Good Dog AcademyTestimonials
"Our experience with “Good Dog Academy” has been outstanding. Gila has a loving approach to dog training and our young terrier mix has responded beautifully. She was able to customize the training by addressing our family’s specific needs in our own home – something that’s difficult to achieve in a group setting.
Her follow up is excellent and includes summaries from each training session. We often revert back to those summaries so we can remember what we need to continue working on. We will refer “Good Dog Academy” to our friends again and again!" --Susan + Lulu
"Gila Kurtz is not only my friend, she taught me to train my precious Schatz. Schatz is a Bichon Frise with a cute and stubborn personality. Gila taught me how to train with positive reinforcement. She taught me how to jolly my puppy along and get her to sit with voice command. Shatz will get off of furniture with the voice command, "off". She is a happy 1 yr old puppy and well behaved. Gila taught me you don't need to pull on the leash or use a choke collar. If you reward your puppy with praise, your puppy will do as you ask when commands are properly taught and reinforced.
Due to Gila's inspirational training I am now an Instructor training Explosive Detection Canine (EDC) and Service Dogs (SD)." --Beth + Schatz
"WE LOVE GILA! Reggie is a 3-year old English Springer Spaniel who has been with me for one year. He’s very smart and very full of himself – so much so that I needed to learn how to channel his enthusiasm into acceptable behavior. Enter Gila – after two sessions, Reggie is staying in place under voice and/or hand signals, maintains the stay while he waits for his meals (albeit with some vocalization and drooling), and doesn’t jump on me when we are preparing for a walk – in other words, SUCCESS. Although he was already leash trained, “we” both learned how to walk much more comfortably under Gila’s loving and “pawsitive” approach. I have and will continue to recommend Gila to anyone who wants a wonderful dog trainer! -- Linda + Reggie
"To whom it may concern:
Being in the Marine Corps has taught me discipline, obedience,and loyalty, just to name a few. I signed up for Mrs. Kurtz’s class to teach
the Marine Corps Security Force Company Bangor’s mascot the same thing.
Not only did Mrs. Kurtz instill this into the Mascot, she taught me how to better handle my companion dog. She has instilled many qualities into my dog and myself, but the best of all is the way she handles all of her students, both human and dog
alike.
Mrs. Kurtz is a very hand’s on type of
instructor, if there is a problem, she will handle it
in a very professional and expedient manner.
I am not only recommending Mrs. Kurtz’s classes, I
envy those that take them, the experience of working
with her and her "can do" attitude is a pleasure in
it's own sense. All the time and effort that you may
be putting into the class is doubled if not tripled by
her and her own animals.
I can only hope for more free time, to take another
class or two, to pick up a few more characteristics
from Mrs. Kurtz."
Semper Fidel
Dale R. Barbitta Sgt./USMC
"To Whom it May Concern,
It is our pleasure to provide a letter of recommendation for Gila Kurtz, owner of Good Dog Academy. We attended Gila's "Basic Manners" class for dog obedience in late 2004. Gila's positive training techniques and one-on-one attention during each class session yielded tremendous results with our year old black Labrador. Her course of instruction built upon simple commands to achieve consistent response from our high-spirited dog. She provided handouts detailing the concepts and techniques introduced at each session. We refer back to these handouts as we continue to review and reinforce the training concepts.
Gila is a natural instructor and animal trainer who absolutely loves dogs. She continues to build on her extensive animal behavior expertise through formal training courses and participation in professional organizations. She encourages her students to contact her between classes if questions or unexpected behaviors arise. We would have loved to continue our dog obedience training with Good Dog Academy."
--Carol, James + Roxy"Good Dog Academy was a great experience for us. After the 7 week course, we did not recognize our puppy; he had learned his name, to come, sit, stay, and lie down on command, all of which helped us to train him further. He was able to learn fun new tricks like shake, catch, and fetch, and we are continuing to train him even further. Our dog Spartacus is a very excitable, highly energetic dog, but he knows that when he is at home, he needs to be very well behaved. Thanks Gila."
"Working with Gila was a rewarding and fun experience for both myself and my dog. As a result of her classes and techniques, my family and I have a well behaved pet that we can take anywhere."
"Glia's techniques and approach are targeted, yet at the same time simple to implement and easy to stick with."
