A Pet Perspective, LLC

We thank Sean and his Pet Perspective team for training dogs on this island of Oahu. The island is blessed to have him and his team. We sincerely hope that Sean would continue to train dogs here and help out as many owners as he can as he did for us. Several years ago, we found a dog trainer that recommended a prong collar and bark collar for my german shepherd/husky dog. My dog ended up staying overnight at the vet because the prong collar cut through her fur and severely damaged her neck area. It was so painful to watch her suffer, and prong collars were definitely NOT the solution to what our pup needed. These collars do more damage than help. Sean is anti-prong collars, and he teaches exactly how to train dogs through positive reinforcement training. We first found Sean at a time when we were so lost and wanting guidance to issues that I don't think any other dog trainer on this island could have solved. I contacted Dakine Canine dog trainer first, explained to her the issues that we were having, and then she recommended that we reach out to Sean at Pet Perspective. (We thank the head trainer at Dakine Canine for this recommendation!) We were raising a 2 yr old german shepherd at the time, and because she didn't get the necessary training starting early, she grew up to be a reactive dog. To this day, we say to ourselves that if we found Sean when our german shepherd pup was a baby and trained her well from the start, she would have turned out to be the bestest version she could ever be... At that time, we got a baby english cocker spaniel pup, and our 2 yr old shepherd could NOT get along with the pup at all. Whenever the puppy was near her, she would bark and react so badly that for months we had to put them in separate rooms, fearing that if the puppy goes to the shepherd, then she would get bitten and hurt. We did not know what to do with this situation. We were so lost and even thought that we had to give up the puppy to resolve the situation. That's when Sean enters the picture. He came to our house for the initial consultation and was able to figure out a solid plan! What was amazing was Sean was able to quiet down our german shepherd dog right off the bat! We've never seen anybody with such a good command and handling of dogs. He gave us a plan on how we can make our german shepherd dog get along with our english cocker spaniel. And putting to work with what he suggested, we were finally able to get the german shepherd to be OK and calm hanging around with the baby pup. This has been incredible because now the two are BEST BUDDIES!!! They love each other so much, and the shepherd is like a mother/sister/friend to the cocker spaniel. All we did was do what Sean told us to do, and this miracle happened! Sean has been helping us train our reactive german shepherd pup for over a year now, and she is growing up to be the best version she can ever be!! She is an extremely happy dog, and we are so thankful that we have Sean's guidance. If we found Sean earlier when we first adopted our german shepherd, she would not have turned out to be reactive. But that is OK. Because we were able to find Sean at a time when we most needed help, and it has been amazing to see our dog grow and flourish every single day. And the whole reason I'm writing this review is to help spread the word!! There's someone out there that needs Sean and his team. Please don't give up your dog. They need you, and you need them. A Pet Perspective will be there to help and guide you through so that your dog will be the best version of themselves.

We came to Sean with four specific goals: our dog's reactive barking at household noises, barking when family members come through the door, separation anxiety when my husband and I are together and one of us leaves (she ignores commands, gets anxious, and searches for whoever left), and some advanced obedience work. The consultation was excellent, thorough, encouraging, and the reason we committed to the 6-session package. We went weekly for four weeks and spread the remaining sessions out. Across those sessions, roughly 80–90% of each hour was spent sitting and talking. By session three, we did maybe five minutes of actual hands-on work with the dog. I first asked Sean verbally how the remaining sessions were structured, and when that didn't match his answer the next session, I followed up in writing asking for more hands-on training and less discussion. At the next session I asked a question and he responded, "well, this is talking." The message came through clearly — the feedback wasn't welcome. Six sessions later: the barking has not improved, she was still scared of Sean and we never addressed the separation anxiety at all. What I most wish we'd gotten was an actual written training plan at session one with goals, methods, benchmarks, what homework looks like between visits and a progression plan. Instead it felt like showing up, filling an hour, and being done when the clock ran out. I think Sean has the knowledge to be a good trainer. He came across as burnt out. We won't be returning, because neither my dog nor I got what we came for.

I went to see Sean and Kai over a year ago because I had a very anxiety-ridden German Shephard who liked to bully the new rescue in the family (my little pit-mix, Kika). I was at the end of my rope with Nova. She would stalk Kika and block him from toys and food. She had bit him before. She would pull me down the road while walking. She would look like she was about to eat people who came over to the house. But the saddest thing was she was so full of anxiety. You could just see it on her. She paced around. She couldnt sit still. She was just this anxious, nervous, wild giant with huge teeth. (A gentle giant to me, but not so gentle with others at times). The first thing that stood out to me was the consultation. I've never before seen someone handle my German Shephard in the way Sean did. It was like out of a movie, not even joking. He even got down on the floor near her, and she did not lunge at him or anything. He had us meet outside first, and... I cant even explain it. You just have to see it to understand it. From the get go, he just knew what he was doing... and that was a powerful thing to see. I think what struck me about it was the level of respect he showed her and her breed, and the level of respect he showed me as her owner. I felt like this was someone who is not going to give me the run of the mill training. So, I signed up after the consultation. While training, Sean and Kai helped me see that one of the biggest issues with Nova was actually her owner. Me. I was also so anxious and nervous. I was also not on a schedule. I also had a lot of fear... etc. They helped get the three of us (me, Nova, and Kika) on a routine that truly changed all of our lives. One of the most meaningful things to me was when Sean found things that made Nova confident in herself. Over the course of her training, her confidence grew so much. And my confidence in handling her also grew. I'm kind of crying writing this, because honestly, they are more than pet trainers. They help people. They understand situations, and they get to root of the cause. They are very, very caring and kind people. And more than that, they are smart, which I appreciate. I like to understand the science behind behavior, and Sean will absolutely give you the science. I came ready to learn each week with my notebook. :) The dynamics in my house have changed more than I can even describe. Nova and Kika are now best friends. Nova is confident and happy. She is still a German Shephard who looks like she might eat people, but I am very confident she won't. I feel very safe walking her around. I feel in control of situations with her, and that is exactly what we both needed. So, if you are looking for the type of training that will give you more than just an obedient dog, if you are looking for training that will give you a happy, healthy, well-rounded, well-behaved dog, this is the training for you. Sean does not waste a word. Everything he teaches matters and works, so I do recommend really paying attention. And bonus, Kai will watch your dogs in boarding if you go on vacation....and there is literally not a soul I'd trust more with my dogs than Kai. They are truly wonderful, honest people. And Nova, Kika and I feel lucky and grateful to have met them. Thank you Sean and Kai!