Testimonials
The reputation we’ve earned, straight from the people we serve.
Emily did an amazing job training our family puppy. We’ve all remarked that it feels like we came home with a different dog—one who is obedient, attentive, happy and who has a new sense of purpose. Emily is a communicative, knowledgeable, friendly, expert dog trainer, and we plan to bring any future family dogs to train with her.
We cannot say enough wonderful things about Max and the team at Sorensen Kennels. Our dog, Bear, stayed with them for training, and the experience was truly exceptional from start to finish. Max is not only incredibly skilled and knowledgeable, but he has a calm, patient, and intuitive way of working with dogs that you don’t come across often. You can tell immediately that this is his passion and calling.
When we dropped Bear off, he was a sweet but high-energy pup who struggled with impulse control, leash manners, and staying focused. When we picked him up, we could see the difference — he was confident, responsive, clearly proud of himself, and so happy. Max didn’t just teach Bear commands; he gave him structure, purpose, and trust. The respect and bond Bear has with him speaks volumes.
What impressed us just as much was how much time Max spent educating us so that we could continue everything at home. He walked us through every step, gave us realistic guidance, and encouraged us to reach out anytime we had questions.
The facility was clean, safe, and clearly well-run. The communication throughout Bear’s training was consistent, reassuring, and thoughtful.
If you are considering training or boarding for your dog, I cannot recommend Max and Sorensen highly enough. They gave our Bear the best experience and gave us the confidence and tools to continue helping him thrive. This was one of the best decisions we’ve made for our dog.
When we dropped Bear off, he was a sweet but high-energy pup who struggled with impulse control, leash manners, and staying focused. When we picked him up, we could see the difference — he was confident, responsive, clearly proud of himself, and so happy. Max didn’t just teach Bear commands; he gave him structure, purpose, and trust. The respect and bond Bear has with him speaks volumes.
What impressed us just as much was how much time Max spent educating us so that we could continue everything at home. He walked us through every step, gave us realistic guidance, and encouraged us to reach out anytime we had questions.
The facility was clean, safe, and clearly well-run. The communication throughout Bear’s training was consistent, reassuring, and thoughtful.
If you are considering training or boarding for your dog, I cannot recommend Max and Sorensen highly enough. They gave our Bear the best experience and gave us the confidence and tools to continue helping him thrive. This was one of the best decisions we’ve made for our dog.
Our pup Beamer’s month-long stay-and-train at Sorenson Kennels was truly life-changing! Jessica, his amazing trainer, transformed him from a wild, energetic pup into a calm, confident companion. His leash manners, recall, and focus are incredible now. The staff’s care and communication were outstanding—worth every penny! Highly recommend Sorenson Kennels!
Great place with the best golden ever!
Best Kennel around for training and Boarding. Max the trainer is a 10 out of 10 !!!!!
I can’t thank the Sorenson family and staff enough for being there for our family. Everyone that is associated with Sorenson Kennels has treated all my pets as their own. I can’t thank them enough for being there when needed. I never worry about the times in the past or future leaving them there at Sorenson’s. My furry friends seem to know when we are headed to Sorenson’s. They seem to love it there. When I pick them up I feel they have been treated like pet spa day.
I want to say thanks and we appreciate the kindness.
Sincerely
Julie Ferguson
I want to say thanks and we appreciate the kindness.
Sincerely
Julie Ferguson
We took our almost 2 year old dog for overall training to Sorensons. Emily was her trainer and she was great. Emily gave us weekly updates and pictures, we felt like Nellie was in good hands. We have had her home for about a month and there is a noticeable difference in Nellie’s behavior!! It is up to us now to keep working with her.
In years past, we have used their Boarding service. Everything they do is so great for your pet. I highly recommend them. I’ll be getting a dog soon and will reuse them. A+.
We took our 3 year old dog, Ralphie, for the four week training program. We had an excellent experience with Emily. You can tell she loves her job. I highly recommend!
We just picked up our almost 8 month old puppy from Sorenson's 4 week training program and WOW - we could not be happier with the results! Our trainer Brett did such an amazing job, we can hardly believe it's the same dog we dropped off. Our dog came back actually listening to the commands, including his recall and what no means (a huge improvement from before we dropped him off), as well as being able to entertain himself and relax - things he never could do before. He can now hangout with us outside of his kennel substantially more and our overall quality of life with him has improved so much, I can't stop talking about it! I recommend Sorenson and their training programs to anyone who's interested in a well behaved dog that actually listens, they truly will change yours and your dogs life in the best way!
