In 2010, we were given a sweet black lab from Canine Companions in Pennsylvania for our son with cerebral palsy. Specks had “flunked” out of their service dog program because she was too small. But as sweet and well behaved as Specks was, her training as a companion dog did not prepare her to work specifically with our son who uses a walker and has little function of his left arm. We knew that Alec was not getting the full benefit of Speck’s training but we had no idea how to get Specks and Alec walking together at the pace Alec can walk.

It was no less than a miracle that we met Sandy Stokes. She assessed the situation immediately and began the process of training both Specks and Alec to work together. She was patient with Specks and with Alec’s physical and cognitive limitations..

As a result of Sandy’s consistent and patient training, Alec’s life has changed. First, Sandy arranged for Alec and Specks to take the official Therapy Dog International certification test. They were successful even when other teams failed to make the grade! As a result of that certification, Alec now takes Specks to nursing homes to share her sweetness with the residents. Just as importantly, Alec is now able to take Specks on slow morning walks around the block. This has been great exercise for him and through this activity he has met many wonderful neighbors.

Sandy has truly made a difference in Alec’s life.

My life was completely chaotic in more ways than one. My long term boyfriend passed away unexpectedly. Together we had purchased a puppy the year before. I have another dog that is much older and when he was a puppy, he was very laid back. Thomas and I both assumed that all puppies were fun and easy to take care of. The day we got Paddy, we quickly realized how wrong we were.

We started training at Petsmart, as that was the only program we knew about. Paddy stayed in that program for 6 months. He learned lots of tricks, but his behavior problems continued to grow. My older dog, Rory, and Paddy did not get along at all. Paddy was being a "puppy" and he wanted to play, bark, and chew. Rory, who is 14, wanted to sleep and to continue being the center of our attention. Rory would growl and bark, whenever Paddy was near him and Paddy would try to "play" with Rory. Because of this, Thomas and I would each take a dog and separate to other rooms, just so we could sit down. We had hoped when Paddy turned a year old, that he would calm down. Thomas and I counted the weeks til his first birthday. Thomas unfortunately passed away 4 days after Paddy's birthday.

My entire world was turned upside down. Not only was I unable to function due to this horrible loss, but I could not even rest because my dogs' worlds also were turned upside down. Paddy would cry and scratch continuously at the back door. When I would come home, he would relentlessly jump and bite at me. Rory would bark constantly and growl at Paddy. The only time that the house was quiet was when both of them were sleeping. I went to my veterinarian and asked for medication to "calm" Paddy down and to ask his opinion of a training course I found online where you drop your dog off, they train them and you pick them back up a few weeks later. Luckily for not only me, but for Paddy, Dr. Allara said "no" to the medication and highly recommended that I contact Sandy.

What I worried about most was my sanity. I was dealing with a lot of chaos and the dogs were making it even harder for me to survive. I was unable to relax. Not only because of my loss, but because my house was completely unruly. It was constantly loud. I am extremely compulsive with keeping a clean and orderly house and my dogs were not allowing this. Paddy would chew the furniture, my oriental rugs, my fingers and Rory. I was constantly in motion- mentally and physically. Mentally, I was trying to comprehend my loss and physically, my dogs would not even allow me to sit down to eat dinner.

I needed my dogs to get along. I needed Paddy to listen to me. I needed to understand why he was acting the way he was. I knew his behaviors had meanings, but I had no idea what they were. I also knew that when I was tense and upset, that my dogs felt it and would act out in response. My desire was for peace. Peace between Paddy and Rory and peace between Paddy and myself. My family and friends often would say, why don't you get rid of that dog? Paddy is my dog and at no time was it an option for me to give up on this dog.

Almost a year later, I can say that Paddy, Rory and I are all getting along very well. Thanks to Sandy, I was able to understand why Paddy was acting the way he was and to my surprise she even showed me why Rory, the dog that I thought was perfect, was acting the way he was. When I was looking for help, I was focused on Paddy and when I first met with Sandy, she told me to go ahead and bring Rory as well. I thought this was great, so that Rory could just have an outing. To my surprise, she pointed out to me, that it was not just Paddy that was displaying bad behaviors, but that I was making mistakes as well. I would often hold Rory in my lap and guard him from Paddy. This automatically gave Rory the upper hand. Sandy taught me how to appropriately react to behaviors. I was so used to giving Paddy treats for everything that he did, just so his mouth would be full of food instead of my fingers. Sandy also made me realize that Paddy was not getting enough exercise and that he needed to be exercised to decrease his energy level. Sandy assisted me with learning how to properly walk my dog, as I was so used to holding the leash so that Paddy was right next to my leg, due to the fear that he would bite someone walking down the street. I can honestly say that I have no idea what the end result would have been without Sandy's training. Sandy has assisted me in having some peace at least in the physical aspect. Not only can I sit down now, but both my dogs can also sit peacefully beside me.

