Suma

Owners: Alred Aziz- Ottawa, ON

We had hesitated a lot before sending Suma to the inboard training program with Lucas. By all accounts, she was already the best dog despite challenges with on-leash walking and an almost non-existent recall that made even the idea of letting her off-leash a distant dream. So why suffer through 3 months of separation? But we put her on the waiting list still, secretly hoping by the time the wait is over, she would have changed. When we finally got the call, we reluctantly decided to send her. We had seen the transformation in videos of other dogs trained by Lucas and we knew deep down that it was the right thing to do. And boy did Lucas deliver!! To say he’s a dog whisperer and a magician is an understatement. His professionalism and dedication to excellence are unmatched. We were seeing Suma’s steady transformation through video updates. We have sent Suma to so many different training programs before, but nothing can even come close to what we got with Lucas. Whereas most spent little time training Suma and much time training us to train her, Lucas worked patiently with her and brought her to a very advanced level of obedience before training us, such that even after we brought her home, she was so forgiving of our mistakes. Now we can take her anywhere we want, walk her off-leash, let her wander and play around, knowing that she will listen to our commands. We just need to say “heel” and she will run back to our left side. Her sit/down stays are highly reliable, and place command fail-proof. For those who are skeptical and hesitant about the e-collar, I just want to say that not once has Suma been stressed as we put in on her or react negatively to the stimulus. Lucas takes his time to condition the dog to the e-collar so that it associates the stimulus with accountability instead of punishment. Truly, no words can describe how happy and grateful we are. This was by far the greatest investment we made in our Suma. Swissridge Kennels gives you the best dogs, and training with Lucas makes them the bestest. 

Bhaloo & Mailoo

Owners: Ayiesha Sadik – Westport, CT

I thank my lucky blessed stars for SwissRidge Kennels and Sherry Rupke and Lucas Mucha. As you know, SwissRidge Kennels is utterly extraordinary, and Sherry Rupke is completely incredible. What you may not know is how totally beyond exceptional is Lucas Mucha, Head Trainer and Dog Whisperer Extraordinaire. 

I got my beloved heart Bhaloo at the age of sixteen weeks, after he completed eight weeks of Imprint Training. My sweet boy came to me knowing many commands, and just being the best bundle of beautiful love ever born. He owned my heart from the start, and there was literally nothing I wouldn’t do for him.

So much so, that I totally destroyed his training, and indulged my precious darling with anything he desired. I also annihilated his food drive, by literally following him around the house and spoon feeding him little bites at a time. When he got fed up of that, I upped the ante by offering him homemade turkey and chicken and steak and eggs, and anything I could tempt him with.

Needless to say, my little precious prince Bhaloo was ruling our home, when he never asked for this giant responsibility. But due to my overwhelming indulgences and endless allowances, I had taken a sweet little puppy boy and grown him into an out-of-control neurotic malcontent toddler doggy, that had zero impulse control and zero emotional stability.

Such was the state of my coddling my boy, that I even caused him to become car sick before we would even leave our driveway. His veterinarian said he would need to be medicated before any drives, and that he would never outgrow it. Not wanting to constantly medicate my love, I just kept him at home then. The increasing smallness of my precious Bhaloo’s life broke my heart for my baby. 

Meanwhile, walking my not-so-little-by-now cherub was becoming increasingly more difficult and vastly more dangerous, as when he saw something he wanted: a human walking by, a dog on his walkies, an animal in nature, or anything that caught his attention, my darling would immediately take off like lightning and I would be dragged behind him.

I don’t think I ever came home from a walk where I didn’t have to take a shower right after due to being drenched in sweat from my workout of just trying to hold onto Bhaloo. He was six months old at this time, and a big boy already, and my future didn’t look bright, and my safety certainly was no longer guaranteed. 

After multiple times of me falling due to trying to control my Bhaloo, my children had had more than enough. They all said I needed to get real help with Bhaloo. They said if another winter came without Bhaloo being properly trained, and at his grown weight and size of a year old, I would surely not survive walking him on icy roads. 

For sure I had hired multiple trainers since I had gotten Bhaloo, some of whom have written books, and are supposed experts in the field, and to say that they were useless is a vast understatement. One of them even shouted “RUDE” at my sweet boy for peeing on a tree as we walked together.

