1. Athens Dog Training

1. Athens Dog Training

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San Ramon, CA

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Athens Dog Training

5.0 (10 reviews)
Open 10:00 am - 8:00 pm
Updated 2 months ago

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Response time

40 minutes

Response rate

100%

Services - Athens Dog Training

Dog boarding and training

Private dog training

Puppy socialization classes

Athens Dog Training Photos

Recommended Reviews - Athens Dog Training

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Lola is a super sweet 4 year old but, don't try to pick her up! Or else!
Rick P.

Our long time companion and Trixie's best friend passed away. 6 month later we adopted a rescue dog named Autumn who we were told up front, "don't try to pick up the dog unless SHE want to be picked up". Hmmm ok? She looked and seemed ok. She walked with us while on our introduction, she seemed perfect and she is! Except the biting thing and she indeed will bite your hands if you try to pick her up sometimes. Still, she is so sweet. She lays her head on you shoulder and everything. She plays fetch extra well too. Around the 5th time she lit me up I was ready to give her back. My wife in tears instructed me to call a specialist. I opened Yelp and there it was, a FIVE star shop (granted only one review) in San Ramon! Athens Dog Training is the one. Danny was my guy. I was to pay $80 for an "evaluation ". Little did I know that Danny is a Psychiatrist! That's right. He came into the room calmly and with confidence. We sat across from him at a table in a large empty room. He simply asked us to tell him our story. He listened, wrote some thing down, and after we finished our story, he begin to ask us more detailed questions. One by one he would give us explanation as to what he thought was going on. It was as right as rain. It's hard to describe the feeling you get when you're talking to a person who is handing you keys to unlock truths about not only the dog, but the owners also! Are you kidding? I'm not. Not long after we began with Danny, I was in another world of discovery and truths about myself and my dog. The more he talked, the more I was healing. For instance, simple things like, dogs do not think like humans at all. I had a few isms that needed rethinking. There was a lot more discussion.Then, he broke out a couple of Jedi mind trick to help us move forward in our quest to have a better dog. The money I spent was not even a factor. Whatever he was going to charge was worth every penny! Danny, we loved our time with you. We've already made some progress thanks to you training tips. We only came for an evaluation but we got much more than that. Thanks again!

Kira's graduation

We have a wonderful 5 year old German shepherd mix who is perfect in every way except she wants to break through the livingroom window any time anyone approaches the house and when on leash she is extremely reactive towards other dogs. We finally hit a breaking point where we knew we needed help. A friend had a good experience with Athens and so we reached out. We worked with Mitch for the entire program and it really was a great experience. He came to our home for four sessions and didn't bat an eye when our dog wanted to be trained too ( aka wanted treats) and he worked with both of them while ensuring the reactive dog got the attention she needed. He gave very solid advice to us and was very patient as we muddled through learning. Our final two sessions were at their HQ where we practiced leash walking with different type of dogs brought out so we could test our limits in a safe and secure way. Never going further than our dog could manage. I would strongly recommend 'Mitch and Athens in general. If more training is needed we will definitely be back. Thank you Mitch for helping improve Kira's quality of life through teaching us how to communicate better with her.

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7 months ago

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Annalie J.

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Review Highlights - Athens Dog Training

During our second lesson, we reinforced those skills and began working on her reactivity.

Mentioned in 2 reviews

Read more highlights

Gary Maria's Professional Dog Training - Sitting for the camera

Gary Maria's Professional Dog Training

(228 reviews)

I reached out to Gary for help with my dog Peaches and her leash reactivity, and he was extremely…read moreprompt in responding. The initial consultation went very well, and I learned so much about dog communication and how to better support Peaches. I also learned that she is a highly anxious dog, which explained many of the challenges I had been concerned about. We enrolled in Gary's six-week program and finished with the tools and knowledge needed to keep Peaches on the right track toward recovery. Just like humans, dogs rehabilitate at their own pace, and over those six weeks Peaches made significant progress. We're looking forward to enrolling in advanced training once she's ready so she can enjoy more freedom off-leash. Gary is not like other trainers we've worked with. He doesn't rely on obedience-based shortcuts or gimmicks. Instead, he teaches you how to work through real situations and explains the theory behind his approach so you truly understand what's happening and how to handle stressful moments. Most importantly, Gary teaches you how to become the focal point for your dog, which has made a lasting difference for us.

