Our dog Wally was a real mess until he met Dani. He hated kids and was out of control but now he is a great dog and gets bette every time we send him back. We are very grateful for Dani and our wonderful dog, Wally. read more

Dani came to us for a private session on the Upper East Side, even though she is listed here as Brooklyn-based. So Manhattanites - don't hesitate to call on her. Dani was great. She simplified and systemized things we were at a loss to correct. She got us organized - the right harness, dog treats, clickers for training. and gave us a chance to put all the mechanics together (leash holding, treat giving, clicker timing etc). She was patient with us and with our 16 week old pup. read more

We got our 2 month old puppy Winn in June and wanted to jump on the training train as soon as possible- insert Dani and and Urban K-9. Dani was our angel on earth. She worked with us and Winn weekly on foundational commands, walking habits, crate training, potty training, etc. Winn has turned into, with Dani's help no doubt, an obedient, loving, friendly and loyal pup whom we love more than words. Dani also helped with certain things like which food she likes the best for growing dogs, how to get Winn to stop jumping when people enter the house, how to get Winn to walk up and down stairs (seems simple but Winn was very scared of stairs), and most importantly in our eyes, how to get Winn to sleep through the night in her crate without a whine or bark. I can't recommend Dani enough. She was a wonderful, smart, savvy trainer who Winn herself loves very much. I highly recommend Urban K-9. You will not be disappointed. read more

Dani is an amazing dog trainer! She has worked with our dog Franklin since he was a little pup and she has been absolutely essential in making him become such a well behaved and happy dog. With her calm yet assertive ways she gets his full attention and makes him want to learn. As much as Dani has taught Franklin, she has taught us as his owners just as much about how to be confident in training Franklin and be good parents. We have also left Franklin for board and train with Dani and he loved it and the training results were great. We highly recommend Dani! Richie and Casper read more

With our sweet but totally untrained 6-month old puppy, Dani was the perfect balance of kind and firm, she was poised and unflappable. Perhaps more notable, however, is Dani's ability to train people to care for their dogs. Upon adopting our pup, we were utterly overwhelmed. With Dani's cultivation we became confident, calm, and consistent dog handlers. Our work with Dani guided us from uncertainty and stress to a relationship with our dog built on trust and safety. Not a day goes by that we aren't praising Dani's work to ourselves and to perfect strangers. read more

Dani took a deaf pit mix who didn't know anything about how to dog and transformed him into the adoptable that won my heart. As we continue with our training, not only does Stephen continue to respond to her firm but gentle nature, but I become more and more confident as a dog owner. Raising a dog is one of the toughest things I have ever done, and I am a public school teacher, so that is saying a lot. Dani has made the whole endeavor not only possible, but a total joy... read more

We had such a great experience working with Natasha at Urban K9 that I feel compelled to write this review. We hired Urban K9, when our Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy was 12 weeks old. Living in Brooklyn and knowing that he was going to grow very quickly, we were anxious to get him trained while he was young and learn tools to manage and control his behavior. Needless to say after only one session with Natasha, we not only felt super comfortable working with her as new puppy parents but my concerns, comfort level and the amount of scratches on my arms (haha) improved! She was patient with us, and gentle with our puppy, Brooklyn. She was on time, if not early for every session and always provided us with recaps and suggestions for things to purchase to support what we worked on in our sessions. Highly recommend Urban K9 and Natasha and look forward to keeping in touch with her and Brooklyn grows up! read more

Dani is AMAZING! We took her puppy training class for several weeks.... as well as a reliable recall class.It all worked wonders! Soon our puppy Bailey knew all the commands and how to go to her "place." Not only did Dani give us tools to work with our puppy but she also instructed us how to take command and set boundaries with the dog.She gave us tools that last long after classes are over. We felt so trusting of her abilities that we had her "puppy sit" while on a family vacation. Dani is knowledgeable, kind, and thoughtful in her process with the animals. She is quite skilled at her craft! Definitely is a winner as a trainer! Call Dani, she is more than AMAZING!!! read more

