::Just a note: I am a personal friend of the owner, Catherine O'Donnell::…read more That said, this is one of only three trainers I will recommend in the Austin area. Having seen Catherine interact with not only her own dogs, but client dogs, I can personally say she is knowledgeable beyond belief and you can completely trust you are in excellent hands (and paws) with The Ranch For Canine Training and Behavior. This facility is immaculate. There is plenty of parking and her indoor facility is well lit and very well cared for. Catherine's knowledge extends way beyond basic training. She has handled and titled multiple dogs in conformation, obedience and protection work. This is a very big deal as many trainers have not successfully competed with and titled dogs to the level she has. She knows canine structure and behavior very well. These qualities are very hard to come by in a trainer. Not only the above, but she is great with communication on the human front. I challenge you to meet a more caring, loving, detail oriented dog trainer! She is fantastic with communication on the human level. Great lady, fantastic training space and a solid place to take your pup for schooling.

My friend shows champion Great Danes and found Catherine O'Donnell to help her with her new puppy…read more(already 80 pounds at 6 months!!!). I am also the proud new mom of a pug puppy (11 pounds at 6 months-LOL), so we hired Catherine to train our pups for the AKC S.T.A.R Puppy certification. I was blown away by Catherine's knowledge, communication with our puppies and ability to train we humans to be better leaders for our dogs. Not to mention we had so much fun!!! Catherine recently opened a lovely new facility on Hwy 290 just off RR12 and not only does she do private instruction, but also group classes and she brings in experts for training on pet massage, etc. I look forward to taking my puggy back for further certifications and classes with Catherine. She truly is a "dog whisperer" and her patient, yet commanding methods will ensure dogs (and their owners) of all ages, shapes and sizes can learn to be the best they can be! Thank you Catherine!!

We brought our dog here for three nights for boarding one weekend and upon picking her up she had…read morediarrhea (we thought was from stress) and all four of her feet had wounds in between all her toes. I reached out and asked the owners what this could be from and they said probably from her "running." We made a vet appointment and her feet were all infected and she was prescribed oral and topical antibiotics for three weeks. I reached out to the owner to cover this $300 bill and they never responded. It felt like our dog was neglected.

My dog started coming here a few months ago. He has been through their 2 week dog training, stayed…read morefor weekends and had grooming. Everything has been great. They take very good care of my dog. He gets lots of playtime and structure in his day. He seems very happy when I pick him up. Owners are very kind and organized so the drop off and pickup is a smooth convenient process. I highly recommend Gateway.

Earlier this year, my pup Ryder was viciously attacked by two large dogs who slipped out of loose…read moredog collars as we passed them at the park. Fortunatley he healed well after two weeks of dedicated TLC but the trauma of the experience remained with both him and me well after Ryder physically healed. I reached out to Matt for virtual dog training appointments to help us through that, and his guidance and great wisdom around dog psychology and behavior and deep empathy for Ryder and in general made such a huge impact. I learned from Matt how to help Ryder through his fear and trauma and how to recognize when he was experiencing trauma (for example, he developed a new and strong fear of rumbling engines). By applying Matt's empathetic practices, Ryder has become much less fearful, is no longer afraid of rumbling engines or playing with other dogs and he's back to his old happy, playful, super enthusiastic and friendly self!! :) Matt also greatly helped my dog Ellie through the excessive anxiety that resulted from my marital separation and helped us learn what an impact the breaking of that social bond had on her and how to address it! We now give her the extra attention she needs when doing hand offs to switch between homes. Thank you so much, Matt working with you has made a WORLD of difference in Ryder and Ellie's quality of life!! :)

Matt really knows his stuff. We were so happy to have him come out to meet up new pups and put us…read moreall on the path for success!!

I would like to applaud Jonas and his team for helping me with my two dachshunds who were not…read moregetting along and causing me a lot of distress. K911 was so amazing with them (and me) and my dogs are SO MUCH BETTER! highly recommend them!

Great people! Jax Bennett is my son. K thanks bye…read more Management is fantastic. Thanks for all the support for my son and I.

We took our two dogs to TCC and met with Pam. She was very helpful in helping us manage one of our…read moredogs that was very reactive dog to TV's.

The short - I didn't think my trainer was a good fit. I thought it felt scripted and a lot of the…read moreresponse wasn't helpful for the lifestyle I live. I brought my dogs in to the canine center for a few classes and a private training. Today, our trainer said that to solve my GSD's reactivity on the leash, we just needed to stop letting her go to the dog park. Okay, that's fine to have the a stance about a dog park, but i expect some sort of guide or training if I'm paying for a private session; not just - "stop taking your dog to the dog park." That's not a cure-all. Giving us a scripted answer that the dog park is the root of all evil isn't particular helpful for the situation that we're currently in. Which is truly, she has already learned reactivity on the leash so * where do we go/what do we do from here. * My vet had recommended this place many times but fool me three times canine center! Maybe other trainers are better or a better fit, but I felt like I could have Googled and saved myself $100. Additionally - the website says their recess is their take on day care; the trainer told me it's only for puppies. Too many conflicting message here. This place isn't for me and my fur babies.