We worked with Gary Maria for six weeks to help our 3-year-old rescue, Giorgi, who struggles with…read morefear and anxiety. Honestly, Gary was incredible. From day one, it was clear he knows his stuff and loves what he does. A lot of the time, Giorgi was too overwhelmed to participate. On day 1, Giorgi hid under a table the whole session. But that's ok because Gary was really training us. By the last session, Giorgi was walking around, watching other dogs and people walk by, and still listening to commands. Gary taught us how to help Giorgi feel safe, calm him down when he's stressed, and build trust. We've already seen such a difference at home. Gary is knowledgeable, patient, direct (in the best way), funny, and available when you have questions. He celebrated every little win with us! You can tell he truly cares about the dogs he works with. We still have more work to do, but thanks to Gary, we know how to keep moving forward. If you have a dog with anxiety or fear, seriously, go to Gary. He's the real deal.

Oh Behave Dog Training - Bob is now calm, happy and secure after being attacked and becoming aggressive with some dogs. Pattie worked miracles!

Oh Behave Dog Training

(33 reviews)

We have a 2 1/2 year old Mini Goldendoodle - Louie and overall he's a good dog and we just needed…read morehelp with certain commands. I watched numerous training videos online and did a group training (I don't recommend that either) - nothing helps since you need hands on private training and that's how I found Patti on here. We did 6 sessions and she helped us train Louie and focused on his reactivity, basic walking commands, door bell reactions and recall. Patti came over to our house for a few sessions and the rest of the sessions we met at a park or a public place so that she can teach us the real world situations when we're out with Louie. She explains everything very well and why dogs behave the way they do. She'll take photos and videos and send follow up notes as well to help us remember everything we learned each session. It's a lot to learn and you have to continue to practice everything and you'll see a difference in your dog's behavior. We've seen a difference in Louie and very happy with the results. I definitely recommend Patti if you need help training your dog. Thank you so much Patti!

Amazing dog training sessions with Patti. She gave me incredible one on one training with my 8…read moremonth old French bulldog Rocky. She explained the importance of consistent positive dog training. Patti did a great job of not only showing me how to train my dog, but building my confidence through the fantastic results I was receiving from her training methods. I would highly recommend Patti for any dog owner who wants one on one in home dog training at a affordable price.

Fair Love Dog Training - very happy at the beach!

Fair Love Dog Training

(36 reviews)

Update: After another month or two of sessions with Grace,…read morewe are now doing off-leash hikes and beach trips with Hershey! Wooo! I couldn't believe it! We were able to achieve our end goal of walking off-leash with him. In my mind, I had thought it was going to take years for your dog to know not to run off once they are free. (probably PTSD from when my previous family dog, Lucky, who, if he escaped the backyard, it will take forever for him to come back because he thinks that me chasing him is a game.) But Grace really was thorough in giving us the tools and time we needed to get Hershey accustomed to being off-leashed. Seeing how Hershey is more relaxed now as well, we now no longer think we need to attend obedience classes. We are so lucky we went with Grace!

I don't know where we would be with our fearful Taiwan Dog if I had not reached out to Grace!…read more Cruz arrived in early February 2021 and we immediately knew he was unlike any dog we had had before. For the first week, he wouldn't come out of his crate, we had to carry him outside to potty, he would barely venture out of his crate even to eat, and he most definitely was not going on any walks; while everyone else's Taiwan Dog seemed to come around much quicker or almost instantly, Cruz was extremely scared and not looking to bond with us anytime soon. Everyone told us "they will come around with love and patience" but I could tell it was going to take more work than that, and we weren't about to let months or years go by without being proactive with him. With Grace's training, we have learned how to truly bond with Cruz, and how to help him relax in situations where he is scared. We know how to "read" him and anticipate how to react/respond to help him. I love that her focus is on emotion coaching our dog (something coincidentally enough we are also working on with our children) and helping our dog help himself so he can work through his fears in any situation. Her understanding of fearful street dogs is profound; she really knows how they think, why they are reactive and how to calm them in stressful situations. Cruz continues to grow exponentially every week. The dog who wouldn't come out of his crate 5 months ago now loves to jog, hike and camp. He wakes up every morning full of wags and kisses for us, happily gets in the car to go somewhere, and [drum roll please] we just had our first very successful beach trip with him where he was so excited to play with us and the other dogs there, he didn't show any signs of fear, he happily walked up to other humans to say hello, was off-leash most of the time, and he knew his boundaries and always came to us to "check in". He still has work to do but at the rate he is growing, he will far exceed our expectations of the perfect family dog. Our family highly recommends Grace!

