Do Not Use This Company!! They don't care about their clients or their dogs .... only money. My daughter,who is disabled rescued a 7 month old puppy. Her sister trying to be nice hired this company to train the dog. The first free evaluation was a disaster. The owner, Tony showed her a few things to do then had our trainer come into the house. Tony left and the trainer showed no interest in the puppy, no praise , he didn't even know her name. He suddenly said he had to leave & out the door he went without checking that the puppy was contained or the door fully closed. The puppy ran out the door... could have been hit by a car! My daughter decided she only wanted Tony to work with. Next week he came & just kept doing the same stuff not moving on to other things. again, very little praise for the puppy. meanwhile, my daughter broke her foot so on top of her disability could not do what Tony wanted of her. The 2nd appointment Tony cancelled saying he was sick with fever. At that point her sister who paid for this decided to not move forward with this company.She called & spoke to an assistant who said Tony would call her back later in the day as he had 5 appointments. (thought he was sick). Of course he never called. But the. the office person called my daughter to say her sister was screaming at the assistant & that's not tolerated etc .. Also not true-the sister even called the associate & he said no he wasn't yelled at . This was just their way of trying to get out of their 100% money back guarantee. Tony never did call back and I find it disturbing that they would not refund any money especially since my disabled daughter couldn't continue. $1500 is a lot when she only got 1 lesson. Stay Away from this company!! read more

Not recommended at all. Owner NEVER answer phone calls Less than an hour at home "TRAINING" 3 days waiting all day and never appears read more

The trainer was often late or missed the appointment. The training sessions were useful but towards the last sessions in our package Was less interested and shortened the training time. We never received our last training session "at the airport" to judge how well our dog was doing as a service animal. I continued the training on my own. In the end I spent about $4000 and my puppy, now an adult is trained as a service animal utilizing Smart Start Puppies guidance in the beginning and my efforts and training in the end. I am pleased but not happy with this company. They could do a lot better and live up to their promises a lot better. read more

Consider this money well spent. I have a large pack of 6 dogs. My newest puppies are now 5 months old, but I was at my breaking point a month ago. It was impossible to train the 2 pups at home with all of the distractions from the other dogs. I sent my babies to Smart Start for 14 days. BEST INVESTMENT I could have ever made. The puppies did a complete 360! Potty training...done...obedience...done. The puppies were well socialized and came back ready to join the pack! The owner, Tony, is AMAZING!! Came out himself to do follow-up visits after the boot camp. I am a forever customer and will continue to use Smart Puppies to keep my pack life in order! read more

Smart Start Puppies - My newest babies... - Pet Training Near Me

stay away from this company for the health of your dog!! I wish I would've done more research before allowing this company near my dog. The following is from the kennel my dog was boarded at while in "training:" "Unfortunately, the visit that you are referring to was the "Board & Train Bootcamp" that was done by Smart Start Puppies. This is not a business that we allow on our property any longer nor do we associate with in ANY way whatsoever. There were more than a few incidents where pets were not being cared for let alone actually being trained when left overnight! Once it was caught, they were removed from the property and we have had a handful others say the same thing as you..." read more

I trusted SmartStart with my 60 lb 1 yr old puppy. I chose the 14 day boarding and training. I just got Brew back today and Nathaniel spent an hour going commands. I am so happy!!' And Brew is so obedient and even calmer. Brew before was a bit skittish. I am assuming the training helped with his self confidence. One thing to remember when doing this - the owner HAS to continue the commands and reinforcements. I again am so pleased with the dog Brew has become. I can not thank Nathaniel enough and SmartStartPuppies!!! Next week we have another in home 1 hr class. This was so worth the $ !! read more

Smart Start Puppies - Pet Training Near Me

My daughter and I are very please with the outcome of the training. We thought our 4 year old dog was no longer trainable as she appeared to be very aggressive, but after spending 2 weeks in booth camp with Jose and his training skills we were amazed and happy to get back a much calmer dog and one that now listens to our commands, which we have to ensure we continue to reinforce. Imagine now our dog can go out in public with us and be well behaved so we all can relax and have no fear of her showing aggression to someone who comes up to her and my daughter. The team at Smart Start Puppies are so very professional, easy to communicate with and so personable. Julie was so helpful with answering my questions and from day 1 when we met Jose he made us feel right at home and relaxed. I would definitely recommend Smart Start Puppies as it was the best investment we could have made for ourselves and our dog as they not only train your dog but the owners which is very key. Thank you Smart Start puppies!!!!! read more

