This is a terrific resource for anyone living in the San Gabriel Valley. The classes are well-run…read moreand very enjoyable. We've taken numerous classes and made a lot of progress. We continue to train everyday using the tips we learned. We highly recommend Pasanita. That being said, if your dog is totally out of your control around other dogs (barking out of control, lunging etc.), you should consider starting with a private trainer. Starting with a large public class is not the best way to ensure your dog is able to cope with his or her challenges in a positive way, and isn't fair to your dog.

Run away! The absolute worst experience I've had with my puppy!…read more I took the level 1 class with my 7-month old puppy. I had done this class over 17 years ago with my prior puppy and had a good experience so I went back. This was completely different. The trainer YELLED the entire time - she yelled at people to get their puppies in line, to sit, etc. These are puppies in their first training class with lots of new dogs and people around, and there was no patience for anything but perfect puppies. Why go to training? They advocate prong collars and use them aggressively (yanking the dog's neck). I refused to use one with my puppy and they were obviously annoyed by that. The trainer would demonstrate with her own dog and it was obviously scared of her. It was so sad. I don't think I need my dog to fear me to have a well-trained puppy. But I continued to attend weekly, even as fewer and fewer people returned each week. Finally, the trainer screamed directly at me. My puppy wasn't hurting anyone - he was just overexcited and I was a bit off to the side trying to get him to sit (unsuccessfully). She yelled at me "YOUR DOG WILL NEVER LEARN!!!" in front of the entire class. She apologized directly to me after class (rather than in front of the entire class) and tried to get me to use a prong collar again. I didn't return. This was unacceptable behavior by the trainer and club members who assist with the class to allow this to happen. My biggest regret is that I stayed in this class for as many weeks as I did. How is my puppy doing? It turns out he could learn. While he is still learning at 1 year old, he travels everywhere and sits calmly at nice restaurant patios and behaves himself at fancy hotels. Training is important, but this training is absolutely awful. Note that this is a "club", so the positive reviews are largely by club members who observed this behavior and are okay with it.

I found Dave through his wonderful Yelp reviews so I realize that my opinion is certainly in the…read moreminority. However, I still think you should know of my personal experience. After adopting a 2 year old min pin mix from the humane society, I emailed Dave to set up a training session. I explained that she was already pretty good with walking on the leash, etc. but we wanted to definitely focus on some separation anxiety issues and just general command following. He showed up on time (a big plus in my book!) but did not acknowledge our dog at all when he came in. He said "she'll have to warm up to me." A little background - we'd had our pup for two weeks and she'd never barked. She just cuddled everyone who came over. The humane society had said they too had never heard her bark so we weren't even sure that she'd hadn't been de-barked previously. Well, Dave came upstairs, without acknowledging her, and with his big booming voice talking a mile a minute and the second he reached the top of the stairs, she barked. We should have listened to her. Dave immediately launched into telling us about training and giving us seemingly random information about how to train her to do this or that. He did not ask us about her background. He did not ask us what we wanted to accomplish, he just ran full steam ahead. It was a whirlwind but my Husband and I tried to keep up. He got out treats and commanded our dog to sit, which he did get her to do, but he did not tell us why or how he was getting her to react. Next, he said we should all go on a walk. He proceeded to ignore how she was walking on the leash and spent the whole 20 minute walk telling us stories about how he tamed giant aggressive dogs. Impressive, but that's not what we have nor what we were paying for. On the walk, he told us that we needed to get down to her eye level to show her our hand signals because she couldn't see if we did them high up. Okay, fair enough. However, back at home, he was getting her to sit some more and he said "you have to stand and give the hand signals, you're not always going to bend down for her." Literally contradicting what he had just told us on the walk. He never let us practice giving her commands so he could correct what we were doing wrong and he never seemed to take any interest in listening to us about our concerns. He also kept referring to her as a "he" and while we corrected him at least four times, he kept calling her a boy. I give him two stars and not one because my Husband and I do think he knows what he's talking about. However, he's probably much better with bigger, more aggressive dogs. When he left, my Husband and I looked at each other, exhausted from the high-energy that Dave puts out (he's loud and boisterous and constantly expelling anecdotes) and said "never again" at the same time. Dave wasn't for us and my suggestion would be to pay attention to your dog and your gut like we have. In the end, she knows all kinds of tricks now and is a great learner, but she needed a different approach.