We adopted our dog, Riley, when she was already 1 1/2 yrs old from a shelter. Riley is a hound/lab mix so the hound part makes her a little stubborn at listening and responding to commands. My husband and I had both grown up with dogs but had never owned our own and we were determined to train Riley so that she would be beautifully behaved. Since she was a little older she had already developed some bad habits. Thank goodness we found Dani! She was not only patient with us as we developed a series of sessions tailored to what we needed in terms of retraining Riley, but she was extremely knowledgable answering all of our questions. Her instruction was easy for us to apply on our own and she was always quick to get back to us if we had additional questions or weren't sure about how to apply a lesson once we were on our own. We have even boarded Riley with Dani and were extremely impressed by how well adjusted Riley was once she was back at home (sometimes at other boarding facilities Riley would seem anxious or unsettled, but not with Dani!). After we had done our initial training with Dani (sit, stay, down, off, etc...) we would touch base if there was something behaviorally that Riley developed and Dani would always supply the best advice. Riley soon grew into a beloved member of our family. Well behaved and sweet. However, that stubborn hound in her prevented us from ever feeling confident we could take her off leash. She escaped on us several times a few of them near busy highways. We were so worried about what to do. Riley had always been inconsistent about recall so we scheduled some sessions with Dani to rectify this situation. Dani suggested we do remote collar training which we had heard was somewhat controversial. But as Dani said, "What would you rather have...a dog that runs in front of oncoming traffic? or a safe healthy happy dog that uses a remote collar?" the answer was obvious and we began our training. Riley responded beautifully. And with Dani's expertise we never felt like our dog was in distress or not sure what to do. The remote collar has worked wonderfully and my husband and I can't wait to take Riley on hikes and long walks now that the weather is warmer and not have fear that she will run off because she caught the scent of a rabbit. Dani has been the best trainer we have ever worked with. She trained us as well as our pooch. We are forever grateful to her. read more

We took the recall class with Natasha with our newly adopted dog and it was fantastic. The class was wonderful and Natasha gave us a ton of tools to use at home to reinforce the training we were doing in class. She also gave a lot of individual feedback to each dog and was never rushed or too busy to answer questions. Within the four sessions our pup Larry was already leaps and bounds ahead of where he was when we got him; it was an incredibly valuable class to take. We loved Natasha so much we also did a private session with her to learn some more tools for dealing with some small behavioral issues that popped up and literally the next day he was already behaving differently based on the exercises she gave us to do with him. Besides being incredibly sweet with the dogs and truly loving them, they help you understand the way dogs think and focus on giving you tools for healthy, positive reinforcement which makes for a healthier, happier pup! Can't recommend enough. Thank you, Natasha and Urban K-9! read more

Urban K-9 has been a lifesaver for us and our German Shepherd puppy. At 8 weeks, he came to us with coccidia and giardia, which required multiple rounds of medication and testing for nearly 3 months. During that time, we couldn't take him to class or play groups and risk getting anyone else sick, so he wasn't able to socialize with other dogs during his critical first few months. We enrolled him in a series of Day School lessons with Dani, who not only gave him and us a solid foundation for training, but went way above and beyond by arranging play dates with her own (perfect model) dog. Once our puppy received a clean bill of health, Dani helped him catch up by setting up more play dates with other dogs, and guided us toward appropriate classes for him (including non-Urban K-9 ones). The training itself was highly customized to our puppy's specific day-to-day issues. Dani did a wonderful job of training both him and us in setting expectations and communicating effectively. Her classes are also fantastic. The information, exercises, and demos were tremendously helpful, and she gives everyone plenty of attention. She also makes sure to match up dogs with similar play styles and ages to address each one's needs, and to make sure everyone's safe. It's hard to imagine a trainer more committed to our puppy's behavioral well-being. We are so grateful to have found her, and cannot recommend her highly enough! read more

