Sorenson Kennels - Defiance, Missouri

Lexi B.

Nellie is the second Sorensen lab in my family that was also trained at their facilities. We are always so impressed by their integrity and diligent in their breeding program and training. I don’t normally spend time making reviews and do so only when there’s a lasting impact. Nellie is a fantastic family dog. She is playful and social, yet attentive. She isn’t afraid of anything but still prefers to be at your side rather than exploring on her own. The training program really improved her discipline to make her a great buddy to take places. Couldn’t have asked for better!

Elliott T.

Excellent training center.

My wife and I put our 10-month old golden doodle through the 3 week training program (dog remains at the facility for the duration of the training). She learned many useful commands including “come”, “stay”, and “place”. This has been a huge quality of life improvement at home.

We received photos and videos of our dogs progress twice a week. I missed our dog a lot, so I was always very happy to see her having fun and learning a lot in training sessions.

Please note that a shock collar is used as part of the “off leash” training in week 3. My wife and I were very nervous about the use of a shock collar. However, the trainers at Sorenson are professional and use it appropriately. If you still have doubts, the trainers at Sorenson will answer your questions so you can feel comfortable and confident that your dog is in good hands.

After the training was complete, the trainer taught us how to use the shock collar correctly at home, and displayed all the new commands our dog learned. Now that she is home, our dog is happier than ever and she rarely (if ever) needs her collar to follow commands.

Every dog is different, and results can vary, but my wife and I are absolutely thrilled with the results of our dogs training. Big thank you to Sorenson Kennels for their excellent work.

Batter U.

I am very impressed with Sorenson Kennels. My dog underwent the four week training for obedience at 6 months old and came out with a great understanding of what her behavior should be. For me, the four hour travel time was not excessive. I wanted a program that she would be successful in and this was what I got. I also have two follow up sessions if I encounter problems later on. The key takeaway I got out of this is consistency. She is a lifelong commitment and it’s worth every penny to be well mannered so I can fell confident taking her anywhere. Thanks!

Erin H.

We had a wonderful experience with Sorenson Kennels, and our trainer, Emily (ask for her specifically when you schedule!!) We did a month long board and train for our 6 month old labrador- we wanted a solid training foundation that we could continue to build upon at home. Our goals for his time there included a solid recall, nice leash walking and building self-control i.e. not jumping on people or counters, waiting at doors, maintaining at 'stay' position.

Wow, Emily and Steve did AMAZING work together. All of our goals were met and exceeded! Steve is a shy guy when meeting new people, and she worked to build his confidence and his obedience skills during his time with her. She sent us updates and pics several times a week, and patiently answered all of our questions. Steve chomped on a bumblebee the third week he was there, and she was quick to let us know and keep us updated as they brought him to their local vet to be checked out. During the month long training, you will visit twice to work with your dog, and during those visits it was evident that Stevie really loves Emily- she forges a bond with your dog to train from a place of trust and cooperation.

Emily also excelled at teaching us to work with Steve at home to progress his skills and self control. We have been working all of his commands into our daily lives, and practicing duration and/or distractions during sit/down/place. Steve waits patiently at an open door, heals nicely on his leash around the neighborhood (and does pretty dang good when we practice at the park amid new scents/sights/etc), will hang out on his 'place' while we are cooking, eating, or doing other tasks around the house that he would like to 'help' with. We are so thrilled with our experience. Thank you!

Mike S.

We were running out of options for our 4 year old Standard Poodle. He was very dog aggressive and constantly bullied one of our other dogs. He could hardly ride in the car because he lost control when we passed dogs being walked. We had stopped walking him and were concerned about the risks he posed. He is otherwise sweet. We did the one month boarded training with Jessica. She did an amazing job and sent us updates with pictures a couple times a week. The outcome is shocking. We now have the tools and confidance needed to keep our dog safe and happy. We have walked over 8 miles with him in the week he's been home. He is controllable around the house and stopped bullying our older dog. We know he will never love other dogs but he is 100% better on the occasions he encounters them. Jessica has given us and our dog a greatly improved quality of life. I recommend Sorenson and Jessica to anyone with a reactive dog or other severe issues. On top of the great results, we were pleasantly surprised at the affordable cost for this immersive training.

Stefanie B.

We are over-the-moon happy with Sorenson and specifically our trainer Emily. We took our dogs, litter mate rescues Lucy & Ethyl. They had done a 2 week boot camp somewhere else a year ago. It was a waste of money. The gist of that training was that you never tell the dog "no". You only give positive feedback to them. Seriously? That may work for a mild mannered golden retriever but not my girls. They are the sweetest pups most of the time but little terrors the rest. Ethyl would bolt out the door any chance she got (Lucy would follow if possible). She would charge the neighbors and other dogs especially after another neighborhood dog broke free and came after her (gotta love Lake St Louis' "no fence" rule!). Treats, the car - nothing worked to get her to come back until she was good and ready. I was scared they would get hit by a car or taken away from us. We needed the girls to come to us every single time they were called, for them not to jump on everyone (especially my 81 year old father whom they adore), not to go crazy every time they saw a car, person, dog, squirrel etc, for them to walk nicely and not drag us around. They were in control and that needed to change.

Someone recommended Sorenson to us and we found the 4 week option to cost not much more than the 2 week one we tried before especially because Sorenson included a bath at the end. The other place charged me $100 a dog! We were excited to find out we had gotten Emily because we had read so many good things about her. Let me tell you-she is amazing! She loves the dogs and she loves her job and it shows. She sent us pictures, videos and updates at least twice a week. We could tell that the girls were happy and comfortable with her. The boarding staff was also wonderful. They custom made each girl's food each night to make sure they ate it. When we went to see the girls for our training at the 3 week mark, they weren't stinky or anything! The biggie though is the change in the girls. They still have their sweet personalities but their behavior has totally changed. They are not the aggressive, out of control dogs we took in. They are much calmer. They are well mannered and listen to commands. I don't think Ethyl will run now. It'll take a while for us to trust her though. They walk nicely and even quit barking when we say "Quiet". There's no hollering over them anymore. Emily even practiced toenail trimming with them. Bonus!

As with any training, it doesn't stick unless we humans are trained too. What we loved is that at Sorenson they spend a lot of time training us so we would be successful. We were able to continue their training at home right away. We also have 2 more sessions with Emily at no charge if we need them. So if you have more challenging dogs, I can confidently tell you to go here. It was a life changer for us.

Amy D.

Oh my goodness! We absolutely love Sorenson Kennels!! We just picked up our dog, Teddy, this morning, after a 4 week obedience training with Emily. We CANNOT say enough wonderful things about our experience w/Emily and Sorenson Kennels! She did such an incredible job with obedience training for our one year old dog. It’s like he’s a different dog all together. He’s so sweet, calm and he actually listens and does whatever command we ask him to do right away. To say that we’re thrilled with our experience there, is a massive understatement. She communicated and sent us pictures weekly. This has truly been transformational for our family. Thank you Emily and Sorenson Kennels from the bottom of our hearts!

Amy U.

We took our new puppy to Sorensen’s for obedience training. He needed some work as an excitable young puppy who had developed bad habits of jumping on people as well as trying to herd family members with nips which came naturally to him with his genetics. Max did an unbelievable job with our pup! Not only did he address those problem areas by my first visit, but our pup learned all of his commands by the end of training and seemed to really enjoy the process! When we got home, I was concerned that the training would fall apart, but with a bit of follow through on our part, our pup is still quite the little gentleman! So worth it!!