Kurt helped me and my new shelter husky shepherd mix learn safe ways to be with other dogs. I was…read moreterrified before my first visit. He observed BART in a neutral . He was calm ,and safely helped educate me to help my dog. I've only been twice this far. I definitely recommend him for any type of dog as he is a natural. His approach is so easy to understand. I can't wait to go back to learn more. I'm looking forward to the beach day meetups with dogs Kurt already personally knows. Thanks a million bucks..... I feel so much hope that I can care for my big boy.

Kurt is an outstanding dog trainer. I enrolled my dog in his three-week Board and Train program,…read moreand she returned home incredibly well behaved. Throughout the program, Kurt sent daily videos demonstrating his training methods so I could confidently continue the work at home. I highly recommend Kurt to anyone looking to train a puppy or adult dog--he truly has a gift with animals!

We used Sheila 3 1/2 years ago to train our very exuberant and frankly uncontrollable golden doodle…read morepuppy. We were a little taken aback by her methods but almost immediately there was a change. Our puppy, Yogi, had been through clicker training but mostly, he and another rambunctious pup were in a separate area rolling around and playing. From that first interaction, Yogi has impeccable manners. I was trying to find Sheila's number, saw some unfavorable reviews and realized that we hadn't left a review after our work with her. She may not be right for every dog but she was perfect for Yogi.

I will second what the previous reviewer wrote back in 2012. How I wish I had come across that…read morereview before scheduling Shelia to perform her "training" service with my dog. If I could only leave zero or negative starts on my review I would! To say that I was extremely upset and felt completely shamed upon her departure from our session is an understatement! DO NOT USE Sheila!!! I cannot express that enough! Apparently she also has 2 yelp pages and the name of her business website is misleading as it is not the same name as her actual business. (cards, paperwork etc is a different name) I will start by saying that my husband and I rescued a 1 year old German Shepherd whom we had for less than a week when we started researching dog training. We have countless years of experience with owning dogs and we already had 2 small/medium size neutered male dogs in our home upon adoption of the shepherd. However, since it had been quite a while since we had a large dog in our home we were in need of a refresher & some advice. We adopted an amazing shepherd. Smart, sweet, quick leaner and great addition to our family. Given that she was adopted, the transition amongst her to our small/medium neutered males started off challenging. The shepherd seemed to be on high alert, in full on attack mode to our boys. So for about the first 1-2 weeks we were cautious separating them all from each other for all of their own safety. It was stressful and I did feel desperate as it was rough on my husband and I playing musical dogs. So that was when my research continued and we were navigating towards in home dog training to curb the issue of what we believed was the shepherd's "small dog aggression". We came across Sheila's website, which is online as Ventura County Dog Training (not Sitting Pretty as she uses for the actual business name) and I reached out pleading my case via email. Sheila followed up with an hour long phone call which at the time we thought was a sign of good things to come. However during her phone call she went on and on about a very particular brand of dog food to which "she had no affiliation with" but that we needed to start feeding to the shepherd right away. We didn't give this too much thought and in the end our desperation lead to her coming to our home for a session. Both my husband and myself had to request a day off of work for our appointment. Since we work during the day and Shelia is against performing training in the evening and was somehow booked for many weeks in advance on the weekends we had no other choice. She was then 20 minutes late for our 12pm appointment, blaming her directions. However as we set the appointment over the phone days prior she had clearly stated she had in fact been in our neighborhood before and knew just exactly where and how to get there. Guess the streets magically moved from where she knew they were last LOL! As soon as she entered our home instantly she claimed our dog was looking "too" aggressive and was about to attack her. She claimed she has been in a yard with 3 dogs coming to attack her and the hair on the back of her neck was standing up making her feel the say way she did around those "3 attack dogs". That should have been our first major red flag since our shepherd loves everyone and everything meeting neighbors, children, family etc. She had NEVER showed signs of aggression other than we thought to our small dogs. But alas, she was newly adopted we didn't want to take our chances and continued on listening to Sheila's BS. I wont go into every single ridiculous detail, because it was all ridiculous and this will be the longest review in history. But in a matter of almost 3 hours all we had learned is that our Shepherd gets bored easily when not challenged. She spent most of her time wanting to lay down as there was NO ACTUAL TRAINING taking place. Sheila the "trainer" NEVER touched our dog, not even her leash ONCE. She only instructed my husband in a very rude and unprofessional way of how he should handle the dog. She advised us to never command the dog using her name, or touching the animal. She claimed "all dogs automatically come programmed to know the word sit once they are 8 weeks old" Really? That is beyond laughable!! Not every home even speaks the same language!! All session all we worked on was "SIT". To top it off she completely insulted my husband and I trying to dig into our background as to why we had so little patience. Really? So little patience? We spent 3 hours telling a dog to "SIT" not touching her, not showing her the action not even allowed to look her in the eye! Of course we were losing patience! So was our dog! About 80% of the session was also again as was on the first phone call to preach to that us we purchase a very specific brand of dog food. She kept reiterating "she had no connection to the company at all but to mention her name when purchasing to get a better discount". That is such an insult to our intelligence I can let yo

