home early and untrained. Feeling very upset and worried about this situation, I talked about it to a friend who had dogs too. She recommended Brittany Engel and encouraged me to call her immediately since she was hard to get an appointment with. I was skeptical given the first try at training and worried this pup wouldn’t be able to handle leaving my home and care a second time, almost back to back from his return.
I called Brittany the next day. She called me right back and after talking for an hour, I was convinced she was the one to train my pup but I wanted to meet her, I wasn’t sure if Jagaer would accept another new trainer in his “world” and thought that the possibility would exist that he would deny another attempt at this. Brittany also insisted that she meet him at my home. Great idea! Jagaer was so good with her, he didn’t jump on her, he immediately accepted her and it was a great match. She handled him as if they had met before, I could tell he was at ease with her and could sense that she cared about my dog and he was important to her. Even though they had just met! I felt instant relief because I knew she was the one thatwould save our relationship and make a difference in his life as well as mine. I really felt that I was ready to give up before I met her, that I was going to have to give him up. But Brittany saved the day.
We were able to get Jagaer signed up for training. Brittany went over the Board and Train program from start to finish. I was thrilled with Sunchaser’s kennels and staff. Brittany was there to oversee his care, feeding and gave him cuddles while he was staying there for the 2 week period. Jagaer was comfortable and happy even though he had never been in a kennel before. Brittany started her training with him at Sunchaser and worked with him there on everything. From sit, down, stay, place, come, to going on walks while learning to heal and be neutral in new environments. Jagaer was also introduced to being in a car, learning how to get in carefully, to down/stay in the car and giving him more time in the car to help him get over his motion sickness and vomiting. Jagaer was taken to stores in the area for more training, to see strangers, encounter loud noises and learn how to behave under new surroundings. He did great with Brittany by his side. He also went to local parks in the area to try some swimming! He was introduced to more off leash skills there which is something I never thought he’d accomplish. He was a champ. He also received a 2 week stay at Brittany’s home to learn in home skills to help him with other dogs. Brittany was so good with him by using treats as rewards and treating him as if he were her very own dog. During his time away I received videos, photos and lots of great upbeat reports about my pup. I was worried he wasn’t going to be too happy that I sent him away again but he was in great hands getting the best training and care in the meantime. It was hard being without him for the month but every day I received a report from Brittany about Jagaer it would put me at ease. He was happy. She was extraordinary with this dog and I could tell that he was learning and he liked what he was doing. She made it “fun” with such an intellectual and driven dog. That was so important, it made the difference and I knew I could rely on her to teach him using techniques that had his best interest in mind. Coming Home: The day Jagaer came home was so uplifting. He was a lean, happy, well trained dog. Brittany stayed with us for as long as it took to reacclimate him back to being with his housemates. She went over every new command he learned while away and made sure I was able to understand how to ask him for a command and use the E collar. She stayed with us for as long as it took, until I felt comfortable and Jagaer as well.
His bad habits were gone, he got along well with my other dogs, I was able to have company over and we were able to take long enjoyable walks without issues. Brittany is a life saver. She took such care and consideration of my needs and my dogs needs. She handled a difficult situation and made it better. I have a well trained happy dog who I understand has a high drive and how to take care of that. Brittany continued to come to my home for more training after Jagaer came home and made the extra effort to be certain everything was just right. She continues to check on us! We have a partner/trainer for life. I will be forever grateful to her for training my dog and giving us back our happy life. I know I can count on her until he is old and gray. If you ever need a trainer for your pet, you can trust Brittany to correct the situation and it will make all the difference in your home and life.
Glenda & Mark Montesi
SADIE
We adopted a quiet, reserved 9-month-old Jack Russell/Beagle mix in November 2021. After a few days in her new home, Sadie’s personality emerged and she was not so quiet or reserved. We live in a neighborhood with alot of dogs and wild life. We did not have a fenced yard, so we took her for walks three times a day. Whenever she saw dogs, people, squirrels or rabbits, she would lunge and bark constantly even at 5:30 in the morning. When she saw people she liked, she would bark and howl. She was choking herself when she was lunging.