The staff is extremely unhappy and it comes across on the phone. I am afraid if the front office…read morepeople are so angry that the people who care for our animals may be equally as unhappy and take it out on our fur babies.

We are always at ease leaving our three dogs at Stay N' Play, whether for overnight or for a few…read moreweeks. The dogs are eager to go. The staff are professional and seem to genuinely love animals. We never worry about how our guys are doing when we are away.

Never in my life have I felt the need to take the time out of my day to write a review on a…read moreplace... until now. If you plan on applying, I guarantee they will hire you because they desperately need the staff. I recommend you save yourself the time, and effort though. Because no one stays longer than 6 months. I got hired on the spot, and I worked here for 4 months (wayyyyy too long btw). It was a filler job until I could set myself up with a job opportunity that was long term. The only reason I stayed that long was to pay my bills, and I was in the middle of a move so a lot was going on. By the time I quit there was a completely new staff, I wish I was joking. The management at this company is horrific. Anything you ask of them will NOT be listened to. Can't work certain days or times? Doesn't matter. Wanna take time off? You're gonna be heavily questioned, AND judged. Being bullied by a coworker? We're going to continue scheduling you with them. You haven't been trained in a building? We're gonna schedule you in that building almost your entire time here. EVEN THOUGH you've also voiced you would not like to work in that building 5 separate times. The "assistant manager" Andrea Sosa was bullying me one day, and when defending myself by asking her to stop she threw the biggest temper tantrum I've ever seen from an adult. I got written up, and she received no retribution. Probably because she's the only employee who has stayed long term, and they can't afford to lose her. But she talks and sings to herself daily.. so she may be disoriented from being here for the past 20 years. If you would like to keep your sanity get out while you can or you may end up like her. Throwing temper tantrums like a 5 year old at 60. I cannot express enough how much I dreaded going to Pawsitive Thoughts. Nothing was positive about it, except for getting to work with dogs everyday. Every shift was hell. The main reason being this woman. The head manager, Andrea Lang, is so EXTREMELY passive aggressive, and unbelievably uncomfortable to be around. I was miserable working here, and I realized it was because she is too. The ongoing pattern of snide remarks, constant judgment, and impertinence is so beyond unbelievable. The audacity that this woman has is astounding. My final straw to get out of this mess was the day she violated HIPAA. I've never been so offended and made so uncomfortable at a job. One night I had to take my fiancé to the emergency room, I called off of work ahead of time for the next day to stay with him in the hospital. When coming back Andrea Lang asked me personal intrusive questions about my fiancé's health while I was on the clock working. I was shocked. This woman's never asked me anything personal until this day, and it was blatantly obvious I was not in the mood to talk about it. And then had to tell her she was making me uncomfortable with the questions. It's just insane to me that I, as a 19 year old have more social awareness than a 40-50 year old woman who's somehow a "manager". Yet she barely manages. The lack of professionalism this woman has is beyond me. And of course all of this over cleaning up poop, pee, and vomit for 16 dollars an hour, 30 hour weeks, and no benefits at all. In conclusion, this job was a nightmare, and you can most definitely find something better. Literally anything. I do NOT recommend!

Review: We hired…read moreBarb to help us with our new puppy. She not only gave us great advice to help with the biting, jumping, and potty training, but also helped us understand the bigger picture of how to communicate with our pup so he understands us. She makes training fun and informative. Barb is passionate, knowledgeable and very relatable and has been a huge help so far. We highly recommend Pawsitive Pup. For our family, it was an awesome decision!

