After searching for a trainer for my 4-year-old Belgian Malinois, Athena, I found Dog Wise Academy and chose Olivia--and it was a game changer. Athena was a COVID puppy who missed early socialization and became very reactive. Walks were nearly impossible, as she would react to everything around her. Olivia quickly recognized her high anxiety and strong prey drive and got to work. The 5-week program made a huge difference. When Athena came home, I saw it immediately. Olivia didn't just hand her back--she took the time to teach me the tools I needed to continue the training. That was the biggest lesson: you have to be willing to put in the work. Olivia builds the foundation, but it's up to you to stay consistent. Now we do daily walks, training, and play--and Athena is thriving. I highly recommend Olivia at Dog Wise Academy. You won't be disappointed. read more

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Dogwise prioritizes your money over your dog's well-being. My girlfriend and I enrolled our dog, Zoee, in Dogwise's "4-Week Anxiety Rehabilitation Board and Train" program, which they specifically recommended for addressing Zoee's social anxiety and providing complete basic obedience training. The program cost us $3,750.00. Despite the program's promises and supposed guarantees, Zoee came back in worse condition than when she started. Not only did her social anxiety worsen, but there was little to no noticeable improvement in her obedience training. We discussed our concerns with Dogwise; however, their only proposed solution was to offer what was already included with the original program--basic follow-up lessons. Although they later offered another round of board and train, even Zoee's own trainer admitted it would likely cause her further emotional and psychological distress. At that point, a full refund seemed like the only appropriate solution. However, Dogwise--and particularly its CEO, Sean Devereux--refused to issue any refund, despite our trainer's own recommendation for one based on the program's failure to deliver results. After numerous emails with Sean, no real resolution was offered. Only when we initiated a chargeback for services not rendered did Sean finally respond with a partial offer: a 50% refund. He stated in writing: "So, while we do not believe a refund is owed based on services rendered--and our policy does not support full refunds once a program has been completed--we are prepared to offer a 50% refund ($1,875) as a good-faith gesture. This is not an admission that training was incomplete or inadequate." The entire process was exhausting, stressful, and far more difficult than it ever needed to be. It felt like pulling teeth just to get a partial refund for a service that not only failed but left our Zoee worse off. I deeply regret ever trusting Dogwise with our Zoee. I wholeheartedly regret even finding Dogwise on the internet. I hope this honestly allows any dogowners thinking of Dogwise for their dog training to think otherwise. If you're considering them for training, please think twice. This whole ordeal was stressful and harder than it needed to be. It was like pulling teeth. I wholeheartedly regret even finding Dogwise on the internet. I hope this honestly allows any dogowners thinking of Dogwise for their dog training to think otherwise. P.S. they also even tried to give us $75.00 less than the actual 50% agreed upon refund due to "service fees" that never existed. Not gonna lie, the CEO Sean seems like a scumbag lol. TLDR: Dogwise getting their $$$ more important than Your dog actually getting trained. EDIT: Sean read this review, and has informed me that he is seeking legal action against me for my bad reviews. This is not the kind of CEO you want running a dog training business you'd trust with your dog. He is clearly unhinged. read more

I honestly can't say enough good things about Dogwise Academy. I was a bit overwhelmed with my dog's behavior and didn't know where to start, but from the very first session, I felt like we were in good hands. The trainers are down-to-earth, genuinely care, and explain things in a way that actually makes sense. My dog is like a different animal now in a good way. More focused, calmer, and I finally feel like we're on the same team. The training isn't just about commands it's about building a real relationship with your dog. Totally worth it. I only wish I'd found them sooner. read more

Dogwise Academy - Pet Training Near Me

I paid for dog training services for two dogs. While my first dog was in their care, a trainer was captured on my Ring camera striking her. When she was returned to me, her paw pads were raw and bloody, she had lost weight, her nipples were lacerated from urine exposure, and she was visibly yellow and distressed. My second dog was scheduled for training but never received any services due to this situation. My dog was also left in the trainer's vehicle for approximately an hour and a half while the trainer was inside my home discussing personal matters unrelated to my dogs. I attempted to resolve this situation directly with the company CEO, providing a vet report, photos, and video evidence, but the situation was continually downplayed and minimized. Based on my experience, I cannot recommend this service!!!! read more

In and out. No training to speak of. Asked them to help my dog with being leash reactive and they walked him four times for five minutes in a month, mostly let him run around a backyard read more

our trainer was Jason. We were very disappointed in the entire experience. First of all when I picked up my dog, she was extremely underweight with her ribs showing. Secondly, she has learned almost nothing in three weeks. She does heal, but does not recognize the word or hand gestures for sit, down, or stay. Getting her back was an absolute nightmare. Let me just say that we will not use or recommend dog wise academy to anyone. Absolute waste of money! read more