I love Bhaloo beyond all measure, and yet I couldn’t see any hope for Bhaloo and my future, and I resigned myself to just having a crazy doggy and an even crazier life. And then I saw a little video of a couple of Lucas Mucha trained dogs just doing a recall, and my mind imploded. I wanted that life for my sweet boy: a life of freedom and happiness and ease and trust and accountability and adventure. Not a life of harnesses and leashes and prong collars and crates, and on and on and on.

I reached out to Lucas Mucha, and although he had a waitlist a mile long, when he heard my story, he was also seriously concerned that I would get gravely injured by my sweet boy Bhaloo, and so his enormous heart made a huge exception and took my teddy bear Bhaloo for Inboard Training.

Recall that I had destroyed my boy’s food drive, so Lucas could not train him in any normal way, and Lucas had to work ten times harder and a hundred times smarter to get my Bhaloo to start wanting to obey. But, oh my God, did Lucas ever do it!!!!!!!!

I realize I have given a lot of disaster background on my sweet dolly boy Bhaloo, but that’s because when you see his videos, you need to know that that is not how Bhaloo was before Lucas’ training. 

Lucas even cured Bhaloo’s carsickness, as he had told me he would, because he said it wasn’t actual motion sickness, and it was in fact anxiety from not having a leader he could count on. My sweet boy had been carrying the load that was rightfully mine to carry. 

Anything I can say about how otherworldly Lucas’ training is will not even approach what this absolute LEGEND LUCAS did for us. Lucas took a pup that I had pretty much single-handedly destroyed due to my overwhelming and suffocating “love”, and he turned him into a phenomenally trained and perfectly obedient Service Dog!!!!!!!!

It has now been over four years since his training, and Bhaloo is as exceptional today as the day we came home from his training. Bhaloo is such an amazing dog, that three years ago I wanted to give him a sister, and Angel Sherry and Legend Lucas chose the perfect little sister, Mailoo, for Bhaloo. 

We were blessed to be able to send Mailoo for Lucas’ incomparable Inboard Training as well, and it has been over two years since she was trained, and she is as extraordinary today as the day we came home from her training. 

Both Bhaloo and Mailoo are 100% off-leash trained Service Dogs. They accompany me off-leash literally everywhere: hotels, restaurants, cafés, nail salons, hairdressers, movie theaters, museums, massages, gyms, pilates, yoga, dentist, ophthalmologist, cardiologist, acupuncturist, physical therapist, chiropractic, and absolutely anywhere I go. 

If you have the awesome opportunity to gift your pup and yourself Lucas Mucha’s Inboard Training, do not hesitate for a millisecond. Watch Bhaloo and Mailoo’s videos, and know that Lucas Mucha will open up your pup’s world exactly as he did mine!!!!!!!!

 

Bauer

Owners: Jennifer Blake – Toronto, ON

We sent our dog Bauer to Swissridge for the off-leash board and train program with Lucas from March to July 2026, and the transformation has been incredible.

Lucas is truly amazing. He is calm, patient, and incredibly skilled at understanding dogs. Bauer came home confident, responsive, and able to follow advanced commands like place, sit-stays, and down-stays. He’s no longer reactive on leash, and our walks are now calm and enjoyable. Bauer can go anywhere with us, to stores, hockey games, or the mall and stays focused and relaxed in every environment. We get stopped by people everywhere who compliment us on how well-trained he is!

Throughout the training, Lucas sent regular videos of Bauer, allowing us to see how he was progressing each week. In addition to those updates, he also provided separate instructional videos that clearly explained the commands, timing, and handling techniques we would need once Bauer came home. Those videos were incredibly valuable, and it’s essential for owners to study them carefully and continue practicing at home. The follow-up work and consistency after your dog returns are just as important as the training itself.

We were so impressed with Bauer’s results that when we picked him up, we dropped off our other Swissridge Bernedoodle, Bailey, to start training with Lucas too!

We can’t thank Lucas and the entire Swissridge team enough for their dedication, communication, and expertise. Bauer came home the same loving dog. He is just calmer, more confident, and beautifully trained. We highly recommend this program to anyone who wants a dog that’s reliable, well-mannered, and a joy to take anywhere.

Willie

Owners: Juliana Scaligine – Toronto, ON

When we dropped Willie off with Lucas for training last September, I was hopeful but skeptical.  My 4 year old mini goldendoodle Willie has always been happy go lucky,  great with kids, dogs and loves everyone but he had some pretty bad habits that I couldn’t seem to resolve on my own or with the help of other trainers.

