Canine Behavior Center

Think twice before bringing your dog here. Someone I know brought their little dog here over christmas break. And Her little tiny dog who was around 10 and pretty timid. Was put in the big area with all size of dogs. All these dogs were left unattended for some time and one or a couple of the other big dogs literally ripped this little dog to shreds. When they founds the dog, he was barely alive. This shows gross negligence on this place. How can a place who is suppose to be caring for your dog not be watching for their safety when it comes to being around other dogs. STAY AWAY if you care about your dog!

Robin is great. She loves every dog that comes in. She is also amazingly patient with both the dogs and the owners. I would highly recommend any of her classes.

We’ve had our last 5 dogs graduate from Robin’s program. She is extremely positive and encouraging for each participant in the class, 2 and 4 legged. She has given us a great foundation and we are enjoying our walks and outings even more after completing her program. Thank You !

I took my dog to this place a few years back and posted a review at that time that fell into the ‘filtered’ section. I took one class and realized we were not a good fit. I requested my money back, or at lease a partial payment and Robin would not give me a dime. NOW I SEE A REVIEW WHERE SOMEONE GOT THEIR MONEY BACK.
What a ripoff! I would never recommend anyone to this establishment. Poor training methods and bad customer service. I still want my money back. Do you read these reviews Robin? YOU must be so proud to scam some of us like this. You’re darned right I’m still angry, 3+ years later!!!

Read up on dog training methods and animal behavior before you select a class for your dog. I did not know much about it until I’d already signed up for this class with my first dog. The training methods are old-​school «show ‘em who’s boss» techniques… pinch collars, choke collars, snap-​and-​release (in other words, jerk your dog by the neck), spray bottles, even something like an air horn to frighten your dog into not jumping up. I am now sorry that I submitted my gentle dog to this regimen, now that I’ve talked to others who train with kinder, more dog-​savvy techniques. I saw a guy who graduated from our class walking his dog around Green Lake one day (was walking behind him with my dog) and his entire walk consisted of yanking that dog’s leash even though it was walking nicely and growling «leave it» if his dog even looked at another dog. Can’t think it was very pleasant for that pup to think of going for a walk.

My dog and I just finished obedience class with CBC and I was very pleased at how well it went. I have been to a highly rated school in Issaquah with one of my other dogs and comparing both experiences, I have to say I learned more with Robin. I have a rare breed dog and when I took her to a school in Woodinville, I was very disappointed. The trainer there after several frustrating classes told me that she just didn’t know enough about my dog. I really felt it was her job to learn, or at least try. Robin on the other hand has a wide breadth of knowledge about a variety of breeds. She also encourages the participants in the classes to share so that everyone can learn ways to improve the relationship with their dogs. My dog listens to me now when there are distractions with other animals or people and I really owe that confidence I feel when I take her out to Robin. I highly recommend her to anyone who is looking for a trainer. I am sure she is just as good as a behaviorist, however, I did not need her for those services.

I have been taking Robin’s Advanced Obedience classes, consecutive sessions, for years. It’s not that I’m interesting in competing in obedience, I’m not. It’s become «date night» with my dog! Also, I value having a dog (s) that are well-​behaved and easy to live with.
I have watched Robin work with all kinds of dogs and people. Her approach is a positive one for both – working towards success, even if the dog or human are having trouble. It makes me feel great that Robin is a canine behaviorist, not someone that has printed up business cards and calls themselves a trainer. She knows how to read signs in dogs that are about to have a flare-​up with each other. This is important because dogs, like people, don’t always click. There are intact males in class sometimes and that can exasperate the situation. Robin offers suggested solutions to problem behavior, and alternatives if the owner’s prefer. I have watcher her work with rescue dogs and their people to turn troubled, unhappy dogs with «issues» into happy, confident furry kids.
My dog is smart and loves to learn. The challenge is he can get bored. I find Robin’s approach is varied, not repeating the same exercise in the same way 20,000 times as I have experienced in other training classes.
I love that I can call her with questions and I can refer friends to her classes or private sessions with confidence. I know there is no «one size fits all» in life, but for me, Robin’s classes and the Canine Behavior Center, is the go to place for dog information and training.

