Reviews
"Middle Earth Canine Academy:Accessible, Intuitive, and Respectful"
"I approached Middle Earth Canine Academy when I found that I couldn't get past some training issues with my one year old rescue (lab/shepherd mix).
When I first got my dog about six months prior to formal training, he was deemed an escape artist and had me in tears more often than not on our walks, which were frequent in an effort to release some of his manic energy. He and I surely came a long way together with our own training attempts, but something was keeping us from passing a point in our collective stubborness.
I approached Middle Earth Canine Academy for private training sessions—eight weeks of basic obedience training—and was immediately welcomed into a very comfortable workspace where my instructor, Marjanna Wornell, described the lesson plan and asked what brought me there. I felt that Ms. Wornell made a good effort in listening to and understanding my training needs, and we talked about what our training would involve.
During training, I learned how to match energy levels with both correction and praise, and learned about the dog's various states of intent and how to be proactive and have wins during our training instead of being reactive and having to correct more often than not.
But mostly I learned how to be cooperative with my dog while still being a leader. We were able to establish boundaries and we began to work together—he wanted to cooperate and I started trusting him and allowing him to make choices.
Ms. Wornell is an excellent instructor who gave valuable and interesting insights and observations during our course. I felt she listened to my needs and worked with me and my dog to help us create the amazing bond that will be our foundation for many wonderful years. I found her end-of-training review to be encouraging and felt that her assessment of our progress was accurate.
I would whole-heartedly recommend Middle Earth Canine Academy. It's more than just dog training—it's teaching, leadership, and mutual respect. And it's fun! I'm very happy I went, and my boy was happy to go as well."
Scott T
"We enrolled ourselves and our five-year old Airedale Barney in Marjanna’s Basic Obedience class last winter. Barney was already basically obedient – but not reliable, especially on leash if he caught sight of a cat / squirrel / other dog who he thought needed a strong response. My partner and I had recently become less healthy than we were, and Barney’s sudden lunges had become both scarey and dangerous. The training that Marjanna did with us was geared to our needs and Barney’s disposition. With weekly classes and practice, we saw him slowly improve and now – even though we missed a few classes * – he is a different dog. Last Saturday we walked through the crowded Moss Street Market without incident. We both feel more relaxed when walking our dog, and it is lovely to watch Barney soak up the regular praise he gets from many people for being such a ‘good dog’.
* Marjanna told us we were welcome to attend the missed classes in the next session and initially we planned to do that, but we found we didn’t need it!"
Marsha W