My 2.5 year Frenchie/Boston mix and I took Basic Manners with Amber. Louis already knew his basic commands, but he has a tough time focusing on me, especially around other people and dogs. And loose leash walking? I had almost given up. Amber and this class totally got us on track. We had so much fun, we plan to take more classes. Thanks, Amber! read more

How much do I love Ahimsa and, in particular, puppy day camp? Let me count the ways! First, the trainers at Ahimsa are wonderful people. Caring, knowledgeable, funny... everything you want in a teacher for your dog, and (in my case), for your dog's owner! I have asked what I thought were dumb questions and am always treated with respect and given thoughtful answers. We did the puppy kindergarten several times a week, which was awesome for humans and canines alike. We also did Puppy Day Camp which we LOVED. We have a toddler at home and needed some training and a break (stat!) and Ahimsa came through. Every day they worked with my pup on skills and do's and don'ts - but always with compassion and positive reinforcement. Camp made a HUGE difference after even only one day with less biting and rough playing with our kiddo. Truly a godsend. I highly recommend day camp if you have young children at home! After a week of camp our house was happier: a tired and well-behaved pup. I even asked for another week of camp for my birthday! We have two more weeks of camp booked before he turns five months and we will continue weekly kindergarten, and probably beyond. We just love Wynona, Amber, Frank, and Klara (and everyone else there). Thank you! read more

The teachers here are GREAT. I took a Growly Dog class and an Intro class. The trainers were all very knowledgeable and the atmosphere was fun. I really feel like I learned a lot that my dog has improved on especially when it comes to leash walking and reactions to other dogs and also clicker training. I would definitely go back and would definitely recommend this great place. The only reason I didn't give them a perfect score is because I think the only thing they need to work on is getting back to people via communications. I left them a voicemail in May and never heard back. And then also I took a recent class and emailed the instructor before the last class with a question and never heard back from her. Other than that, they are great. read more

Ahimsa is amazing! We've taken our corgi puppy there for puppy kindergarten and elementary so far, and we are going to enroll her in puppy junior high. Wynona, our trainer, is so knowledgable and approachable! We've noticed huge improvement in our dog's progress and she is alway available for questions afterwards. The curriculum is well founded in operant conditioning theory, and we've found it to be fun and engaging. We will definitely be repeat customers! read more

Grisha is the best dog trainer I have ever met. I have worked in rescue, read books, and taken classes--but Grisha's classes are absolutey the best. She is knowlegeable, creative, thoughtful, organized and flexible. She managed a class very well--giving attention to each person and treating each case individually. Just watching her work with a dog is an education in itself. read more

Uneven experience. Place feels low energy. Instructors are trying to through the class. Some good tips but feels very impersonal. We did not go to all of the 8 classes we paid for because we were not getting much personal instruction in class. It was a good intro to dog obedience and was clean and organized, but not fun. read more

I would definitely recommend the dog play groups, and am so-so on the dog training classes. To add some context: our dog is very trainable. Also, I am familiar with behavior theory and have worked doing behavioral therapy with people with intellectual disabilities, so I have some relevant skills even though I've never trained animals before. I found that taking a class did not really add anything beyond what we were able to teach our dog at home. I agree with the complaints I read in the other reviews: each dog got a relatively short amount of time with the trainer, also, classes did not build on each other. Because classes did not build on each other, there was no review of key skills from week to week, and also some skills were unnecessarily repeated. Also, since our dog was a relatively fast learner, we didn't need some of the basic techniques that are learned as components of later skills. For instance, we didn't need the "pre-sit" and would have been able to just go to regular sit. However, if you have no experience with training animals, and your dog is difficult to train, I could see a class being beneficial. I have really enjoyed the dog playtimes. Our dog is slightly nervous/fearful, though never aggressive, around other dogs. The playtime was very helpful in socializing her. I first tried free things like the dog park and a meetup group, but the other dogs just picked on our dog and made things worse. Ahimsa staff do a good job of supervising and making sure no dogs get bullied, which was what our dog needed. There were a couple of times where the staff separated the dogs into too-small groups and our dog wasn't playing with any others, but the staff were perfectly agreeable if I just moved my dog to another area that had mote dogs. Would definitely recommend the playtime. read more

Ahimsa is a wonderful training center. My wife and I took puppy classes there and they made a huge difference for our lives. Thank you!