We knew we needed help so we researched dog trainers. Due to COVID, we could not find an in-person puppy class. We interviewed several trainers including Brittany with Blue Ridge Canine Maryland. We liked her approach to training and Sadie really liked her. She wanted to board and train Sadie for a couple of weeks, but we were reluctant to send her to live with someone else so soon after adopting her. Brittany was willing to train in our home once a week with the understanding that if there was not enough progress, she would then board
and train her. Brittany came every week. She worked with Sadie and me on the basics: sit, down, stay, come, etc. We took Sadie for walks in the neighborhood at which time, Brittany introduced various collar options. Brittany taught me to watch for Sadie’s indicators, so I could prevent the barking and lunging. Before too long, we started walking Sadie with our neighbors and their dogs. We practiced and practiced and started walking quietly through more of the neighborhood. We started getting compliments from all over the neighborhood on how much she had changed and how well she was doing on her behavior. In July 2021, we decided to go on vacation to finally see family again. We spoke with Brittany and decided on a 2-week board and train with Blue Ridge Canine Maryland. Brittany sent us pictures and video clips of her progress. When she brought Sadie back, there was an enormous amount of progress. Brittany had her trained on an e-collar. Her recall off leash was so quick and she responded immediately to commands. Brittany provided us with a list of “Tips for Success.” I keep that list handy to help remind me of what we need to do to keep her on track since we are not always great at it. Sadie’s progress was wonderful, but we were having issues with her reaction to trash trucks and large landscaping mowers in the neighborhood. Brittany saw her reaction to the mower when she returned Sadie after her board and train. We continued to follow Brittany’s instructions to keep her from reacting. Sadie did so well and stayed in a down stay on a long lead that put her several feet from me when the trash truck came. The trash truck driver was so surprised that she did not get up and/or bark, he stopped and complimented her. Shenow sits quietly at the front door watching him when he comes through the neighborhood. After comparing the progress of Sadie’s training during her board and train to her progress of training at home, I will do the board and train for any future dogs. I have also recommended her to several friends and neighbors. One neighbor took our recommendation to send their pug to Blue Ridge Canine Maryland for board and train. When their pug came home, the change was remarkable! Sadie absolutely loves Brittany with Blue Ridge Canine Maryland. We cannot say Brittany in her presence because Sadie gets excited and starts looking for her. We will continue working with Blue Ridge Canine Maryland and will send Sadie for refreshers. I highly recommend Blue Ridge Canine Maryland and so does
Sadie.
Abbey Young
RORY
Before reaching out to Brittany at Blue Ridge Canine, I looked at many different training facilities. What made Blue Ridge Canine special to me was their ability to cater to the needs of my dog and I. Every other place just offered a cut and dry “this is exactly what your dog will
learn” program. When I met Brittany, she was great. Very professional yet personable! During the meet and greet, I got to ask questions and Brittany was able to meet my Rory. After that meet and greet, I decided to send Rory to Brittany for a month and have never regretted it. I absolutely loved that I was constantly updated with pictures and videos so I could still see her and see what she was learning. Once Rory came home, Brittany helped us both by giving us the tools and knowledge to continue her path of learning. It has been over year now since sending her to training and I continue to work with Brittany on anything that needs more work. Before sending Rory, she struggled with being calm, busy environments with other dogs and people, and trusting me. After that month and continuing with her training myself and with Brittany, she is now more relaxed, good with busy environments, and we have built a relationship! If you want a place to train, board, and help your dog, I cannot recommend a better place than Blue Ridge Canine.
The Stewart's
DAISY
From Skittish and Shy to Calm and Confident
We cannot say enough good things about our experience with Blue Ridge Canine's board and train program and trainer Brittany! We got our dog Daisy at 14 weeks, but she was already so afraid of the world around her. Despite settling into our home, she was skittish anywhere else. Also, being a Husky/Great Pyreneese mix, we knew she was going to be a large and active dog, so we wanted to be sure that she wouldn't run over our then 18-month old son, and that we could control her behavior given her size.
Brittany did an amazing job with her, and when she came home, we had a pup who was much more calm, confident, and controlled in her behaviors. In the house, she knows when she can have fun and play, but she also knows when she needs to listen. She is amazing with our son and two teenagers, as well as other kids that come into the house. I can now go on walks with her even pushing a stroller by myself and know that she will stay by my side. Even better for us is the amazing recall she has learned, being able to run free off-leash in our unfenced yard and on acres of family property that we visit frequently.
