Reviews (29)

I would highly recommend Natalie and Balanced Beginnings for anyone looking to train their dog properly. Natalie was extremely perfessional and very easy to communicate with. Our dog, Benson, did the two week board and train program and completely changed for the better. Natalie continues to communicate with us and we look forward to future sessions with her to continue Benson's improvement.

Natalie trained my 5yo recently adopted dog for 3 weeks. She had a lot of separation and general anxiety, low confidence, daily accidents, 0 leash manners, and fear of other people. Goldie returned with higher confidence, flawless leash-walking skills (no more distractions or pulling and I look forward to our walks now), hadn’t had accidents, and is fully crate-trained. She has improved immensely with separation anxiety due to the crate training. Natalie knows that all dogs require different training needs and tailored the program to best fit. Couldn’t recommend enough!

Natalie literally changed our lives. We had our 7 year old husky/shepherd mix trained last year, and she’s a new dog. We did a 3 week board and train, and it was worth every penny. The peace of mind it provides has been invaluable. Akira now walks on a leash perfectly, doesn’t bark at delivery men, and has perfect recall when she’s running around off leash. We were even able to add two new kittens to our family that Akira has tolerated wonderfully. We’d never dreamed of that before finding Natalie!

It's been one week since Mr. Bean has returned from his 4-week training camp. The changes I've seen have been enormous. I'm truly grateful for all of the work Natalie's done with Mr. Bean as his reactivity was a constant stressor. With her help, Mr. Bean is calmer and less anxious. If you are dealing with a difficult dog, I highly recommend Natalie's expertise before giving up!

Do you have a dog that… surfs counters, has endless energy, won’t settle down, steals socks, is reactive to people, is reactive to dogs and is maybe even territorial or aggressive? Well, with exception of the last two items, we used to too until we met Natalie at Balanced Beginnings K9. All I can say is WOW! I did not know what to expect when I saw our 1-year-old Lab Sadie after her 2-week board-and-train, but I was introduced to a “new” dog that listened, followed commands, and gave love when allowed… MAGIC! Highly recommended!

I was extremely happy with Balanced Beginnings K9. Natalie is very together and knows exactly How to train your dog using several methods combined. Upon completion of training, she Spends a good hour with you educating you to Follow up on the training. I highly recommend Balanced Beginnings K9 to anyone looking for A really professional and sound dog trainer.

I brought my 5 year old boxer in to balanced beginnings for training and I couldn’t recommend it more! We’re a few months out from training and he has been successful in navigating crowds at sporting events, went into a busy store with me, wandered glassfest in Corning! He used to get extremely overwhelmed and anxious, especially around men and he now walks along side me with no tension on the leash and will let just about anyone pet him! If you need help with your dog’s behaviors, definitely consider balances beginnings K9!

EXPECTATIONS. A key word to having a very well trained and behaving dog. My vet recommended balance beginnings to my wife and I for dog training. YES, very hard to be away from her for 2 weeks, BUT well worth our missing her. Both Natalie and Li, did a superb job on teaching our 7 month old Lab to behave and listen to commands. We picked her up on Sept. 5th after her training was complete. We followed both Natalie and Li's advice to continue to work with her at home using the commands that she has been trained for. This was an unbelievable experience for us. She is so well behaved in her commands to stay in place, walking, coming to us on command, no chewing, no eating outside materials when in the yard, no jumping, and just an overall well behaved dog. just such a pleasure. I would VERY HIGHLY recommend this duo for dog training no matter the age. This training has added an extra special pleasure for an older couple to have such a well trained dog. We thank them both for their experienced training, setting expectations for our dog, and being just a super friendly duo to us now and in the future. Do not let the cost scare you away. It was well worth the cost and the SAFETY of our loved pet.

My dog Nellie just finished with with Natalie at Balanced Beginnings K9, and we are absolutely elated with the results we got. We have worked with so many trainers throughout our training journey with Nellie, and Natalie was the first who was able to give us the tools and support to get Nellie past a plateau of pushiness, bratty behavior, and cat issues. We are so excited to have the freedom that balanced training brings to a dog owner relationship, and could not have gotten that without Natalie and Balanced Beginnings K9.

If you are seriously looking for professional dog training, look no further! We recently finished a 2 week training/boarding phase for our 8 month old Siberian husky and he returned home a different obedient confident dog! Even within just 1-2 days they had him walking next to their side without pulling you all over! We traveled over an hour to seek their help and the reward was well worth the traveling!! The insight and tools they implemented will keep Luca on the right path. Please offer your dog the opportunity to show their full potential! Choose them and I promise you will not be disappointed!

