About a year and a half ago, after being without a dog for several years, I adopted a small dachshund mix named Freddy from the Humane Society of Western Montana.  He was 5 months old and weighed 5 pounds and he was terrified of just about everything.  I had never worked with a dog smaller than 60 pounds and I was at a loss, I didn’t know how to start with him. Freddy was scared of everything from people to displays of products to any noise he heard, and there were many of them. We started working with Liz Day whom we worked with for about 10 months.  We have taken click a trick, intermediate and advanced training from Liz as well as several private lessons and Freddy is truly a different dog.  He is no longer scared of everything, delights in meeting new people and has gotten his CGC (Canine Good Citizen) Certification.  
I have been involved in obedience training and competing on and off for over thirty years and during that time I have worked with many different trainers.  Liz is one of the best trainers I have ever had the pleasure to work with.  Liz teaches with calmness and empathy and has a really keen insight into different types of dogs and what they need to succeed.  She works extremely well with her human students and is always able to come up with good options for those of us who are struggling.  She is patient and willing to go very the same exercise again and again.  Freddy adores her and I am so grateful to be able to work with her.  

~ Ginger Yates   9/20/2012

          After my dog of fifteen years passed away, I was delighted to find a Papillion that had been returned to his breeder.  Nic was so darling-big butterfly ears, flowing coat and the soul of Satan.  He barked non-stop and worse, he bit everyone that came into my house.  Nic had no manners and created complete chaos in my home.  Out of sheer desperation, I enrolled Nic in a class with the idea that if this didn’t work, he would for the second time, be headed back to the breeder.  I was lucky and found a true dog whisperer with trainer Liz.  Nic and I enrolled in her basic dog training and I don’t know which of us learned more about how and why dogs act the way they do.  Liz’s classes are so much fun that when the classes ended, the entire class signed up for the next level of training so we could continue learning.  Liz is very knowledgeable of dogs and makes everyone feel successful and excited to keep moving ahead and continue learning.  I am so grateful to Liz because, in just six classes, my dog has nice manners,  obeys  all basic commands, barks only when he should, and, most importantly, Nic quit biting.  People can now come into my house without being attacked and I can enjoy a loving companion. 

~Dawn Goldrick  10/3/2012

I just wanted to comment on Liz Day.

          I have taken a few classes with different instructors and I have to say that Liz is awesome. Her training tactics are amazing.  She really watches and observes us as we teach our pup the newest commands that we learned. She has a way of making it easy. I have to say I enjoy every class with her. She helps when you're having problems and shows you what to do. She also tells you when you have gotten it right. She even gets excited with you. She takes her time with each animal and helps us get them to understand the command, even by demonstrating with another student which makes it easier.

          I found out that she was leaving and I was very sad. I was just wanting to let you know what a great Dog Trainer she is. It's been a pleasure having her work with my puppy and teach me. =)
 

~ Kathleen, Ryan & Kodiak

          In October 2011, my 16 year old husky mixed passed away.  His last three years had been difficult ones with his advanced age and all the ailments that come along with that.  I swore that I did not want another dog.  I was done.  Well, after about 6 weeks, I found myself on the internet researching breeds and toying with the idea of getting another dog.  I made a list of what was important to me and started to narrow down what it is I wanted in a dog.  I kept coming back to the Lhasa Apso.  I loved the history of the breed, the size of the breed (I'm a frequent flyer and I wanted my dog to travel with me) and the fact that they don't shed was a bonus.  They are also very protective and have very good hearing.  I call my pup my door bell as she always let's me know when someone is approaching my house.  I found my little Lhasa Apso on Craigslist and still was not completely committed until I held her.  I was a goner. I signed her up for classe later that day and when Sophie was 10 weeks old we started our first of four series of classes with Liz Day.  From Day 1 (no pun intended) we both loved every minute of our classes.  Liz is an amazing dog trainer who reads people just as well as she does the dogs that come to her classes.  She treated each and every one of us, human and canine alike with respect and care and individual attention.  Sophie's first task was to learn to ring a bell when she needed to go outside.  Under Liz's direction she had it mastered in three days.  We progressed through the puppy class and then graduated onto the Intermediate and after that we did the Trick & Click class.  This was Sophie's favorite.  Liz helped to teach her to run through a play tunnel, she jumped through hula hoops, shakes hands, waves, crawls on the floor and several other fun tricks.  We ended our sessions with Liz in Advanced, but, due to family obligations we were not able to finish our last few classes.  Had I known that we were going to loose Liz from the Missoula area, I would have signed up immediately for another session with her.  I would recommend her training as a must for any new dog owner as well as refreshers for the older dog.  I saw Liz help to bring older rescue dogs out of their shell and learn to trust again.  The classes were always fun as well as educational.  I wish Liz and her family all the best in her new location and we miss her like crazy here in the Missoula area.  PS.  Sophie has wracked up many frequent flyer miles in her 15 months of life.  We have stayed in hotels in the heart of San Francisco and the Queen Mary in Long Beach, as well as traveling through Utah, Nevada and other locals.  Everywhere I go, I receive comments on how well behaved and calm she is.  I give Liz the credit for training both Sophie and me to help her to be a very well behaved dog.  
 

~ Nancy and "Sophie"