Testimonials

Robin has been teaching dog training courses since 1994. She has devoted her career to helping pet owners as well as other professional trainers. The cumulative impact of her work has helped thousands of people improve the relationship they have with their dogs. This page is dedicated to sharing some of those stories.

With this course, we learned more about our dog and how to deal with his behavior than all other obedience courses we have taken combined. The dog personality profile was a huge eye opener for us.  Learning about his personality helped us to understand why River reacted to certain situations the way he did and therefore helped us to understand what we needed to do to modify those behaviors instead of feeling so frustrated by them. The personalized attention you… Read more “Beyond the Basics is exceptional!”

I just finished your 5 DVD series on e-collar training and wanted to say thank you. I have a 5 month old lab who has been quick to learn but has recently become more independent minded while in the field and I’ve been worried about his safety for that reason. I was very reluctant to get an e-collar as I remember the ones from 50 years ago that my family had which were only used in a negative way to… Read more “A humane approach to ecollar training”

Kevin Smith
online dog training

Hi Robin, I just finished a training weekend with Greg Doud and you were on my mind the entire weekend. It’s been 1 year since our on line coaching sessions and I can’t thank you enough for helping us. Your knowledge and support were the foundation of our success this year. Rocky and I have worked with passion, love and lots of failures but we are coming through it all with appreciation of each other and I can honestly say… Read more “Angie with Rocky”

Angie Cline

We sent our 5 month old GSP, Bauer, to Robin for her personal 3 week board and train. From the very start, her and her staff were responsive and extremely helpful. They replied to emails in a quick manner and answered every question thoroughly. When we dropped Bauer off, he was dealing with some sensitive gut issues. Not only did Robin train him to be a wonderful puppy, but she helped us transition his diet and get him on a… Read more “Mary Kate with Bauer”

MaryKate Rosenfelder

I quit my job with a plan to section hike the Appalachian Trail. The pandemic hit and I was unable to travel so I got a Brittany puppy named Hank. Hank is energetic and exuberant and loves to chase anything that moves. The summer he was nearing a year old, the Appalachian Trail reopened for backpacking. Hank was not well-trained enough to be a trail dog. Chasing a black bear would not be good for Hank or the bear! I… Read more “Staci and Hank”

Staci Madrola

I have worked with Robin for going on 12yrs. I have owned Labrador Retrievers for the purpose of recreational Waterfowl Sport Dog use. I recently purchased a new Labrador Retriever puppy. He is from strong hunting lines. I knew right away he would be getting all his obedience training with Robin. Drake is a very energetic, busy dog, so needs good obedience to keep his composure.  I also have 2 kids ages 8 (boy) and 10 (girl). My last Labrador… Read more “Travis and Drake”

Travis Beer

Robin — Thank you for challenging me to be the most interesting thing to my dog! Although I came to your fetch workshop expecting to learn a few new tricks, I left with an entire toolkit of skills that are continuing to help me improve my relationship with my dog. It’s incredibly rewarding to see Kona hold her “fetch” because it serves as a little reminder of what we can achieve together with patience, persistence, and perfect practice!

Amanda Slavin

This is my second seminar with Robin the first one being in 2023. I must say I got as much or even more from this go around. Robin is my go to on how to use the electronic collar but also on how to COACH clients. I graduated NePoPo® gold school in 2021, while the school had valuable information, it was not as applicable to my business as Robin’s seminar. I have gotten much more of a return on investment… Read more “My business has doubled in the last year.”

Robin MacFarlane is truly a class act—her instruction is not only thorough and clear but also delivered with such kindness and genuine empowerment. I’ve just returned from her 5-day Train the Trainer course in Kentucky, and this was my second time attending. I am beyond grateful for the experience. I’ve read countless books and attended seminars led by other well-known trainers, but no one teaches the use of the e-collar with the same level of care, precision, and effectiveness as… Read more “Robin MacFarlane is truly a class act—her instruction is not only thorough and clear but also delivered with such kindness and genuine empowerment.”

