WE LOVE OUR CLIENTS.
AND THEY LOVE US TOO.
THEY'RE THE REASON WE CONTINUE TO DO WHAT WE DO
Our clients come from all walks of life, but they all have one thing in common.. they're all dog lovers.
FINLEY
GERMAN SHEPHERD
Dear Steve,
We cannot thank you enough for what you have done for our dog Finley and our family. We were at our wits end when we found you. Finley was very hard to control, so much so that we were afraid to have people come to our home and I was afraid to take him out of the house. We had about 5 trainers you, they all cost plenty of money, but did not make any difference. I was always told that his behavior was my fault because I was not listening well enough, following through or being stern.
After working with you, Finn came home a completely different dog. I thought you might have returned a different dog. He listens to commands, plays well with the children, and is overall a wonderful pet for our family. Your hard work has really paid off for us. If it wasn’t for you, I am not sure we would have been able to keep Finn. My dogs are like my kids, but he was so very difficult. Finley and The Birk’s LOVE Steve!
We are truly grateful!
Brian and Britt Birk
Ps. We are also so thankful that you will have him back when we are away. He loves going to the Steve Hong Hotel!
COOPER
ENTLEBUCHER MOUNTAIN DOG
I am a proud owner of Cooper, an Entlebucher (one of the Swiss Mountain Dogs). I got Cooper when he was 8 weeks old. Right away I knew I needed a trainer. The first trainer I hired told me after 3 weeks that she could not train my dog. Cooper knew all his commands the trainer taught him like sit, stay and down, but the problem would be all the other times I didn’t give him a command. Cooper would bolt out of the crate and jump and nip at me relentlessly. Cooper had such energy he would never rest. You could not pet him without him nipping and you could never go down on the floor at his lever because he would pin you down and start biting. Upset and lost at what to do, I googled dog trainers and came across Steve’s website. Our first meeting with Steve, he quickly knew Cooper’s temperament and most likely mine. I was concerned Cooper was an aggressive dog and Steve assured me he wasn’t, but a strong alpha dog with high energy. He recommended boot camp for six weeks and I agreed. It was an investment, but one I never regretted. After boot camp I continued to go to lessons and tat is when I learned how to handle Cooper. Cooper tested me many times, but I stuck with the program and I am grateful I did. Cooper is the loving family pet my family and I were hoping for.
Gina Miranda
LUNA
MINI AUSTRALIAN SHEPHERD
Our miniature Australian Shepherd dog Luna came into our home as a seemingly well adjusted, sweet, but shy one year old pup. After raising two kids, we figured a dog couldn’t be any more difficult. Within just a few days of her arrival though, she began to exhibit signs of aggression towards anyone but me and my husband. She snapped at my 90 year old father (who lives with us), she growled and nipped at friends who were visiting, and when our daughter left for college and came back two weeks later, Luna tried to bit her hand. She became a terror on the leash – baring her teeth, letting out deep growls, and lunging toward other dogs or people – it got to the the point that she would growl at everyone we passed. Our visions of day hikes and walks in the park with our dog vanished.
Realizing we needed a super pro I scoured the internet looking for the best of the best. I found Steve through a woman at K9 Behavior Service on Long Island. Steve met us at a neutral spot, had me pass him the leash, and went for a walk with our growly, snarly monster. After a lengthy meeting and a discussion about Luna’s behavior we agreed to start the training as soon as possible.
It was extremely hard to be without Luna so we were texting Steve ALOT. He kept us updated on her progress and even sent some pictures. About two weeks into the training he brought Luna to the park so we could see her – we were going out of our minds we missed her so much. Clearly she was quite content to be with Steve – I would describe her as being mildly pleased to see us – which was just fine! We were so worried she was lonely or afraid, but she seemed so happy and content. Assured of her well-being we were able to relax and allow Steve do his job and let us know when she’d be ready for us. About four weeks later we were reunited with a completely different – BETTER version of our dog. Best still, as part of the training, we continually met with Steve for private and group lessons so he could watch and correct our behavior.
Steve is a top notch professional and we are so grateful to have found him. If you love your dog and you want results call Steve.
Barbara Leff
bleff@monkgroup.com
VINNIE
ENGLISH BULLDOG
I just want to thank Steve and his family for once again taking care of my prince Vince over the Christmas holiday. It gives us a huge amount of peice of mind knowing that he will get the extra bit of attention than the alternative kennel option while also topping up his training. Getting to collect a perfect gentleman at the end of his stays is amazing and really helps with maintaining his behavior. Plus he always comes back exhausted, which can only be a good sign; the only time we put him in kennels he came home like the Tasmanian devil due to being cooped up 24-7. So, thank you Steve & Co, you really have changed our lives by helping my increasingly well behaved devil dog
Rosie Waller
LOLA
LABRADOODLE
My whole family would like to thank Steve and K9KEY. Our 8 month old Labrodoodle, Lola was on her way out. She was destroying all our furniture, shoes, paper, anything. Our young children, 6 and 3 years old could not play with her because she would just jump on them. My 6 year old niece would not even walk in our door until she knew Lola was in the kennel. My husband and I thought we made a BIG mistake. We sent Lola away to K9key for four and a half weeks. We actually enjoyed the time without her because it was so stressful having her in our home, but when she came back…… it was like we got a completely different dog. Now because of Steve’s training my niece is no longer scared of dogs. My kids play ‘house’ with Lola all day. My husband and I enjoy her so much, she became a true part of the family. It was worth it all. Steve was so helpful even after she came back. I wanted to make sure Lola didn’t lose her training skills, he was on my speed dial and Steve was there for me, talking me through any situation that arose. We are so grateful to K9key.
