Blue Springs ‘n Katydid Dog Training Center

I have owned dogs for several years, nearly all of my life. I want to comment on the «arrogant instructors». I have met very few arrogant people and BSKD is no different. Of course I acknowledge that I have ignorance in areas and when an instructor/​teacher/​PROFESSIONAL gives me advice, because they’ve been at this MOST OF THEIR LIVES, I actually listen and don’t talk back! I wonder if those who say the instructors are arrogant can say the same??? I’m a betting gal, craps are my fave, and I’m guessing that answer is NO! I always wonder how those SAME people would feel if someone wondered into their work and told them they were «wrong» or argued with them?
And seriously the place was dirty with dog hair? That’s almost laughable! It’s a dog training facility!!! I know this place is cleaned all of the time so I won’t even bother to comment further.
Why would someone train a rescue any differently than I pure bred? Obviously if the instructor took the dog from you it was because you weren’t good enough to train and control yourself maybe you should have taken notes.
As far as an instructor not showing up and not refunding or scheduling the class out for another week, I’ve never heard of that either. If it’s weather related, sickness, or any other reason, I’ve either been refunded, given a coupon for another class, or the session was extended.
I have a 1 year old Doberman who just finished her Rally-​Obedience novice title and won Rally at a the last show. That speaks volumes to the trainers at BSKD because I have never actively trained for the ring before! Amazing instructors who are extremely knowledgeable! We will continue going and continue to have success in and out of the ring!

My dog and I absolutely love this place! We have a rather high energy herding dog, and we knew we needed to get ahead of him in training and whatnot. We’ve been taking our dog here since he was 10 weeks old! He loves loves loves it. We did 3 classes (Puppy Kindergarten, Beginners, Rally Basics) and whenever we pulled into the parking lot he would start whining with excitement.
The staff has been nothing but nice and sweet to me, my fiancé and my dog… and we are as novice as they get. Literally, we knew next to nothing about training a dog (aside from what we read on-​line and learned from the breeder) and they really helped us so much.
During one of our classes, we had a rescue dog that had some issues with other dogs (had snapped at a dog once in the not-​so-​distant past), and the instructor really worked with the owner to train the OWNER and the DOG on how to get past the issues. Week 1 we couldn’t bring our dog near him. Last class, we let the other dog circle my dog (very, very controlled) and she didn’t care about my dog at all. I call that a HUGE success, as the first few weeks she would have growled the whole time.
They’ve also been super helpful with recommendations of food, «homework,» etc. It really has been a wonderful experience and I recommend it to all dog owners.
Do rescue dogs need to be treated differently? Well, the one in my class did, and was. I would leave it to the professionals to figure out how to train your dog… otherwise, why are you going there? Just do it yourself.

I continue to take classes from BSKD. I have attended drop in classes for conformation and novice (from 3 different instructors). I am very impressed with the facility and the instructors. The instructors have gone above and beyond to help me. I am very grateful. I attribute my high scores in Novice obedience to the help I received at Blue Springs n Katydid.
I am starting a nosework class soon and am very excited.

If I could give Blue Springs ‘n Katydid Training Center ZERO stars, I would. We called ahead and checked the website regarding drop in classes. Today there was a drop in class at 11:15am, so we made the ½ hour drive each way to attend the class.
When we arrived, other people were also arriving for the class. As we opened the door, a disgruntled person that was leaving, told us there was no class today. We asked the employee at the front desk what was going on and she said the instructor was at an out of state show and decided to spend the night with her daughter rather than return to teach the class. We explained the inconvenience and cost associated with scheduling time off of work and driving all the way there for a class that was arbitrarily canceled. She immediately took a defensive posture and a too bad for you attitude. We asked if they would comp a class for us, since it cost us time and money. She said, «No.»
The bottom line is, some businesses these days simply don’t care about their customers. They act as if they are doing us a big favor, by allowing us to give them money in exchange for training our dog. I’ll be giving someone else our business… someone that actually cares about their customers and doesn’t treat their business like a hobby.

They have the knowledge and experience but with this many of the instructors are burned out and it shows. Several of the woman trainers that have been there forever are arrogant. I didn’t finish because I couldn’t stand the trainers attitude. My puppy class instructor was great though… so do your homework in researching trainers before you sign up

Ok so we took our new puppy to this location at behest of rave reviews from our breeder. However this place proved the exact opposite with a lack of pride in their business. First off we did not expect much from puppy kindergarten as lets be honest they are puppies and it is more for socializing and spending time with your puppy. However this place never seemed to be clean with large clumps of dog hair. Secondly the out house area is packed with cigarette butts and trash. However it is difficult to keep a place clean with so many dogs. So I will give them the benefit of the doubt. Therefore lets move onto the management. The worst part of this place is if one of your scheduled classes in your package happens to get cancelled they will not make it up… you actually have to pay extra for a make up class even if they cancel it. Also several of the puppy classmates did not recieve calls informing them that the class was cancelled so showed up on a Saturday just to find out it was cancelled. Therefore when we were asked if we were going to be continuing classes there we immediately said no. I do not believe that we were the only one as we started out with a class at least 12, which is too large to begin with one instructor, however we ended with just six dogs at the end. Lastly if that does not show that mangement does not have pride in operations. We were given ribbons for the puppy kindergarten graduation and their name is actually spelled wrong on serveral ribbons. If you don’t even care enough to spell your organization correctly shows you something. Hope that upper level management sees this and turns this place around as it sounds like it used to be better.