Life with our new dog at first was crazy. We had no idea how to control a puppy with so much energy and drive. Rudy would chase my kids in the yard and jump up on them and nip. The biggest worry for our family was weather or not we would be able to keep this new dog in our home.

One struggle we had with Rudy was prey drive. He would chase my kids and the neighborhood kids too. My kids could not be in the back yard with the dog. They could not go on the swing set or jump on the trampoline without him trying to jump on them or nip at them.

Our need was to have a dog that would be able to coexist with my kids and my family. We needed a dog that would allow my kids to be kids in the house or outside.

After working with Sandy our dog, Rudy, is much better. It is a constant job but, now my kids can run play in the yard. We have gotten to the point where the kids will play and he will sit next to me. I have become a more confident dog owner and understand my dogs needs much better. I'm sure that without Mrs. Sandy that I would have had to get rid of my dog. Mrs. Sandy was always praising me and building my confidence. If there is one thing I could say about Mrs. Sandy is that she understands dog's and how to train them and their owner. One thing that always stick in my head that she would say is "A tired dog is a good dog". I would highly recommend Mrs. Sandy to anyone who in need of dog training.

As you know, Buddy was adopted from a local Charles Town lady who got him from a lady showing dogs in a cardboard box in the parking lot of Walmart. The sign read "If you don't take these dogs I will have to put them down". Buddy and his brothers and sisters were probably in the 6 month age range and beaufitul, what appeared to be Golden Retrievers. Taking Buddy to my grandson's house was love at first sight and they've been best "Buds" ever since.

Now, we never invested in professional training of pets before and figured we didn't need it. However, we wanted Chase and Buddy to learn more about the obedience side of owning and caring for a dog. Our research as to the "best" dog trainers in our area led us to YOU at the Red Barn. Hillside Vets provided an outstanding recommendation.

From the first day of Buddy's handling training, it was obvious we made the right choice. Sandy's warmth and caring approach to both Chase and Buddy was second to none. There were about 6 other dogs and handlers in the class and each one of us received the focus and attention we needed. Classes were early Saturday morning and the setting of the "Ranch" in the early morning set the stage for calm and productive lessons. Sandy's approach was building confidence and skills at a pace designed for each dog and handler. For the most part, the group stayed together, but again, Sandy made sure each dog and handler were making progress that would lead to improvement and success. Chase and Buddy never missed a training session and Sandy made sure to recognize them at the end of the six week training course.

Life was good before but, Buddy learning some basic skill, tricks and just plain good manners, made our life with a new dog even better.

Putting a young pup and your 10 year old grandson in the ring with 6 other strange dogs and adults was an unknown and, yes, I was somewhat concerned how Buddy would behave with total strangers. But, Sandy's approach to introducing the dogs and handlers to each other soon led to comfort that everything would be okay. Sandy is so gentle with the dogs and was super with my grandson Chase. The praise to both kept them in the game and you could tell they wanted more time with her.

Sandy's approach to teaching and building on each lesson gave Buddy and Chase the confidence they  needed to succeed. They even practiced the lessons and drills that Sandy taught us at home so they were able to perform and successfully move to the next progression.

Another area I touched on before was the atmosphere and the training ring on the property. Red Barn Ranch and Labradors, LLC, is located in a beautiful country setting with clean grounds and fresh water and good treats were always available. You can tell that Sandy loves dogs and they love her.

Our goal when we took Buddy and Chase to Sandy's was to just teach them the basics of dog handling and obedience. Sandy succeeded in that and Buddy continues to be an outstanding and well behaved pet, as it should be. We couldn't have asked for a better experience. Sandy is the best dog trainer in our area. She cares about both dog and handler and what is best for each.

Because I rescued Chloe I didn't know much about how she was trained or if she was trained. In a word, Chloe was a spaz. She jumped, she was a bull dozer when she got excited and she could tear the house apart in a matter of minutes. She wasn't resistant to correction but, correction didn't last long. My toddler quickly learned to walk in big circles around her when she was excited because she would knock him down.

I was worried about not being able to train Chloe. I was worried that she was unable to train since, with no real explanation, she was given up as a healthy, happy dog. I learned that Chloe is smarter than I'd given her credit for and she's just as sweet as I thought she was at the shelter.

