I inquired to a lot of places. I read Force-Free's every single review and went with my…read moregut-feeling. It's 100% worth it. Let me share a little background: We adopted our adult mini poodle (5-7 years old ) 10 months ago. He's crate trained but NOT potty trained. We tried potty-training several times by watching educational videos online and it was just confusing and contradicting. As a result, we gave up and he wears diaper since he is an indoor dog. He started snapping and actually bit my husband as he was removing the diaper. Bisko doesn't like it when we take off his diaper. On top of this, he barks like crazy when there's a visitor. He can go on and on for hours. The aggressive barking and snapping was addressed and corrected right after the first session! We are now currently doing potty training the right way. As the name of training entails, no force ( no shock collars, prong collars, etc. were used ) It's a lot easier now as there are definitive instructions provided on how to continue training. Addressing the negative reviews on Yelp: As I mentioned, I read every single review before deciding to contact Jeff: 1. For the initial contact, a phone call inquiry is really required as he has several questions about your dog. This cannot be done via text as there will be a lot of back and forth. 2. The other negative review is quite irrelevant. The training was successful for years and the incident happened 3 years after. There are a lot of factors that can happen in between those times. CONCLUSION: It's our first time trying training with a dog behaviorist and seen huge & significant improvement right away. This business is recommended! Hope we can continue further leash training later on.

The little bit of training was fine. He has a real chip on his shoulder. After paying for full…read morepuppy training, I found out I had cancer and went immediately into the hospital for 2 months. We were out of state and were advised not to leave the state till it was under control. When we got back home, I called him to continue training my dog, and he told me my dog was no longer a puppy, so he wouldn't honor all the money I'd paid him. I suggested putting the money towards regular dog training, and he would not honor it. It was over $1000

I have nothing but amazing things to say about Will, our trainer. We have a 4 month old Belgian…read moreMaliniois who is a little psycho. Will has only worked with our dog for the last two weeks and we are so pleased with him. We've seen amazing results so far and are so excited to continue! Highly recommend contacting this place for your pup!

Will is a great trainer! We were referred to him by one of his former clients to train our 6 month…read moremini goldendoodle. Our puppy was a handful and since we've started the training our puppy has made so much progress with obedience and socialization. Will is very patient, thorough, and always available for our many many questions. He will also provide very detailed homework for you complete between sessions based off of what you and pup learned during training. Strangers and family members have complimented us on what a well behaved dog we have - all thanks to Will and his programs. We highly recommend Will!

After several awful experiences with other dog trainers--some so harsh that my dogs would literally…read morerun and hide at the sight of them--I was honestly hesitant to try again. But finding Emily of The Dog Listener has been one of the greatest blessings for me and my American Bully puppy. From the very first session, Emily brought a calm, confident energy that completely changed the way I relate to my dog. Through private lessons and her incredible monthly Pack Walks, she has helped my puppy grow into a balanced, well-behaved companion. Most importantly, she's helped me grow--into a more confident, peaceful, and capable handler. What truly sets Emily apart is her compassion. My dogs don't just tolerate her--they adore her. The excitement and joy they show when she arrives is real, and it speaks volumes about the kind of person and trainer she is. Her love for dogs is genuine, and they feel it. I get emotional thinking about where we started and how far we've come. Emily is a true godsend, and I can't recommend her enough to anyone looking for a kind, effective, and empowering trainer who truly understands dogs--and their people.

We hired Emily to help us with our newly adopted puppy, Nala, an American Staffordshire Terrier…read moremix. As Nala approached 9 months old, she began showing signs of reactivity toward people and other dogs, especially on walks. We couldn't have anyone new come into our home without her barking, growling, and displaying dominant behavior. Walks became stressful--she would lunge at certain people wearing hats or sunglasses and at other dogs. We were starting to lose hope and knew we needed guidance to help Nala trust us and feel secure. We reached out to Emily, and from her very first consultation, we knew we had made the right choice. Emily arrived calm and relaxed, allowed Nala to approach her at her own pace, and immediately showed us how Nala should properly greet people. From that moment, I knew Emily was the perfect trainer for us. We've been working with Emily for 3 months, focusing on how Nala approaches people entering our home, and the progress has been incredible. Nala is now a very obedient dog, and we feel confident managing visitors. Walks were our next challenge, and Emily guided us through trying different collars, learning how to use our body language and tone of voice, and properly using the leash and collar. She emphasized praise, play, and rewarding Nala when she succeeded, which helped release her energy in a positive way. We have since enrolled in group sessions to work on properly introducing Nala to other dogs. Thanks to Emily's guidance, Nala has truly transformed into a completely different dog. Emily gave us the tools to feel confident, comfortable, and capable as dog owners. She doesn't waste time--she gets results while ensuring we understand what we're doing and why. We are so grateful for Emily and will absolutely continue working with her as we keep practicing and doing our homework. She is truly amazing, and we owe Nala's progress to her dedication and expertise.