I must reply to the other reviewers here that gave remarkably bad reviews.
First things first, having both a pure bred and a rescue dog I can tell you that there is little to no reason to treat them any differently, when it comes right down to it, it is the OWNER that is generally humanizing the dog and BELIEVES that it has been traumatized from whatever kennel it came from. Truth is that a dog is a dog and they all learn the same way, whether you use pack training or positive reinforcement a dog will learn your language all the same whether it is a rescue or a purebred.
As for the facility, the instructors are wonderful! With age comes experience and they have trained many an award winning dog not to mention many just regular old family pets. True story: my wife and I got in way over our heads when we bought a new Doberman pup about 4 years ago. She was and is to this day smarter than us (Despite the fact that both my wife and I hold masters degrees) and this caused problems from the get go, she new how to work and run us to get what she wanted. Blue Springs was effective in not only normal obedience training but also in curing our problem of following instead of leading.
Now we have a very well behaved Doberman who I would not hesitate to take off leash in the middle of a crowd, knowing that she will not leave my side until a release command was given.
All in all WE LOVE Blue Springs and recommend everyone we meet to them.
If you can remove your own personal emotions from your dog and realize that the dog is learning your language and sometimes needs to be corrected then you will do just fine. Heck even Caesar Milan says that 9 times out of 10 its the owner that’s the problem NOT THE DOG! These reviewers that are saying that they felt that a rescue should be treated differently are projecting too many human emotions on their dog!

After reading all of the reviews, the main message I come away with is that this is a great facility with good instructors who know their stuff.
I have attended this training facility for over 10 years. Not on a continuous basis, but every time I got a new puppy I felt it was important to expose our new household member to good social skills, both with other dogs and with people. Even after owning 5 dogs, each time a new puppy came into my life. I found I forgot about the «puppy stuff» so it was a good refresher course for me and I still learned new tricks.
In regards to the trainers. It is important to know that every trainer has a different approach and style to teaching. I have my favorite trainers just like when I went to school I had my favorite teachers. I would encourage you to ask questions about the trainers who will be teaching the class you are interested in taking to see if they will fit with your expectations. The bottom line is that «every trainer at this center» has the same goal as you do. that is to have a dog that fits well into the owners life and has good social skills and are not «given up or back to a shelter».
Lastly, I agree that all dogs are not created equal from the basis in their start in life. Some dogs were lucky to be well cared for puppies before arriving in their home and others not so lucky. those being rescue dogs. However, in «ALL» cases, and even more so with some rescue dogs, they need to taught how to trust their owner (s) and feel safe. This equates to a win win situation for both the owner and the dog. The trainers at this facility are very well aware of the needs of rescue dogs and yes «all dogs should be treated the «same». They all have the same needs. If you feel your dog, rescue or not has some special needs speak up and ask for help for your situation!
I recommend this center for anyone that has a dog and wants their dog to be a wonderful part of their family. While we, as dog owners, have an «idea» of training a dog, let the trainers impart their experience and knowledge to you. and if you disagree or don’t understand any part of the training it is up to you to ask questions and not give up.

I wouldn’t even think about taking my dog back here. I’d agree with the other reviewers saying that the instructors are arrogant. We quit our class after the 3^rd week and were given a partial refund (I’ll give them an extra star for this).
The instructors don’t believe that rescue dogs should be treated any differently than other dogs and dragged our rescue dog around trying to train her.

There is no doubt in my mind that if your dog is out of control or if you are looking to show your dog, Blue Springs n’ Katydid Dog Training Center would be a good choice. The instructors seem to know a lot about dogs and how to train them.
If you have a rescue dog or are just looking for general dog training, this is NOT the place for you. My husband and I signed our dog up for training, because the course description online led us to believe that we would learn general training for our rescue dog. That was not the case. I felt like our dog was forced to do things she didn’t want to do, and while the instructors believe that rescue dogs do not need to be treated in a special way, I disagree. It’s a dog. She didn’t feel comfortable going to courses there, and she was uncomfortable when we brought her home.
We’ve asked for a refund, but we talked about it and even if we don’t get a refund, we’re willing to lose money – it’s not worth going.
Like I said, the instructors seem to know what they’re doing, but when it comes to any sort of compassion or understanding, they fall short.

I couldn’t be happier with BSKD. The facility is clean and well maintained, the staff really knows their stuff, and since enrolling my dog is increasingly well behaved. They offer classes ranging from Confirmation to Agility to Dancing Dogs and the teaching style is a nice balance of old and new school dog training– plus it’s super reasonably priced. Between $ 10 and $ 15/​class. Whether you’re looking to get serious with your pooch’s training, or just looking for a better behaved dog, I’d recommend this place to anyone.