I am writing to recommend Ahimsa Dog Training. I go to the Ballard location. They also have classes in Redmond and Burien. I have taken two classes, two workshops and have from time to time attended the small dog breed playgroup. Having not had a dog in my life since I was a child, (more years ago than I care to admit!), I was stunned at all the conflicting advise I received about dog ownership. I decided that a place of instruction would get me off to a solid start. I had a mixture of personal recommendations and results from web-searching. After that, I visited many of the locations, observing classes when I was allowed. Ahimsa was hands-down the best of all of the places that I visited. I think that their Puppy program can't be beat. There is written material given via web download and online videos that start your education before the first class and serve as a great reference between class sessions. There are lots of opportunities for extra practice above and beyond your class time sessions, if you wish to take advantage of it. I so appreciated that because it gave me time to work with my dog under conditions of distraction that still are in a controlled environment. It does no good to have a dog that is "perfect" at home and no where else. The classes teach not only the dog, but its human owner as well. Positive reinforcement is the training style used at Ahimsa. Work starts with the use of a clicker and treat rewards, but once a behavior is learned I've used other rewards such as praise and toys. I basically only use the clicker when I am training a new behavior or trick and during my training/schooling sessions. In other words, I'm not attached to a clicker 24/7! I especially appreciated that they had classes available for small breeds only. Grisha Stewart was my original instructor and she is wonderful. She is the owner of Ahimsa. Grisha is a terrific teacher. She is very patient and the dogs (big and small) adore her. She is great about answering questions and concerns. She is good at identifying why you may be having difficulties and modifying what you are doing to communicate effectively with your dog to get what you want. I have worked with other instructors at Ahimsa and they are good as well. Grisha has picked her staff well. I have been at Ahimsa long enough so that I know that the instructors attend trainings and seminars so that they are always learning and updating their skills to the latest information in animal behavior. I have been most happy with the results I have gotten by training at Ahimsa. I again heartily recommend them for you and your dog. Pros: Good value, Classes are not crowded, One on one attention, Effective, Humane, Knowledgeable, Skilled teachers, Variety of courses for all ages of dog. Cons: Sometimes classes fill up quickly. read more

They say you can't please all the people all the time, and after reading the reviews of Ahimsa, this certainly seems to be true. However, I can't say enough positive things about their programs, their staff, and their facilities. I think there have been some misunderstandings in a few of the reviews below, which may have led to their lower scores. First, Ahimsa has two types of classes: on-going and series. The on-going classes that some reviewers have taken issue with have a rolling enrollment (i.e. flexibility in start and end dates), a variable curriculum (a selection of issues and commands to choose from that people can vote on), and one or two new issues covered each week before the voting begins. The series classes are more structured with a single start and end date, and build dog and parent skills from week to week. If you like structure, pick a series class. If you want more flexibility in dates and content, pick an on-going class. Both have strengths and weaknesses specific to your situation. Second, I really don't think there is a particular 'type' of dog that Ahimsa (or positive training in general) is good at helping. All dogs and their parents can benefit from Ahimsa. One reviewer said that positive training methods only work for "less dominant breeds," and that a "much firmer hand is needed in training" more dominant breeds. We have a very strong breed dog [a livestock guardian], and we have benefitted tremendously from Ahimsa. A firm hand and a liberal use of correction can give one much quicker and seemingly more consistent results (which is why it WAS the preferred method for guide dogs and police dogs). However, the long-term consequences can be damaging to your relationship with your dog. Positive training methods help dog and parent communicate with each other and form a partnership based on mutual respect and trust. That doesn't mean rules, boundaries and limitations aren't important - they are extremely important for pets and people - but the skills we learned at Ahimsa have done more for helping us raise a confident, well-socialized, well-behaved dog than any other methods we have tried in over 20 years of dog parenting. My husband and I have a 90-lb (and still growing) Mastiff mix (Kangal/Boerboel cross). We began at Ahimsa when she was 9 weeks old, attending Puppy Kindergarten (with Rachel) and Puppy Socialization (with Wynonna). Most aggression in dogs comes from fear - fear of the unknown, fear of unfamiliar experiences, sounds, people, etc. Once a dog learns that new things cause good things to happen (i.e. treats), they generalize and begin to expect all new things to be good - nipping fear and fear aggression in the bud. Those first six weeks socializing our puppy were priceless, and I would highly recommend these classes to EVERYONE beginning with a new puppy. We repeated some exercises from week to week (based on class votes), and this was also very helpful. Puppies and people don't learn something the first time they're exposed to it, and doing a sit on cue at home is very different than responding to this command in the distracting atmosphere of class. Multiple opportunities to reinforce our lessons were needed. Puppy Junior High (with Rachel) was also a wonderful experience, providing more structure to our training and building our skills from week to week. In addition to the set curriculum, we learned a great deal from conversations with Rachel during class, and greatly appreciated the opportunities in all of our Ahimsa classes to talk with the trainers about our individual issues. I think if we asked Daisy, her favorite part of all of the classes was play time, which is as important for dogs' socialization and long-term mental well-being as training. We continue to attend the weekly "Teen Play" sessions, where dogs learn to play with each other, and parents learn to read dogs' body language and other cures. Second place for Daisy would be meeting strangers while laying in her "place" - she seemed quite surprised that people brought treats! She still welcomes all strangers like Will Rogers - a stranger is just a friend she hasn't met yet. read more