BUYER BEWARE - If you send your dog to Dogwise Academy and your dog is injured be prepared to enter a cycle of gaslighting where they blame the injury "on the breed". Funny reading the other 1 Star reviews here it's the same story. We sent our healthy 1 year old Frenchie to Dogwise and 3 weeks later he was in the ER with a slipped disc likely due to improper handling when their trainer let him run free in their back yard for 2 hours each day with much larger dogs. He could not move his back legs and barely walk when we recovered him from the Emergency vet that Sunday. What support did we get from Dogwise when he was in their care during the injury? ZERO. Be prepared, if you send your dog to Dogwise they accept NO RESPONSIBILITY for any harm done to your beloved pet. It's been a year since that unfortunate Dogwise experience and we're happy to report that our Frenchie has fully recovered and has had no reoccurrence from the injury he sustained while in their care. Very clear to say malpractice (not the breed!) was the culprit in our case. If you care for your pet find a responsible professional for training and know from our experience that Dogwise is not the answer. read more

I am sorry I did not read these reviews before I used this company. I agree with all the negative comments that are made here. They advertise that they pickup and drop of the dog That was not true in my case I had to drop the dog off and pick her up. The price for the amount the dog learns is outlandish considering that it was a totally unsatisfactory result. You would be better off taking your dog to a local group for a lot less money and most likely better training. I was sent home with the dog and a list of commands the dog was supposed to respond to but didn't. Save your money and don't go there. read more

I was in a desperate situation close to the 4th of July holiday. I was in dire need of a board and train program to rehabilitate and help me manage a dog that had come out of a 1.5 year boarding situation and was unable to find help. Everyone was booked or told me my dog would be too difficult to train since he was a German Shepherd Chow mix. I stumbled upon Dogwise Academy who went to great lengths to find me a trainer who could help. My dog was lunging at everyone and extremely mouthy. He had been close to euthanasia in the boarding facility with no fosters or adopters in sight. I saved him as a foster but needed help with his many behavioral issues. Dogwise set me up with Casey in the greater Chicago area. It saved the life of my dog and honestly saved me since I was going through tremendous stress and needed to travel to help a family member. Casey was wonderful and put a plan in place to calm my dog down and help him learn to be a dog again. He focused on obedience training but in a way where he developed a relationship built from a foundation of trust. He shared regular videos with me and updates. After 6 weeks the transformation and tools he gave me to continue the hard work were invaluable. It's been 3 weeks since I got him back and he's getting better and better. It's truly incredible. Thank you Dogwise for saving us! read more

Dogwise Academy is the worst dog training program in history‼‼‼We sent our two Dogs Blue and Bella there and they came back worse than when they left‼‼‼ Our dogs did not learn anything and the owner and company are unprofessional and they scammed us for our money! We sent them with two new leashes and collars and a set of bells and they came back with old leashes and collars and no bells. We supplied the food and the dogs came back with their ribs touching and showing‼‼‼ The trainer told my daughter that the dogs were too young to train and that Dogwise Academy should not have took the dogs! They refuse to give a refund knowing that the dogs were not trained and were neglected‼‼‼ The dogs came home acting more aggressive and pooped and peed all over the house. We were forced to get rid of one of the dogs because they weren't trained‼‼‼ Nothing that Dogwise academy outlined in their training were taught to our dogs‼‼‼ Never take your dogs to them! On Reddit there are other bad reviews‼‼‼ They frauded us and I sent multiple emails and text to them for our refund and they refuse to refund us‼‼‼ The owner hides behind an email and refuses to speak with me on the phone‼‼‼ The company is a gimmick just to get your money! My small children were so heartbroken because we had to get rid of Bella due to them not training our dogs‼‼‼ Do not give them your money and more important do not send your dogs there because they will neglect them!! Steal your property‼‼‼And your dogs will come back worse than when you send them‼‼‼ I wouldn't send my worst enemies dogs there‼‼‼ This place needs to be shut down‼‼‼and everyone that this company frauded should seek legal assistance and sue them and help put them out of business so that they can't fraud anyone else‼‼‼ Sincerely Milton Roman read more

Dogwise Academy - Bella - Pet Training Near Me

Dogwise Academy was a total gamechanger for me and my dog. I was at my wits end with pulling on the lead and constant barking, but the trainers really broke things down in a way that made sense. I loved how practical and real-world the advice was -- no gimmicks. My only regret is not finding them sooner tbh. Thanks guys!! read more

Dogwise Academy exceeded all my expectations! The trainers was SO patient, skilled, and genuinely invested in my Koda's success. They use effective, positive training methods (I was afraid as I saw horrible things on the internet). The results speak for themselves--my dog is WAY more obedient, confident, and well-behaved. The updates throughout the process were so reassuring. I highly recommend Dogwise to anyone looking for professional and reliable dog training! read more

