The Wineglass Ranch - Parker, Colorado

Jordan M.

We took our dog, Aussie Border Collie Mix, to Victoria at the Wineglass Ranch for help with reliable recall and some leash reactivity. After completing her 4-week Reliable Recall program, we saw huge improvements! Victoria made sure to also train us as well so we felt prepared when we picked her up.

We have full trust in Victoria (saying a lot as our dog is such an integral part of our family). We have since boarded her for short stays. Her own dogs are incredibly impressive, and our dog absolutely loved being part of the pack.

Cherise L.

For Christmas, I gave my border collie the present of an instinct test with Victoria. He passed, and LOVED the sheep (at first he kept trying to lick their faces until the sheep informed him that that was NOT the way it worked.) We have been doing herding training with her about once a week for the past several months and it has been a fantastic experience. Victoria is very patient and encouraging, even when we would hit a behavior snag (he ignored the 'down' command for quite a while). She clearly loves what she does, and completely understands how the herding dog thinks. On top of the herding training, she has given me many useful tips on basic training. It is so much fun to see the dog completely invested in the experience and doing what he was bred to do. I highly recommend it!

Jacqueline T.

Victoria is dedicated to success. My dog did a week boarding/ training. She came home A LOT better but still struggled with a few issues. (she is young and I need coaching as well)
The lifetime guaranty is REAL! Victoria has coached me over the phone, come to my house, had us back to the property all at no additional charge.
She cares about the dogs and it shows!

Samantha D.

I am young and have a heeler mix, so many people form their judgments quick of me. I have worked and trained with my dog to form a strong positive connection.
When we arrived we were greeted and my dog was allowed to say hi to another dog on the farm. He jumped out of excitement. The dog told my dog no with a growl and my dog got off and listened. The owner scowled my boyfriend instantly saying it was his fault and my dog was rude. While I know this is rude behavior, my dog listened and was worked up at everything going on around him and confused. Especially at the lady yelling at all the dogs and the “new dog” acting fearful. Not the best first impression for a client.
Once we were brought into the ring my dog had a strong prey drive rather than herding. Which I knew and understood. The owner formed a quick opinion around me that I did not have control over my dog and he was in charge of me. She said I “talked to much to him “ (which I don’t because that overworks a dogs threshold when training) . I don’t think she knew he had words for specific things like “good” is his attention word. She didn’t ask nor let me talk much about it.
For background: my dog is on Prozac and is scared of loud sounds, harsh actions, and yelling. He will instantly shut down.
Once she pulled out “the flag” she whipped it in his face to scare him into not chasing the sheep. I told her he was scared as he ran towards the exit with his tail tucked and she yelled “no he’s not stop being nice to him” While I am sure this is how herding dogs are trained, a warning would have been nice and I would have left. My dog only works on positive reinforcement. She used fear as a way to control him which I am 100% against. I comforted him as I do and she yelled at me to stop because he “wasn’t scared” then tried to prove it to me by calling him in a baby voice to pet him. He came over hesitantly scrunched down …a sign of fear in dogs:)
She also expected him to be a perfectly trained dog with no issues. She demanded him to lay down and when he did not she yanked his collar repeatedly down. (He is trained with food, if she asked me for a treat I had he would have went down fine). NOT ALL DOGS WORK THE SAME!
A little bit into the session one of the other dogs was crying out of excitement to see the sheep. She made my boyfriend go over and scowled him for crying. (We don’t do this to our dog because he doesn’t do anything bad) so he was very uncomfortable.
As the dog kept crying she then gave him the flag and go over and hit the dog with it hard. He went over with the flag and hit it softly as she said to “do it harder”. The dog jumped off his podium and cowered into a ball when he walked over to him. *This was not her dog*
I have seen trainers like this use their “tough” persona to control others. I was very disappointed mainly in myself. I should have left and not let this keep happening. I felt overpowered and we both felt uncomfortable and left quickly after …luckily it was over quick.
***I do not write this post out of aggression because I am sure for herding dogs this training is okay? But do not waste your money if you believe in positive reinforcement training only because you will not get it!! Some trainers claim all dogs work the same and that is 100% not true! Dogs should not work off fear, and I will never train a dog that way!

LC

We feel very fortunate to have met Victoria and to have spent time at Wineglass Ranch with our dog. Victoria is a highly skilled professional who just loves what she does. She is an insightful trainer, genuine, and fully committed to her work. Above all else, it's the extraordinary amount of care we have received and have seen given to others and to their pets that stands out most—whether that be for herding instruction, behavioral training or boarding. This IS the place to bring your dog!

Our focus was on competitive-level herding instruction for our keen and exuberant border collie. After moving in from out of state, we looked for the best possible trainer. We found her. What a perceptive and discriminating eye!

Wineglass Ranch is a special place, a sanctuary of sorts minutes outside of Denver. It's a transformative setting for both people and their furry 'kids.' We've experienced it, and have observed it happen with others. Wineglass is magic, and Victoria is the inspiration who sows its magic dust.

Les+Olga Culver

Megan H.

I am delighted to share my experience and highly recommend the Scent Work class at the Wineglass Ranch for dog owners seeking an enriching and confidence-building activity for their dog. This class offers an excellent opportunity for dogs to learn, have fun, and become more confident through the engaging world of scent work. Throughout the course, I witnessed my dog's progress in leaps and bounds, both in terms of skill development and overall confidence.

Under Victoria’s expert guidance, my dog has undergone a remarkable transformation. When we started the first class Thistle was very hesitant to stick her nose in a box, but by the sixth week she was readily searching Victoria’s garage to find the birch scent hidden in various places. The confidence she gained in searching for and finding scents translated to increased confidence overall. Victoria also facilitated this with positive experiences with her own dogs.

After this six week class, I believe my dog would do well in a scent work trial, but even if we never do a trial, the class was worth it in terms of her increased confidence and providing her with a mentally enriching activity.

Stacey D.

I recently took my pup Silvia to Victoria for a. 7 day board and train. We are so happy, this is the email I sent her this morning.
“Good Morning Victoria 🙂
Miss Silvia is doing so good. SO GOOD.
No accidents at all, pottying out side at the same place, also before she play puppy chewed on all of us (hands, arms) and hasn’t done that at all-or even tried. We worked on some commands last night, like “off” (jumping on kids, and no jumping on couch unless invited) and she did fantastic -she only jumped when they were super excited, yelled etc… I’m training them too lol.

Most noticeably- aside from potty outside, her attention, WANT to listen, get a treat, and eye contact, has improved so much it’s hard to believe it’s the same pup, lol although we are sure, this is most defiantly the same Silvia.

Thanks again, the work you did with her greatly appreciated.

Larry B.

Great experience! We brought our border collie to Victoria to test his herding instincts. He failed his test but you could tell he had a great time, as did we. Victoria's dogs are amazing and her property is beautiful. Worth every penny!