"I cannot say enough about how much fun Gila's classes are to attend and how much I learned about dog behavior and targeted training. I would recommend every puppy or dog owner attend at least one full session of her basic training classes. You and your family will never regret making the investment in a well- behaved dog." -- June + Raven
"Right before Christmas our family and our neighbors adopted two black
lab puppies from the same litter. Gila was so kind and granted my
request to add just one more puppy so the puppies could be in class
together. Right away Gila pointed out that our Roxie was a very shy and
timid dog, which we hadn't picked up on at all. She gave us very
personalized training to help little Roxie come out of her shell.
Gila's techniques brought immediate results and people couldn't believe
what a well trained puppy we had. Now Roxie is 8 months old and she
still responds to all the techniques we learned in the "kindergarten"
class. Each time a friend meets Roxie at our home they can't believe
that she's only 8 months old and so well behaved. Roxie has been a
wonderful addition to our family and because we received such
outstanding training in the beginning we've really been able to enjoy
her rather than experience the all to frequent "burden" that a sometimes
a dog can bring to a family
-- Kelle Horne
Bravo to Gila! Over the course of five sessions, Gila made our puppy
manageable. Luke Skywalker, or "Nutball" as we affectionately call
him, is a big loveable Chocolate Lab whose excitement can overrun any
rationality, both his and ours. He had taken another puppy obedience
course, during which we learned sit, down, and stay, but were also
advised to have him chase a laser pointer to expend energy at night.
Big mistake. Lukey developed a severe problem with chasing light and
shadow movement, and every time we opened the door and the light
reflected off the windown pane, he ran me, my partner, and our five
year old over. At 82 lbs., that's a lot of puppy power! We felt very
frustrated. He knew how to behave, was smart enough, but really
couldn't get out of the shadow-chasing cycle.
Enter Gila! She taught us to manage and divert. After covering any
reflections we could, giving him Rescue Remedy and Valerian in his
water dish, putting a leash on while indoors (to slow him down), we've
seen incredibly improvement. And following her suggestions, we
exercise him more than ever -- two days to doggie day camp or the dog
park or beach, walks, bike rides and play time. Watching Gila perform
the Clicker Training is awesome, too. Dogs catch on quick: if they
act correctly, they heard the sound and get a treat. Luke improved on
the walks, too, with the treats and our energetic "Let's go!" and
whistling and making crazy sounds that -- yes -- are crazy, but Luke
loves. And they work.
emails that summarized what we'd done and needed to practice,
researched Luke's shadow problem with other trainers, and was always
encouraging, efficient, and caring. A+! Her experience means that
she has knowledge -- it seems that dog services are almost trendy, and
any weekend seminar turns anyone into a trainer. Gila, instead, has
years of experience behind her; that, her problem-solving abilities,
and her kind demeanor make her a great trainer. Even if you have a
nutball lab..."
"Can’t say enough great things about Gila and her ability to train dogs and, also, her great personality. We had a new puppy and, like a lot of dogs, Mia was going “puppy crazy” and my wife and I questioned our decision to get a dog. After we met Gila and she started working with our puppy, we saw a world of difference in Mia’s behavior and she went from being a hyperactive little dog to a well behaved pet and a great part of our family. What we were most impressed with though, was the positive reinforcement methods of training Gila employs. Nothing negative or forceful. Dogs just seem to love to behave for Gila. We are always getting positive comments about what a well behaved dog we have and people ask how did we get her to behave that way. We have given Gila’s number to several people and have only received positive feedback."-- Mike,Donna + Mia
"When we decided to get a puppy, Gila was there to help me with the decision of which breed to get based upon our needs, and provided me with books to read before the puppy even came home. When our puppy finally arrived, Gila was our dog trainer every step of the way. Not only did she help train the dog, she also trained me! She showed me how simple it can be to help a dog learn good manners and right behavior, so that as a result I have a puppy that is the perfect companion. Gila has a gentle and calming demeanor when working with my dog, and is a true animal lover. She's helped me over the phone with new questions that have arise as our puppy grows older. I would recommend Gila to anyone who wants to have a positive experience with these wonderful animals. Gila is a second mom to our Jaxie- when he sees her, his eyes light up!" -- Gayle + Jax