I struggled with her being stubborn to down. She caught on quickly to everything but the down command. She also resisted being physically handled. I also struggled with breaking my habit of repeating myself when giving commands, as did my husband. Sandy was just as patient with me as she was with Chloe. Chloe was too smart for her own good in training. She would do anything for a treat with precision but, when there was no treat there was little compliance. I had to learn out how to get Chloe to respond to training without treats. She did learn to do things for praise and petting pretty quickly. Chloe responded well to training even when we took treats out of the equation.

I went looking for training for Chloe because I needed her to understand that some things were just not acceptable, behaviors like jumping up and begging. I chose private lessons because I wanted one-on-one attention to make sure that both Chloe and I "got" what we were supposed to be doing and that's what I got.

We rescued Chloe because our older dog was sick and our toddler is hooked on dogs. Our goal was to have a dog that we can take out to public events, to socialize in public and with our family, instead of having a dog that can't behave on a leash around others. Chloe had passed all our social tests with family but, we wanted to make sure that she could be trusted in a less controlled environment - meaning that she needed to be able to leave things alone, not jump on random passersby, and could 'play nice in the sandbox' when we visit with other dogs.

Chloe is a much better behaved dog after training. Just about the time my husband and I think she's the same old spaz, she does something to surprise us. She is much more responsive to commands, especially around meal time with our toddler. Chloe hates to leave his side but, comes when called and leaves alone what she's told to leave. She is much better, not jumping up when greeting people.

I understand the process of training much better now after working with Sandy. We continue to work on the down command with Chloe and she is making great strides in staying in the down position on her own, something that we thought would never happen without hands-on assistance. I am so glad that I picked Red Barn Ranch and Labradors, LLC for Chloe's training.

Before I met Sandy, I had a new puppy that I was potty training based on research on the internet and had no idea how to start obedience training. I had not had a dog since I was about 13 or so and let's just say I was not responsible for training at that time.

My biggest concern was primarily focused on whether my dog would learn from the training. I guess I was just worried that my dog would end up being the menace dog that you sometimes see in public or on TV or the internet.

My primary struggle was getting additional iterations of training in above and beyond what we did in class. I am a very busy professional that was traveling a lot of the time. My need was to have a well trained and obedient dog thta would be the envy of other dog owners.

My end result of having trained at Red Barn Ranch and Labradors, LLC, is nothing less than extraordinary. My German Shepherd, Cairo, is the perfect gentleman and is well-behaved. He is complimented everywhere we go. He passed the STAR Puppy Program certification with flying colors and is just what I was looking for in my dog. The end result of training Cairo with RBRandL was so fantastic and successful that I decided to add a RBRandL Labrador to my family. Colbie also went through STAR Puppy training with Sandy and is a sweet, loving, and elegant lady. Now I have two great, well trained canine family members that I take with me anywhere I can because I know they will be behaved and the envy of others.

Life before Atty was calm and quiet and I can only imagine what life with Atty would be like had we not worked with you. Prior to coming to you Atty was a very rambunctious puppy, had a difficult time sitting still, had no leash sense at all. For me personally, you gave me the confidence to work with Atty, you taught me how to give her appropriate direction, and reinforced with me that a great deal of the work was as much for me. Along with that I feel we tapped into Atty's trainability and willingness to please.

My biggest concern going into training was if we would hit it off with you and we absolutely enjoyed working with you and we look forward to more training in the future. Our biggest concerns with Atty were mainly leash skills, social skills, and harnessing her energy and enthusiasm so she would be happy to be obedient.

Our biggest struggle was positively harnessing Atty's bird-dog energy and enthusiasm and the bad behaviors that came with that energy such as jumping, pulling on her lead, and excessive and single focused intent to get what she wanted. At 14 months, she has come a long way. We still have some struggles - mainly in the area of her desire to do what she wants but, through our training we feel that wee have the tools to work through those things.

We needed to make sure that Atty had appropriate social skills and behaviors giving others, both two legged and four legged, a sense of ease around her and that I could protect her from harm via commands. It was my desire to provide Atty the ability to run and use her athleticism around the farm but, have her recognize who was really running the show.

Our experience training with you was awesome, we feel that Atty has taken well to the training we provided and that your training provided me with a consistent methodology to help her continue to progress in training. We went from on-leash to almost completely off-leash at this time.

Atty is still very much a young dog and isn't always perfect but, the consistency of her behavior is wonnderful.