My interaction with this company has changed, maybe it was just one bad apple. Go with Robert if you can he's great

My family and I are not very happy with the outcome of training. The professionalism of the team was inadequate and the information is misleading. I just completed all courses and I am very very unhappy and I would like to get a refund of my money which was a lot $4,000 and it is not worth what they say they would have done. If anyone is looking for a dog trainer this is not the facility! read more

Their training isn't my complaint. It's the not showing up for the scheduled appointments. Even The district manager can't come to appointments he schedules and blames it on the customer. We paid $1500 for 7 to 8 in home training sessions and received 3. That's a lot to pay for 3 classes. Also they do not reimburse your money for the appointments you didn't receive as stated in their advertisement. read more

When I initially called, I was promised a package that I did not receive. First of all, the puppy was boarding/training for two weeks and I was promised pictures, training updates and even video and in the two weeks while in Davie, I never once received an unsolicited phone call, text, photo or video. In fact, I had to call in and ask to see how things were going and the communication about his progress was slim to none. Even when I called, I got very vague answers. This was from Trainer 1; I never knew there would be multiple trainers. In my initial conversation and why I choose Smart Start was that the puppy would leave the boot camp with learned behaviors which included: potty training, leave, stay, come, off, etc. NONE of these were evident in the post training. In fact, when the trainer arrived with Jersey I still had to handle a lot of the training myself including keeping him on a leash and the only commands that he vaguely knew were "off" and "leave it" and he would obey only if he was pinched with the inhumane collar that he was wearing which I did not approve. Quite honestly, if I wanted the puppy to be trained with a pinch collar, I would have done it myself but I choose your company because it seemed to care about the puppy. Also, since we lacked communication in the two weeks, you can understand how surprised I was about this. All inconsistent to even your website: https://smartstartpuppies.com/training/boot-camp/puppy It seems like we had two trainers as well. Which is inconsistent for the puppy and again never communicated. The trainer that dropped him off did not even seem to know what I had originally signed up for (asked me what was in my package and if I had communicated that with the company). In fact, gave me directions that did not work without force. This is not my first dog and I seemed to know more about the puppy than the trainer. Additionally, Jersey prior to the training was fine in the crate. Post the training he was unbearable in the crate to the point where he would physically harm himself. I contacted the trainer and more then 12 hours later, I was told he need to get her bearings about being back and get used to his home again (which I understand there is a transition period, but one that lasts more than a week?) I had to abandon the crate and train him on pads in the bathroom or else he might continue to hurt myself. He would soil himself every single time in crate and he was never in the crate more than 15 minutes at a time! This NEVER happened before which leads me to believe that crate training at the house was not handled professionally. Needless to say, Jersey is now doing much better. With no pinch collar, I have been able to have him go outside in mornings and evenings. He also does not have accidents beyond the pee pad which is helpful. The initial reason he was on the pinch collar (according to trainer 2) was that he would choke in pulling himself and I have him on a harness (safe one) and never once noticed this choking. In fact, several dog walkers have NEVER noticed this behavior. I am highly disappointed with the service and feel like I wasted $1,800.00. To some that might be a lot of money but examining all the options now I think it's a high price for getting about 10% was what I was promised. I paid that high price because I expected the product to be equal to what I was going to get. The fact that the puppy knows 0-2 commands, not potty trained and truly was under weight is VERY concerning. read more

After going through five weeks of private training, my dog is still the same as she was five weeks ago. I called to speak to the owner. After waiting three weeks I heard from him, and he said he would come out and reevaluate my dog. Said someone call me to schedule it that was over a month ago and I still haven't heard a word. I've sent several emails and no one ever responds read more

