My husband and I are not novice dog owners by any means, but we needed help with our newest (at the time) addition; our Aussie who presents with anxiety. Our usual tricks with trying to redirect her attention or to stop the herding behavior (with the kids, we don't herd the kids, Lola!) were going unmatched and we knew we needed help. We started with in home private lessons with Rochelle. Some of what she taught us was a bit "duh" because we weren't thinking outside of the box, but also much of it was teaching us to be better dog owners, to tune into our dog and meet her where she was at. The 1:1 training was truly beneficial as Rochelle was able to come into our home and witness the behaviors we needed help with. Over the course of several weeks we became better dog owners and Lola learned lots of new things. We then transitioned to group classes with Rochelle which I admit the mere idea of stressed me out. Lola had never done well in public and was often triggered by too many (often random) things. But to my surprise Lola performed amazingly. She often lost her marbles about 30-40 mins into each group class but the other amount of time she was spot on and eager to learn. I am so proud that she was able to be handled by Rochelle on a few occasions and has become a confident dog who thrives in the outside social world. I will forever be grateful to Rochelle for teaching ME how to be a better dog owner and for showing me the potential Lola always had. read more

Mitch and Patrick are amazing! We had 5 home sessions with our two Havanese dogs. We worked on training them to be better at greeting people and on how to get them to not make at the door when the doorbell goes off. We also worked on walking and now they don't pull! So nice to be able to go on a walk without being pulled. We then did dog greeting and reactivity and got a lot of tips on what to do to help the dogs feel more comfortable. Mitch and Patrick really went above and beyond to help us! read more

Athens Dog Training - Castro Valley - Pet Training Near Me - Castro Valley, California

We purchased the puppy package and worked with Mitch. Our experience was exactly what we were hoping for and more. Mitch is knowledgeable, patient, and encouraging. He has a great way of pushing for progress in training and giving direct feedback while balancing it with knowing when everyone-humans and dog- need a break. Mitch was a lifeline in the early weeks of having our puppy and not knowing much about what to do. He has also gone above and beyond to listen to our concerns as they arise and help us problem solve. We just started attending puppy classes at Pet Food Express in Castro Valley, and those are excellent as well. read more

Athens Dog Training - Castro Valley - Luca - Pet Training Near Me - Castro Valley, California

We had such a great experience with our trainer. Our rescue dog had so many behavioral issues it was overwhelming. We did private lessons with Pohan and she is so amazing. Pohan is now one of our dog's favorite people and the behavioral issues are so much more manageable now. Pohan connects great with people and dogs. She explains things in detail and we are so grateful for finding her and getting her help with our dog. read more

These are very nice folks. I'm in very good hands with them. It's amazing at the difference in my babies. Highly recommend. Special thanks to Pohan, Annelie and Danny. read more

Athens Dog Training - Castro Valley - Baby - Pet Training Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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We had a great experience working with Mitch on basic manners for our German shepherd mix puppy, Leo! Our puppy was a rescue and has a lot of anxiety. Mitch was very patient and has helped us work through it. Leo made a ton of progress from his first lesson. Mitch explains things very well, and is willing to go the extra mile to ensure we are set up for success. Highly recommend training at Athens, and working with Mitch. read more

I contacted Athens four months after we had adopted our highly anxious special needs dog. He is a dog who was initially terrified of all humans. He was slowly bonding with me, but not my husband. Pohan was able to work with us and other family members to help build the bond that is needed for him to become part of our family. She's also had good suggestions for dealing with his delayed puppy behavior at the age of 3. Thank you, Pohan and Athens! read more

Athens Dog Training - Castro Valley - Trainer Pohan with our Sherlock! - Pet Training Near Me - Castro Valley, California

Athens has been a life saver for me and my ~6 month old puppy (Bear). Everyday for months, I was struggling with her potty training and behavior battling. Finally I broke down and cried. Then I called Athens (spoke w/Danny) and ever since then, my puppy problems have been gradually vanishing by the way of their training. So far we've had 1 group class plus 2 in house training sessions and seen incredible improvements. Highly recommend! read more

Athens Dog Training - Castro Valley - Baby Bear - Pet Training Near Me - Castro Valley, California

Pohan is a knowledgeable, confident, and patient trainer! She was very highly recommended and proved to have been underrated! She worked with my dog Xavi and with me to help him adjust to his new home and get over his initial shyness. I will definitely continue working with her to train me and my dog! read more

Let's be honest; a large part of dog training is owner training, where owners learn about what's behind their dog's behaviors and ultimately how to work with their dogs to achieve specific goals. Our family had the privilege of having Pohan train us along with our 5-year-old shepherd-husky mix to combat our dogs reactivity to other animals. With the tools Pohan gave us, coupled with her readily sharing from her vast experience and knowledge and working with dogs, we've been thrilled with the improvements in our dog's behavior. She is much more obedient and attentive to each one of us on our daily walks. We cannot thank Pohan enough for her care and patience and flexibility and working with us to meet our goals! read more