We enjoyed two levels of basic manners group classes. We learned a lot! Sit, stay, come, leave…read moreit, drop it, loose leash walking. :)

We moved to Ventura from a house with a yard to a condo without one, and our French Bulldog,…read moreLorenzo, really struggled with the transition. He started acting out on walks, clearly stressed and unhappy--and that took a toll on all of us. It even made it hard to enjoy our new surroundings. Then we had a training session with Veronique, and everything changed. Lorenzo opened up in a way we hadn't seen before. He's now so much better on his walks, more relaxed, and noticeably happier overall. We were given clear, practical tools to help him succeed--not just on walks, but in his interactions with other dogs too. This training truly helped lift the emotional weight Lorenzo had been carrying and made a huge difference for our family. We're so grateful. I absolutely recommend this service to anyone who wants to better understand and support their dog.

Well, I brought another very large puppy, Gumbo to be trained while I was recovering from back…read moresurgery. I was so worried that this 80 pound rambunctious dog would trip me on the stairs, jump on me and make my recovery impossible. Now he sits at the bottom of the stairs and waits for me to go up. He sits to be petted and has mellowed out tremendously. Five years ago, Linda trained Max after another surgery I love that she stays in touch with you daily and works on the specific things you are concerned about. She is very clear about how it is an ongoing process and she is there for you if you need continual help after the board and train. Definitely worth the expense. Our house is much calmer now!

What a great experience we had with Linda and her team at be free. Boarded and trained my Roque…read more(Rocky) boy. He's another pup. Just as energetic but more controlled. I highly recommend.

I sit here on my couch after doing my own morning training session with both dogs and I am in…read moretears. I cannot begin to explain the amount of relief from anxiety training my dogs with Ricky has brought me. No amount of therapy could touch how I felt previously. I have learned patience, clear communication (with my dogs), and appreciation of the minds ability to change after years and years of ingrained unwanted behaviors. Ricky does not sell a one size fits all package - each of my dogs are VERY different, and while the fundamental approaches and concepts in training are the same - the method and timing in which we applied and reinforced these were vastly different. Ricky is able to connect with two leggers and four leggers alike - he gives clear feedback to dogs and human and uses metaphors that we humans understand (driving the speed limit and getting speeding tickets haha) on how the concepts of his approach effects dog behavior. I couldn't be happier. I am humble and I know I need to continue management (and one of my dogs I am holding to higher standard so we are going to continue our own sessions based on what I have learned) but my dogs are completely different. I'm getting complimented by family, friends, and people on walks - impressed with how well behaved my dogs are. I smile and tell them "thank you it's lots of continued hard work" and move along. This morning in particular we walked during trash pick up, had lots of people distractions, and both dogs stayed heeled and attentive to me on their separate walks. Do not hesitate to consider Ricky for your training needs. Also, if you feel alone with your dogs behavior - please know you are anything but alone. The fact you are looking at reviews for dog trainers is a clear indicator that you want the best for your dog and intend to give them them best. :)

We have tried a lot of dog trainers. Ricky is fantastic…read more Apart from learning a lot at EPT, my dog now somehow seems a bit more mature, in a good way! Highly recommended.