Let me start by stating I do think he knows how to get a dog to behave, but he's not the right…read moretrainer for my dog nor I. I am amazed at his work and respect him. However, I wished I knew the details on his work. Pros: ~Has shown results. My dog did, amazingly, behaved nicely and David was able to correct him if he wasn't. Wish there was more of that. ~He does let you practice with your dog and corrects you so you can do it when he's not around. ~Each session is at least 2 hours, he doesn't rush his work and take his time with the lesson. ~Uses his own well behaved dogs to train people's dogs. ~Has the energy to keep up with even the most hyper of dogs. ~Isn't afraid to get bit. ~My dog loves him (but that's probably not a big perk, my dog loves everyone, I have yet to see him NOT love someone instantly). Cons (with explanations): ~He uses prong collars. I understand my dog may bite him and thus the prong collar may curb his behavior. However, I am not comfortable with having to pinch my dog into behaving. David did say it doesn't hurt - he's placed it on his own leg and pulled as hard and he can and it doesn't hurt him. I did this at home to my own leg and it actually hurts me. I wouldn't want to think about how it hurts my dog. He's very adamant on the collar and I ended up having to purchase my own. Good thing my dog loves everyone cos he still loves me and David, even when he has to wear that darn collar. ~Talks a lot. Which is both good and bad. The explanations helped at first but he became very repetitive about them. He is also very passionate about some things and will rant on and on about them. He complained about how animal shelters give out dogs with behavioral issues because they don't care. I had to bite my tongue to not point out the animal shelter's purpose is population control and rehoming dogs, not perfecting dogs to adopt out. Seems to like bragging about his worst clients and seems proud of his bite scars. ~Communication skills leaves something to desire. Granted he has a older phone model but after a few weeks break (we had other things planned), he forgot who I was/my dog was when I texted him to confirm the next class. Maybe at least save your client's number and a brief description of their needs rather than having to ask 'who is this?'? ~Pricing varied. He quoted me a cheaper price for the next visits but since we skipped a few weeks, he must have forgotten and charged me the same price as the first time. But considering each lesson was more than 2 hours long, his hourly rates are still really cheap, I'm just a little annoyed he didn't keep his word. ~No follow ups? He didn't discuss a next session and just left me in the middle of a lesson to practice on my own at home. I don't know why I decided to do a second session (probably cos I didn't want to find another trainer and pay all over again) but at least his lack of interest in ensuring my dog actually learnt something made me not go with a third session. I felt weird about posting a less than 5 star review since every other review is a glowing 5 star but seeing someone else review him less than stellar made me realize I'm not the only one out there. I agree, maybe he's not the right trainer for smaller/medium sized breeds. I'm surprised none of the other reviews mention this - the prong collars, the rants, the repetitive anecdotes. I wished I have saved my money and gone with a different trainer with different methods because he wasn't the right trainer for me. (My dog has no say in this since he loves all his trainers and even his vet.)

I just had my first one on one training session with Francesca. I was amazed how my dogs…read moreimmediately sensed her authority. Just one class and I have tools to practice with to improve my dogs behavior when walking on leash. Be prepared to "unlearn" what you know about obedience training. Francesca has a fresh vocabulary of commands and actions that were new (at least to me).

I brought my two dogs, Koda and Daisy, to Francesca's Dog Training and the experience was…read morefantastic. Daisy and Koda have very different temperaments, but Francesca was able to adapt her approach to meet each of their individual needs perfectly. If your dog is leash pulling and taking control of your walks, Francesca can give you the tools to lead your dogs in a more balanced walk. What I appreciated most was her focus on clear communication. She didn't just work with the dogs; she taught me how to lead them effectively so the training actually stuck at home. It is a continued work in progress, but now I have the tools to be consistent and train my dogs and future dogs. Whether it was working on leash manners or basic boundaries, the progress is incredible! If you're looking for a trainer who truly understands dog behavior and treats your pups like her own, I can't recommend Francesca enough. She is an avid dog lover and wants all dogs to acheive a better quality of life. Daisy and Koda are much more balanced now, and our walks are actually enjoyable!

Dog Trainer Extraordinary...Before Vickie, I disliked taking my dogs for a walk. They would bark…read moreat everything, pull, and decide that they wanted to walk in different directions. It was a lot of work and not a lot of fun. Vickie has been training and walking my dogs for about one year now twice a week. Now they can pass another dog without barking and going crazy. They were so good the other day that a fellow dog walker complemented them on the fact of how well behaved they were. Truly Amazing.

