Testimonials

"The people at The Collared Scholar are wholly knowledgeable and professional. I have three large dogs that are essentially my wife's and my life. That is we live for and around our dogs. Needless to say I trust Very few people with them and I trust Collared Schollar completely. When we were looking for a trainer for our daughter's pit bull puppy several years ago, we interviewed and tried over six different trainers. When we met with Megean of Collared Scholar our search was over. Her professionalisim and knowledge is unparalelled. I am a past president of the Catalina Island Humane Society and have owned over sixteen dogs over my lifetime. During my life I also worked with many trainers. NONE have even come close to the caliber of Megean and all of the trainers and staff of the Collared Scholar."
-Macy, Brisco, and Sadie's Dad, Rick Clausen

"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. 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!!!!"
- Jake and Tex's Mom, Laura Lambert

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 4th 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. - Bailey's Dad, AJ Hewitson

"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." - Joey's Mom, Nicole H.

"After rescuing an adult female pit bull with an unknown background Cleo gradually made my life miserable in the home. Territorial aggression so bad that no one could come in the home with out having her locked away first. Other animal aggression made walks difficult at best. Add to that a dose of separation anxiety and I never knew what to expect when I came home. My initial office consultation with Meagan was the first reprieve- Finally- an affordable dog trainer with a background in anti-aggression! During the sessions of finding workable solutions I would find myself in tears. Meagan (and sometimes Katie) would listen on about how much I loved Cleo but was almost to the point of giving her up as I could not deal with all the issues at hand. And I knew that if I took her to a shelter it would mean almost certain death. That was the turning point when Meagan offered a boarding/training program. After just 1 boarding session there was a remarkable difference in Cleo. And with the new way I handle Cleo (under Meagan's direction) and subsequent sessions with her, Cleo is an unbelievably changed dog. Easy to walk, calm at home, even the beginnings of being crate trained. We still have a lot of work to do- and by "we" I mean me as I have had to be re-trained ;) Cleo is now the dog that I used to only see in private, and I'm glad I get to start showing her off and sharing her with the world now!!Even with an upcoming move to Los Angeles, I already know I will still come all the way down to board and train with Meagan and her associates. Her willingness to rehabilitate my dog, go above and beyond in what she has to do, and her obvious love for Cleo makes her a hands down recommendation to anyone!Meagan, you saved my partnership with Cleo and I am forever grateful!" 
Sincerely,
Mary C Pittman
and Miss Cleopatra of Fleaopolis

"My partner and I searched many places and took careful consideration when picking a team to rehabilitate our baby boy, Dasher. He was a rescue puppy, so he was very sensitive and his background was unclear. Many places would not even speak to us after finding out he is a pit bull mix. One of the hardest realizations about the whole process was that we needed just as much training as Dash did. Not only did we need compassionate trainers to teach Dash to be well-behaved and confident, we needed friendly professionals to teach us how to effectively communicate with him. What a task!!! Needless to say, we all graduated with flying colors. Meaghan and the amazing staff instantly made us feel welcome. They related to where we were in our process to try to understand Dash. They explained how dogs communicate with the world around them in a way that made us feel excited to learn rather than foolish for not intrinsically knowing. We are a stronger family following our amazing experience at Metropawlitan. Dash is a new man! We continue to take him there for daycare so he can see his friends and enjoy TLC from the staff. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" - Dasher's Mom, Jennifer Tom

"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.
-Guinness's Mom, Erin Cady

"Meagan and her colleagues were great. They were able to diagnose with my very intelligent, unruly, anxious and neurotic pitbull with an extremely high energy drive. They worked with her for 6 weeks and returned a calm and stable dog. They were able to show me some techniques to engage her mind and keep her on track. Now she is happy and we love having her home."
- Pomona's Mom, Elissa Bostick

"When we rescued our dog a year and a half ago, the rescue center said that she was hopelessly aggressive towards other dogs and could never be trusted around other dogs and never off leash. We loved our dog and were bothered by how upset she was by other dogs. My wife started doing research on how we could help her and came across Metropawlitan and the Collard Scholar. The aggression specific training was exactly what we were looking for. We had a free consultation with them and did some one-on-one training where we were taught how to read our dog's body language and how to help her manage her anxiety with other dogs. They offered a multi-week boarding to totally cure her, but suggested that we take as large a role in her training as possible. We've worked with our dog on our own and attended their anti-aggression dog socials as often as we could (once or twice a week) for almost a year and now we can take our dog to the beach to run off leash and on walks in areas frequented by other dogs. In fact, we're so confident in their ability that we take our newborn child to the dog socials with us!"
- Kendra's Parents, Mike and Somer Gates

"Thanks again so much for class on Saturday. That was amazing. I can't believe Hattie was doing so well. You have no idea how much it meant to me to see her walking next to another dog like that. We have been to so many classes and have been through a few trainers and they didn't even get close to what you guys did in less than an hour. You guys are awesome. Thanks again!!!
- Hattie's Mom, Holly Nightingale-Mikus

""We drove all the way from Los Angeles to have Meagan and her team train our two dogs in the in house two week training program. One of our dogs had fear aggression and both needed training. Not only did Meagan do an excellent job with both our dogs, she taught us alot as well about changing our behavior. (We needed training too) Meagan has a natural ability with dogs. She is truly amazing!!"
- Herbie and Ziggy's Dad, Billy Valdes

"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 Yelpers, and other Yelp readers, Meagan has a gift with canines and felines; she welcomes new clients! Ten minutes with Meagan and you will be Yelping, The Collared Scholar , for all to see!
Thank you Meagan and Christine, a star under Meagan's Sky. -Atticus' mom, Trish Sisson

"Meagan is unquestionably the best trainer on the planet! She is firm but kind, patient, compassionate and so very knowledgable as she attempts to train us humans to behave properly with our dog family. Hats off :-)"
-Sadie, Brisco and Macy's mom, Laurie Clausen

Reviews on Kudzu.com

Wonderful! My pittie attended basic obedience lessons at The Collared Scholar and they were great. We were having issues with Separation anxiety and the trainers gave me a ton of great info in our first private session. After that, we enrolled in the group class which was great too! We have made great progress and I would definitely recommend them to anyone who asked!
- luvmypittie

Fantastic Trainers! These ladies really go the extra mile to help owners understand how best to communicate with our dogs, which in my mind really made my training so much easier, and also made my dog and I's relationship so much better! Thanks so much for all your help!!
- DoggyMomCA

Great Trainers! I called Megan and her team for help with my pit bull after being referred by a lcoal rescue group - she was displaying aggression issues and I didn't know what to do. Megan and her team put me at ease in the initial consultation. We got to work and within two weeks, my pup did a complete 180! Of course I had to follow through with their advice but if it weren't for them, I am not sure what I would have done. My dog is now a trustworthy member of society - she goes with me everywhere. I would highly recommend these girls!
- katmv

Awesome Service! Very Knowledgable! These girls know their stuff! I took my german shepherd to them for help with his aggression issues - primarily he was having issues with other dogs. Within three private sessions, most of our problems were solved. The staff really understood my dog and you could tell they really cared about our success! We enrolled in their group classes and have been equally impressed!
- dogmomca