Because when we got Dewy had reactive fear issues & Carter seemed to be able to help Dewy with that pretty fast. That was our biggest worry for our fur baby.Dewy conquered his fears and learned his basis training too. read more

Athens Dog Training - Castro Valley - Pet Training Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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They were always on time, very encouraging and extremely knowledgeable. They also worked hard to assist with helping my puppy feel less timid, and gave me a ton of ideas on how to continue to foster that behavior at home and in other environments. read more

Just had my first group training session in Oakland and can 100% say that I have no regrets purchasing the unlimited 6mo group package. It was incredible to see Anna work with my 7mo old rescue and see that she DOES respond to commands and treats, I just wasn't equipped with the right training and knowledge to do it myself. Having grown up with a dog, I definitely considered the "I've had a dog before and could train them with enough googling and internet research" method. But... I AM SO RELIEVED I DECIDED TO GO TO ATHENS!!! After just one group class, my walks with the pup have already improved. She's now learning with more structure vs the chaos of pulling and pleading I was using before. And the best part... I feel like a more confident puppy parent having access to the Athens resources aka the trainers. Beyond what we went over in class, Anna was more than happy to answer my other hundreds of questions, some not even related to training, just dog life in general. I am looking forward to training with them every week for the next 6mo. And the Petfood Express location for training makes picking up supplies and treats incredibly convenient! Plus an added bonus to reward my pup immediately after training with something new and tasty. read more

Athens Dog Training - Castro Valley - post training pig ear treat from petfood express - Pet Training Near Me - Castro Valley, California

We really liked Danny's soft & positive approach to dog training. We were initially interested in his board & train program, but Danny suggested 1:1 training due to our dog's reactivity to other dogs. We emphasized that our number one priority was our dog's aggression, however, we felt like this was never really addressed during our 1:1 training sessions. Our dog's reactivity didn't have a significant change after the 5 training sessions, but after this $700 course that's when Danny said that our dog was finally ready for his board & train program--which I felt we could've just done from the beginning. I saw a reviewer on here mention that Athens wasn't flexible with schedule changes, but we had 2 instances where Danny completely forgot about our appointment; he was a no-show 2x and we were very forgiving because we know that sometimes life gets in the way. Danny also offered 2 free sessions in turn for his mistake. I reached out to Danny via text about the 2 free sessions because our dog recently started showing more aggression and biting family members, but sadly no response. Very unfortunate, and I will have to look for another trainer. read more

I highly recommend Athens Dog Training! Annalie has been a great trainer for my adopted Frenchie. We started with the basics (stay, come, leave it) and are working up to impulse control and reactivity. She's been great at explaining the techniques each step of the way and is available for questions and support as needed between appointments. read more

Will not be using their services after what I pay for is over. I tried rescheduling an appointment because I am extremely sick and didn't want the trainer to contract it. They still proceeded with charging me the lesson. That's it. No consideration. Never again. read more

I had an evaluation for my German Shepherd with Carter and I am very excited to start our training with him! I was nervous about the evaluation because my dog is very reactive, but Carter was patient and walked me through the whole process. I had a negative experience with another trainer due to lack of communication, and so far Carter has been great at communicating everything with me. Because of this, I've signed up with him to do the training lessons. Im excited and hopeful! read more

This is long overdue. I'd rate this 7 stars if Yelp would allow. A little over a week with Athens Dog Training, our puppy was better trained than most adult dogs that we know. And 4 years later, she still is. Thank you all so much for everything you did. Will continue to share your services with friends and family and will reach out if and when we get another dog. read more

Alex has been really patient and nice with our pup and us. He is very patient with the pups and definitely has a gentle approach. He also adapts with our training wishes. Group training was adorable and a nice way to get our pup socialized before fully vaccinated. read more

Athens Dog Training - Castro Valley - Group Group Class - Pet Training Near Me - Castro Valley, California

We found Pohan to be so helpful during our consult. She gave us a lot of tips that we started using right away. We felt so comfortable with her and so did our dog Cooper. We signed up for 3 in home sessions and are looking forward to working with her. read more

Our Harrier puppy and we just finished the first course from Athens, Puppy pre-school package course. (6 group classes & 5 in-home sessions). I really liked the combination of in-home session and the group class because they supplement each other. Also, Pohan is a great dog master! During the in-home session, she explained us each basic command, the tips and the related games systematically so that it's easy to remember and enforce for both dog and human being. And, we could have more focus on our weak spots. During the group class, we could test out the skills we learned from the in-home session in the real environment with other dogs and people. Also, we enjoyed the puppy play time with off-leash. It's good to know what behavior is OK and when to separate them. Looking forward to taking the next level of the class as we're very pleased with the outcome. read more