Cody (the gun dog trainer) couldn’t have been more gracious and helpful allowing my husbamd to come for a training session while in the area. Excellent facilities and just the nicest people!
Just brought our 8 month old chocolate lab home from a four week training session and she’s a new dog! I’m so impressed with her new behavior! Brett did an amazing job training her! Thank you
Our 6 month old Goldendoodle puppy was a bit of a handful doing typical puppy things but needed to learn some manners. She would constantly jump up on us, eat food off the counter, wouldn't leave us alone while we ate, pull us during walks, and would bite and mouth our girls like litter mates.
We researched many different places and ultimately decided to send her to Sorenson Kennels for their 4 week board and train service. We were nervous about leaving her for so long but had heard many success stories from friends and family as well as other reviews.
We took advantage of meeting with our trainer, Max, about a month before dropping her off. He helped us feel so at ease throughout the whole process. You can tell he loves his job and the animals he works with. Max sent us pictures and updates twice each week she was gone. He was detailed and honest about her progress. Max was also so patient with us as he taught us how to give her commands and be successful at home.
At the end of the 4 weeks, our girl was still the sweet puppy we dropped off but so very well mannered. She is now so calm and such a great listener to everyone in the family. Her personality is still goofy and playful but she now knows and respects her given boundaries. She knows the commands heel, sit, down, place, wait, off, leave it, and quiet.
We are so grateful for Max and all he has done to help us enjoy our girl so much more. We cannot thank him enough!
We researched many different places and ultimately decided to send her to Sorenson Kennels for their 4 week board and train service. We were nervous about leaving her for so long but had heard many success stories from friends and family as well as other reviews.
We took advantage of meeting with our trainer, Max, about a month before dropping her off. He helped us feel so at ease throughout the whole process. You can tell he loves his job and the animals he works with. Max sent us pictures and updates twice each week she was gone. He was detailed and honest about her progress. Max was also so patient with us as he taught us how to give her commands and be successful at home.
At the end of the 4 weeks, our girl was still the sweet puppy we dropped off but so very well mannered. She is now so calm and such a great listener to everyone in the family. Her personality is still goofy and playful but she now knows and respects her given boundaries. She knows the commands heel, sit, down, place, wait, off, leave it, and quiet.
We are so grateful for Max and all he has done to help us enjoy our girl so much more. We cannot thank him enough!
Thank you to Sorenson Kennels for helping the last 15.5 years to be filled with daily smiles from our golden Willow. She and her sibling Sukey lived long, happy lives. I don’t know if any of the other litter mates from the 2010 Autumn/Carter are still living, but these two dogs lived amazingly long lives! Willow lived out her life in NH, NY, ME, and finally VT. While Sukey lived in Northern Minnesota. The quality of breeding is definitely a part of that. Sukey passed on May 9 and Willow passed today 8/14. Although my heart is broken, the Sorenson Kennels will always be a special part of my life.
My one-year-old black lab (Sorenson-bred!) spent a month doing obedience and off-leash training with Max. My Ivy is quite a handful, but Max was tremendously patient working through her challenges and she came back a happier, much more obedient puppy!! Max provided me with updates throughout the program and provided tremendous instruction to me as well to help me better communicate with my dog. I cannot recommend this training program enough…I knew my dog was tremendously well taken care of the whole time!
My family and myself have been using them for years, they take great care of my puppers and she always has come home safe. 10/10
My baby boy is always happy when coming home from boarding whether it’s for a day or a week.
Our 7 mo bernedoodle did the 4 week board and train with Jessica. It’s been about a week since having him back and life is already so much easier than before sorenson. He’s a relaxed dog and listens to our commands. We still use the collar everyday but are able to go on off leash walks in our busy neighborhood, bring him to our sons sports events and do things around the house while he just chills versus being too high energy and needy. Biggest thing is that he stopped jumping on everyone. Highly recommend!
We took our pup Guinn here for the 4 week training, Emily H. was her trainer and she was excellent. Emily H. made the time away doable with text updates and lots of pictures. When we met for our training I could tell how much our pup liked and respected her. Since Guinn has been home we have noticed a big difference in her skills and obedience and Emily H. said we can continue to text her with any questions or suggestions on any new behaviors that may arise. We will definitely be using Sorenson Kennels, specifically Emily H. for any future training and boarding.
Great place that loves our dogs as much as we do!
Sorenson is the best in the area. We board our dogs here when necessary and have used them for valuable training.