I 1000% recommend OC canine coaching. My Chihuahua/Xolo 1-year old, Patty Lupe, is a rescue, a…read moreformer street dog from Tijuana, and I was worried she would never be able to just enjoy walks. She would bark at everyone and everything, and was just SO anxious and nervous (understandably) in public. Other trainers we looked into wanted to use shock collars and other more aggressive forms of discipline on her, but I knew Patty didn't need more trauma to help her calm down. Bryndon, on the other hand, was patient, kind, and used treats and other strategies to help Patty gradually feel comfortable on walks. When he got her to go into a dog park - WITH NO LEASH - I was literally speechless (in a good way!). I never thought that would be an option for Patty, but here she was going up to other dogs and walking around without growling, barking, or lunging at them. After 4-5 weeks of training, I'm now able to take Patty to a dog park on my own, off leash, and she actually PLAYS with other dogs all on her own! I literally teared up the first time I saw her running and playing with other dogs; this was something I never thought would happen because so many other people and trainers told me that Patty would probably always be aggressive and scared. Now, she loves dog parks and I'm planning on enrolling her in agility classes in the future - just like Bryndon said would be a possibility one day. I cannot praise him enough. Trust him with your dog because he will take help them through patience, kind words, and care, and not through fear, pain, or aggression, which our dogs don't deserve.

I adopted Maya, a young Belgian Malinois mix, a few months ago. She came from an extremely abusive…read moresituation and had pretty severe behavioral and reactivity issues that needed to be addressed. I searched around extensively and contacted a few different trainers and specialists, but remained skeptical (worried about finding someone good enough to handle Maya). However, I finally managed to come across Bryndon who seemed to fit the bill perfectly. Within minutes of the first introductory session, I could tell Bryndon knew exactly what he was doing and gave me the confidence that I had made the right choice. He experienced first-hand what Maya's reactivity was like, and yet by the end of the first introductory session, he already managed to showcase how we could help her improve. I knew that her issues were bad enough that it would take a very long time for her to get better, but to my surprise she showed massive improvements literally within the first few sessions. Most importantly, he showed and taught me what I needed to do to help guide her along, which was my biggest worry. We've both learned a lot (and got to learn a lot of tricks along the way lol). I cannot express enough how grateful I am to have chosen him as Maya's trainer. He listens to your needs and concerns and actually addresses them, is extremely well informed, and gives you and your dog the confidence they need to be better. He has a good mentality towards training dogs and utilizes positive reinforcement to help correct the source of issues rather than training that only serves to suppress and hide the bad behaviors/triggers. I don't say this lightly, but I cannot recommend Bryndon enough! If you are someone like me who was both highly skeptical and unsure, try meeting him for an intro, he is very approachable and friendly, and is genuinely honest enough to tell you if he's the right fit or not. Thank you Bryndon!!!

I highly recommend Ugly Dog Adventures in Orange, California. Jenn, the owner, is incredibly…read moreknowledgeable and clearly passionate about what she does which carries over to all her team. I enrolled my two, two-year-old rescue dogs in their comprehensive boarding/training program and on-going daily pack walks. The results have been fantastic. Not only were their command-response established , their unruly habits were corrected and their overall behavior became much more balanced and manageable. If you're looking for someone who truly understands dogs and can make a real difference, Jenn at Ugly Dog Adventures is the one to trust.

We love UDA! Our rescue dog was welcomed into the pack and I always knew that my dog was in good…read morehands with the team. Pack walks and boarding were always such good experiences for our girl and we will miss Ugly Dog!!

Amanda is an incredible trainer! She is so calm and collected. She's an empathetic listener and…read moretruly makes the effort to understand you and your pup. Amanda did great work with our border collie puppy (we initially planned to do just one week of board and train and ended up doing a full four weeks). We still had lots of work to do when he came home but that is to be expected! I live in the San Gabriel Valley and searched high and low for a force free trainer like Amanda. I have no regrets about driving to Orange County for my training sessions with her!

