FirstBarkI’ve loved our experience at a pleasant dog! Jenn has helped with Remy’s reactivity and aggression significantly. The staff is super personable and non judgmental. Highly recommend!
A Pleasant Dog
Grand Rapids, Michigan
About A Pleasant Dog
A Pleasant Dog offers gentle, modern dog and cat training, behavior help, and grooming in keeping with the advice of the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior.
Training & services
Training goals
- Behavior consultation
Program details
Resource guarding, territorial aggression, fear based aggression, conflict aggression, interdog aggression, separation anxiety, and hypersensitivity hyperarousal syndrome are all challenging behaviors. We can help you modify these behaviors using evidence based training and management strategies.
- Leash training
- Obedience training
- Puppy training
- Socialization
Behavior support
- Aggression training
- Counter surfing
- Reactivity training
Program details
Reactive Dogs Are Good Dogs Too! We live by this motto at A Pleasant Dog and have a host of offerings for our reactive friends, everything from private lessons to group classes, and beyond! We are particularly proud of our group sport classes for reactive dogs!
- Resource guarding
- Separation anxiety
Program details
Separation anxiety is a complex behavior disorder. Our owner and head trainer, Jenn Gavin, has developed a method for treating this disorder that is the subject of a book, Pleasantly Independent, and scientific research demonstrating its efficacy. In person or virtual training available!
How training happens
- Board and train
- Day training
Program details
Too busy to train? Let our professional dog trainers train your dog for you with drop off day training. Drop your dog for a full or half day, and we will teach them what they need to do between fun play sessions with other dogs and/or humans. Also available for reactive dogs!
- Group classes
- Online or virtual training
- Private training
Dog age
- Puppies
Assistance and working dogs
- Therapy dog training
Dog sports
- Agility
Your dog’s background
- Rescue dogs
Training approach
- Positive reinforcement
Additional services
- Boarding
- Daycare
Program details
We offer luxury doggy daycare with a care ratio of four dogs per human on our 2.5 acres of rolling hills in the city! Our doggy daycare is staffed with professional trainers and offers the safest, gentlest doggy care in the city! Add training for an additional fee.
- Dog walking
- Grooming
Program details
Fear Free Grooming for your dog. We groom dogs one at a time and owner may be present for the grooming session. Perfect for fearful, anxious, or reactive dogs. Does your dog struggle with the groomer? We can help!
Other listed services
View 24 additional details
- Dog bathing and blow dry
- Dog ear cleaning
- Dog training
Program details
We offer group classes for general obedience and dog sports, private lessons, and behavior consultations, as well as classes specifically for reactive dogs.
- Animal Behavior Consultants
Program details
Does your dog struggle with anxiety, separation anxiety, noisephobia, reactivity, aggression directed toward humans or toward other dogs? We can help! Our behavior trainers are the best in the state, and we can help restore harmony to your household.
- Animal Learning
- Canine Trainers Academy
- Classical Conditioning
- Continuing Education
Program details
We offer continuing education to the training and veterinary industries on a diverse array of topics. Our research in animal behavior has been consistently honored with selection for presentation before the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists and others. We also offer trainer workshops.
- Dog Barks
- Dog Camping
- Dog Parks
- Dog Parties
- Dog Sports
- Dog Welfare
- Education Seminar
- Family Dogs
- Flea And Tick Prevention
- Medical Treatment
- Play Groups
- Private Consultation
- Six Week Class
- Stay & Train Program
- Veterinary Behaviorists
- Walk And Train
Confirm current programs and availability directly.
Business-stated qualifications
Qualifications stated by the business, not independently verified.
- Jenn Gavin
- CPDT-KA
Questions & answers
From GoogleWhat people have asked about this business.
What are your fees for taining and what specific training do you offer?
Our fees vary depending upon the service provided! We offer positive reinforcement training in private sessions for basic skills and tough behaviors, group classes, and drop off day training; together with grooming and cooperative care training sessions! As of 7/2024, our fees start at $160 for six week outdoor agility classes, $199 for our 6 week indoor basic skills classes, and go up to $350 for or reactive dog classes. Private lessons start at $100. Behavior consultations start at $250.
Community answer · A Pleasant Dog · 2024-09-21
Public community answers. Authors are not verified as business representatives; details may have changed.
Customer reviews
Google listing4.4
216 Google reviews
Mentioned in reviews
- Positive reinforcement 22
- Managing reactivity 14
- Reactive dog training 11
- Puppy class 7
- Welcoming atmosphere 6
- Anxiety management 5
All 10 topics
- Knowledgeable trainers 5
- Private training 3
- Arthritis specialist referral 2
- Small class sizes 2
Google review topics, not confirmed services.
I cannot say enough good things about the staff at A Pleasant Dog - they are an absolute God send! They are helping me and my 4 year old Pomeranian, Banjo, with a plethora of skills and communication. They are extremely personable, patient, and kind, and tailor training to our sp…Read full reviewClose full review
I cannot say enough good things about the staff at A Pleasant Dog - they are an absolute God send! They are helping me and my 4 year old Pomeranian, Banjo, with a plethora of skills and communication. They are extremely personable, patient, and kind, and tailor training to our specific needs. The staff has also been amazing about answering questions in a timely manner between appointments. I never feel alone, my relationship with Banjo has improved, and Banjo is happier and more confident. I would recommend them to anyone who loves their pets!
They go the extra mile!
Really great facility and everyone there is very friendly and knowledgeable. They really care about the training they provide and do a wonderful job. Highly recommended
I'm extremely grateful for APD! My service dog prospect experienced trauma at 10 months old, and has been dealing with really severe reactivity since then. I myself am working towards a bachelors in canine behavior science, and have plenty of experience with reactivity in dogs, b…Read full reviewClose full review
I'm extremely grateful for APD! My service dog prospect experienced trauma at 10 months old, and has been dealing with really severe reactivity since then. I myself am working towards a bachelors in canine behavior science, and have plenty of experience with reactivity in dogs, but our case has so many added layers of difficulty to it. As someone who is already well-versed in dog behavior and training (but not yet at the certified professional level) I can say with certainty that Jenn knows what she's doing! She's given us fantastic advice on how to proceed from where we're at now, and I'm definitely feeling more hopeful for our future. 10/10 would recommend Jenn and her team to anyone looking for any sort of dog training or behavior modification!
Original customer experiences from the collected Google data. Ratings without comments follow written reviews.