Thank you!
The Scannapieco family
SAM & LUCY
SHILOH SHEPHERD
After years of waiting for the right circumstances and another year waiting for the right puppy, my wife and I finally got the dog we have been dreaming about in Lucy. She is smart, beautiful, gentle and kind, and possessed with a strength of personality that has always been impossible to ignore. As a Shiloh Shepherd, she has always been big and strong, even at just 9 weeks old, she was strong enough to pull harder than we could have imagined possible, and when feeling stubborn she could transform herself into an immovable object. We knew from the start that we would need to bring her for training as she is our first dog and admittedly we knew nothing about what is needed to raise a healthy, happy and well behaved large breed dog. First we tried puppy kindergarten and found that it was primarily about socialization, which while crucial, was redundant for Lucy as she spends hour a day with other dogs in the park or in daycare. I began looking for a more structured training system that would allow Lucy’s German shepherd heritage to have it’s instincts satisfied, while training her in obedience when I found out about Schutzhund. In looking for a local Schutzhund club to talk to I found Steve Hong, and from that point on things quickly became a whole lot easier. From the start, Steve was incredibly informative and clear. He explained what Schutzhund was in detail and what it would entail in terms of commitment for all involved. He also explained several other training options, as well as answering some questions about diet, and in the end, we opted for private sessions once a week starting with an interview session where he met and got to know Lucy.
From the moment Steve first walked in the door at our first meeting, I knew everything was going to be okay. He was, and has always been incredibly professional and relaxed. And when he met Lucy, something truly hard to believe happened. Within literally 3 minutes from the time he walked in the door, he had Lucy sitting perfectly at his left side politely waiting for her next command. It was a little spooky as this is a dog who while lovable, had never done much of anything we had asked her to do and was more prone to laughing at our commands than obeying them. But somehow, within absolutely no time at all, Steve had gained her attention, respect and trust and in the process she was transformed from badly behaved puppy to show dog. The training that followed has been nothing short of miraculous and while it did not happen all at once, not surprisingly, it turned out Lucy needed less training than my wife and I, over time Lucy has been transformed into all the things we had hoped she would be. Each individual session has resulted in real progress and we have opted to continue working with Steve as we enjoy the process of learning as much as Lucy does. Over the last several months I have recommended Steve and K9 Key to other dog owners that we meet at the park and everyone has been very happy with both the experience of as well as the results of his training. Steve has also become our main go to person for just about all questions dog related. He has provided indvaluable assistance in helping us pick the right food for Lucy, which as anyone with a shepherd knows is not so easy to do, as well as being the first person we call when we have yet another of the random questions that seem to come up while caring for one’s first dog. Overall, I can’t recommend Steve and K9 Key strongly enough. I truly believe that anyone with a dog could benefit from his experience and training.
Eli Weissman
Brooklyn, NY
ESPRESSO & COOKIE
MIX
I recommend Steve without hesitation or reservation – what a fabulous job of training Espresso!!
As you can see from the pictures, when I first got Espresso, he was a very energetic dog that not only destroyed couches, but also tugged on the leash and chased squirrels…I left him with Steve for the 4-week program, and Espresso came back as a totally transformed dog. He’s exceptionally good at walking next to me and obeying commands. He doesn’t chew on couches anymore either! In fact, you can see from one of the pictures that he even let us bury him in the sand on the beach! Great job Steve!!
Peter Lee
SVP
DataSynapse Group, TIBCO Software Inc.
LINCOLN
GERMAN SHEPHERD
We first met with Steve when our puppy “Lincoln” was eight months old. We had seen a variety of other trainers, but no one seemed to tune in to us or our dog as well as Steve. Steve quickly figured out the situation and in a gentle, but firm manner engaged our dog and helped to alleviate may difficulties that are common to a German Shepherd puppy – agitation, restlessness, and leash aggression. Steve worked with us to give us a much better understanding of our boy. And now, several months later, he is a well-behaved, loving, very well-socialized dog.
We are so grateful to Steve Hong.
He has an enormous intelligence about dogs and in his quiet, playful manner, was able to turn a potentially difficult situation around. I recommend him wholeheartedly. He is wonderful.
Lynne
Brooklyn, NY
MINI
CHOW MIX
There are no words to describe how grateful I am that I found K9key!
Mini (mutt) came to stay one night at my house and has been here 3 years later!!!!
Mini was a stray dog that made her way here from the streets of Puerto Rico. As a new dog owner I had no clue on how to train or teach a dog anything. I tried a group class at a local pet store and wanted more personalized attention. I asked around for a recommendation for dog trainer, through a friend I came across K9KEY! Mini had several issues that we needed to work on. At each session, Steve explained what was going to take place in the session and by the end of the session Mini did exactly what was taught. I was and still am so impressed with her training and the knowledge & skills that K9Key has shared with us. If anybody wants to call me to get a reference I will be more than happy to do so!!!!!
With much thanks!!!
Stacey B
Oceanside, NY
BELLE
TERRIER MIX
My dog Belle and I recently moved to NYC from Boulder, Colorado. We did not know many people, but had heard about Steve’s dog services (NY Dog School) through people at the dog park. A couple of months ago I left Belle with Steve for 4 weeks. While I was gone, he kept me updated on her daily activities and sent pictures. If you’re like me, your dog is like your child. It can be stressful leaving your pet, but having your pet stay with Steve alleviates all dog-related stress and worry.
Jennifer C.
Brooklyn, NY