When I found Athens dog training, I was first interested in Board and Training due to my availability, but when I had my consultation with Danny and expressed my goals for Korra my female GSD, he heard what I wanted for Her and suggested Private home training with Rochelle. Thanks to Danny for sending me and Korra to Rochelle, Korra loved her and so did I. Our main focus was reactivity to dogs and people, and by the last training session Korra had NO REACTIVITY! Rochelle was great with Korra, she was patient and saw Korra's potential and challenged her. Im super proud of how Korra really took training serious and really turned around. And thankful to Rochelle for taking great care of us. read more

Athens Dog Training - Castro Valley - Korra! - Pet Training Near Me - Castro Valley, California

Annalie Joyce has been a great trainer for me and my dog. She is very patient and gentle with my dog. We have made great progress. I would highly recommend her. read more

Athens Dog Training - Castro Valley - The sweet looking, challenging puppy Annalie helped me to train - Pet Training Near Me - Castro Valley, California

My husband and I reached out to Athens Dog Training to get help for our dog Apollo who was extremely difficult to walk due to aggressive pulling. We had all but given up on being able to take him on long walks in our neighborhood. Then our miracle worker Pohan Bystrom arrived on the scene with private at home focused training sessions that transcended our walking experience with Apollo from difficult to delightful. From Apollo's initial session, he immediately responded to Pohan's directions and exceptional guidance. Apollo was literally a new dog after the first session. Pohan's expertise and exceptional dog training skills reinforced behavior changes with additional sessions. We so enjoyed our bi-weekly sessions and were very despondent to see them end. Her valuable skills are a must for anyone looking to transform their dog's behavior. read more

We had a problem with our 2yr Pitbull, Abbey - she had very bad leash aggression and walking her was quite a chore. Pohan was a great help and walked us through an intelligent and systematic approach to calming her down and reinforcing good behavior. We met at our house and walked on our block then progressed to the dog park. We were given the tools and confidence to walk Abbey without the constant aggressiveness, and though not perfect, the improvement has made walking her fun and relaxing as it should be. Thanks, Pohan! read more

Athens Dog Training - Castro Valley - Pet Training Near Me - Castro Valley, California

I wanted to wait until all my training appointments were over before I submitted a review. Pohan was wonderful with my puppy. She helped calm some of my worries, and helped us work on off leash training. She gave me the tools we both (myself and Oso) needed to be successful in the future. Oso has come leaps and bounds from before we started. Thank you Pohan! read more

Athens Dog Training - Castro Valley - Oso is exhausted after his training! - Pet Training Near Me - Castro Valley, California

A great investment! My bulldog mix was 3.5 yrs old when we rescued her. We started with obedience classes and it went so well that we signed up for the six month deal. I have worked with two of the trainers: Alex and Aileen. They are both GREAT. They are positive, patient and knowledgeable. I will likely do a private training session soon. My favorite lesson was on "loose leash walking." It's really great to have the tools to communicate with my dog and have a great time taking long walks. Make sure you have stuff to be comfy while outdoors, lots of tasty treats and your happy pooch read more

Athens Dog Training - Castro Valley - My sweet Silky Hippo - Pet Training Near Me - Castro Valley, California

Scheduling a consultation with Athens Dog training was the best decision we've ever made. We have a 4 yr old dog named Luke, and he was a very fearful and reactive dog. It was pretty difficult and discouraging taking him out anywhere or bringing guests over - definitely not how we wanted life to be for us and for Luke. We scheduled a consultation with Danny and from our very first meeting he was 100% realistic with us and set attainable goals for our boy which we are so thankful for. He taught us right away how to change our approaches to positively reinforce good behavior, and even gave us learning material to help! We ordered the 6 in person training classes and learned so much with every session. We feel like Danny really understood where we were coming from and how to help. Oh! And if ever a scheduled session didn't work out, he was super understanding and accommodating which was something we loved. With each session, we saw the progress Luke was making and Danny always pointed that out and assured us we're on the right track, and made us feel so proud and happy for our little guy!! 6 months later: Luke is pretty enjoyable to walk with and I see him being more curious than fearful. He's able to observe people and other dogs better and the reactivity has gone down so much! We were able to have guests over around the holidays and although not perfect, the experiences were really good for Luke. He was able to meet a bunch of guests and is less fearful now than ever, and we were also able to have a few dogs over too! It made me really happy to see Luke happily playing with them. I honestly didn't think I would get to share these experiences before signing up with Athens, and I'm so so happy that we did!! So so proud of my boy, and thankful to Danny for teaching us how to get here. read more

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Our dog Yoshimi has learned so much from the trainers at Athens Dog Training! They are always happy to answer questions, and awesome with all the dogs. Highly recommend Pohan and the other trainers! read more

