Border Collie/ Australian Shepherd Mix

Charmaine was the perfect balance of knowledgeable, humble, patient and direct. She honed in quickly and got to know our specific goals and how to best approach teaching what was needed for our dog and his abilities/challenges. She takes the time and knows dog breed specific traits, so she can pick what is most likely to work out of the vast tool belt she has clearly worked to acquire over the years. She is also very positive and encouraging for both the people and dogs involved. Teaching "calm" as a base for our Border Collie/ Australian Shepherd was the most important thing we could have done in his early learning stages. Charmaine helped us understand what that actually looks like in many forms and how to encourage it. From "calm" so much more has become possible! Sign up! Do it! The approach used here is uplifting, effective and gives you the tools to build upon once the course is complete.

-Erin R.

Lab Shepard Mix

Monarca is 10 months old. She's probably close to 75 - 80 lbs. her reactiveness to humans is so much better, I'd say I'm 10% away from her being totally chill when she see's new people walking towards us or by the house. we are still working on other dog reactiveness but she gets better everyday. people comment all the time on how chill she is for a 10 month old dog. There is no way we'd be where we are with out the 2 classes I took with Charmaine. The classes were a game changer with how you view/ achieve training your pet. It’s mostly about you, the human. And it's fun and the dogs LOVE it. DO IT- NOW- don't wait. When they are younger ( and you are younger) you are both easier to train- you will not regret it!

-Lissa F.

Mini Poodle

As first time puppy owners we wanted some direction on how to get our puppy, Milo, on the right track to being a well behaved family dog. We signed up for the six week puppy foundations class with Charmaine and quickly found out that training our new puppy can be fun for us and Milo! The game based training techniques kept Milo engaged and we immediately saw how the training could be applied to situations at home and in everyday life. We found ourselves looking forward to going to the in person classes every week and loved watching our puppy learn new practical tricks! We highly recommend working with Charmaine!
- Sarah M.

Wheaten Terrier/Standard Poodle

I signed my pup Arlo and I up for the Fika Dogs 6 Week Puppy Foundations class. This was the smartest thing I could have done. I’d not heard much on games based training, but all I can say is WOW. Every game we learned lead into something else to help my pup with such as self control, calmness, listening to me, recall, and the list goes on. It was fun and we were both learning together. My biggest take away was learning Boundary Games and being calm. I’ve used this everywhere and LOVE it. The home, car rides, travel, and being other places. Charmaine was amazing to work with and very knowledgeable. Very grateful.
- Kaisa S.

Collie Cross

Joni was a year and a half old when she became pregnant, was surrendered, had four pups in foster care, separated from them at the shelter and then spayed. Even after all of that, when I met her she was the sweetest, most gentle dog imaginable, but when left alone she went counter-surfing and shredded up anything in sight. She must have thought I was leaving her forever whenever I went to get groceries!

I contacted Charmaine to ask for help and was immediately reassured by her knowledge and attentive listening when I described Joni's situation. She taught us fun games that helped Joni build the confidence she needed to feel secure at home alone. Charmaine also suggested some great attention noises, disengagement activities, impulse control games, and much more to help Joni understand expectations at home and on walks. I'm thankful everyday for shifting my dog-training mindset and helping Joni live a confident, happy life!
- Sean VZ

Golden Retriever

I signed us up for Charmaine’s 6-week Puppy Foundation class as soon as I learned about it. Hobbes was our first puppy together and we wanted to use the same training language and cues. The games we learned in class were fun- even if they were a challenge for Hobbes when he was surrounded by other pups (they were much easier at home ☺)! Charmaine encouraged us to take breaks for Hobbes when he needed it and allowed all of us to work at our own pace. Although Hobbes is a high-energy boy, he is very responsive and good. I know that using the tools from this class helped all of us.
- Kathy B.

Wirehaired Pointing Griffon

I love Charmaine’s game based approach to training. It felt very straightforward, fun, and positive. It is something that Addi and I can do together, to both work on some of her issues with reactivity and also create a stronger bond between us and have some fun. Charmaine is very pleasant to work with and we packed in so many good lessons into our class together. It feels good to have some games that I can use to instantly calm both myself and Addi down no matter where we are.

-Rose S.

Standard Poodle

I have to admit I was skeptical about a games based training program. I had trained my previous pup through an AKC canine good citizen/basic obedience program and I think he’s a great dog. I loved those classes. Since obedience classes once or twice a week for the next two years is out of the question for my current lifestyle, I signed up for Charmaine’s puppy foundations class.

It was fantastic! I love the games I learned for calm, boundaries, and loose lead walking. I am convinced that the foundation work and conditioning Scout learned with Charmaine is making her more coachable now and for future training. I’m really looking forward to new adventures with our pup and can’t wait to see what she can do!

-Tina S.

German Shorthair Pointer

Shadow is THE reason behind FIKAdogs. As Charmaine’s personal dog who threw curve ball after curve ball, there relationship was almost lost when she found absoluteDogs and games-based concept training. She is relentless, driven, easy to motivate and learning Calm and household manners (though if given the opportunity she’ll snatch WHATEVER is on the counter!)

Standard Poodle

Bernie is being trained to be a therapy dog, so the main concepts we are working on are Calm, Optimism and Novelty. We hope to grow a neutral response to most events, though adolescence is starting to through us a few curve balls. He is a sweet boy who tends to stick close, is quick to disengage and has good focus when asked.

Bernedoodle

Working with Charmaine at FIKAdogs really helped us get ready to be first time dog owners. We’re so glad to be raising our puppy with games from the start!