Common Ground Dog Training

In 2003, Linda came to our home (highly recommended by our vet) and trained our puppy, Cookie. Linda was knowledgeable, professional and truly invested in seeing Cookie succeed. Over the years, many people commented on what a well behaved dog we had. Sadly, Cookie passed away a few months ago. We got a new puppy and I was very happy to see that Linda was still doing dog training. She is currently working with our puppy and results have, again, exceeded our expectations. The clicker training method that she employs really works and the puppy already understands a number of commands, heels when we walk her and is no longer trying to jump on top of the coffee table at every opportunity. Linda trained me, as much as she trained the puppy, so that the commands are constantly given in the compassionate and consistent manner that a puppy needs. There is no doubt in my mind that the clicker training method is excellent because it leaves no question in the mind of the puppy as to exactly what desired behavior is being requested. I would recommend Linda without hesitation and am confident that there is no better dog trainer in the area.

If you’re looking for an exceptional, talented, fair and compassionate dog trainer that happens to be an animal lover, look no further than Linda Lukens. Linda is in a class by herself. In my opinion Linda is one of the best dog trainers you will ever meet. She has a way of explaining her training methods in the simplest format so both you and your dog can better understand what is expected. In the first training session Linda sat down with us and took time to understand how our puppy would fit into our family, what our struggles were and what we hoped to accomplish with the training. She provided us with information on everything from a list of products that we should have on hand for when the puppy got sick to non-toxic cleaning products, to healthy snacks. During that same visit when we explained that we were struggling with our puppy Maks walking down the stairs to go out to the bathroom and we were very frustrated because he had done it for a day or two and then just stopped. Linda explained that he was probably nervous about the stairs and in less than 5 minutes using a clicker and a few treats we were able to get him to walk down the stair without issue.As first time dog owners, we were very fortunate to meet her. We trained with her in a class setting and we also contracted private sessions for our Rottweiler puppy. As a result, we have a much clearer understanding of our Rotty and he with us and it has strengthened our relationship. I can’t say enough about Linda and the benefits of the positive reinforcement training methods she teaches.We say “thank you Linda” and keep up the great work!

I found Linda and Common Ground Dog Training when I really needed help with my Chesapeake Bay Retriever puppy Simon in 2000. I am so relieved she stepped up to help with my Type A dog. Linda immediately took control and laid out an easy-to-follow plan for me to gain control. Linda had solutions for every problem that came up, she was professional, patient and flexible enough to work around my varied schedule. I could not have gotten Simon under control without her and I was so happy with Linda and Common Ground that I relied on her to work with my next two puppies. I highly recommend Common Ground!

Henry is a rescue- I had not had a dog in many years and felt ill equipped to help Henry adjust to his new life. I needed someone to teach me how to best work with him and tweak some inappropriate behaviors. I was hesitant at first because Henry is fearful of new people; but he took to Linda right away. She has a very calming presence. I was new to clicker training, but was impressed with how well it works. Lindas methods work-any failures Henry has is due to my lack of consistency-. I know Linda refers to herself as a dog trainer; but really, she trained me! :)

Linda took great care and time with our Cavapoo Tucker. Her training methods, focused on positive reinforcement, worked for us as compared to another trainer we tried out. Would recommend Linda to any new dog owner or someone looking to improve their dogs skills.

I feel really bad leaving bad reviews but this has been something that has been bothering me ever since I worked with Linda. I hired her based off of her perfect 5 star reviews and felt mislead. The moment she arrived, she was very pushy about using the clicker training and forced it on me which I did not feel comfortable using. She would arrive late and/or cancel last minute. We also wasted a lot of time going over basic commands that my dog knows, I understand we need to know basic before we can move on, but definitely did not need to take as much time as we did with that as she already knew them. Some of the words that I used with my dog wasnt acceptable to her as command words, so she wanted to reteach my dog the same commands with new words (also time waster). She was hired to work on my dogs fear aggression. After our 4 sessions, NOTHING changed. I ended up having to hire a new trainer who was ACTUALLY certified in everything and my dog has shown such a positive change! I ended up paying Linda my 4 sessions in advance and after our first session, I already knew I didnt wanted to continue but she did not refund me. This is just all from my experience and till this day, Im still bothered by it.

Linda is the absolute best. She actually saved our Weimaraners life when he began attacking other dogs with intent to kill. With tremendous patience and commitment to Simons possibilities, she taught me how to work with him. Thankfully he enjoyed many more years of life, and even became friends with a little Westie who came to live here with our farm manager. That was a miracle indeed, and all those happy years were Lindas gift to us -- and definitely to Simon!

Experience, Talent, Integrity, CredentialsLinda has trained 2 service dogs for my Autistic Daughter. They both responded beautifully to her positive reinforcement method with the clicker. She also made sure that I could replicate her method and receive similar results independently.There are a bunch of fly by night trainers out there that dont have the same credentials or results that Linda has. Do your research and you will see that she rises above.

I was very happy with Lindas training. I used her for our youngest dog after having used other area trainers for our older ones. Her training is far superior to others in the area. She uses a very positive approach which results in a dog with crisp commands. She also has a variety of techniques to deal with the various dog issues in a class setting. Highly recommended.

Linda, thank you for your phone consultation. We were not yet able to attend training classes for our 4 month old puppy but we knew we needed help now with some issues that had arisen. It was great to get some guidance from an expert with so much experience. Were practicing what you taught us and definitely making progress.

Linda has a great temperament and a wealth of knowledge. We learned so much from her!