I'm thinking the service does not create the value of the high cost!! I had my two Frenchies…read moretrained for $6000. The dogs stayed at the sit means sit facility for 12 days for training. The people at the facility that I interacted with or capable and knew what they were doing. My dogs were obedient to the trainers when I picked them up. However, the two 30 minute to 45 minutes training sessions were supposed to be 1hour sessions but we're cut short because other customers were arriving. We did not have enough time with the trainers to become skilled at reinforcing what our dogs had learned. We did get written instructions and email instructions. But for the price, I thought we would get more thorough training. The owner Lisa is knowledgeable and nice. Austin, her son, answers the phone he is also very nice. Leaving my dogs at their facility was stressful. I was told I would have communication and pictures or videos daily. What they didn't tell me is the pictures our poses and videos that match canned statements, not real communication about my dog and only once daily. I was given the direct phone number of the owner but couldn't reach her until three or four calls were made. I felt upset that I couldn't determine my dogs well-being from the poses and the canned comments that were generic to every dog. It was upsetting waiting for a callback. I couldn't visit my dogs while they were boarded for training and one of the pictures they looked very stressed. So I was upset by the time. I finally got a callback. The owner Lisa was helpful when she called back. I did get more personal interaction from the trainers. After speaking with Lisa. When I had a scheduling issue, she was also accommodating. My issue is when we got our dogs home we were not trained to reinforce what they had learned. We are not trained to get the results we saw when we picked up the dogs from boarding training. Then there are the group classes. They last for six months. I had terrible health problems for two months and could not attend and they will only allow me one month credit even though I offered MD proof that I was sick. So two months later, our two, very reactive Frenchies in tow, we were late to class and exhausted due to late night, long flight delays. I called talked to Austin told him we would be 36 minutes late.. He said no problem come on in, we will take care of you when you arrive. After a 45 minute drive , we arrived and employee Jerry was very rude. Turned us away and said "I don't know what to tell you, class is over why are you here"? I explained what Austin had said, Jerry said again. "I don't know what to tell you class is over" and shrugged. I called Austin back, he said "I don't know what to say, sorry come back next week". Even though we arrived at the exact time, I told Austin we would arrive. I expect better customer service for $6,000. The sales pitch I was given, led me to believe they would be very present knowledgeable, and helpful. that has not consistently been our experience. We attended class today and were pleasantly surprised. Lisa was teaching and it was a good class. We went over the basics of what they had taught our dogs and how to do it at a very basic level. I feel like I should've had today's training and several other training sessions during the time my dogs were being boarded and trained. There would've been more value in boarding them if I was better equipped to deal with them when they got home.

Our 1.5 year old lab/Shar Pei mix is stubborn and resistant to training. Our at-home attempts were…read moreunsuccessful and had little lasting impact. She has problems with reactivity on a leash, poor recall, and general stubborn behavior. We are still working through these things, but in six weeks with Sit Means Sit the difference is huge. She will not bark at other dogs now. If she does, it is once and she stops when I ask her to. She does not pull on the leash like she used to. I can actually get her attention when I need her to do something now. We trained at day camp with Ashley and she was incredibly helpful and knowledgable. She was so supportive and even stayed late with us to work through some problems together pretty much every lesson. My husband is reluctant to enforce rules or make our pup do things she doesn't want to do, and Ashley helped him with a few pep talks to understand why training is so important, even if it can be frustrating and uncomfortable. We are still learning and still have group classes to take, but so far I've been impressed and grateful.

Sherwin Newman was an amazing trainer for our Frenchie, Pickles! Before training, she was…read moreconstantly playing, biting, and not listening. After just two weeks with Sherwin, she came home as the sweetest, calmest dog. The difference has been incredible. She now listens to commands, and if we simply turn our backs and say, "Box," she immediately responds. It's clear how much time, patience, and expertise Sherwin put into working with her. We were so impressed with the experience that we'll also be using this service to board Pickles when we're on vacation. Knowing she'll be in such great hands gives us complete peace of mind. I highly recommend Sherwin Newman to anyone looking for exceptional dog training. Thank you for everything you did for Pickles!

Excellent experience with Sherwin N helping me train my rescue beagle, Cooper, who is 2 and just…read moreneeded to learn a few basics. Sherwin has a very calm and patient demeanor and Coop responded wonderfully and learned so much in just 5 sessions. I highly recommend Karma's gentle and affirmative training approach, and Sherwin as a great trainer.

Our family acquired a German Shorthaired Pointer puppy recently. At 8 weeks we were concerned that…read moreit would be too early to obedience train our pup. He was becoming a bit of a handful with biting and chewing. A phone call to Lillian and our pup, Ace, was well on his way to becoming a well behaved dog. Lillian even spent the time on our initial call to go over crate training and potty training. On the fist day, Lillian arrived to train Ace. In a matter of less than five minutes she taught Ace to sit! Over the course of a few lessons she taught Ace "Stay", "Down", "Come", "Fetch" and to walk on a leash without tugging. Lillian taught us quite a bit also. Most importantly how to understand why your dog behaves the way it does. If you are having any problems with your pup she will address your issues specifically. Lillian is simply amazing. She has always been available to us via phone or email. I have no doubt that if we ever needed help with training our pup we could call Lillian and she will always be there with valuable training advice and insight. She truly cares about animals and is a real joy to work with. I highly recommend her and consider one of the best in her field.

I contacted Lillian to help me with my female standard schnauzer. Ryley was demonstrating a lot of…read moreanxious behavior, fear of strangers and of other dogs. It was to the point I had considered re-homing her because I had no idea what to do. I called Lillian and spoke with her at length. She immediately gave me some great suggestions that I was able to use immediately. We scheduled an appointment for the following week. Lillian came to my house and I felt comfortable with her immediately. Not only was she able to help my dog she helped ME be able to take a deep breath and learn my dogs signals and cues and she gave me tons of strategies to use. She followed up each session with a detailed report with more resources. Always on time, always calm and quiet. My dogs love her and so do I. My pup isn't perfect but she is an entirely different pup and I am happy to say I would never consider her being anywhere but with me. Lillian is the best!