Elisha grew up in the heart of Mardi Gras country against a training background of working farm horses, dressage, polo, and mounted police. Her first rides happened before she could walk. Since infancy, she has been fascinated by the symbiotic relationship between these flighty, half-ton prey animals and the predators they allow on their backs, so her uncle, founder and head trainer and clinician of National Mounted Police Services, quickly became one of her earliest and most important mentors.

She dove headfirst into natural horsemanship, "problem horse" training, and colt starting at just 10 years old. As soon as she was old enough to legally work, she started what everyone jokingly called Elisha's Reform School for Wayward Ponies (until its expansion to include wayward puppies!). For that time, most of Elisha's dog exposure was half-feral farm dogs, the occasional police K9, and pet dogs with behavior problems that she trained out by sheer forced proximity, although she did not particular identify as a Dog Person.

She tripped and fell into the working dog world proper after unexpectedly becoming, quite against her will, the sole owner of one Siberian husky puppy named Midna, and subsequently meeting internationally renowned level 3 mondioring decoy Kevin Bain, training director of Fire Pines Ring Club, where she has been a competitor in mondioring, commonly considered the most difficult dog sport (working dog training competition) in the world, ever since. She studied intensively for five years under both Kevin Bain and IGP world championship competitor Scott Severs of Bergseite Training Center while applying her behavior modification specializations from her past work to a challenging introductory roster of client dogs.

Needless to say, she fell in love and has been working dogs ever since. She is owned by Midna, two Abyssinians, an indeterminable number of chickens, two Arabian geldings, and one wise old pony. Her spare time is spent on farm chores and getting beaten up by Kevin's various young malinois.

Like all the best dogs, Midna is bossy, brave, smarter than you think she is, and brimming with energy and personality. Very much like her owner's Arabians, she is game for whatever, the world's best all-rounder. Her career is multifaceted and ever-evolving, but she is best known for her mondioring work and holding the most advanced performance title any Siberian husky has ever earned (MR1).

In October 2024, she traveled to New Jersey for her MR1 debut on an away field under new decoys and under a first-time MR1 handler, passing her first leg. On March 7, 2025, she became the first Siberian in the world to achieve the second and final leg of a full three-phase FCI protection sport title, placing 3rd out of 7 in an MR1 class of, besides herself, exclusively Belgian malinois. A day later, she earned her OBJ2. In March 2026, she made an impressive MR2 debut (highlight reel here) and also took her first crack at OB3, finishing just one point away from a perfect score (the one point was Elisha's fault, but we won't talk about that).

She has many more titles ahead of her. She can currently be found working towards MR2 when she is not co-wrangling a malinois or also buried in farm chores.

Nightside's Twilight Princess, CGC TKA Brevet OBJ2 OB3 MR1

Because every dog is an individual, no dog's program will look exactly the same as another's. That said, the core of our philosophy at MIK9 is balance: building up a dog's weaknesses while capitalizing on his strengths, and bringing harmony to the dog/human (or dog/dog!) relationship. We are heavily reward-based, but probably not in the way you are used to :). We work with the dog's natural drives to teach self-confidence, stability, agency, coping skills, clarity, and most importantly, the JOY within the "work." (It shouldn't really feel like work if you're doing it right!)

Here at MIK9, we believe strongly in the importance of being emotionally honest with our dogs as well as following through on our promises. A relationship is a two-way street, and it requires active, fair, and good-faith participation from both parties. Many trainers talk about holding dogs accountable but neglect to stress the importance of the OWNER'S accountability to the DOG also.

This means that MIK9 is not for you if:

• You don't want to listen to what your dog is clearly telling you.
• You don't want to go outside and physically PLAY and have active fun with your dog. (No, just treats are not enough.)
• You're not ready to set ego aside and be honest with yourself about your own habits and how they shape your dog's behavior.
• You're not interested in making real changes to meet your dog's underlying needs.
• You want a great dog without putting the time in to learn to be a great handler.

But if you're ready to come with an open mind and challenge yourself to help your dog grow—to realize his true potential—then we would be thrilled to work with you.