I brought my 5 month old puppy to them and they did a wonderful job. Kudos goes to Emily my dogs trainer. She did a fantastic job. He's high energy and she managed to channel that energy. The worst part was leaving him there for a month. If you have a dog or puppy who needs training I highly recommend them.
We have a Sorenson's breeding mama who is 7 years old now. She had one litter and was a perfect mama to her puppies. After that, several breeding attempts just would not take, so she only had one litter. Our girl is the most perfect, lovable (wants cuddles all of the time), sweet disposition golden. She LOVES all kids, adults, other dogs, you name it she loves. At 7 she still acts like a puppy just poops out quicker. Sorenson kennels was the easiest people to work with and took good care of our girl. If you want the bestest golden retriever but worry about the cost the mama breeding program is a great way to go, (or want to know that your new puppy came a mama that was raised in a good home) just make sure you have the time and energy for a golden puppy AND the heat cycles (which can be exhausting if you have never dealt with a dog in heat). Remember golden retrievets are an amazing family member but they need your attention!!!
We are so pleased that we chose Sorenson’s for behavioral training. Our dachshund puppy was terrorizing our older dog, and our techniques fell on deaf ears. We’ve had many foster dogs and a few dachshund rescues but this little guy was his own man! We researched and interviewed trainers and thought Sorensen’s was a good match.
It was hard to leave our puppy at the kennel for a month, but Emily our trainer, was so kind and communicative. We knew that he was in good hands from the moment we dropped him off, and Emily kept us updated with his progress and photos. When we went to see him on the third week he was still our little guy but much calmer and attentive and welcome to commands. Emily spent as much time with us as we needed and walked us through the training…and until we felt comfortable. We picked him up on week four and went through the training commands again. The experience at home has been wonderful. Our older dog even gets along with him , and they’ve become best buds. Our concerns prior to training were bolting out the front door, pulling on his leash, biting our older dog, generally ignoring us, and chewing household items that could endanger his life. Positive reinforcement and repeating training exercises is the key and we thank Emily so much. Highly recommend Emily and Sorenson's!
It was hard to leave our puppy at the kennel for a month, but Emily our trainer, was so kind and communicative. We knew that he was in good hands from the moment we dropped him off, and Emily kept us updated with his progress and photos. When we went to see him on the third week he was still our little guy but much calmer and attentive and welcome to commands. Emily spent as much time with us as we needed and walked us through the training…and until we felt comfortable. We picked him up on week four and went through the training commands again. The experience at home has been wonderful. Our older dog even gets along with him , and they’ve become best buds. Our concerns prior to training were bolting out the front door, pulling on his leash, biting our older dog, generally ignoring us, and chewing household items that could endanger his life. Positive reinforcement and repeating training exercises is the key and we thank Emily so much. Highly recommend Emily and Sorenson's!
My corgi Charlie went for his training with Alyssa. He was a little crazy boy, and now he is the most well mannered, sweet, boundary appreciating barber shop dog! Everyone loves him and says he is the best behaved corgi they have ever met! I’m so grateful for Alyssa and recommend her to EVERYONE I can. If I ever get another, she will be my first call!
We sent our 1 year old English Lab to Sorenson's for a month long board and train and we could not be happier with the results.
Before training Kaia was disobedient and was wreaking havoc in our house daily. No matter what we tried she remained difficult to deal with and had issues with: mouthing, jumping up, counter surfing, not coming when called, walking on a leash, etc. We were so frustrated as none of our other labs ever had training issues and we were at the end of our rope on how to proceed.
After some research, we decided Sorenson's was the place for Kaia. Her trainer Emily was amazing! I received weekly updates with pictures and videos, so I knew what Emily was working on with Kaia all of the time and additionally, it was nice for our family to still get to "see" her.
Kaia has been home for a week and its like we have a different dog. We are able to enjoy and interact with her so much more and you can tell she's happier too. I would highly recommend Sorenson's for training to anyone as their program, and Emily, really made the difference in Kaia's life!
Before training Kaia was disobedient and was wreaking havoc in our house daily. No matter what we tried she remained difficult to deal with and had issues with: mouthing, jumping up, counter surfing, not coming when called, walking on a leash, etc. We were so frustrated as none of our other labs ever had training issues and we were at the end of our rope on how to proceed.
After some research, we decided Sorenson's was the place for Kaia. Her trainer Emily was amazing! I received weekly updates with pictures and videos, so I knew what Emily was working on with Kaia all of the time and additionally, it was nice for our family to still get to "see" her.