Megan Speers

Attending the Ecademy 5-day dog training course with Robin MacFarlane was an incredible experience. As a new trainer, I was initially intimidated by the idea of being in a professionals-only workshop, especially when some participants had already worked with hundreds of dogs or had even taken the course before. However, Robin was intentional about creating an inclusive and welcoming environment for everyone, regardless of their experience level or the behavior of their dogs. My own dog, an 11-month-old German Shepherd… Read more “A course for anyone serious about professional dog training”

Yesterday, we wrapped the 5-day Ecademy course up at my business in Northern Kentucky. Robin was not only an incredible instructor but also the easiest person to work with in coordinating the event. Robin was extremely self-sufficient and organized. She made everything as easy on me as the host as possible and even pretended to enjoy my cooking! As for the course itself, I really don’t think I can explain well enough how impactful those five days were. Throughout my… Read more “Ecademy Course Testimonial – KY 2024”

Tori Tilley

I have been using the eCollar since 2014 — its never been my go to tool nor my favorite thing to teach owners. However I am certainly using it now in terms of precision and accuracy, as well as a foundation for clear and rewarding communication between the dog and handler. Before Robins advanced class it was more of an add on by request or whomever I am working for wanted it done — I will never think every dog… Read more “Not Just a Correction!!”

Lisamarie Warne

I recently took Robin MacFarlane’s virtual Ecollar: Beyond the Basics course. I am so glad I took this course! It was like driving across the Golden Gate Bridge out of the fog and into the light. I am supercharged and full of confidence, knowledge, assurance, and positive real solutions to training dogs with an ecollar.  Robin’s ability to explain the use of an e-collar in training a dog to respond in a positive, calm, relaxed way is simply awesome. Any… Read more “Out of the fog and into the light!”

Cathy Joseph

Robin’s E-cademy, Train-the-Trainer program summarized in one word – Amazing!  I filled a notebook with enough “ah ha” moments on day one to recognize this investment paid for itself.  This course is perfect for both pet dog trainers looking to expand their e-collar knowledge and trainers new to the e-collar wanting to take their training and business to the next level. Robin communicated in a way that was instructional for both newer and seasoned trainers. We worked hands on with… Read more “Robin’s E-cademy program summarized in one word – Amazing!”

Maureen May

I’m so grateful for this experience with Robin. It’s not just that it’s great information, because it is, it’s the fact that I walked away feeling incredibly empowered and motivated to replicate the information and skills that I learned both with dogs and human clients. I feel like I’m a better teacher for it. Everything was broken down into clear and simple instructions. I highly recommend this course for anyone who wants to learn about the e-collar. Whether you’ve got prior… Read more “Improved Instructing Skills!”

Meg Clairborne

Robin MacFarlane’s E-cademy course is the best hands on program for dog trainers to learn and increase their skills with positive reinforced E-collar training. As a business owner, it is a program I want all my trainers to attend. Not only will they come back more skilled and knowledgeable about E-collar training, but all aspects of training, including successfully teaching clients, running group classes and completing evaluations. If you have dog trainers that work for you, they should take this… Read more “Employee Training”

Kendra Sandoval

I have taught dog training for over 20 years, competed in various dog sports, and have used e-collars with my dogs primarily for fieldwork. Viewing Robin’s E-Collar Training DVDs sparked my interest in her Train-the-Trainer E-Cademy. Going in I was fairly confident that it would advance my knowledge and skills, but I didn’t expect to end up wishing the course had been available 20 years ago. Besides invaluable training skills, the course provided a deeper dive into the technology and… Read more “Ted Ridley”

Ted Ridley (Ontario, Canada)