These programs all have a minimum duration of 4 weeks and include off leash.

Pet Obedience

Common Behaviors Addressed:

Behavior Modification I

Behavior Modification II

Behavior problems we specialize in:

Genetic issues training can help control, but for which strict management by a very strong handler will always be required for safety (see FAQ, "Have you ever encountered a dog you couldn't help/fix?"):

Lessons

Board & Train

Puppy Raising

We can help you with:

With particular experience in:

Feel free to reach out to schedule a consultation! Please see the question below regarding long distance.

Sure. Long-distance consultations are conducted virtually via Zoom, or via phone if that is your preference, though the lack of real-time visual may limit the quality of the information exchanged. The price is the same either way.

Yes. 😊

Yes, I absolutely take dogs with bite histories, and I do not require them to be muzzle trained beforehand. However, in human aggression cases, prior muzzle training may determine a program recommendation of Behavior Modification I (low risk) vs. Behavior Modification II (high risk), resulting in a significant price difference.

With very few exceptions, intra-pack fighting signals a fundamental breakdown or instability in the social hierarchy of the home and cannot be solved without addressing ALL contributing parties’ behavior.

Put bluntly, it’s never just the one dog. It’s a function of the relationship(s) between, at minimum, all dogs involved in the fights—often all of the dogs in the home period—AND your own relationship with the dogs. You cannot pull two fist-fighting siblings off each other, tell one he has to behave and can’t hit his brother anymore, tell the other he is free to continue doing whatever he wants, and expect that to go over well. It’s not fair and will not solve the actual problem, but will badly damage your relationship with the first/trained dog. You must individually train and form a strong relationship with BOTH/ALL dogs for any of the changes to stick.

In cases of large packs where two particular dogs are fighting, it is sometimes possible to achieve pack harmony by sending the two fighting dogs for training and then applying everything you learn over the course of those two dogs’ training to the others at home (but this does depend on those dogs’ temperaments/behavior as well, and your skill as a trainer). In cases where time, effort, and finances are all strictly prohibitive and removing one pack member will almost certainly restore harmony for the rest, I must recommend simply rehoming that one dog.

Nope! However, I do sometimes encounter dogs who will not be a good fit for their current home's lifestyle or skill level even in their ideal state, and I am honest about this opinion up front and may decline to take on those cases because it is frankly very frustrating and upsetting to spend so much time working and bonding with a dog knowing it's all going to be for nothing in the end.

I may also turn cases down because I do not feel it would be ethical to take a given dog on for training; for example, I have declined to do board & trains for elderly dogs with advanced-stage health issues that are likely the direct cause of the behavior problems that prompted the owners to contact me in the first place.

(Please note, I do not at all fault these owners for asking. They are often in desperate situations with dogs they're extremely attached to after many, many years together. It's completely understandable to want to make sure you've truly exhausted all of your options before making a terribly difficult decision. It's a very sad and unfortunate thing that deserves empathy, not judgment.)

Behavior modification is beyond the scope of what can be safely and effectively addressed within lessons and will require board & train.

If the behavior issues are strictly context dependent and able to be kept at bay with basic environmental management, you may certainly still bring your dog for lessons on handling skills and obedience. Alternatively, I can offer independent handling lessons in which you practice concepts with safe “schoolmaster” animals and then apply what you learn to your own dog on your own time.

Otherwise, if you would like to see more of my work prior to committing to board & train, you may sign up to audit other dogs’ sessions or peruse the many videos posted on social media.

For program graduates, yes, all the time! Client dogs are ALWAYS welcome back on the farm (schedule permitting). For outside/non-client dogs, no, barring very exceptional circumstances.

Board & train follow-ups may be performed in-home for a travel fee. For established lesson clients whose dogs can demonstrate a certain level of mastery over the concepts covered in previous lessons, if we agree there is a need for a lesson(s) to take place at the dog’s home, I may decide to conduct one or more of the lessons in a package at that location. Otherwise, no.

For private lessons alongside the owner, yes. For pet board & train, no. Puppy raising for sport/working is decided case by case; drop me a line and we’ll talk.

