From the very beginning, Christa was amazing. I had a 5-month-old Golden Retriever and was preparing to move across the country, so I wanted to get my puppy into training before the move. Christa was incredibly helpful, flexible with my tight schedule, and made it clear from day one that her #1 priority is the dogs.

Throughout the entire board-and-train process, she was communicative, transparent, and professional. She consistently updated me on my dog’s progress, highlighting both his strengths and the areas he still needed to work on.

Wrapping up training was seamless, and the level of obedience and skills Christa is able to teach is truly incredible. Even during my move — and long after the board-and-train ended — she continued to make herself available 24/7 for advice, tips, and support based on real experience. That kind of dedication is rare and speaks volumes about how much she genuinely cares about the dogs she works with.

I can’t recommend Christa enough.

Christa changed my life, and I trust her more than anyone with my dog.

Last year, I adopted a black lab mix puppy named Lucy from a rescue. She had spent the first 10 months of her life alone on the east side of Cleveland, and while she was incredibly sweet, she was also deeply anxious and fearful. She would break the bars on her crate, digging into the carpet if left alone, and start shaking the moment she realized we were about to leave the house. She also didn’t know how to safely interact with other dogs. Her default reaction was fear and aggression, and after a few dog fights, I was terrified to have her around other dogs at all.

I would worry about walks, worry about leaving her alone, worry about trusting anyone else with her. My mental health was suffering because of how severe her anxiety had become. Everyone around me told me to rehome her, but I knew Lucy was not a bad dog. She was the sweetest girl who simply needed help, structure, and someone who understood her.

My boyfriend had used Koena K9 services before, so I reached out to Christa. From the very first phone call, Christa immediately started helping me even before we were officially booked. You can tell instantly that she genuinely cares about these dogs.

Lucy completed Christa’s board and train program, and the transformation was unbelievable. Watching Lucy’s progress through Koena K9’s instagram stories, I was amazed. With Christa’s guidance, structure, and training methods, Lucy started becoming more confident almost immediately. Her anxiety dramatically improved, she learned how to safely coexist with other dogs, and she finally felt secure.

Lucy is now a completely different dog. She peacefully sleeps in her crate, confidently goes on off-leash hikes, and I don’t have to worry when we see another dog or person on a walk. The freedom and peace Christa gave both of us is impossible to put into words.

When I say Christa changed our lives, I truly mean it. She didn’t just improve Lucy’s quality of life but she improved mine too. Lucy is happier, calmer, and confident now, and I finally feel like I can fully enjoy life with my dog.

I will recommend Christa over and over again to anyone who needs help with their dog. What she does is incredible, and I will never be able to thank her enough.

We were seriously considering re-homing our 7-month-old puppy… until we met Christa.

At first, the thought of sending her to a 4-week board-and-train program seemed daunting, but we knew something had to change. To give you an idea of how far we’ve come: the last walk I took our puppy on before Christa’s training, she would jump up to bite my arm and drag me down the street. She was reactive to dogs, bikes, and cars. She would bite us and bark non-stop.

Christa’s training was truly transformational. The first walk we took after her board and train, our puppy walked calmly behind us the entire time—completely non-reactive. She started playing with us instead of biting us. The difference was unbelievable.

We were nervous about leaving our dog with someone else for a whole month, but the socialization was great and Christa posted many videos on social media, so we could see our puppy having fun and learning. We also had a midway training session where we got to see her in person and witness the progress she was making.

We were also worried that training might dull her personality or take away her goofiness and sass. It didn’t at all! She’s still the same goofy, sassy, sweet little girl. She just now understands boundaries and has a lot more confidence. The best of both worlds!!

When we first got our puppy, seeing other dogs off-leash on walks felt like a distant dream. Now, we enjoy daily off-leash runs at the park and let her go on pack hikes with Christa. My favorite feeling is witnessing her pure joy when she has a whole field to run around in and explore. I can’t imagine our evenings any other way, and now we get the next decade of off-leash adventures to look forward to. It’s so crazy to think how different our lives and her life would be had we not done this training with Christa.

If you have a puppy—or a reactive, stubborn, or disobedient dog— we strongly recommend sending them to Christa. Nowadays, it’s extremely hard to find someone you can trust with your fur baby. People had stopped giving us recommendations because they couldn’t confidently recommend the trainers they saw. We can confidently recommend Christa.

We couldn’t recommend Christa with Koena K9 enough! We have four dogs. AKA “the Mafia Boys” (Capone, Gotti, Lucci, and Sal). Trusting someone with them is no small thing. From the moment we met her, we knew they were in amazing hands.

She goes above and beyond with hikes, walks, playtime, and socialization, making sure they are not just cared for but truly happy and engaged. You can tell she genuinely loves what she does and treats every dog like her own.

I’ll admit, I’m a bit of a helicopter mom, so one of my favorite things is how active she is on Instagram. Being able to check in and see updates of our boys having the best time gives me so much peace of mind.

If you’re looking for someone who will love your dogs as much as you do, KoenaK9 is it!

We completed a 4 week board and train with Christa and felt it was worth every penny. Our 1.5 year old cavapoo is now able to come so many more places with us, spend time safely off leash, and has way more freedom in the house because he is no longer destructive and getting into trouble. He is generally more calm and confident interacting with other dogs and humans. Christa did a great job instructing the humans how to maintain the training. It is evident that Christa is very passionate about what she does and absolutely loves all the dogs she trains! We would highly recommend her!