Kaia has been home for a week and its like we have a different dog. We are able to enjoy and interact with her so much more and you can tell she's happier too. I would highly recommend Sorenson's for training to anyone as their program, and Emily, really made the difference in Kaia's life!
We just picked up our 8mth old golden retriever from Sorenson Kennel's. Our trainer, Alyssa, has transformed our dog! Seriously unbelievable. She is the same sweet Annie we dropped off but has manners and listens to us now. She is a joy. Thank you Alyssa and Sorenson's!!!! We will be forever grateful! Oh and she is also one of Sorenson's pups and is beautiful!
We brought our 5 month old lab rescue to Sorensons for training. He was a puppy doing puppy things, but also pretty out of control. After 5 weeks with Max, he’s a completely different puppy. I can’t begin to say how much we have appreciated this entire experience and what a fantastic job Max has done with Tux. This is our second time bringing a dog for extended training. We believe in this facility and staff enough, we actually drove from Michigan and would gladly do it again!!!
Way to go Max!!! Tux is doing great!!!
😊
Way to go Max!!! Tux is doing great!!!
😊
I am very impressed with Sorenson Kennels. My dog underwent the four week training for obedience at 6 months old and came out with a great understanding of what her behavior should be. For me, the four hour travel time was not excessive. I wanted a program that she would be successful in and this was what I got. I also have two follow up sessions if I encounter problems later on. The key takeaway I got out of this is consistency. She is a lifelong commitment and it’s worth every penny to be well mannered so I can fell confident taking her anywhere. Thanks!
Sorenson has been a wonderful experience for training both our labs. Thank you so much!
Nellie is the second Sorensen lab in my family that was also trained at their facilities. We are always so impressed by their integrity and diligent in their breeding program and training. I don’t normally spend time making reviews and do so only when there’s a lasting impact. Nellie is a fantastic family dog. She is playful and social, yet attentive. She isn’t afraid of anything but still prefers to be at your side rather than exploring on her own. The training program really improved her discipline to make her a great buddy to take places. Couldn’t have asked for better!
We have a standard poodle puppy that we love so much, but she is a stubborn one! We tried our best to train her ourselves - watching videos, getting advice from our vet, and constant internet searches on how to modify her behavior. Nothing worked. Thankfully, someone suggested Sorenson. We called and they answered all our questions and we went out for a meet and greet with a trainer. Max was very professional, and his approach was calm but firm. He explained everything to us and made us feel at ease with leaving her for 4 weeks. We missed her, but Max sent updates with pictures and/or videos twice a week. It was great to see her progress and assured us we made the best decision for her and our family. Our girl is still very much a silly, playful puppy, but thanks to Max she is also obedient. Now that she is home, we have to be consistent and practice all that she has learned, but we could not be happier with the results.
Best boarding and training service in the area. Claire loves this place.
We just picked up our puppy today, and I was amazed at what Emily (our fantastic trainer!) was able to do in 4 weeks. He has learned so much and her training lesson with us was so helpful and informative. I highly recommend Sorenson's for anyone who wants a well trained and happy puppy. He was well taken care of!
We did 1 month of board and train for our 9 month old GSP pup, River. Jessica was our trainer and she did a great job. We had open communication throughout the process. We were amazed at what our difficult pup was capable of! Our dog knows and understands all commands we were told she would learn. Now, learning to properly continue her training and reinforce what she learned is the hard part. You do get a lesson when you pick the pup up, and a second included follow up lesson you can utilize if you get home and find you’re struggling. Overall we are very happy with our experience.
Eric was fantastic. My dog adored him and he made her the dog I always wanted. Looking forward to duck season so I can see her work in the field. Top notch training and trainers
Alyssa was amazing, especially working our stubborn queen!
We drove from out of State to acquire a Lab pup from Sorenson's. We highly recommend Sorenson's Kennels if you are interested in AKC certified, pure bred retrievers. Sorenson's has decades of experience and results. If we lived in the greater St Louis metro area, we'd certainly use Sorenson's for boarding and training.
Karen and I are thrilled with the work Emily did with our George. Getting a 9 month old, rambunctious "adolescent" puppy to follow commands was our goal and Emily helped us accomplish that task. She provided texts with pictures and updates on George's progress every 4 or 5 days, which was greatly appreciated. Thanks to Emily and Sorenson's Kennels for their superior abilities.
our 10 month puppy returned from the extensive 4 week course and was markedly better. We have worked with her daily and it takes that for her to stay sharp, but we have had so many compliments on her behavior.