I can't say enough good things about Amanda. She's knowledgeable, patient, understanding of dogs…read more(and their humans). She taught me how to look at my dog and pick up on the signals he was going to react to something, and then get his attention before it escalated to the point of barking and lunging. With continued practice at home, each session has allowed him to grow and improve. She even suggested going to a park together to expose him to lots of different stimuli which was super helpful. I can tell my dog is happier and more secure and I feel more comfortable walking him knowing he won't get out of hand.

I can not say enough about working with Dave. We have a 4 year old, protection German Shepard, and…read moreDave has not only brought the best out of Ruger but the best out of us as handlers. Dave is fearless in his approach with Ruger's protection training but gentle and reads Ruger's energy and needs impeccably. We have made so much progress and sealed a connection with our dog that is invaluable. My gratitide is immense and every week we look forward to training day with Dave and Ruger.

I'm very disappointed with my experience with this company. I signed up and paid in full for Basic…read moretraining for my dog. The first class was canceled because the instructor was ill. A different instructor conducted the class the following week. I received an unprofessional and threatening email from the original trainer. The email disparaged the trainer who stepped in and requested (demanded) that I scheduled a private training session at a reduced fee to get "caught up" . I was uncomfortable with the lack of communication and unprofessional behavior from the trainer. I requested some type of refund since I was not going to train with them any further. I received another email denying any portion of my fees be refunded. Lesson learned for me, I suppose. I would definitely NOT recommend using this company.

Many dog trainers are complete rip offs! Does that surprise you? Be careful out there before you…read moreget talked into handing over 4 figures upfront for "send away training" . Nikki and her team at OC Service Dogs brings credibility back to Dog Training. You can't appreciate how good this trainer is untill you experience bad ones. Hopefully I can save you from having to do that Its easy to make your dog look like its trained and appear like the trainer spent a ton of time with it. A little food in one hand as the dog looks so good heeling, as you have your wallet in the other as you are impressed with the smoke and mirrors. (she can show you how to make your dog look like this in 5 minutes as can I BTW) Nikki is the real deal. I have known her for about 15 years. She has trained protection, Schutzhund obedience with me for high level competitions. She has mentored my son when he was younger as a decoy. She has been a decoy and now she is helping me train a new dog. The takeaway is that she is very experienced at all the roles and levels so so understands what its like being a trainer, trainee, competitor, club member, etc. You want someone that has had all these viewpoints and experiences. She is an awesome parent and she often does things through dog training that helps kids. For example, getting girls accustomed to saying "no" to a dog so saying "no" in the future is easier. We can only hope our girls grow up to be like Nikki. I probably averaged 15K each in training my other dogs (Sch III, IPO III dog). Her group training is a STEAL. She has awesome staff members at the group training so you are not just left alone, lost, and confused. You almost always get private training in the group training and this is worth double the price she charges . It's hard to appreciate this until you spend thousands of dollars on training in the past and realize that her training is just as good if not better for a fraction of the cost. Go to other group trainings where you are lost and just in a herd of people with no attention given to you and you will see what I mean. Her group sessions incorporate discussions too. Last session she spoke of nutrition and the new grain free controversy. Not only is this something unique, it is very strategic as she knows that you can't train dogs for excessive lengths of time and this allows her to break up the group training to keep the dogs motivated while educating you and dog issues well beyond training. Aside from being a great parent, she does a lot for the community and church. You can trust this person to not take your dog in and do nothing. She will work your dogs constantly. But I encourage you to start with the group lessons first as its such a steal and you get private lessons that Nikki probably just feels are "part of the group experience" (she could easily charge more for it or try to talk you into more like other trainers do). From there discuss private training or other send off training once you experience her training in the group Her expertise is amazing. We were about on the same level 10 years ago and training competition dogs together. I recently attended her group class and she was showing me all of the new positive techniques and I felt like I have never trained a dog before. Training has never been this positive toward the dogs like she does it now. Her love for all dogs is so incredibly evident and her desire to make everyone better through dogs is something you probably will not see in other trainers. Her group classes are a great way for families to do something good together and to have a positive activity as your dog becomes more and more a great part of your family because of her.

Do you want your pet dog to act like a trained service dog?…read moredo you need a trained service dog for yourself or family member? vision, hearing, autism, dementia, diabetes, and other needs... family owned and run group classes or private classes at home or board in training available for every need and every breed.. wonderful caring people