I went to Canine Behavior Center on a recommendation from a friend who had taken their puppy, I was impressed at how well she had done and so well behaved This was my first ever dog and I was concerned that I get it right because I had always noticed what huge importance of having a well behaved dog vs not can be. This was 5 years ago and I have continued on with advanced obedience, boarding, agility and now a second puppy. Our older dog is so well behaved that I can now take her to work with me (a place that had previously had a no dog policy) but she was so great that now I can’t NOT bring her because everyone loves to have her there! This is exactly what I was hoping for when I started!!!
The second dog is now doing the advanced class and he is on his way to becoming a well behaved guy too. Robin is very tuned in to dog behavior and how dogs think, she offers different methods on how to deal with problems that come up with different dogs. We love CBC, it is a great fit for us and our dogs, and if you are willing to spend the time to work on the things that Robin gives you in the class I am confident that you will have a positive experience.

I rescued a dog and took him to Phinney Ridge for the basic training class. I would not recommend this class. I think the approach of sitting around and watching while each dog performs does not work well; too much sitting and not enough feedback.
I am also appalled that Robin cannot remember any of the dogs or any of the issues we discussed from one class to another. I totally understand that she trains a lot of dogs and it is totally human not to remember everything but some recall and interest would help.
There definitely are better classes. After I finished the CBC class with my dog, I went to Great Dog and took their adolescent manner class. I learned so much from them. At each class there were several instructors so my dog and I got way more feedback. I also got a lot more ideas on dealing with issues in a positive way. All the dogs made so much progress in this class.
I would not recommend CBC; I would look around for alternatives.

Robin got in touch with me and apologized for my experience, as well as offered me a partial refund for our class. I appreciated her professionalism, even though her classes weren’t a good fit for us.

We take our dog to daycare and we love it! The daycare is in a covered horse arena. There is a huge amount of room for all the dogs to run around and play. The nice thing about this is, our dog is able to get exercise while not getting all muddy and dirty when it’s pouring down rain. The entire arena is covered in wood chips which is really nice to keep the dogs clean even when the are rolling around and playing. The staff is friendly and really seems to care. Sometimes at Christmas they will give a gift to the owners and your dog. We have also received the occasional photo of our dog enjoying her time at daycare. They appear to only hire staff that love dogs, and know how to treat them. I feel that my dog is in good hands after I drop her off there for the day.

We’ve been clients of Canine Behavior Center for over a year and have used all of their services– obedience classes, private training sessions with Robin, doggie daycare, and boarding.
As first time dog owners, we need help integrating a dog into our home. We learned the basics in Robin’s obedience course along with extra tips, tricks, and tools for specific problems that our dog exhibited in class. A private training session with Robin provided us specific tools to work on our problems. It took time and effort, but now that we can communicate effectively our dog, she is much better behaved, thanks to what we’ve learned from Robin. In fact, we get compliments on how well-​behaved she is. Robin even took the time to teach us how to use a new collar safely after we had already completed the training course.
We regularly use CBC’s doggie daycare and boarding services. Our dog, Snowy, is always thrilled to go to CBC and comes home happy and exhausted. My only minor quibble is how dirty our dog gets after a day at CBC, but the piece of mind we have with leaving her at CBC, far outweighs the extra baths.