If I could give it negative stars I would. I would not recommend dogwise to anyone. I am very disappointmented with the company and the way they have handled training and customer service overall. Especially with the amount of money I paid for training, it has not been worth the hassle and stress it caused us from being away from our puppy. To start off this training journey, our puppy was picked up late when we specifically asked for early morning time. The trainer arrives about 1.5 hours later for pickup. When we signed up, they informed us that a whatsapp group chat will be created so we are provided daily updates with pictures and videos. We received pictures twice the entire four weeks he was away and 1 video. He was picked up on a friday afternoon, we reached out to them on sunday to get an update which at that time they just said he was decompressing for a day and a half. The first picture we received was the 2nd week he was away, and again we had to ask for updates and pictures. The next picture and video we received was the third week. Again, we are promised daily updates and we would not hear from them for a few days and every couple of days we would have to reach out to get updates and request pictures/videos. We received 1 weekly report the entire four weeks he was away, which was the first week. During the 2nd week we were told the trainer was sick the first week so they wanted to keep him the 4th week. So I am not sure how accurate the report was since there was barely any training completed that week with the trainer being sick. The entire four weeks, there was lack of communication from the dogwise trainer and it was always us reaching out to them to see how our puppy was doing. There was always an excuse as to why we were not receiving pictures or videos. They stated the storage on the trainer's phone was full so he could not send videos, and everytime they promised a video or picture, it was not sent. The day before he was supposed to be dropped off, which was supposed to be friday afternoon, they asked if they could keep him until monday because of all the rain we recently had in the area, they wanted a few more days with our puppy to meet goals. After going back and forth with them for a while on drop off date and time, we were so frustrated we just went and picked him up ourselves. When we asked to pick him up, the trainer provided us his neighbors address which was very shady to me. When we picked up our puppy, he was filthy dirty. He smelled so bad, we could barely breathe driving home. The trainer told us we would set up a handover session during the week, and we did not hear from him to schedule a date. After a week of our puppy being home, I finally advised them that I was unhappy and did not even want a handover session and I am requesting a refund. When I requested a refund, they finally scheduled a handover session date. I informed them that I would like an additional trainer to come out during the handover session so they can see for themselves what I have noticed from my puppy being home for a week already. Without hesitation or even looking into the matter, they informed me that the additional trainer would not be able to come out. The morning of the handover session, I got a call from Sean the owner who informed me that he was not comfortable with the situation and did not want to do a handover session with the trainer who "trained" our puppy, he would like to send someone else to evaluate our dog. The trainer didn't have to do much to evaluate our puppy because she noticed right off the bat that he was not trained and does not have the basics from a puppy that would have been trained. Again, with the amount of money I paid I expect my puppy to come back trained and be given better customer service. Our puppy is our child and family member as most pet owners would agree and not receiving updates and knowing what is going on is not a good feeling for four weeks. Now, not only do I have to spend more money to send him to training again, we will have to be away from our puppy for additional weeks to make sure he receives the proper training. read more

Do not use this company. I sent my dog to this company and he returned aggressive and reactive. When I reached out to this company I was told just dont take my dog to the vet, or petsmart or anywhere highly populated and try not to take him out during busy hours of the day, which was never a problem before. Then I was instructed to purchase an E collar for another couple of hundred on top of the 3000 I paid for these people to turn my dog into Cujo! I gave them a bad review and the owner contacted me. Said the trainer was not skilled for my type of dog and that he would find another trainer only after I removed the review. He kept reaching out for me to remove the review and then he'd find a resolution after admitting that they took my money without having a qualified trainer. Of course he refused a refund after basically embezzlement of funds. So now im spending thousands more in an attempt to have behaviorists fix the mess this horrible company made. They destroyed my dog, admitted it, then refused to refund my money! I wish they had negative stars! And that would still be one star too many! read more

So I wasn't the only one disappointed either this company- the owner mentioned here and the sales/customer service person. Be warned they talk a good game and that is it. They really do not care about your pet and blame everything in your. Oh and they would be willing to give future training only if I removed my negative comments Beware of Dog Wise Academy they are rip offs read more

I got approved by them and then got cold feet a day later, they refused to refund me because you can't cancel 14 days before your appointment, I told them I didn't confirm an appointment and they said " Well is Sunday good for you then." They refused to try and refund my money and I even got more emails from them trying to confirm a start date, which is further proof I never confirmed a start date, I haven't even received a call back from this company or spoke to anyone on the phone and they are saying I confirmed an appointment already I cant get a refund, and I just got approved the day before, so I thought you know what I am stuck they got me, lets just do it, for 3 days all I got was some photos and my dog sitting once, hey I am okay with you taking your time training my dog, but the last day I didn't get any updates for 23 hours, once again I am okay with going at your own pace with training but not getting any photos or updates for a full day, Long story short I got my dog back after 3 days and now they are refusing to refund any money , buyer beware if you get approved for a loan there is no going back even if you haven't done a day yet , signed anything, or made any agreements. read more