For public access, yes. Tasks, generally no due to liability. Certain mobility and psychiatric tasks can be decided on a case-by-case basis. Scent-based alerts depend strongly on the quality of the scent samples provided and cannot be guaranteed.

For clients interested in board & train, I do a meet-and-greet that also functions as a brief initial evaluation of the dog and his/her program needs. After confirming program tier and drop-off dates, I collect a 25% deposit to secure your space on my calendar. On drop-off day, we’ll do a long handling lesson before your departure; prepare to spend a couple of hours learning up front. Please note, owner education is still a huge part of the board & train.

Your dog will spend most of his/her first week settling in and learning basic foundations. Midway through your dog’s stay, we do a check-in lesson where you’ll see the dog’s progress and I’ll give you any needed homework or prep items for go-home. At the end of your dog’s stay is a series of pick-up lessons wherein your dog will demonstrate all of his/her new skills first with me, then with you handling. At least one of these will take place out in public.

You will receive a go-home packet with a written reference list, rules, and instructions. These are fully customized and individual to each dog. I am immediately available for any and all questions or problems you encounter during the reintegration phase and typically require at least one follow-up lesson, unless distance is very prohibitive. After that, additional follow-ups may be scheduled as needed. They are included in the price of the board & train.

Yes, provided the owner is ready to deal with the trips here! We've unfortunately had several clients whose trust in their local options was completely eroded to the point to where they preferred to drive or fly their dogs here from other parts of the country over risking more disappointment closer to home.

Plan to book a dog-friendly hotel room and stay for a few days around go-home. We typically do 3 days of lessons:

Day 1: Reunion and demonstration of new skills and concepts
Night 1: Dog stays with me; you digest what you learned and think of any questions you have for day 2

Day 2: Challenge day where we really test what the dog knows and also start the "transfer of power" from me back to you
Night 2: You take the dog back to the hotel with you and test out some alone time with your (and your pup's) new skill set!

Day 3: We reconvene to address any problems you had or additional questions you thought of on night 2, review your go-home materials, go over any additional final notes, and do any needed prep for your trip back home.

I am of course available by phone after you leave and will always strive to provide the same level of post-training support that I do to my local clients.

No. I work with extreme 'flight risk' horses—even the largest, strongest panicking/bolting dog is a thousand times easier. I am very proud of and committed to maintaining my zero-incident track record, and have a zero-tolerance policy for negligence.

As far as injuries go, I request that clients sign a general liability waiver, as the dogs do hike and play off leash while at training and accidents can always happen in those scenarios. However, I have a strong vet-care background and many years of experience in lameness ID and diagnosis, first aid and emergency response, post-surgical care, rehabilitation, fitness and conditioning, recommended practices and standards of care for common ailments, and safe administration of fluids and required medications.

I am extremely careful with my client dogs and keep a close eye on gait, mood, and physical condition at all times. Any issues I find or notice over the course of training are reported back to the owners for exploration with their GP and/or relevant specialists.

Owners are also required to sign an emergency waiver authorizing me to seek care in the event of an emergency (such as bloat, or a neurological crisis). I of course do my best to contact owners immediately in these (very rare) cases, but in the event that the owner is not reachable and has not preadvised euthanasia in the event of a life-threatening emergency, whatever veterinary measures need to be taken to save your dog will be taken, at owner expense.

Of course! This is part of why I encourage direct drop-off.

The dogs stay with us on our farm property, which has ample room for the dogs to run and play. Outside of sessions and pack walks, if the dogs are not being supervised, they are securely crated indoors in my studio living/training/canine-fitness combo area. The dogs are integrated into our daily routine and treated exactly like a dog I personally own, NOT left in outdoor kennel rows for 23 hours of the day like you’ll find at most “chain” facilities. They learn house manners inside the house and go on regular field trips to practice in public and at other facilities owned by the friends and mentors we train with. “It takes a village” doesn’t apply just to human kids!

The crates we use are Kong, Ruffland, ProSelect Empire, and Rock Creek, depending on the level of durability and enclosure needed. If your dog is already crate trained and has a crate he already likes and is familiar with, you may certainly leave your dog’s own crate with him if you wish.