Willie’s main issues: hyperactivity, he was wild – no matter how much exercise he got, he always seemed to be getting into trouble and couldn’t settle.   If i didn’t have eyes on him for 10 seconds he would be off chewing something, counter surfing or trying to run out the door.  I had baby gates everywhere in the house and I had to keep him sequestered in the room with me at all times.  On two occasions, despite my hypervigilance he still managed to slip out the front door and run outside onto the street. Both times we got lucky and thankfully nothing happened to him.  He also barked constantly at every sound in the house and when he didn’t get his way.   I couldn’t take him anywhere beyond regular walks because if I stopped walking for a minute to chat or to look at something he would bark at me until I started moving.  I once took him to a friend’s place and he ran around the house, scratching at closed doors and then barking at me to let him explore. Needless to say, Willie was the boss and he ran my life lol.

My expectations in sending Willie to training were low – I really just wanted to minimize the barking and to not have to be constantly stressed out that Willie would run away and get hurt or worse.

When Willie came home from training after 11 weeks he was almost like a brand new dog- he still has the same cheerful, curious personality – but now he’s what I call the best version of himself.    Lucas’s training blew my expectations out of the water.

Now that Willie has a clear understanding of what is expected of him with consistent rules and boundaries, he’s lost that edgy/hyperactive side to him. He’s now perfectly content to lie in the same room near me or in his “place”.   All the baby gates are gone and  I can leave doors open, he won’t pass a doorway without me giving him the okay.  He’s actually a pretty lazy dog these days – happy to sleep most of the day but still loves to hike with me and explore or play fetch.

His demand barking is completely gone, along with all the other “minor” issues he had that I hadn’t expected to just disappear like counter surfing, jumping on people, jumping on furniture, eating/chewing stuff he shouldn’t, carrying clothing/shoes around the house, scratching on doors..etc

Willie’s newly acquired behaviors: he’s 100% off leash trained, he walks in heel by my side, he has 100% recall which makes outdoor off leash hikes finally possible (and a lot of fun!), he will stay in down or sit position until he’s released, and one of my favorites : place command – he has designated beds/cots around the house and when he hears “place” he heads there and stays there until told otherwise.  It really comes in handy!

Keeping up the training does take effort especially in the beginning but the rewards are so worth it.   It’s now been 8 months since Willie came home from training, and he’s doing amazing. People in the street often stop to comment on how well trained he is.  I am no longer stressed out and having to check on Willie every 2 min to make sure he’s not getting into trouble.  He’s like my little sidekick now that I can take anywhere.

I’m so grateful to Lucas & Sherry for this incredible (miraculous) transformation and the amazing care they took of my baby Willie while he was there.   I highly recommend training with Lucas and if I could change anything it would be that i would have sent Willie sooner.

Bumble & Magic

Owners: Sabeena Arora – Newington, CT

Bumble is a Standard English Goldendoodle bred at SwissRidge, she is now 7 years old.

“Magic is a Standard Bernedoodle bred at SWR, he is now 5 years old.

I received both pups from Sherry at 16 weeks, after 8 weeks of imprinting. They were both very well trained for wee 16 week old pups, and I received excellent instructions from Sherry regarding ongoing training.

Well, I was far from consistent in following those instructions, so as the pups grew I faced some challenges.
Bumble is a gentle and smart pup. She was wonderful with children, obedient and calm indoors. She loved to run but had a very strong prey drive outdoors.  As a result I could not offer her off leash freedom since she was inconsistent in returning when called. She was also a little timid with strangers.

Magic was very attached to me, a big gentle teddy bear with me. As he grew out of puppyhood, he became increasingly possessive of me and started to block Bumble and other pups from getting to me. When he was excited – when I returned home or when he greeted strangers, it was challenging to restrain him because of his extra-large size, he weighed 110 lbs.! At that size he could inadvertently hurt someone without meaning to, just from sheer affection. And like Bumble his off leash recall was far from perfect.

Both pups were not great at leash walking, and since combined they weighed 180 lbs. it was not easy to restrain them when they pulled or strained on leash.