We sent our 8 month old boxer here for 3 weeks of obedience training. They are surprisingly affordable. Our dog is big and strong. I had been training him since 12 weeks and he knew a lot already but off leash he just had a mind of his own. He wasn't listening and was getting on the counters at home etc. The professional at Sorenson trained him on a remote collar and then she trained ME. Now we can go to the park, play off leash and he always comes back to me. Seriously, something just clicked in his brain during his time there. He looks to me for answers now. He doesn't just run off and do his own thing. He is always checking in visually and doesn't stray far from me even when he's technically free. The remote collar doesn't hurt either. (Just in case you are nervous about that part.) It's more of a vibrating sensation and I would call it an attention getter rather than a punishment. I've tried it on myself multiple times at different levels to make sure it's not uncomfortable. One more thing... I know this is getting long. I also really love the training methods I learned from Emily at Sorenson. He's my fourth boxer and I think the best part about creating these boundaries and rules with him is that he truly can be involved everywhere now. He stayed in the down command for at least 3 minutes yesterday while some little kids at the park rubbed his belly. Can it get better than that?
Took our 8 month old very stubborn schnauzer to Sorenson Kennels for training. Jessica was excellent with him and he returned well trained and obedient. Highly recommend there services.
I sent my 4 month old Labrador there for 30 days of board/train and the results were as promised. Our trainer Emily communicated and kept us informed with videos and picture of Benelli's from day through out the entire training. I will definitely send future dogs there
Alyssa did a great job training our puppy. She stayed in touch and kept us informed on progress. When we picked up our pup, she worked with us for about an hour so we could understand the commands to continue our pup's learning at home.
I am very satisfied with the service, and the facility is great!
I am very satisfied with the service, and the facility is great!
Emily ❤️ was Honey’s trainer while she was at Sorenson.
Honey did the 4 week program and it’s has been one of the best investments we have made.
Honey is a 4yr old lab who needed help feeling comfortable in her own “fur”. Emily made this happen!!
Our home, the kids, guests and Honey are so relaxed and in control now!
Thank you Emily!!
Honey did the 4 week program and it’s has been one of the best investments we have made.
Honey is a 4yr old lab who needed help feeling comfortable in her own “fur”. Emily made this happen!!
Our home, the kids, guests and Honey are so relaxed and in control now!
Thank you Emily!!
We sent our 1 yr old Boxer to Sorenson’s for a three week board and train, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the results. Our trainer, Emily, was great to work with, great communication, and it was impressive to watch Dino respond to her, when we came to get him. Emily walked us through the commands, and then we had two more follow up visits with her, to ask questions, and show her how well Dino is doing. Walking on a leash has improved 100%, as he heels nicely next to us. It was also important to us that he learned recall, listening to us, and coming to us, even with distractions. Thank you, Emily, and Sorenson’s!
I will never get another dog and not send them to Sorenson. Emily is amazing and I recommend her to everyone I can
Love the beautiful pictures. Be blessed…
We would highly recommend Emily for training! She did a fantastic job with our one year old chocolate lab Nash. Nash is doing amazing with his commands he learned from Emily. It's a completely different experience taking him on walks. He no longer pulls us or tries to wiggle away. Nash is getting compliments from people in our subdivision on changes in his behavior. Great Job!
Took great care of our 3 dogs and cat
I highly recommend Emily at Sorenson Kennels. Emily did an amazing job training our dog, Ruthie. My husband and I took Ruthie to a few other training companies for basic obedience training but she was still nipping and chewing on everything. Sorenson Kennels was later recommend to us and we are so glad we took her! Emily must have worked so hard with Ruthie because she was like a new dog when we picked her up! She has learned about 10 commands, including how to walk nicely on a leash, lay in her “place”, and wait before walking in/out the door. If you are stressed about your dogs behavior, please give Sorensen a try!
We are so very happy we took our Golden Retriever, Murphy, to be trained at Sorenson. He was 4 months old and ALL PUPPY!! Our trainer, Alyssa, is nothing short of a miracle worker! He was so calm and obedient the first night we brought him home! He listens to commands and is enjoyable in our home. We would recommend Sorenson - especially Alyssa - if you want a gentle, calm and enjoyable family pet!!
Took my 9 month old minidoodle for 4 week of obedience training. Alyssa had been highly recommended. She did not disappoint! Very happy with the results.
Emily was our trainer for our boxer. She went above an beyond with our nervous little guy. I can’t say enough good things about her training and compassion for animals.