Please allow this letter to serve as a recommendation for Robin MacFarlane. I have known Robin since 2003. This was shortly after I retired from law enforcement during which time I handled a police K9 dog for 10 years and supervised the K9 Unit for 10 years. Obviously I knew something about dogs and their training but having had the opportunity to work with her has taught me more about dogs, training and how to modify their behavior than I… Read more “Brian Berg”

Brian Berg

I came out of the E/cademy week with Robin with a deeper understanding of remote collars and best practices for both using them and teaching clients to use them. It was also extremely helpful to see how Robin structures her business and gave me tons of great ideas about how to improve the services I offer and potentially expand in the future. Her and her team are very knowledgeable and friendly and it was a pleasure to spend the week… Read more “Nikki DeLuca”

Nikki DeLuca

I had the privilege to work for Robin in the past. So when it came time to better educate my own staff in dog training techniques, especially e collar, I knew Robin was the one to call. Robin came and spent the weekend with myself and my staff members at my facility and it was certainly an invaluable time. She is really the “Trainers trainer”. We all learned so much, and the feedback she gave helped us shape our skills… Read more “Jen Westrate”

Jen Westrate

Robin isn’t just a Dog Whisperer, but is a People Whisperer. You can’t get a better teacher. I have trained under several e-collar pros. I keep coming back to Robin for my continuing education.

Will Bangura

With a lot of hesitation, I left my head trainer position at a training facility after 10 years. I absolutely loved working with the dogs and teaching the owners. It was my life. I just thought there was more out there to learn. For 10 years I had only studied under one person, that being my boss. He did teach me a lot. The remote training collar was the main piece of equipment we used. We would use other tools… Read more “Nicole Finizio”

Nicole Finizio

Hey Robin! I truly can not Thank you enough. You have changed my life, my dogs life and many lives to follow. I have only been home a week and I can not tell you how many light bulbs have gone off for my dog and I. The huge holes I came to the seminar with are filled and all the questions I had that were holding me back and frustrating me are gone. I went from frustrated, too complex… Read more “Christina Wade”

Christina Wade

I wanted to thank you for the fantastic E- Cademy experience. Three days after returning to Fort Wayne and to Flying Colors Canine Academy, my bosses husband was seriously injured. She was unable to return to work for nearly three weeks. The knowledge and experience I gained from you allowed me to immediately get to work and keep things moving. I was able to jump in and start 6 day train dogs, handling classes, and Puppy group class. I just… Read more “Amber Williams”

Amber Williams

Before I met Robin you could describe me is a dog trainer enthusiast. Shortly after I trained with her I was able to help people with their dogs where other trainers had little or no success. Other trainers that took the course with me were very accomplished trainers and she was able to help us all, new or seasoned. Open a book and start reading…this is the same simplicity that Robin reads dogs with. Myself and my wife will always… Read more “Joel Rouncville”

Joel Rouncville

Thank you so much Robin for educating me In Remote Collar training through your E-cademy professional dog trainers course. I learned so much from you and your team. I have never met anyone that can explain training as well as you can. You are an exceptional trainer and so are your staff members. When I brought Skippy to your academy with me I knew he would progress but he has made a complete turn around. We are thinking his family… Read more “Cary Justin”

Cary Justin

I was wanting to work with Robin for some time but thought me being in Australia would have been a problem. After speaking to Robin about what I wanted to learn she set a plan in place for me. I was so happy I was going to get taught the trained retrieve by Robin. Robin set up schedule for the training and then we began talking more on Skype to go over the pre requisites and process of the trained… Read more “James Maturana”

James Maturana

Robin absolutely opened my eyes on the use of the e collar. Her simplicity to teach and ability to help you achieve your goals are one of the main characteristics I valued from her. She taught me how useful is to have the tool to correct the dog without being invasive. She is so clear on the use of the e collar that she broke every myth I could have, and clear up every question I got from the e… Read more “Maria José Rivera”

Maria José Rivera

Robin is one of the best dog trainers you’ll ever find. Your dog will be both happier and more reliable once you’ve used Robin’s techniques.

Adam Katz