I'm personally on the fence about recommending this company. For the price charged, I believe the company owners should consider better management and communication. My personal situation and experience: I rescued a previously abused Shiba Inu mix from death row back in February of 2013. He was curious but skittish, and distrustful towards anything that moved. We had different situations in which his nervousness turned into uncontrolled aggression. With me moving in August cross country, I needed to fix and control his behavior immediately, thus why I contacted this company. Everything was fine for the first few sessions. My trainer, John, handled the situation professionally despite being bit on the first. My dog's progress went really well up until John left the company. This is where the issues began. I never got contacted by the company to inform me about his replacements nor rescheduling my following sessions. Finally when I did solve that issue, the trainers continuously cancelled out on the appointment in cases only an hour before training. We continued on this cycle until one month later, Tony came by to resolve this. Due to it being a long time since last training, my dog regressed in his behavioral issues. He did an evaluation on him and he trained him for a bit and we scheduled for our next meeting to be at their facility. So, for starters, I live in Kendall, about an hour away from Plantation. That morning, I had set time aside for training, having had to push my clients and work schedule for later that morning. On my end, I was late due to construction and aggravating directional issues in an unfamiliar area. I called early on to let them know I was running late, nothing. Finally, I arrive to where the GPS indicated the facility was, and it wasn't there. I call to get indications, nothing. I drive about 45 in circles trying to find it, nothing.nfinally, I get a text (not a call) from Tony that he was in the hospital, to call his secretary. I called both, nothing. I decided to then drive back down since I was already late for my first appointment. 3 hours and half a tank of gas one. So, the wait continues, and about 2 weeks later, they finally get "serious" after me begging them to refund me, and they schedule (with much more delays and readjustments) for my dog to go to doggy camp for a weekend while I moved. When he returned, he seemed great. But as soon as the day passed, he began to be aggressive towards dogs AND humans. This is after being told that he supposedly played with other dogs and was happy the whole time through (definitely not typical of my dog). Oh, and they forgot to return my dog's vaccine records. Despite my efforts in controlling my dog in public settings, my dog continued his aggression, and I still haven't received his records in order to finish his paperwork for the move. I'm moving in two weeks and he's going to have to stay behind with my mother who is physically incapable of taking care of him. By the looks of it, he might have to return to the rescue because there's not much I can do at this point. Especially since my new apt has dog restrictions particularly towards aggressive breeds. And though he isn't one, his behavior exhibits otherwise. I can't bring him to a dog friendly building to have him try and attack everyone on our way out and in the elevator. Summary: If you're paying close to $700 for your companion's training, make sure you invest in a company who has their management and communication together. And most importantly deliver the services you request in the timeline agreed on. If the owners stopped talking and start walking on what matters, it has the potential to get far. Until then, don't expect the latter. Good luck. read more

I had a similar experience to another reviewer. I had very high hopes based on my conversation with the sales person that my two dogs would go away for several weeks Of training camp and would return fully trained. Not only were they not, continuing to pull, jump and run out of doors/escape of gates, the trainer came for 2 of the 5 home visits and said that it will come "with time" as I am supposed to reinforce the behavior. The entire purpose was that I work and don't have the time for intensive training and a few mins here or there that I have, isn't providing the training I paid thousands for. Very disappointed. Save your money. read more

If you care enough about your pet to be reading this review then you obviously care about who you'll be leaving them with. These are not the kind of people that will hold themselves responsible for the health and safety of your pet. They use a shady third party company for boarding during training, that they will tell you nothing about. They will completely wash their hands of any liability upon delivering your pet half dead after training. They claimed to notice he was sick that morning and he had been sick for DAYS! It breaks my heart to imagine what my dog went through under the care of these people. The owner says he "doesn't run a Mickey Mouse company" but in fact that's exactly what he runs. He takes zero ownership of his wrong doings and blames everything on issues with his staff. Your staff is only as good as their leader, it's clear the issues here stem from the top. We left our dog with them for training while we were on our honeymoon. We came home and rushed our dog to the vet spending hundreds of dollars to care for him after getting the worst case of kennel cough our vet had seen. The owner, Tony, claimed he would "make thing right" and would repay us for the medical bills. We tried to work with him and again and agin he failed, missing appointments and blaming his staff . We never saw a dime of reimbursement, our dog went through hell and learned nothing from their inadequate training. After trying for months and being way too patient with them we asked for our money back as they have a "lifetime guarantee". It's complete BS, don't be fooled, they are full of empty promises and lack of responsibility and professionalism. Save yourself the heartache and go with another trainer, this place is a joke. Trusting these people was the biggest mistake we've ever made. After getting nowhere with them we ended up opening a claim with our credit card and got our money back. I have every email, every text and every conversation saved. By the way, our dog is thriving with his new trainers! read more

Less than thrilled. Paid in full for training and got three visits where virtually nothing was done.

