The Collared Scholar

If your looking to intrust someone to guide & train *w/​care; your loved one, your baby a.k.a. (your K9), I highly recommend Meagan Karnes.
My boyfriend & I, have a Lab (Maximus). He was only six months old when We decided on the Collared Scholar 2week Program by Meagan Karnes, and we’re so happy we did.
He had a few basics roughly down but his focus was in need some sharpening.
Upon returning home 2weeks later.
— His basics had been improved upon immensely.
— He gained understanding of new command (s).
— And his focus was sharper.
— His social skills had been improved upon, from positive interaction w/​other dogs. (This was great seeing as he’s an only child & we will be taking him to dog parks).
After being exceedingly satisfied with the results, we are confident that we have found our trusted instructor for our future k9 training & guidance needs.

My initial interactions with the Collared Scholar seemed very positive. They had great reviews and when I emailed them letting them know my issue, Meagan responded within one day. I have two dogs, and one can be very aggressive and has attacked the other, resulting in stitches. This is a very serious issue and we didn’t know how to fix it.
Meagan replied that she would be happy to help us so I then asked her if we would need to bring the dogs to her or if she could do in-​home behavioral work with them. She said that she could do in-​home, it would just be a bit more expensive. We said that was fine and then began looking at dates to meet… and that is where everything went wrong. I asked her about a particular day and she didn’t respond. So the day before, I emailed again to see if she would be able to come out. She replied back saying that she had been sick with the flu and to pick another date and let her know. So I picked a date for the following week and emailed to ask if it would work for her. Then… no response. The day came and went and I both emailed and called the number for the Collared Scholar. Still, no response. I waited for about 2 weeks and emailed Meagan again letting her know that I understand if things come up and she wasn’t able to meet with us right away, but that it is very unprofessional to completely ignore and disregard potential customers. She again never responded.
I find it very upsetting that Meagan and the Collared Scholar completely left us hanging when we really needed the help.

Some people are just experts in their field, and that’s how I would describe what you get at The Collared Scholar. They use positive reinforcement to work wonders with your little, or big, four legged friend.

Echoing several other reviews, Meagan is AS GOOD AS IT GETS! She transformed my 95-​lb dog with fear/​aggression issues into a contributing member of society! I started working with Meagan while I lived in San Diego, and was so impressed with her that I shipped my dog to her from Virginia to Texas, because I knew she would get the job done.
In my opinion, what differentiates Meagan from other trainers is that she actually gets to the root of the problem, rather than relying on quick Band-​Aid fixes that don’t solve the issue.
My dog had been a huge stressor in my life, and Meagan has lifted that burden. Not only did she show my pup that people weren’t the enemy, but she drove 18 hours to hand-​deliver her, and stayed 2 days to make sure I understood how to reinforce the training. That’s what I call service!
If you have ANY behavioral issues with your dog, don’t wait. I promise: if Meagan can’t fix it, no one can!

I’ve been meaning to write this review for a long time now, so here goes. Way too many people out there call them themselves experts on dog behavior. I actually wasted over 500 dollars on training for my dog before finding Meagan of the Collared Scholar. I would seriously give Meagan 10 stars if Unilocal let me. My dog was beginning to show some frustration/​aggression and Meagan made me realize she’s just a little socially inept. She started in daycare with Meagan and has made a ton of friends! It’s always a little scary to leave your dog in the care of someone else, but I know Meagan and Rob treat my dog like one of their own. Meagan is great with all of my doggy questions and has truly provided a «home away from home» for my little spoiled brat.
I’ve also participated in the agility training class that Meagan offers and it was a lot of fun! The dogs all love it and started responding to the commands right away.
I do have to say that maybe my dog loves The Collared Scholar a little too much because every morning now she jumps on the bed and stands over me staring me down to try and get me to take her to daycare!

Our family (the people *and* the dog) adores Meagan and the Collared Scholar team. We brought Ellie (a Malinois mix) in for some dog aggression issues when we got her from a shelter in LA last year. After just a couple of lessons, Meagan and Christine created a lovable, manageable, playful dog from the hyperactive lump of steel we gave her. Ellie had 3 private lessons at our home and attended three or four Anti-​Aggression Socials at Collared Scholar.
Now we board her there and she loves, loves, loves it. We’d never leave her anywhere else. She comes home happy, healthy, tired but not overtired, and CLEAN. All this for about the same rates you’d pay anywhere else for boarding. What more could we ask for?

Today was our first session with Meagan and we have already seen dramatic improvements with our dog, Indy. Meagan showed us so many helpful tools and was gentle yet firm with Indy. She was so understanding and really gave us a lot of insight on her behaviors. We can’t wait to use these training tools and learn more from her. Thanks Meagan!