PLEASE READ FILTERED REVIEWS! I wish I had.
I chose this place because of Unilocal.Please save yourself the mistake and do not choose something as important as your dog’s training based mainly on reviews from strangers who don’t go into detail. «She’s great!» «Perfect for all dogs!» Yeeaaahhh rigghhhtttt. I’ll save that type of Unilocaling for restaurants and stores. Warning: lots of detail ahead.
The classes were just ok. For the price I guess it’s not bad, but I’m not a fan. To preface, I did the full course, trained for well over 30 minutes a day and gave it a full effort try.
My biggest annoyance with this place is every dog is trained the same way. «Snap and release»: give a quick tug (jerk really) on the leash to get your dog to do something. Dog doesn’t sit instantly? Pull! I’d rather let him think first, use his brain because he’s smart and can figure it out. Does it work? Sure, but can get him really excited too and that causes a whole new set of problems.
Pros:
— The main office people are quite pleasant and helpful.
— Dogs get play time at the end to help with socialization.
— Training methods are not fixated on training with treats.
— Most dogs did improve over the classes (including mine, my main gripes are about the methods and not whether or not the training works)
Cons:
— All dogs are treated the same regardless of size, shape, or age.
— Robin seems really insincere (not that big of a deal, the lady needs to make money somehow, but when it comes to my dog, I want someone to actually care)
— She plays favorites. If your dog is a favorite he will get more attention than others. For example, I was doing a heal exercise with my dog for Robin that lasted maybe 30 seconds but she was focused on another dog. I asked her for her feedback and she said «good!» My dog was not good, he was pulling and excited. She wasn’t watching.
— She’s cocky. At the first class I asked, «what happens if I’m not satisfied with the class.» Her response was «everyone loves it!» (Another character thing that I’m not holding against her, just personal preference)
— She uses spray bottles to deter barking and such behaviors. This is fine, especially for owners who don’t know how to do anything else as it’s an easy solution, but it is just that: easy. I would expect more skill from someone who has supposedly trained dogs for a few decades. Her main methods of communication are yanking or fear (not trauma or anything severe… well I guess it can be severe for a sensitive dog, mine’s a resilient little bugger…, but your dog will eventually flinch after seeing the bottle) and I don’t think that makes her special or entirely effective. I don’t want to carry around a bottle forever. I don’t want my dog to comply because he doesn’t want to be shot in the face, I want him to comply because he knows to and wants to.
And a note about the yanking: I’m ok using the collar or leash to communicate with your dog, I think it’s effective and great and I’m not one of those «my dog is so fragile! blah blah blah» hippies. However, I don’t consider pulling into a desired position communication. If this were human children: After the sit command your kid’s still not sitting, shove him into the chair! Eventually your child will learn what you want… Awkward…
Overall, I feel like any idiot can teach a dog with a snap and release method. (I guess that’s a good thing for training people…) But I think it takes skill to train a dog using his natural instincts and abilities and this is NOT that kind of place. If you want a «trained» dog and don’t care about how to get there, sure, try it. I want a dog who can think and I want the ability to communicate effectively with him. I don’t want a robot who can do commands instantly, but a companion who WANTS to behave and obey. I guess it’s all about personal preference.
And I’m not being too demanding, I know great trainers exist. We worked with another trainer who we loved. He has this presence around my dog that just engages him, definitely someone I aim to be like. My dog NEVER jumps up on the trainer (he’s a jumper) after the first time because of the way he communicates! But he’s based in Tacoma and it’s difficult to get there from the eastside. I think I will just suck it up and do the multi-​hour commute to Tacoma.
I know this is long, but if you care about the method of training I think it’s important for you to know. The office explained to me the methods were «positive reinforcement» and I wish I had more details about what that actually entailed before enrolling because she’s not the trainer for everyone.

Picked up my dog from being boarded there for a few days with a 48 hour old wound on her side (you could see the fat, it was so infected it had stopped bleeding)!!! A drain needed to be put in and if it had gotten any more infected, she wouldn’t be alive right now. They did NOT EVEN NOTICE when it happened or after it happened, it’s obvious she would have screamed loudly at the time and other dogs would have been sniffing at it afterward, no one was even in ear shot of her yipes. They DO NOT supervise the dogs, which is absurd when you have around 15 dogs in a close quarter situation.
I spoke extremely highly of Robyn and recommended this place to a lot of people over the last couple years. I wouldn’t blame them at all if my dog just got bitten since that’s out of their control, but no one saw it happen, heard it happen, or even noticed over the span of at least two days that her fat was completely exposed hang out here side. Complete and absolute negligence, I’ve never been so angry in my life. Anger doesn’t even begin to describe the way I feel about this when I think of my dog having been sitting there every night bleeding out, wondering where I was and why I wasn’t protecting her.