Daisy can still be shy with strangers and new situations, because the reality is that training doesn't automatically override a dog's past experiences and innate personality. But the point is that we know how to keep her calm and focused and work her through it. Without a doubt, we know our positive experience and strong relationship with Daisy has been enhanced by the wonderful training she received. We would highly recommend Blue Ridge Canine to anyone who wants to go that extra mile with their pup!
The Keefer's
STELLA
We are so grateful to Brittany for giving Stella the opportunity to change her behavior and make our lives better. When we reached out to Brittany Stella was very dog aggressive and needed more basic obedience. Stella’s aggression towards our two other dogs had reached its peak and I told my son (Stella’s official owner) that he needed to rehome her or find a trainer. When he found Brittany and we met I knew we had found someone that could really help. Brittany is extremely knowledgeable, compassionate, and consistent. She had Stella for 6 weeks, Stella was very determined to not change but Brittany was patient, gentle and now we have a much happier dog and family. Brittany sent us updates with pictures and videos of her progress and met with us to reintroduce her to our “friends pack” so that everyone felt comfortable. If you are looking for trainer look no farther Brittany she is awesome!
Just wanted to write a quick thank you for all of the work you’ve done over the years with Tootsie! As you know, we adopted her in April of 2019 at 4 months old from a local rescue group. Although I had had puppies before, it had been a long time and I wasn’t quite prepared for such an energetic dog. I was truly at my wits end when I contacted you about a board and
train for Toots. It turned out to be exactly what we needed. We really appreciated your knowledge and flexibility. We also appreciated the “at home” follow-up lessons after her training session.
Over the past four years, we’ve enjoyed being able to complete brush up sessions with you as well. We know having a dog is a lifetime commitment and are so happy we found you and been able to continue our learning journey. Over the past four years, Tootsie has evolved into an awesome dog! She is very active in the Frederick community (becoming somewhat of a local celebrity), is active on social media platforms and now works with other local rescue organizations on fundraising efforts! We have so much fun with Tootsie and wherever we go wealways get compliments on her good manners. We could not have done any of this without you! We are looking forward to what thenext few years will bring for Toots! And to our continued relationship with you!
The Shockey's
GRADY
I wanted to share the story of my Goldendoodle, Grady. Grady came to my family from a breeder in Western Maryland. As advertised, the breed is extremely friendly, loving, and always willing to please “her humans”. My husband and I got Grady as our kids were growing up and leaving home. I guess you could call us empty nesters, wanting to fill our house with some more love with a dog. One thing I insisted on was any dog we got to have good manners. I dislike dogs who are always jumping, hyper, or unaware of social boundaries. Grady knew her boundaries of the yard, but when it came to anyone outside of our immediate family, she
barked incessantly for no apparent reason. I was always concerned if our neighbor kids came into our yard to say hi whenever Grady was out. She would get so excited that she would jump into them. At one point, she made our sweet neighbor girl cry. The final thing that happened was getting an email from a delivery driver because Grady apparently got to close to her, and I needed to show proof of her rabies vaccine. All these things made me realize I needed help with training. Brittany was the perfect fit for what we needed. Brittany visited us to come up with an initial plan. Due to Grady having social anxiety and generalized insecurities, we decided that the Board and Train option would work best while we went away on an extended vacation. That was the best decision we could have made! While we were away, Grady learned to trust Brittany and feel confident in herself. Grady learned
patience and behaviors that enabled her to go out places without it being difficult. Brittany worked on her learning a “place” to help her feel secure when people come to our house. I’m happy to say that
appliance delivery guys, UPS delivery people, and even our neighbors have said how much better she is doing. We even had the fun experience of our vet saying how impressed he was with her behavior at her last appointment. Most recently, Grady impressed her groomers by having confidence unlike she demonstrated in all previous visits. Brittany did an outstanding job teaching Grady leash skill. I can take Grady to stores, now, and she isn’t scared or jumping when she hears loud noises. I’m also very proud to say that I don’t even feel that she
is beside me when we go walking together. No more pulling or choking and gagging like she did before we met Brittany. Both my husband and I are very grateful for having our dog training assisted with Brittany. Her knowledge, care, and compassion with Grady has made a very large difference in our dogs behaviors. We are very appreciative for her expertise.