Wow, I don’t even know where to start. Meagan has been so amazing with our Boxer girl Bailey. Our little girl has (I should say had) some agression issues with other dogs and although she’s never actually bitten another dog she pounces and pins the other dogs down. Needless to say it makes trips to the dog park very stressful and extremely tense.
:in comes Meagan the Super Trainer:
Bailey has finally met her match and in just a few short weeks, she plays so well with the other dogs and has almost entirely stopped all of her previous behaviors. Meagan hosts these «anti agression» Dog Socials with both «good» dogs and «bad» dogs so they each can learn and grow under the careful watch of Meagan and her team and It’s been the best experience to watch Bailey continually improve. We’re looking forward to trips to Dog Beach, Dog Parks, and even a couple dog slumber parties. Yes we’re total dorks for our dog.
Meagan was our 4^th trainer and probably our last hope before we just gave up and we’re so glad and lucky to have met her. If you’re looking for the best, Meagan is your gal!!!
Thank you so much for your heartfelt love of our special girl and we look forward to playdates in the future.

i wish i could give more stars. =/
anyways, meagan did a fantastic job with my puppy during the 2 week in-​kennel program. set a very solid foundation for me to continue to work on. only downside is that my puppy misses the ranch and is probably bored like crazy at home.

HARVARD for Canines:
If you need almost any dog service, including training, boarding, doggie day stays, Meagan Karnes-​San Agustin’s, The Colared Scholar, is the Harvard for Canines! Meagan has been a part of me ‘n my Sheltie from Life’s Storms, Atticus’ lives for almost five years. She adores, our animals, as her own. Recently, a friend of mine required a hospital stay; Meagan took Arthur and Gwenny, Corgi’s, for boarding, enabling their owner, Bernice, to begin her recovery process. I could only leave my Sheltie, Atticus, with Meagan and Christine, a star in Meagan’s, The Collared Scholar, enterprise. Atticus comes home happier than I’ve seen him in months, ready for a long nap. My Unilocalers, and other Unilocal readers, Meagan has a gift with canines and felines; she welcomes new clients! Ten minutes with Meagan and you will be Unilocaling, The Collared Scholar, for all to see!
Thank you Meagan and Christine, a star under Meagan’s Sky.

As for my personal experience — 5 stars (and more if I could!). I have been going to them for about 9 months for help with my dog fear-​aggressive ACD. He was about 9 months old at the time, and — instead of just jumping right into a program, taking my money, and sending me on my merry way — she took the time to get to know him and build a relationship with him before we started working on correcting the problem. We began coming to socials, and he started to get better and better over time. He is now to the point that he can participate in regular doggy-​daycare. She has patiently answered numerous questions for me over the phone, and has done everything in the best interest of me and my dog. She has also graciously loaned me (and I have returned!!) equipment (including muzzles) that allowed me to properly desensitize him and maximize the effectiveness of our training, and a wonderful book about dog body language so that I, too, could develop an understanding as to what my dog is thinking. And because of the knowledge and tools that Meagan has given me, I have started herding training with him, and can bring him around other dogs in our training without incident. She has literally turned my life around with my dog — from really wondering if I was the right person for him to now him being my loyal partner.
She also became a saving grace for my other dog, a Lab, who was attacked by 2 pit bulls this past November. After he was healed and I began to get out with him, he began displaying some nervous behaviors when being approached by other dogs (which was not typical for him). So, Meagan kindly offered to work with him to help build back his confidence… and now, he is back to being his normal, over-​exuberant Lab-​self when around other dogs.
These are literally the only people within a 1,500 mile radius that I will trust to leave my dogs with when I am out of town, as I know that they will be well-​taken care of. I look forward to continued business with them… but this time for the fun stuff!!!

We were referred to The Collared Scholar by a rescue group when we were having some issues with our two dogs. We were at our wits end and were considering giving up our male dog.
Meagan and Katie quickly assessed the situation and provided us some insights as to our dogs behavior. They developed a training program to deal with my dogs issues (dominance, fear).
We’d taken our dogs to other trainers before, but only Meagan and Katie were able to help us. Most other trainers told us «we can’t help you» or would make excuses for our boy dog’s behavior (he’s handicapped). I liked that Meagan and Katie never seemed to run out of things to try until we found what worked for our dogs.
One year later, and both our dogs passed the Canine Good Citizen test last summer. They are truly a joy. Our house is calm, the dogs are happy, and our friends and guests frequently remark how well behaved our dogs are.
I highly recommend them.

I’ve had my dog trained with Meagan and Katie for about a year now. They are amazing people and got me through some awful stuff with my dog who has major dominance & aggression issues. They really are on top of the dog training techniques and are great teachers. If you are stressing about your furry friend don’t hesitate to call them. They definitely come to the rescue.