When Bumble was 4 and Magic was 3 years old, I got in touch with Sherry and requested inboard training with Lucas. My hope was to have obedient, easily restrain-able dogs that would not overwhelm strangers with affection or curiosity. Dogs that I could control and hike off leash with, without worrying they would run off or get lost. 

So off the pups went – back to SwissRidge for inboard training with Lucas in 2018, 2 years ago

Their training was truly transformative. Lucas trained both pups to impeccable advanced obedience. This included 100% reliable off leash recall in all environments – outdoors while hiking, at a shopping mall, in a hospital, in traffic and everywhere else. They were also trained in loose leash walking, sit and stay under distraction.

Equally importantly, at the end of their training, I spent 5 days at SWR training with Lucas and my newly trained pups. In those 5 days Lucas taught me in great detail how to manage and direct my dogs. He taught me the vocabulary and gestures he had used to train Bumble and Magic, so I was fluent. Even more importantly he taught me how to communicate with my dogs. And the rudiments of the nuances of canine and human behavior and interactions.  The importance of calm energy and consistent expectations in order to have balanced, well behaved dogs.

I must add it was also very evident to me that the pups were truly eager to please Lucas and engage with him. Neither pup was fearful , it was obvious they adored Lucas and their training experience with him had been a very positive one.

It has now been 2 years since the pups were trained by Lucas. In the past 2 years I have not put a leash on either dog. They run errands with me everywhere, in stores, malls, at the dentist and the library, always off leash; they have often accompanied me to the hospital where I work, off leash and impeccably behaved. We hike frequently, again off leash.
During our daily outdoor walks they walk past all kinds of distractions like squirrels, bunnies, other pups, sometimes wildlife like possum, groundhogs and raccoons without giving chase, always obedient and always off leash.
I have taken them to NYC and walked through NYC traffic and stores with all kinds of distractions, with flawless obedience from the pups. They are completely reliable without being leashed, at all times, everywhere. It no longer amazes me but it continues to amaze and startle everyone we meet!

 My relationship with the pups has also changed. They now understand what is expected of them and they are happy to oblige. They enjoy so much more freedom since they have trained with Lucas, since now I can trust them to always listen. They are also much calmer, more settled and so much better with each other. Long gone is the past frenzy of rambunctious affection from Magic or timid submission from Bumble.

Bumble is more confident of approaching strangers with her tail wagging. Magic, who was always social, is now much gentler with smaller dogs and much calmer overall

Overall, Bumble and Magic’s training far exceeded my expectations, lol and then some! They are now model dogs, welcomed everywhere; I certainly had not expected this level of obedience nor such a transformed relationship with them.

Whether you want a more obedient pet at home or a true canine superstar trained to the level of service dog performance, I really cannot recommend Lucas enough! He truly is gifted.”

Gemi

Owners: Gayle Frank – New Hamburg, Ontario

We  were excited to learn we were getting a SwissRidge puppy. We knew from reputation, we were getting a pup with an excellent temperament. Gemi had two months of SwissRidge Imprint Training and two grades of formal professional Obedience Training once Gemi came home.

We turned to Lucas Mucha when Gemi was just weeks away from her second birthday, for two reasons. 
1.  We  wanted a completely safe, off-leash, trustworthy dog.  Gemi is a big, strong girl.
2.  Gemi was a good dog. We wanted a GREAT dog!

Gemi was with Lucas for about three months.  Her skills have exceeded our expectations. She is fully off-leashed trained around every outdoor distraction. Gemi walks in a zone. She is in total follower-mode. Gemi’s scope of training is that of Service Dog Level. She has been fully accredited and can accompany me everywhere I go.

It’s been one year since Gemi has graduated. 
There was a learning curve for me, as Gemi’s handler but Lucas made sure I was also well-trained.  He not only requires it….  he makes  it happen.  He told me not to worry about making some mistakes while learning.  Gemi, after all, knows what to do! We never would have sent our dog to anyone but Lucas. Gemi became a part of his pack and that was very comforting for us. 

Lucas Mucha’s has a world-class reputation and exemplary results. His kind, patient and calm demeanour is so reassuring for his clients… both human and canine. We feel so incredibly lucky to have had this amazing opportunity. Not only in having a SwissRidge dog, but a Lucas Mucha-trained, SwissRidge dog!

We have so much pride in Gemi. Not only is she sweet-natured and beautiful, she is so good, remarkably trained and just one, GREAT dog!