Linda Downs
RUGER
A year ago we got a 8 week old male Rottweiler. After 2 months we were at our wits end. He didn’t listen, was possessive with his toys, wouldn’t walk on a leash, he just didn’t respond to any type of our training.
My neighbor suggested that we take him to Brittany Engel at Sunchaser Kennels. After her evaluation she suggested the 2 week puppy camp for Ruger. This was the best thing we could have done. When he came home he would now obey general commands (sit, heal, come, down and watch). She also trained us on how to continue with and to keep making progress with his new training plan.
We then signed him up for the Manners and Obedience training when he turned 8 months old. After that session was over Ruger became even more responsive than ever to keep training for us. He is an amazing respectful 1 year old Rottweiler who wouldn’t be the same without Brittany's highly recommended training.
If you love your new dog you can’t go wrong with Brittany at Sunchasers, especially if it is a large breed dog and they are a little bull-headed.
Thank you Brittany, Ruger is now a perfect gentleman!
The Gosnell's
FINN
I can't begin to tell you how amazing our 1.5 year old lab Finn is now after working with Brittany and her crew. He was a wonderful dog before and now is top notch. We wanted a dog that could be off leash out back. We wanted a quick recall and good manners and WOW did we get it. He has the Ecollar and we don't even really need to use it. I would compare it to a tens machine. It does not hurt me at all. He was gone for 1 month which was so hard. But...Brittany updated us all the time with videos and pictures. Even took him to the vet for an allergy issue while there. She loves all her animals and trainee's. You can tell how passionate she is about her job. I would (and have) recommended her to anyone. She came back with our dog and walked us around the neighborhood and showed us all of his commands and it is really amazing. I joked that I would like to enroll my kids with her. We will even have a follow up appt soon to go over any questions or issues. Highly recommend her. Blue Ridge Canine and sunchaser are lovely and worth every penny.
The Brant's
GROOT
Brittany did an amazing job with our Great Dane, Groot! He did her 4 week board and train program and came back a new pup! Before his training program he was very reactive to people and dogs and also very frightened of pretty much everything. He came home with confidence and the understanding of so many commands that he did not know/listen to prior to his training. It was hard to make the decision to do the board and train and not have him at home, but Brittany took such good care of him and sent us updates all the time! I could tell Groot had such a great time at training and really enjoyed it.
The Peterson's
JUDE
We brought our young rambunctious Jude to Brittany and the transformation was amazing!! Jude had no personal space manners and pulled constantly on walks. After two weeks of training, Jude came back to us with manners, basic command skills, she could place, heel, and be off leash. We can now enjoy relaxing in the house without being climbed on and scratched, as well as play a great game of fetch in our own yard (this pup loves running). Brittany not only trained Jude, but she also trained us to be better owners. We learned proper training techniques and what makes them work! She dispelled myths and worries about using prong and E-Collars, and gave us recommendations on other dog equipment to use. While Jude was away training, we received video and adorable photo updates of Jude. It was amazing to see our wild child turn around so fast into this amazing obedient dog! We are very excited to continue training with Brittany and hope to work on being able to go to outdoor cafes and restaurants without a ruckus!
Brit Reece
BOBA
I'm not usually the "leave a review" type, but what has happened with Boba, my four year-old mixed terrier, has to be shared for others to see.
I adopted him at 8 weeks old, and a few months later, it was clear to me that he would need professional training one day. I searched for the right trainer for over two years, and only through a random encounter, was I able to find Brittany (the owner of Blue Ridge Canine MD).
When we had our first consultation, I knew we had finally found the right fit for him. Before Boba went into Brittany's care, he was stubborn, distracted, unpredictable, and primitive. This was only amplified by my own behavior, where I allowed him to do whatever he wanted when he wanted to do it.
During training, he was gone for four straight weeks (hardest part). While away, Brittany and her team laid an amazing foundation and sent me updates daily on his progress. The attached picture is from one of his many adventures with Brittany. You could tell he was having the time of his life with her while in training.
Only being back home for a couple of days now, there is already far less stress in the house. There was also a smooth transition and hand-off of his commands, tools, and practices when he was given back to me. I'm so incredible thankful to Brittany and everyone else on her team that helped me get control over Boba. Money well spent, and I would recommend their services to anyone seriously looking to make a change in their pet's behavior and habits!!!