Our dog was highly reactive towards other dogs and had a difficult time staying calm on walks. After completing the 4 week training course, she is a new dog. Walks easily at our side now, and while she still is a little reactive towards new dogs, she has made drastic improvements in controlling her excitement in those situations. All of our friends are amazed at how she's changed and we couldn't have gotten here without BBK9's help!

Natalie was awesome! She worked with our 6-7 month old German Shepherd for 8 day-train sessions. It was amazing to see the progress after just a couple days. Our pup is now obedient and understands her place in the pack. She walks beautifully on the leash, even with our 5-year-old daughter, comes, and lays down calmly when told. Thank you, Natalie!

To any dog owner struggling right now… keep reading… I picked up my dog Lucy from a 2 week board and train with Natalie. My husband and I were super nervous to leave our 8 month old cockapoo and wondered what could really change in only 2 weeks. After months of struggling with leash pulling, jumping and reactivity we felt helpless and frustrated. I’m here to tell you our dog has returned home with all the tools to know the rules and behavior to make her a different dog. We now call her “Lucy 2.0”😊 Walks on the leash now completely loose and enjoyable. Counter surfing and jumping gone. Lucy is still our playful, loving, energetic girl. She now just understands what is expected and we have the tools to keep teaching her. We even went to Home Depot day one home with Lucy at our side tail wagging and happy.what a joy! Natalie’s expertise and patience are amazing. Clear direction and support for us as owners at our training session and now at home give us the confidence we can obtain all the results we are looking for. BEST decision ever to leave Lucy with Natalie. Anyone struggling at all… I can’t say enough . Natalie is amazing and we are forever grateful!

If you are a stressed out owner at the end of your rope and don’t know what else to do, reach out to Natalie! WE DROVE 6 HOURS just to get her expertise! My dog had reactive issues like jumping at cars, leash pulling, barking, no recall at all and many more bad habits. Like most of you reading this my dog is my baby and I was very nervous to leave her with anyone for a board and train but I felt completely comfortable and confident that we were leaving our dog in very capable hands. However no board and train program is a cure all, it take just as much work for the owners to learn and stick with a new way but Natalie taught us a new way and months later we are still seeing daily improvements. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Cannot say enough good things about BBK9. I wish I met Natalie sooner! She built the foundation and gave us the tools to go from having a pet to having a companion. Our dog Cash struggled with leash manners and over excitement in the home and car. We opted for the 4 week day train program and in that time Cash did a total 180 in behavior all thanks to Natalie and Li! Now, almost a year later, by continuing to implement the tools and steps Natalie taught, we are able to take Cash with us on road trips with ease, off leash walks and our family even asks to make sure we are bringing him with us to gatherings because he’s such a joy to have around! If you’re on the fence about investing in training with BBK9, let this be your sign to do it. You won’t regret it! You and your dog will thank you.

12/10 experience!!! I have a 3 year old hound that struggled with chewing, barking, leash pulling, and recall. The board and train program was 100% successful. Beau came back a well trained dog. Natalie gave me the tools that I need to keep up the training with beau and we are 3 weeks in - I can honestly say I did not think he was going to be this consistent. She not only trained beau but me as well. I do not think I would have gotten such a great experience anywhere else.

We had known for quite some time that our dog needed more help and tools than we could give him. Our ability to have a cohesive relationship with him was nearly impossible given his behaviors. By happenstance, we came across the BalancedBeginningsK9 page and saw Natalie working with the very issues that we were struggling with. The only difference between her and other trainers we have worked with and looked into is that Natalie’s methods work! And I don’t mean wait 6 months and you might start to see improvement. I mean things began to change immediately. Over the course of working with Natalie we learned our shortcomings in being able to set consistent, meaningful and actionable boundaries for our dog. Our only regret is that we waited so long to reach out to Natalie at BalancedBeginningsK9.

My 7 month old Goldendoodle has returned home a calmer and more confident puppy! She was given a solid foundation of basic obedience skills, that allow us to enjoy her even more. As much as the training was for my puppy, I have the tools and guidance to be able to help her along in the process. The recall and walk is life changing, allowing more freedom and fun. She's able to stay in place and calm herself when she's overly excited or feeling nervous. Bad habits like jumping and counter surfing are nearly nonexistent in just two weeks. I only wish I would have brought her sooner!