Life before training with Red Barn Ranch and Labradors was stressful. Immediately following my separation from my partner, my one and two year old Labradors became hyper and unsettled; greeting friends was almost dangerous given the Labradors size and my inability to control their excitement. There was also lots of barking, at me! I do not like needless barking.

I was worried about the unhappiness of my Labradors. To me, their behavior was a form of 'acting out'; they were communicating their own struggles with our situation. I worried about not providing a comfortable, peaceful home for the Labradors and myself; and I worried about not having enjoyable time with my dogs.

I struggled with the dogs' uncontrolled greeting of folks, especially when visitors entered my home; and with the inability to walk the dogs together. I lacked control, and at the time did not want to be 'pack leader'. My male Labrador knew it, yet he struggled with not knowing what to do.

After talking to Sandy it was determined that the option of an e-collar just might be the answer. I needed help and did not want my recent separation to be something that negatively impacted and altered my dogs' behavior for a lifetime. I wanted peace, consistent control, and very happy Labradors!

My training experience with Red Barn Ranch and Labradors, LLC, was enjoyable! To see the look in my male's eyes, that he is happy that I have reclaimed my position as leader of our 'pack' is priceless. While we no longer live where leashed walks are do-able, we do have space to run free, play ball, walk to the garden together and just 'be' in the yard~~the unfenced yard! The happiness my Labradors experience everyday is worth every investment into the training.

I wanted to thank Sandy for her wonderful training of our puppy Huck. He is from the latest Bella litter (May, 2012). He has been a wonderful pup but very high energy, was not good at recall and also had some major fear issues with strange people, items (a planter or a strange sign, for example), and situations. Sandy termed this "reactive". Huck would be a superb field dog....lots of energy and very smart but some of his characteristics make for a difficult transition to a regular household.

We decided to send Huck to "Sandy Camp," as we called it, for 2 weeks of boarded training. Sandy folded him into her existing pack of labs and he quickly learned the e-collar (now has excellent recall) as well as how to behave better both inside and out (she worked on recall, "leave it", "off!" and "down" for 1/2 hr every other night). She also took him on "field trips" to help desensitize him to uncomfortable situations and to teach him that his handler, whoever he or she may be, has control of the situation. They went to Tractor Supply, Lowe's Hardware, Home Depot, downtown Charles Town, W.Va., etc. He was exposed to many different situations and I can tell a BIG difference in his fear level now that he is back home. I have also learned what to do when he is afraid and feel more empowered to handle it.

I enjoyed going to the farm where Sandy lives to pick him up and getting a chance to work with him and Sandy. She is an excellent teacher. Loved seeing the beautiful setting of Red Barn Ranch and Labradors and meeting Huck's sisters, half sisters, mother and grandmother. During the whole two weeks, Sandy kept us very much informed with daily emails, pictures and videos. I very much appreciated her gift of communication both during his time there and after he got home. She really cares about her dogs and her clients and wants to foster a life-long relationship. In a word, Sandy is an excellent trainer and this was money WELL SPENT.

My husband and I rescued Bella from All Shepherd Rescue. Bella spent the first four years of her life tied to a tree with little human interaction. When we first took her home she pulled so hard on the leash she just about knocked us both over. There was no going for walks with Bella, she pulled and dragged and did manage to knock me to the ground at least once. I was desperate to find a method of training that would work for her and tried several.  Unfortunately, not much worked; that’s when I found Sandy.  As I was reading the website I noticed that she did E-collar training. I wasn’t sure about this, I didn’t want to “shock” my dog. I met Sandy for a consultation and she dispelled my doubts about E-collar training.  It’s all in how you use the device and in the hands of a professional like Sandy, it can be an incredibly powerful tool.  Sandy had me hold the E-collar to experience what my dog would experience.  I was worried that the electronic collar would be cruel and cause my sweet Bella girl to hate me; nothing could be farther from the truth.  The results of this training were completely the opposite.

Sandy showed me how to correctly use the E-collar, the stimulation was just enough to assist in getting Bella’s attention and helped her focus. To me, this was a miracle and while Bella always wears the E-collar when we are out there are few occasions that I really need to “tap” her at all. In fact, Bella is often off leash now and responds to my voice commands.

Bella is a different dog now and I owe that all to Sandy. Watching her run around and play with her brother Toby is the best; I don’t know how we would have achieved that if it were not for Sandy and the E-collar training. Bella is a happy girl and I cannot thank Sandy enough!!

Just wanted to thank you for all your patience and expertise in the S.T.A.R. Puppy class with Lollie. We really enjoyed it. We feel Willow and Lollie are off to a great start.