Needless to say, health and safety are closely monitored at MIK9. If your dog is in distress at 3 AM, I’m 6 feet away and I’m going to hear it.

Yes! Crate training is included in our board & train. For severe crate anxiety, a behavior modification program is the best option. Your dog will still get obedience, but will also receive necessary extra individual time and attention focused specifically on resolving the crate issues. Your dog may always need a more secure and “cave-like” crate than an average dog, but ANY DOG can be successfully crate trained as long as the owner keeps up those skills after go-home.

What’s cruel is leaving a dog festering in a state of anxiety and dependence! The very short-lived stress your dog will feel when you first leave will be far, FAR outweighed by the long-term freedom from anxiety he will gain in exchange. It is absolutely not true that board & train will only make a dog with separation anxiety worse, as long as the board & train is being done properly.

Please note, separation anxiety ALWAYS has a significant owner-behavior component and will require a lot of mindset and habit change from you to stay permanently resolved. While it will feel uncomfortable at first, the initial “reset period” of board & train is just as crucial for breaking the cycle of (co)dependence for you as it is for your dog.

Absolutely, we take dogs with isolation anxiety! The dogs are not left alone at first; we develop coping skills and work up to harder and harder challenges and longer and longer durations exactly like I’m sure you’ve already been told to do and tried to do, just with much more experienced hands on the steering wheel and a few extra tricks up our sleeves.

While it certainly requires more planning and engineering to work on the type of anxiety that only occurs when the dog is left completely alone with no humans or other pets present, we absolutely can and do still address it.

Certainly, though the owner education and participation components are extra important with issues like owner guarding. These behaviors are part of broader emotional patterns that the dog has come to expect and embody. It's very beneficial to use the transition to a new environment and new routine as a "hard reset" to interrupt those patterns. Then, the careful emotional work performed during the board & train establishes new, healthy habits. Your job as the owner is to ensure that they don't redevelop once the dog goes home. As long as you are following instructions and reaching out when you need help or don't understand something, this will be very achievable!

You might think a familiar presence would be comforting, but seeing their owners coming and going, especially before they’ve had time to fully settle in and gain confidence in their new knowledge, actually tends to be very distressing for the dogs and set them back in their program goals. For this reason, we must ask that clients stick to the allotted check-in appointments.

I am, however, happy to send pictures and video anytime (within reason—please allow up to 24 hours for a response, keeping in mind I am 1. human, 2. extremely busy, and 3. often working out of forests, fields, and other facilities that do not have good signal).

If you are nervous about the level of care your dog will receive while out of your immediate jurisdiction, past clients will be happy to reassure you—please refer to the testimonials page, or if need be, I can put you in touch with one of the several who have kindly volunteered to vouch personally as former nervous dog parents themselves.

If knowledge of my track record/credentials and reassurance from past clients will not be sufficient, then board & train is likely not a good option for you, and you will need to accept the limitations that necessarily places on the amount of progress your dog can make.

No. Dogs are fed meals twice a day starting immediately on their arrival day. There are much, much better (and safer, more humane) ways to build food drive than making the dog desperate from hunger. Rest assured, your picky dog WILL EAT while s/he's here. Past clients will be happy to vouch on this front.

No. It means hyping the dogs up in addition to teaching them to be calm. Dogs in our programs learn that there is a time and a place for calm as well as a time and a place for shenanigans. It is not healthy to only focus on one side of the spectrum while neglecting the other, and the current cultural emphasis on keeping dogs “calm” 24/7 does more harm than good in many, many ways.

Deposits block off your place on my calendar and are not refundable except under specific extenuating circumstances, e.g., the death of the dog the services were intended for. In the event of other unforeseen issues, such as medical emergencies, we can of course make needed alterations to scheduled program dates.

Not at this time, no. There are outside lenders that offer financing for dog training programs if that's something you're interested in pursuing.

Feel free to reach out! Please be patient with me on response time, as I care for many many animals daily and also necessarily prioritize current/existing client communications. If you use the web form below, please include your question up front and note the best way/time to contact you and I will get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you!