Natalie and BBK9 are so great at what they do-- I have complete confidence in their process, the resources they provide and the training that they provide the dog -- AND the owner. I would use BBK9 again, for any dog. Essentially, she provides the tools we need to communicate with our pet, and for him to be able to learn and understand our expectations of him. So glad we worked with Natalie and BBK9!

My experience was incredible! My dog was having a hard time with recall and leash pulling and in just one private session, he is already a much better dog. Natalie trained me in this session just as much as she trained my dog. I now feel like I have the tools and knowledge to continue his training on my own. I’m so grateful for this experience and I would recommend this business to anyone!

This evening my family visited a local ice cream stand for a little treat. Laying next to our table was our dog, Scout, calm and cool as a cucumber, not reacting to the several other customers walking by. Before we left, we let her off leash to play a few rounds of fetch in a nearby field. Last weekend I took her to the lake for a paddle board outing. Tomorrow I plan to hit up one of my favorite trails for another off leash adventure. All of this is possible bc of her recent two week board and train with Natalie. Scout, our 11 month old golden retriever, has always been our “good girl”, but now she truly is our dream dog. She’s still the same goofy, loveable golden, but calm and obedient inside our home, and able to be a bigger part of our active lifestyle outside our home. Natalie’s training is well worth the investment for a lifetime of happy adventures with your dog. We couldn’t be happier with Scout’s training and our entire experience with Balanced Beginnings K9. Thank you, Natalie!

I cannot say enough good things about Natalie/Balanced Beginnings K9! She is incredibly knowledgeable, kind, and talented. She worked miracles with our foster dog Blaze, taking a sweet boy with no doggy manners and turning him into an even sweeter, well-behaved, balanced, confident pup! And thanks to Natalie's work, Blaze was able to find his forever home ❤️ Highly highly recommend!!

Balanced Beginnings K9 was the shining light for our rescue pup. The sweetest boy with no manners to speak of. The board and train program was monumental in his successful adoption. They went to work right away with immediate results communicating every detail each day. These people are the “real deal” with a genuine love for dogs and enormous hearts of gold. Well worth the price and I highly recommend their services. So thankful for them each and every day. 👍

In January of this year, an adorable, tiny, eight week Bichon became part of our family. “Cash”is an adorable pup, full of energy as a puppy should be, but this made it very difficult to catch him or get him to settle down at all. He also thought peeing in front of the refrigerator was a good idea. 🥴. We live on 4 acres, and on a very busy country road. After trying on our own for the next 4 months to train Cash, We knew for his safety we had to get professional training. Natalie came highly recommended... we gave her a call, and fortunately she had an opening the following week..... We dropped Cash off on a Monday and after meeting Natalie we had no reservations about leaving him with her. Her comforting demeanor put us at ease for sure. We received videos nightly, and were amazed at how quickly he was becoming a pup with manners and following simple commands. When we received a video showing Natalie walking at the dike, with our pup OFF leash, we were blown away. On day 14, we met with Natalie prior to taking Cash home. We played with him in her yard OFF leash, walked at the dike OFF leash , an enjoyable ( unbelievable) time for all of us! We walked him on leash in her neighborhood... with no pulling and reviewed the simple commands he had learned during his stay! All in all, my husband and I were both amazed at how far our once unruly pup had come!! We returned home, and Cash continues to follow commands and It’s obvious he is a much happier dog knowing what is expected of him. Small dogs need training just like large dogs do....Prior to training, we panicked when someone opened a door, worried Cash would get out, go into the woods or into the road. Now Cash waits AT the threshold for us to let them know it’s OK for him to pass through! This is a very lengthy review, I just wanted to share our amazing experience And to let you know that if you’re looking for training for any size dog, give Natalie a call. Your entire household will be happier!!!😉👍🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Natalie did so much for my family and our dog, maddy, she was extremely human and dog reactive so we sent her to a 3 week board and train! not only were we happy with the results but so was Maddy, our dog loved her and we appreciate everything natalie has done for us!

Natalie and Li worked with our Great Pyrenees mix, Cora with her resource guarding with food. She actually attacked my 4 other dogs and actually punctured one of them. She was there for 3 weeks and we now have a well behaved dog. They did an excellent job training me so I can continue the great results they achieved with Cora. I highly recommend them for any issues you might have with your dogs! Thank you Natalie & Li.

I can’t say enough great things about Balanced Beginnings K9! We are now able to enjoy spending time with our 6 month old Goldendoodle without the stress of jumping, biting, counter surfing, and leash pulling.

Absolutely wonderful experience!!!