Audrey was able to accommodate our last minute request for doggy daycare on a Sunday afternoon…read more The minute we met Audrey, we were put at ease by her warm demeanor and obvious love for animals. We left our puppy with her and came back later that evening to a very content and tired pup. Knowing that he was getting great one on one handling instead of being thrown into a giant pen with 15 other dogs at a traditional doggy daycare truly made all the difference for us. Audrey provided us with picture and video updates while we were gone which was a nice touch. Highly recommend her and plan to bring our puppy back later this week.

Pups had a great time out in the yard! Will definitely bring them back to Sandy Paws!read more

This is a bit overdue. I used to take my first two doggies. This was before the pandemic. Then we…read morehad the pandemic and they both passed (2021 & 2022). Fast forward to now, I adopted two little rescues from the ASPCA. I wanted them to have time with other little doggies and called up Doggie Around. My information was still in their system (from my other doggies). They updated the information and offered me condolences for my loss. I had an outpatient procedure coming up and was hoping to get my two new doggies into the doggie daycare. Well they made it happen. I took them on a Friday for their initial assessment and was able to drop them off that following Monday. I cannot tell you how grateful I am for this. It was such a relief to be able to drop off my little loves and know they are safe and having a great time. I feel their prices are reasonable and most importantly, the staff is super nice and they remembered my little doggies names when I took them back on Monday. I know fur parents know how wonderful that feels when they remember you and your babie's names. Thank you Doggin' Around!

Was recommended this spot by a neighbor, so grateful to have a safe place to drop my pup off …read more Chance gets excited as soon as we pull in, and is a tired pup when I pick him up. Everyone that works there is so friendly, you can tell they love what they do. Highly recommend them for Daycare.

We love Matan Dog Training. Our 10 month old Bernadoodle was nipping and biting us when he thought…read morehe was playing. We needed help and structure. After a 3-week bootcamp with the Matan team, he is a completely different dog. We are so happy we found them! We also used them to groom Barkley at the end of his boot camp stay, they did a great job!! He was super clean and fluffy!

Best find in dog training. My dog has improved better than expected. Amelia is the best trainer…read more In addition to the provates, group lesson are amazing. Matan has given my dog better confidence and guided me on how to continue the proper training method.

Jeremy is a amazing trainer... we adopted a two year old black lab this past March. She had lived…read morewith four college girls and had zero training. She pulled on walks and chased trucks and other dogs.. it was terrible We knew she could be a great dog.. and now she is. She's a joy to walk, goes to her place and does chase trucks.. thank you Jeremy our sweet Lady Vader is now a happy well behaved family member

Calling Jeremy was one the best decisions I ever made for my dog and I. My 1 and a half year old…read moreBelgian Malinois Chomper came off as aggressive and crazy because he was a young ball of energy who had basically been able to do what he wanted all his life.He was also labeled as being a bit of a mommas boy, as told to me by Jeremy and a few others. Jeremy was very straightforward and blunt when it came to the training which helped me know I needed to be the same with Chomper. Jeremy gave me the tools I needed to improve my relationship with my dog. Training not only improved my but my dogs confidence. Training has become something too look forward to after a long day it's almost like a stress reliever at times I'm surprised to say as well as a real bonding sessions between us and our family. This is one of those investments that really paid off! Thank you Jeremy!

Safe and no worries each time I have used their services! They love my dog and I know they take…read moresuch care in loving on him! Highly recommend.

From the owner: Providing excellent quality care to all varieties of pets. I have been with pets most of my life …read more I studied pet nutrition and behavior. I have operated solo for 20 years. i do hotel Pet care, in room service also. I have excellent references. I can provide most services you request including administering medications, working on basic manners and in home stays. When you are in need of a quality petsitter look no further. All requests by appointment are considered and dates for extended stays need 2 weeks advance booking. Ojai Valley only