Pawsitive Interaction Dog Obedience - Nala

Pawsitive Interaction Dog Obedience

(85 reviews)

Adam is very professional, very knowledgable and has vast experience with pet training. We are on…read moreour 4th week of the 5 week training and our family have had such a wonderful experience with Adam. Oscar, our pet loves Adam so very much. Both Oscar & we have learnt a lot in this training program. Adam is very pleasant, very patient, easy to work with, flexible to accommodate changes, very responsive and available for all questions. He takes time not only in training the pet but also explaining us thoroughly all the different steps we need follow in enforcing the good habits. Overall its been an amazing experience with Adam. I will highly recommend Adam's training.

Adam is professional, knowledgeable, and very responsive to all of my questions. His rates are very…read morereasonable for a 5-week training course. One thing I especially appreciate is that he offers both indoor and outdoor training, since my dog, Oscar, behaves very differently outside with distractions around him. While he listens well indoors, my commands sometimes seem to go "in one ear and out the other" outside, and Adam really focuses on addressing those real-life challenges. I also have two dogs, and even though the training is primarily for Oscar, Adam has gladly provided helpful tips and guidance for my second dog as well. After each session, he sends detailed notes so I can continue practicing with Oscar throughout the week, which has been incredibly helpful. Adam is flexible, accommodating with scheduling, and genuinely enjoyable to work with. I recommend Pawsitive Interactions to anyone looking for a skilled and supportive dog trainer.

Sit Means Sit Dog Training East Bay

Sit Means Sit Dog Training East Bay

(40 reviews)

I will start off by saying that the trainers my dog and I worked with were knowledgeable -- I found…read moreour sessions valuable and walked away with a lot of techniques that I still use today. However, the main issues I have are the disorganization, poor communication, and lack of respect for their clients' time. First, scheduling classes was frustrating and confusing -- there's no real system or even clear instructions. You're supposed to text a phone number to schedule classes (?) but half the time no one responds. It wasn't until I emailed the owner that I got a response. Second, 2 different trainers were late to our private sessions. I do understand that things happen unexpectedly but it would have been nice to get a heads up. A third trainer didn't even show up to our session. After waiting for 15 minutes, I emailed the owner and was told that the trainer moved the class to a different day but never even bothered to let me know. And finally - When I was in the process of signing up for training, the sales guy had confirmed that the package I was purchasing included FOUR private classes and TWO group classes. After I completed the private sessions, I reached out (a few months later) to schedule the first group class. However, I was told that the package I paid for was actually for FIVE private classes and NO group classes and that if I wanted to do a group class, I'd need to upgrade to the Lifetime Package. In all fairness, when I explained that this was NOT the package I had discussed with the salesguy and signed up for, the rep apologized and tried to make things right by honoring the 4 group classes that I had originally signed up for. I thanked her but declined. The thought of potentially having to go through all the same frustrations was not worth it in my mind. Again, I have no issue with the trainers -- they are talented and very capable. But if I can offer constructive feedback, please just be more clear and communicative with your clients.

Please do not use Sit Means Sit Dog training!! I wish I knew everything I did now…read more We enrolled our 6 month old puppy and immediately put an e-collar on her to reinforce and learn behaviors. Never ever ever should it be introduced and used in this manner. She is now almost three and had to use another trainer to reintroduce the e-collar correctly and now she understands rules to our lifestyle and basic obedience through the guidance of another trainer. I am not against e-collars, they are a great tool IF USED CORRECTLY. Unfortunately Sit Means Sit does not. Sometimes I wonder if we would have even needed one with my dog, had we gone a different route for training. But thankful for this learning experience as this is what pushed me into becoming a dog trainer.

Athens Dog Training - pet_training - Updated July 2026

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