About Comfy Critters Pet Services

What it is

"We are a dog boarding and training facility located in Union City,Mi." The address given is "1211 Burlington Road, Union City, MI 49094, US."

Who runs it

Christin Benoit, who tells how she started: "When I was 8 years old my aunt handed me the leash to her red Doberman who she regularly showed and began to show me how to work with him. I was hooked from the beginning. Living a life in the country I had spent a lot of time with animals." She credits that childhood with her approach: "Wild animals, domesticated, I spent a lot of time always observing how they interacted with each other, how they communicated with each other. I believe it built the basis of how I work with animals."

Credentials the site claims

"Christin Benoit is a CPDT-KA certified professional dog trainer. She also is Certified through Cooperative Paws as a Service dog coach."

Method

"She believes in a reward based fear-free learning platform, teaching your dog more of what to do." Her own line on it: "Training should be fun for both you and your Dog! If you are not enjoying the time learning with your dog and your dog is not enjoying it then neither of you will enjoy working with each other."

Classes, with prices

Group classes are published with schedules and tuition. Basic Good Manners runs "for 6 weeks on Thursday evenings from 5:30-6:30pm," tuition "$215," including "6 in person sessions located in Union City, Michigan, 10 online learning videos." An AKC Canine Good Citizen class runs "6 one hour classes every Thursday evening," tuition "$200," and "Includes CGC testing on the 6th class." A Good Manners advanced "Games" class is six Thursday sessions at "$210," requiring the basic class or Puppy 2 first. Hounds on the Town is held off-site: "classes take place 'on the town', incorporating urban or public settings into the curriculum," "Tuition is $175 for this 4 week class," "There is room for 8 teams." Puppy Kindergarten is "7 In-person classes," "$285," for "a puppy between the ages of 10 weeks and 18 weeks," first session owners-only, with an AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy test at the end.

Day School

A drop-off program with a documented routine. "Day School sessions are Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 8:30am to 4:30pm (drop off and pick up available from 7:30am to 5:30pm)," and "space is limited to 4 students each day." Each dog is worked alone: "Each dog is worked with individually with each session video-taped for the convenience of the family to view at home." Owners receive "a 'pawgress' report" at the end of each day. Packages are "4 sessions is $340 ($85 a day), 6 session is $450 ($75 a day), 12 sessions is $780 ($65 a day)." The site is clear about who it does not suit: "this program is not suited for dog or people aggressive dogs."

Also offered

Boarding, virtual one-to-one Zoom coaching, and a step-by-step virtual puppy curriculum with "over 80 step by step learning videos."

Before you book

Ask about boarding rates.