I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude and give a huge shout-out to Javier &…read moreEvelyn. They trained my two fur babies with incredible patience and professionalism. They are so kind they celebrated Kane's birthday! From day one, it was clear that they were dedicated not only to training my dogs but also to ensuring that I, as an owner, felt confident and informed throughout the process. They went above and beyond, providing thorough training and daily updates, which meant the world to me--especially on days when I missed my boys a little extra. There truly aren't enough words to convey my appreciation, but I hope this review serves as a small token of my gratitude. Thank you once again for your outstanding work!

I have had the opportunity to have both Alexx and Javier support me with my dog Abby! They are…read morepatient, supportive and kind. I value and appreciate that they also follow-up consistently regarding how she is doing once training is completed. Javier works hard to train owners/ humans, to be better to ensure consistency! Thank for your help with my baby!!

Everyone who works there is so nice and loving to the dogs!!…read moreYou know your dog loves it when the minute they get out of the car they run to the gate and wanna get in. Also, my Dog learned a lot in a short period of time and now I'm going to start with the five week course that they have Penny is amazing with animals and always has been so I looked her up when I got this new Rescue. So happy she has this puppy preschool! It's fabulous!

We took our puppy to Puppy Pre-School at Scott-Fox training. It was the best decision! She had so…read moremuch fun & got very socialized. And we got a break on dealing with a very energetic puppy! She went 3 days a week. You can pick how many days a week, and which days your puppy attends. You drop your puppy off between 8-9am and pickup between 4-5pm. This gave us free days to deal with the ramifications of the Eaton Fire. They exposed her to all kinds of sounds (fireworks, appliances, birds, etc.) and worked with her on loose leash walking, coming & staying, and being crated. The crating really worked! We thought we wouldn't be able to handle her crying, but after being in puppy pre-school she goes in quietly, hangs out and naps. We also as owners, learned the importance of sleep for a puppy! They sleep a LOT, and are much better pups when they are rested. We'd love the option of a few 1 on 1 classes with a trainer, since we have a lot to learn also!

I cannot say enough good things about Juan and his work with my dog. He is gentle and fun, my dog…read morelike him and Juan holds him to what he needs to learn. My dog HATED being groomed and I was desperate in trying to figure out what to do. Juan worked with me and the dog (both of us needed training LOL) and it's like a miracle. I cannot believe how much his overall behavior has improved. Juan has positive energy and really understands dogs. I cannot recommend him more highly.

Great experience overall. no nonsense, direct, trustworthy, honest, successful, easy to understand…read moreapproach to dog training. Juan is like a miracle worker. Do it now, don't hesitate, in the end you will wish you had signed up for the training sooner.

We called Nora last minute (shot her an email on Friday morning because we were leaving that…read moreafternoon) and she got back to us ASAP to collect the details about what we needed. We didn't need much: just two visits for our two cats. Nora was great, sending us daily texts with photos. And when we came home that cats were happy, which isn't always the case with other petsitters. Highly recommended. Our only regret is not connecting with her earlier. :)

Nora may be a dog walker / companion, but she is also a cat whisperer! My boyfriend Steve and I…read morehad exhausted our crew of petsitters with quite a lot of travel this past year, and had a last-minute need for a trusty loving soul to feed, scoop, play, and spend time with our two indoor-outdoor cats. Nora, whom we know from yoga-ing in Highland Park, came to our rescue... much to the cats' delight. We were gone for only three days, but on the two days and nights Nora came to visit, we received adorable text messages and photos from her and the cats. They were eating. They were lounging, they were enjoying the a/c in the fiery heat of late-summer Los Angeles. And then, to our wondrous surprise, on the last day, she sent pics of the cats OUTSIDE hanging in the driveway and the backyard. We wondered how on earth she would ever get them back in! But, cleverly, Nora closed off the gates to the driveway, and let our kitties play for awhile before dinnertime. When they heard the tinkling of fork on their wet food bowls, inside they came. Nora made it seem easy. In fact, she may do a better job of getting them back inside than we do. When we got home, the cats were happy, their bowls were clean, fresh water in their glasses, and the box was scooped. And on a tiny piece of paper, she wrote us a note, describing each day and evening she came to see the cats, and what happened. It was so rad! Nora, we'll be cat calling you again... We may have just emailed you today for next week.