We were recommended by my husband's boss to check out Smart Start Puppies for training our golden doodle Rocky. Rocky was horrible to walk with and he constantly barked at everyone on walks when we moved to our new neighborhood. We decided to have Rocky trained by Smart Start Puppies. The person who helped trained Rocky is Caitlin and she did an amazing job. He spent 2 weeks with Caitlin and when we got him back, he heel walks and listens. No more pulling and him leading anymore. His barking at everyone improved so much. We were astonished at how well behaved he is with walking. We had Rocky trained back in January 2019. He is still doing amazing on walks and does not bark at everything anymore. We had 5 training classes after Rocky's 2 weeks of training, and those are very important. Caitlin taught us commands to use when we take Rocky on walks and you have to stay consistent with those commands because they sometimes think they can get away with it. When we first meet Caitlin for her to pick up Rocky, she told us that he might have an ear infection. She knew by the way he barked and we had no idea. She definitely went above and beyond with our dog and he absolutely loves her. read more

On November 22nd my puppy was picked up and I was charged two thousand dollars for the smart start puppy's doggy training camp. I was told after two weeks my dog would be more obedient and better trained and that I would receive updates on my dog. I had to remind them 2/4 times for the puppy updates and I didn't receive one of them probably due to it being thanksgiving. when the two weeks were over and it was time for my dog to be returned to me they did arrive at the scheduled time or give me any warning or them being late, instead they avoided all of my phone calls until I used a different phone number to contact them(took 4 hours to reach them). Once I had received my dog he was just as trained as I gave him to them. I scheduled a training session that was included in the training package and the trained did not show up or give me any warning. When I called to ask what had happened they told me I hadn't scheduled for training. At that point, I requested to speak to a manager and asked for a refund. I was told they would send a trainer to see how untrained my dog was and then they would go through with the refund process. When the trainer arrived my dog runs out, jumps on the trainer multiple times, and bites his shoes. The trainer takes my dog on his leach to do a walk and stay exercise with my dog, my dog doesn't listen to him at all. At that point, he takes out a collar that is meant to pinch the dog when tugged on and explained they used this on my dog while he was at the training camp. He asks to put it on my dog right then and I denied it. While I spoke with the trainer( Robert) he also told me for any training sessions I wanted to do with them to only ask for him and tell other trainers to "fuck off". I told him I did not want to keep training with them due to all the issues we had their inconsistencies. The trainer told me good luck with my dog and that I would receive my refund "when it comes in the mail". When I called I was told I would not get a refund because my dog had "listened to the trainer" and was behaving. My dog did not listen to the trainer, and I hope that's not what their standard for behaving is....its a waste of money read more

Tony, Jen, and Caitlin from Smart Start puppies have been great to work with. My doberman puppy came back like a new dog after the 2-week puppy boot camp. He's much calmer, knows the commands, and is making for great progress. I'm very pleased with the training I've received both for my dog and myself. Thank you Tony and team. Lily read more

I'm generally averse to writing reviews, but I feel compelled to write this one. I had an unfavorable experience with them in the beginning. But the way the new management took cognizance of that and reached out to me to redress the situation is truly admirable. Thank You! read more

These people were great, I took Bella here for their doggie boot camp class and she came in jumping on people, chewing things in the house Nd I don't know how they got her to listen but what a difference! Thanks Cherie for all your help! read more

Tony was so helpful in turning our dog Oscar around! He was a difficult dog to start with, but by the second session with Tony we had established the much-needed groundwork to make him a polite, well-behaved pooch. It's not just about how Tony teaches the dog: it's about how he teaches you to teach the dog. We couldn't be happier. read more

As a first time dog owner I had no clue where to start. We brought Maxwell to Smart Start Puppies for the two week training while we were out of town. During the training we received videos and emailed updates of how he was doing and progressing! We are currently doing our house training with Caitlin. Here we review and implement all the proper commands and leash corrections in the house and outdoors. She gives great guidance, is very patience, and has been very accommodating with scheduling. Maxwell is responding very well and picking up the commands with carryover noticed each week! I am very happy with the progress we've had with the entire team! I think this training has worked great for not only Maxwell but for myself as a first time dog owner! I would highly recommend Smart Start Puppies! read more

This guys are fraud, I enrolled my dog on a 9 weeks program, after 4 weeks I cannot get in touch with them but they charged my credit card for the the whole 9 weeks. Stay away from these guys. read more

My wife and I just rescued a beautiful chihuahua and we're looking for training. We were highly recommended to call smart start puppies and so glad we did. After sign up I just followed the instructions and homework I had to do and it all turned out great. The staff was awesome. Highly recommend. read more

