I didn't see Renee's response until now, and it definitely warrants a response for the welfare of other dogs who might end up under her methods. Her response is a case study in gaslighting and not taking accountability for her actions, communications and words.
Bottom line:
1. She physically put her hands on me (without my consent) and caused physical pain,
2. Attempted to bully me and by dog into thinking we had massive problems to fix that would require dominating my dog into a helpless/submissive/survival state,
3. Responded with a smug "clap back" and gaslighting (e.g. see how she twists words, qualifiers and rephrases them to defend herself, or puts "aggressive" labels on dogs to justify her behavior) to try and absolve her of her responsibility in being an unqualified, abusive trainer that manhandles dogs (in front of prospective clients! shamelessly!") to get them to comply. Honestly, her toxic response speaks for itself.
4. I am allowed to follow up with her assistant to hold them accountable for scheduling and professionalism. It does not mean I want to entrust my dog to her.
Consider my review again:
"After waiting weeks for a meet and greet with Renee to get my dog into a socialization class that I was told was available, she showed up at my house, told me there was no space available, asked a series of loaded questions, and immediately diagnosed my dog as an "aggressive dog who's running your life and is going to bite someone before the year is up". She insisted I hire her for a full day of training for about $400 to show him "who runs the household" when this wasn't even an issue. When he calmly approached her to say hi, she would coldly knee his face out of her, and would repeatedly demonstrate on me on my thigh (painfully!) with her fingers to show how to jab him in the neck to startle him. Additionally, she said that she deals "mostly with rich people in the Palisades who are ignorant to dog psychology and don't want to deal with training their out of control dogs", and she couldn't accommodate me because of where I lived even though that information was provided multiple times up front. So she actually doesn't service West LA, but mostly Malibu/Pacific Palisades.
She then took my dog out to meet the other dogs waiting in her van. As she opened the door, she elbowed, pushed, yelled at, and shoved various dogs to pull certain dogs out of the van to meet my dog. When she told them to sit, she would push down on their rear to force them to sit despite the fact that they were trying to appease her and already starting to sit, and were in a slight panic because of her forcefulness. The whole experience was just really disappointing, negative and a waste of my time. They said they would follow up and never did, either.
It takes a lot of management and control to handle multiple pack walks with multiple dogs. But most dogs will comply out of intimidation if you physically dominate them. (Also, she misuses shock collars in a punitive way - it doesn't matter how it feels on a human. Each dog has their own sensitivity level to shock collars - Renee is generalizing in her response unethically.) But sensitive dogs with behavior factors to consider do not get "fixed" by dominance; they need, among other things, a relationship based on trust. This is not what Renee did; she flattened dogs to put them in a learned helplessness state, and the average layperson wouldn't know the difference.
Some clients, especially those dealing with training/puppy issues for the first time, are impressed with harnessed aggression and one-dimensional displays of control to manipulate a situation. But is that what your dog needs? Who are the stakeholders, and are they all happy and safe? If you have a sensitive dog that needs motivation and calm leadership to truly bring out the best instead cowering through a misinterpreted version of dominance theory, then this is not the service for you. I eventually found an actual certified behaviorist whom my dog did wonderfully with. I also work with behavioral cases and in rescue, and I also advise others to stay away from her. My dog continues to be awesome, and I'm glad I met Renee and saw her for what she was instead of entrusting my dog or others to her. read more