I adopted my dog without realizing, Ed was a Australian Cattle Dog. When the vet told me I researched ACDs and found they were difficult to train due to their stubbornness. However, once they were trained they would be the best dog you could have. It seemed easy enough if I just kept my wits about me but Ed was relentless and the stress became almost unbearable. I was afraid to take him outside for walks knowing if we passed a dog he would bark and pull violently. I was extremely embarrassed and tried everything I could on my own as well as hiring trainers. For two years I went from trainer to trainer asking for help. Some trainers used all positive reinforcement while some trainers used just yes/no commands implemented using a choke collar. All of one type training did not seem to help. The value of the treats used in positive reinforcement had to increase or it was not worth it for Ed to listen to me. I was spending a ton of cash on treats along with training. I never did seem to get a handle on the choke collar and it made me more aggressive towards my dog which in turn increased his aggression. I called Dani who was suggested to me by a friend. I thought I would give a female trainer a try as my dog would not initially be intimidated or automatically listen. Upon my first meeting with Dani I knew I had found consistent source of help. She offered a combination of methods to help me gain control of my dog. I was impressed by her knowledge and the number of techniques she had studied. Dani, unlike all the other trainers I had hired, understood that not all dogs respond to just one type of training methodology. I needed to find what worked best for me and for my dog. Ed needed to understand that his behavior was not acceptable. At the same time he needed praise/reward for doing things correctly. I knew I needed to be the captain of my team of two, as Dani stated, but I didn't know how to get there. Thankfully I now have the tools to be confident and to progressively make my canine a "good boy." Dani's help is consistent and I couldn't me more appreciative for the guidance received that allowed me to begin to turn my dog around. Training will likely never be over for Ed. He will need unvarying leadership but I know I can turn to Dani for help should I fall short. read more

Baxter and I owe his life and my sanity to Dani Santanella. When we rescued Baxter he had been in shelter for 9 months and was described as "friendly and overweight" - which he was - but he also had serious resource guarding issues (food, toy, sofa aggression, you name it. He would guard anything) and didn't like me but adored my husband and son. We naively thought we could handle this with love and good intentions. As Baxter settled in and grew more confident the aggression escalated. I was afraid to be alone in the house with him and the thought of returning him to shelter broke my heart. Enter Dani. From our first conversation on the phone the situation improved immediately because she listened thoughtfully and gave me reasoned instructions that I could easily follow and get desired results. Our first in-person session a few days later was a breakthrough and it was clear Baxter was hungry for the structure and loving support too. Dani is kind, honest, direct, firm-yet-gentle and immensely knowledgeable. She clearly demonstrates every technique and taught me that Baxter's challenges could be resolved with patient, steady training. Five months later it's a love fest and I cannot imagine life without Baxter. Or Dani :) read more

We first met Dani as students in one of her group classes. Our dog Mavis was about three years old when she came to live with us. She'd had some training at some point in her past, but had also been on her own as a stray in rural North Carolina for an indeterminate amount of time prior to being pulled in by a rescue group. She was the sweetest pup, right from the start, but her survival instincts were much stronger than her obedience skills at that point. Loud city noises and wild life were easy distractions, and we couldn't even regain her attention in those situations with high value treats like hotdogs! I was so nervous about her bolting, I kept her leash clipped to my belt in addition to holding it. Through group and solo classes with Dani, we learned the skills we needed to help acclimate Mavis to city life - she runs off leash in Prospect Park and crosses Flatbush Ave. like a pro these days. She also knows to leave the cat food alone, sit when guests enter the apartment instead of jumping on them, accompanies us on long off leash walks in the woods outside of the city, and walks politely on her leash. Dani is also very encouraging - there were times when I felt Mavis would never listen to me off leash, and my husband and i now walk in the park, enjoying our coffee, and don't worry about Mavis running away at all - she's right there with us, or having fun with other dogs within our line of sight. We loved Mavis right from the start, but now we all get the most enjoyment out of our time together. read more

We can't recommend Urban K-9 enough! Dani is an amazing dog trainer and listener. Shea, our 9 year old lab mix, had some behavioral issues that I thought were beyond training at her age. She would lash out at other dogs on leash and in dog parks, would constantly try to play in the apartment, not obey basic commands, bark at children and older adults, and wouldn't let my partner and I dance without barking. I'm sure there are other behaviors I'm forgetting because all that seems so long ago and like she was a different dog. First, we took the 6-week boot camp for the misbehaving dog. That class is a deal considering Dani makes sure to give each owner/dog pairing individual attention. By end of the boot camp Shea knew her "place" where she relaxed at home, had an amazing down/stay, and was walking better on leash. Most of all, she seemed so much happier with the structure and skills Dani helped us develop. After the boot camp, we asked Dani to help prepare Shea for a cross country drive. Dani, as usual, gave us very thoughtful advice that worked beautifully. That same old dog that I lovingly called 'Shea Monster' was the most well behaved road tripper for eight days. Dani is extremely kind and calming, is a great communicator, and provides excellent exercises and demos. She trains humans just as well as she trains dogs, which I really needed. We only hope that one day Dani makes it out to the West Coast to train our future dogs! read more