We learned from your class that it's very important to get a good start on training one's dog, and you helped us do just that.  And as with human "training", a good education opens doors.  London is welcome almost everywhere we go. This was an excellent program and environment for training our puppy. Now we feel we have a base to build on for future training. We loved your attitude and positive constructive critique of our ability to work London. Thank you.

Thanks for the unbelievable experience in training me and my new puppy, Princess. I have had five German Shepherds and Princess is the most well behaved dog I've ever had, the training made all the difference. From basic obedience through e-collar training the training is one of the best things I have ever done. It's a great feeling to have a well behaved dog. I will refer anyone I meet that is interested training to you.

Thank you again. I'll see you soon.

This is my Ralphie.  Ralphie is a Great Pyrenees rescue from Virginia, whom we have been blessed with since he was a pup.  Thanks to Sandy Stokes and her amazing training programs we have a well behaved, free range pup, which is important since he could get to be as much as 130-150 lbs!

Great Pyrenees were bred to be independent workers, living miles from their farms, protecting livestock from wolves, bears, coyotes, and whatever menace enters the pasture.  Because they were meant to work independently, they are often obstinate when it comes to training and obedience.  A Pyr will also take off at any given opportunity as they feel the world is theirs to guard.  The common saying in pyr circles is; “a Pyr without a leash will disapyr!”

I first met Sandy when Ralphie was about 10 weeks old.  He flourished in her puppy class and quickly developed manners and basic commands by graduation.

I saw how well Sandy’s dogs listened with their E-collars, and thought it may work for a wandering Pyr.  So we signed up for E-collar training.  Some thought that using an electronic collar would be cruel, and it would surely ruin my sweet Pyr.  Ralphie and I found the opposite to be true.

I rarely if ever need to apply stimulation to Ralphie with the collar.  Most of the time these days, I don’t even put it on him.  There is an audible setting which just makes an irritating "buzz" that Ralphie responds to nicely.  But truth is, there aren’t very many occasions that I need to "tap" Ralphie at all.   Sandy helped me create a totally obedient Great Pyrenees.  Voice commands are all I need for Ralph.  I was a little pessimistic that it could be achieved, having had a pretty hard headed Pyr before Ralphie, but Sandy changed my mind quickly.

I highly recommend Sandy’s classes for everyone considering dog ownership.  She uses positive methods in training and creates amazing results.  With large breed dogs manners, leash training and obedience are a must.  I know I for one will never have another pup without consulting Sandy at her beautiful farm with her amazing level of skill in training any dog.  Even the most obstinate dogs want to listen to Sandy’s methods as I witnessed with other classmates.

You can’t go wrong with Sandy, if she can’t fix it or train it, than no one probably can.

Thanks Sandy for giving me the dog of a lifetime!

We introduced our dog “Buddy” to Red Barn Ranch and Labradors, LLC, at the age of 10 weeks. Arrangements were made for in-home training and it couldn't have gone any better! It was very convenient for our family since both of us work and travel. The entire training program was tailored around our specific needs and goals for our young puppy.  We were amazed at the progress Buddy made and continues to make after having completed the training. And were also impressed with the quality of skill and expertise demonstrated by Sandy though-out the training. We had family in this past weekend who had not  been around Buddy for several months and they could not believe how well behaved he is now and how much better he and Chloe get along.  We told them it was definitely due to his training and our training too ..hahaha! We learned how to properly train and continue to work with Buddy.   We HIGHLY recommend this training to anyone who brings a new puppy into their family!

Von and I enjoyed our training sessions with Sandy. When we went to start protection training Von's new trainer said the previous trainer had done an excellent job. Thanks for your help Sandy. We appreciate it.

Looking in the area for a dog trainer, I found Sandy.  I am completely satisfied with Sandy's professionalism and patience in training my dog and me.  She was very helpful during the training sessions and in answering questions I had after the completion of our training sessions.  Sandy is very loyal to the dogs she trains and takes pride in the success of training a well-behaved dog.  I recommend Sandy to anyone who is looking for a great trainer.

Rudy also spent time with Sandy for boarded training while we were on vacation. It was a stress free vacation knowing that my dog was being cared for just like he would be at home.  Rudy has come leaps and bounds since training with Sandy.  Her dedication and love toward Rudy has paid off for us.

Thanks for such a wonderful experience.

I had reservations bringing my "Baby", Blue, to a trainer because I didn't want him to be yanked around to teach him to behave.  Sandy is the most gentle and patient person, not only with Blue but also with "training" me as well.  With a lot of consistency and homework, I now have a dog that is a pleasure to be around.  Thank you Sandy!