No the Austin Dog Whisperer is not going to Seattle. We have the seattledogwhisperer.com, that's all (it connects to our Austin website and has zero promotion). We are anchored to Austin with parents who need help for at least 10-30 years. And Austin is home - UT undergrad and grad, the lake, all about Austin is all about us. Seattle would be a grand relief in the heat of the summer, but with all your rain, our program and approach would never work. If we can just vacation there, promote our pending book for a couple weeks, would you please tolerate us? ha, of course you would - you're great dog people! thank you, Lynn I don't always understand this yelp. Sorry if we messed it up, was not the intention. We find only that people who have not met us and cannot follow our instructions even before meeting prioritize arrogance and ego in front of their dogs' needs. We meant no harm, somehow this became lower that a woohoo, which of course you deserve. Keep helping people learn about their dogs so they are not returned to shelters or put down. Good job, Ahimsa. read more

We have taken our golden retriever puppy to puppy kindergarten (with Amber) and puppy elementary (with Winona) and also had one session of private training with Amber. All were very worthwhile. In our experience, the most valuable aspect of the training classes was the socialization with other puppies. While some reviews here suggest dogs are sorted by size, this was very much not our experience. Dogs were sorted for supervised play by temperament, with shy puppies separated from more aggressive ones. The teachers watch carefully so that if dogs are incompatible, such as one being intimidated, the teacher intervenes to move dogs to better play groups for them. Ours was a large, somewhat timid dog, who at the outset was always grouped with smaller gentle dogs. He is wonderfully socialized thanks to the start he got at Ahimsa. The teachers realize that most of the play dogs will do will be under the supervision of their owners, so training includes making sure the people in the class know how to supervise their dogs at play, what is safe and nice play, and how to intervene. When Amber came for private training, we had two problems on which we wanted to work. Her first advice, which we have implemented for only one day so far, is very effective, we can already see, for a problem on which we had made no headway in 8 months. We are very pleased and would recommend Ahimsa for a dog like ours. read more

Overall very poor experience for our family. After signing up for the class online, we showed up for an orientation class that never happened. So, we started class without materials or background and were only told to go read the information online. Classes were not particularly well managed and moved so quickly my kids and I were frequently lost. Participants who had taken earlier classes seemed to know the drill, but we were unaware previous experience would be a pre-requisite. Our family then encountered scheduling challenges, so we asked for flexibility to finish the session later in the year. The reply we received was totally unacceptable, particularly since the excuse was they could not fill our slot mid-session. That might have made sense if our class was ever full, which it was not. If you are a hard core dog training sort who isn't juggling a family and is willing to go through all the classes, maybe. If you are just looking for a flexible family friendly environment to better enjoy and appreciate your pet, don't bother. read more

Could not have done it without Ahimsa! We started taking our Boxer puppy to Ahimsa when she was two months old, and we cannot get enough. Our puppy attended the 2-3 month Kindergarten class and is now attending the older puppy class and puppy camp for a week! Ahimsa staff are amazing, you can tell they are extremely knowledgeable in positive behavior training and absolutely love all dogs, and our puppy loves them! The facilities are also extremely clean and set up very well, with each puppy getting their own area and plenty of toys, water bowls and extra supplies to make training stress-free. Our puppy has struggled with socialization with other dogs and they have been so positive with how to help her through that issue. After only a few days of puppy camp we can tell our little one is much more comfortable with playing and also responding to her commands. We will only be using Ahimsa for training as our puppy gets older and if we ever have additional dogs. read more

Ahisma has been a terrific support for our family! My husband and I have taken two classes at Ahisma with our energetic lab puppy. We very much appreciate how knowledgable our trainers were and how well they work with all the dogs. It is evident that the trainers are highly experiences and qualified. What people need to understand is that the trainers are there to help the owners learn how to be the most effective owners/trainers to their dogs at home. It's a great method and makes great sense! I also really appreciate the positive behavior technique that Ahisma promotes. Why would anyone want to provide painful punishment to an animal? As a professional behaviorist myself, I very much appreciate and understand the validity of a positive teaching approach and also the adverse consequences of using more heavy-handed punishment procedures. Ahisma teaches you to teach your dog in an effective, supportive, and positive manner - that works. We had a blast each week and our dog LOVED the classes too! Thank you Ahisma for helping our little doggie develop into such a well-mannered and talented dog and for giving us (the owners) life-long skills for how to support and train our current fuzzy friend and any we decide to adopt in the future. read more