Athens Dog Training - Castro Valley - Pet Training Near Me - Castro Valley, California

Worth every penny! I am so grateful to have worked with Pohan because she was professional, knowledgeable, and flexible. My dog has improved significantly with leash reactivity around strangers and other dogs because of Pohan's patient guidance with not just my dog, but with me, too. She taught me how to improve commands with my dog so that I can communicate more effectively/consistently. I am more confident when walking my dog, and I feel like our relationship has flourished because we are both less anxious in unfamiliar settings. Pohan specifically was recommended to me, and I would recommend her to others. read more

10/10 amazing staff. Always supported you if you had a question and had amazing tips and tricks

We like Athens...knowledgeable teachers and easy to manage your schedule and booking online. My dog was 10 months old and I took Basic Obedience. The teachers gave me actionable skills and foundational knowledge to train and trouble shoot my adopted dog. Including tips, how to train her from barking at other dogs, cyclists and runners. read more

Athens Dog Training - Castro Valley - Training in progress - Pet Training Near Me - Castro Valley, California

This is a great group of dog trainers who really care about building a strong relationship between you and your dog. I attended puppy class here. All the trainers use the positive reinforcement method for training your dog. The puppy classes focus on building that strong relationship, having your puppy learn to pay attention to you, and also gives great opportunities for puppy socialization. The trainers take their time with each pup/owner pair, and also break the group apart dependent on skill level. The other attendees were wonderful, and we all helped and supported each other in a judgement-free zone. I highly recommend this class and group of trainers! My puppy learned recall (touch/come/look), stay, wait and heel. I'll definitely be back for Basic Obedience in a few months! read more

Pohan has been so wonderful with our rescue pup, who suffers from fear aggression and reactivity. She is teaching us techniques to give our dog and us the best relationship. Our dog, Finn, can't wait for her to arrive each week. We are so glad we found Athens Dog Training. read more

I've been working with Pohan one of the top trainers. She's knowledgeable, friendly, caring and most importantly for me patient. it had been 22 years since I had a puppy and my little girl is a pistol, very stubborn, but she also very smart and learns quickly. I truly appreciate her patience with me,( the owner) i learned as much as my puppy has! read more

My husband and I have been looking for the right place to help us train our 1.5 year old goldendoodle, but we were hesitant since most places have a hefty price tag. We finally decided it was time to get some professional help, and committed to 5 private in-home lessons through Athens dog training. Let me tell you, it was worth every dollar and it was all thanks to our trainer, Pohann. She is a fantastic dog trainer who is extremely knowledgeable and passionate in her career. She was able to teach us, and guide us through many of the areas in which we were struggling knowing what to do. We've been given the tools to properly train our puppy, as well as learned the importance of understanding how to communicate with him so we can have the best possible companionship for life. Thank you, Pohann for everything you've taught us and our puppy!! We will definitely be back for any additional training wanted/needed. What a great investment this has been!! :) read more

The team at Athens did a great job with my dog. He knew nothing when i dropped him off,but came back knowing over 10 commands solid. Even now without constant reinforcement he still remembers all the commands but i lacked on practicing them with him. No complaints from me. Great team great communication constant updates and pictures/video of the progress he was making. read more

Annalie was a pleasure to work with! :) Every session was both informative and fun. We all felt comfortable working with and learning from her. read more

To cut to the chase, we rescued a young German Shepherd, and his behavior got worse (not better) as he initially relaxed at our home. Enter Danny with Athens Dog Training. We discussed realistic expectations, but even small progress sounded great. We did two sets of private training at our home (our doggo was way too reactive to learn in any other setting). Fast forward--12 sessions, a few months, and lots(!!!) of homework later, and we have a really sweet dog. Even my older parents and friend with younger children are comfortable around him and have noted he's like a different dog. We successfully built trust and communication with our dog, as well as the skills to keep improving. If you're realistic about the timeline and time investment, we heartily recommend Athens Dog Training!! And our dog says a big thanks!! He loves his life now, and he has a big smile on his face every day!! read more

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We're in the middle of the grind part of housebreaking our puppy, Fizzgig. You know the one, where every day is an uncertain number of accidents and frustration. I called for a consult on a particularly hard day and a few days later Alex was in my living room, reassuring me I'm not ruining this adorable puppy with bad training, and filling in the how-to gaps left my the dozens of articles I've read on the subject. Alex's incredible calm demeanor, real sympathy, and obvious knowledge of puppies inspired confidence. I'm excited for when Fizzgig is old enough to join Alex's group classes! My advice, when you're at your wits end with your wonderfully frustrating pup, call this place. It was worth every single penny and a day later I'm already seeing rewards in the fine tuning in Fizzgig's trainIng. read more