No better place for our dog. Great facilities, decent location, superb staff and great prices. We have used the CBC for training, doggy daycare and boarding. Everything has been A+ every time. They treat our dog like he was part of their family. We cant thank them enough for their love and dedication to the dogs.
When our dog is here with Robyn and her staff, we dont worry about him. We know at CBC he is in good hands and no matter what comes up they will take good care of him; this allows us to enjoyr our vacation, instead of worrying about him the whole time. Our dog has some medical issues that require daily medicine and special care. They accomidate all his needs and more.
I love Robyn and her staff in Redmond. I dont want to take my boy to any other place.

** Issue never resolved regardless of my calls. I definitely do not recommend this business. **
I’ll update this if the issue is resolved. I signed up for classes way ahead of time by sending in a check for 2 dogs for Obedience training in early July for classes that start in August. The check was cashed July 7^th for class that starts August 11^th. I have a busy schedule with showing and hunt competition and now adding obedience to the plate so I wanted to make sure I’d be in the schedule for the upcoming training. When I signed up for classes I figured they were for competition Obedience in AKC since it is listed right above Agility and not with Puppy training. Well, I made a call when I saw the check cleared to make sure this was Obedience training for AKC competition Obedience. Well, it’s not. Why it is listed separate from Puppy training I don’t understand and why it is listed above Agility which is AKC competition, I have no clue. I was told I would get a refund but I still have not seen a refund. I’ve called again today September 9^th and left a message to have someone please call me back about this. They need to make that listing clearer and need to follow through with what was told to me about a refund.

Robin is AMAZING! There is so much I can say but if you are having any issues with your pooch or you just want to be around other dog friendly people and do a class with your dog, her classes are definitely worth it! They are affordable, fun and always educational. My dog and I have done her basic, agility and are in her advanced class and I will keep bringing my puppies her as long as Robin is in business.
Not only are her classes amazing but her boarding and doggie daycare facility is fabulous. She also does private lessons (very affordable and totally helpful!) and once you are in, you are in. She will always take your calls. She has helped with dogs we have had visiting at our house as well as my dog, of course!
If I could give her more stars I would!

Robin Granell at Phinney Ridge
is simply amazing. My dog does not get in the garbage. He never chews on anything. He never goes to the bathroom in the house. He went through Robyn’s puppy training and beginning class and has never had any training since. The commands you learns stick with you forever and your dog understands them well. Robynn is the dog whisperer

If you’d told me that my little Tasmanian-​devil of a puppy would be an attentive, well-​behaved, obedient dog after completing Robin Grannell’s beginning obedience course, I would have never believed it. But it happened! We enrolled our then 9-​month old puppy in Robin’s beginner class and went through the full 9-​week course. During the class, our dog learned basic commands such as heel, sit, stay, drop, and come. We also discovered how effective training collars (yes, the metal ones that resemble medieval torture devices) can be for getting a rambunctious dog under control. Within just a few weeks our puppy was following commands both at class and at home, walking calmly on a leash and not going ballistic (albeit in a friendly, excited way) at every bird/​dog/​child/​etc. that crossed our path.
It seems obvious to bring this up, but your dog’s individual results are a direct reflection of how much time and effort you put into the training. Robin is very clear about the expectation of working with your dog for 30 minutes a day, and if you don’t work with your dog they won’t get trained. If you practice with your dog, you can expect to see huge improvements. We finished the course about 3 weeks ago and our dog is still following the commands — but we continue to work with him every day.
This class is a great value for the money and Robin also offers daily and overnight boarding of other well-​trained dogs for a very reasonable price. The Redmond training center is spread out over several acres with plenty of outdoor play areas (and an awesome indoor play area inside the barn) for the dogs. We definitely plan to use her again in the future.

Robin is the owner of this business and she is the dog trainer if you take your dog to classes at her place in Redmond. She also does in-​home private obedience. She is a simple and effective teacher and really, really loves dogs! The dogs get «play time» after each class in her HUGE arena.
She also has doggie daycare in the arena from 7a-​7p Mon-​Fri for her clients. It is very reasonably priced and my dogs come home wiped out. They love it.
A+ trainer
A+ facility