We rescued our dog in November and he had some behavior issues that needed to be worked out. I spoke with Tony (Ft. Lauderdale) and immediately felt comfortable with him as well as his training philosophy. Within 15 minutes of Tony meeting Phin (Golden-Doodle) there was a noticeable difference in his demeanor and behavior. It was also great education for our family as we are first time dog owners. It has been a huge difference and we are extremely pleased with the training Phin received at home!. read more

My husband and I and our seven month old Weimaraner puppy Bentley have been working with Tony, the owner of Smart Start Puppies. We opted for Tony's 10 week training program and have just completed the sixth training session. The progress we have made has definitely exceeded our expectations. Tony's approach to training is based on positive reinforcement and has taken Bentley from a very excitable puppy, full of uncontrolled energy, to a puppy who understands commands (sit, off, down, leave it, etc.). Bentley is well on his way to being integrated into our lives without the daily stress of having an out of control puppy. Tony's training methodology includes giving us the skills and tools that enable us to communicate to Bentley exactly what we are directing him to do. Our training sessions include in-house and outdoor lessons. Tony demonstrates the commands with Bentley and then my husband and I mirror Tony's actions. In this way, Tony gives us immediate feedback regarding each of our commands to Bentley. It has been a very effective way for us to zero in on whether our command inflections and command body movements are on point. Tony's training techniques focus on Bentley but more importantly, to my husband and me. You can have the best trainer in the world, but if the trainer doesn't transfer those training techniques to the dog owners, then the effectiveness of the lessons will end when the training sessions are over. That is not the case with Tony's training methodology. He wants the dog and the dog owners to succeed. He knows the value and joy a well trained dog brings to a home and its owners. Tony has a great rapport with Bentley and is very professional and personable to work with. We definitely look forward to our training sessions with him. I would definitely recommend Smart Start Puppies to anyone who has dog training needs. read more

Only 1 star because it made me. Had such high hopes after initial conversation with Tony. Unfortunately at the end of it all the training my Rottweiler received at Pet Smart made more of a difference then this boot camp. I put my 6 month old Rottweiler in puppy boot camp for non treat/ clicker training and some issues that this breed tends to have. After 2 1/2 weeks of training I took him home sick from the camp. I was bitten that evening. He went back to boot camp for an additional week and came home. During and after both stays the communication was minimal on their part and my dog didn't seem any different. He would listen to us maybe half of the time. In home classes were a part of this and as of now there has been 1 20 minute in home session and a lot of promises from Tony that he was in this, committed and we were going to get my pup right. One month+ later I am still waiting to see that commitment. My 11 month old Rottweiler went after an elderly pit in the development he has behavioral issues and lacks the basic obedience he should have after 31/2 weeks of boot camp. I am done with the stress and aggravation of getting no replies, no phone calls and only want my money back at this point to get my pup the training he needs before someone gets hurt. read more

Do not waste your money. I signed up for a board and train with 5 in-home sessions. My 5 month old puppy has food aggression and I made it very clear that was the problem to be resolved for my young child's safety. On the initial call with trainer Raul I was assured he could help and the result was guaranteed. As soon as I dropped the dog off I was charged the full amount and all communication basically stopped. I visited the facility several times and the trainer was never there. After I made a big deal about this, the owner, Tony told me that he would step in but he never did. Nobody could ever articulate to me what plan was in place to deal with the food aggression. At the end of the 2 weeks the aggression had increased and when my dog tried to bite the trainer at our house he did not know what to do. He told us just to give a leash correction when it happened and said he would try to come up with a plan. It was clear they had not worked in this during the 2 weeks of boarding. The aggression escalated and we were forced to give our dog back to the breeder to help us rehome him after he repeatedly lunged and air snapped at our 3 year old over toys and anything else the puppy deemed worthy of guarding. I asked for a refund for the 3 home visits we did not receive but Tony and Raul will not respond at all now. read more

Tony came out and got me psyched to manage my new rescue German Shepherd's issues. She is bouncing back from severe neglect and is finally strong enough and comfortable enough to begin asserting herself. Not only did he fail to stay for the full time I paid for, he disappeared for the next week. I was ready to send her off with him to the training facility for more intensive boot camp, planned to drop her off within the next day or two. I called to confirm that he had room and was waiting for a price quote to call me back...he never called. Several messages left by me and my husband have gone unanswered. If they have changed their minds about helping us fine, but they should have at least let us know that we should begin a search for a new trainer. So here I go, looking for someone else, because after this type of unresponsiveness, I can't leave my rescue with them--if they neglect their customer (who was willing to spend thousands to make this dog right BTW)--god knows how much they would neglect her in a kennel. read more