A Pleasant Dog

Jen is absolutely amazing. She has given us hope when another told us to choose one yorkie and rehome or euthanize the other. I feel some trainers favor bigger dogs, and use methods they are not comfortable applying to really small dogs, and I'm so glad my vet sent me to see Jen. Our time at the Pleasant Dog is like dog owner therapy, and we didn't even realize how much an outside perspective would help us get on the same page.

This business came highly recommended to me from a close friend so I definitely expected great things. I was pretty disappointed, however, and I would like to explain why. 'd like to begin by noting that I believe these trainers truly do have good hearts, and at the end of the day they care deeply about dogs. Medication was recommended to me immediately, but in our case it was absolutely needed and ended up helping. There are a number of issues that I find relevant to address. Particularly in regard to their business practices. Their fees are confusing and in my experience quite high for the actual training that takes place. For example, I did a set of virtual training sessions, and during two of the three we did, the entire almost 45 minute session was just the "trainer" (who was really just an intern or something like that, as I later discovered) watching me give my dog a command and then treat over and over again. No feedback, no additional direction, nothing- even when I asked. Secondly, I had brought Dog A here for aggression issues towards my other dog, Dog B, because Dog A had been viciously attacked by another dog at the dog park. This was something I knew wouldn't be fixed overnight. However, after almost two months of consistent work, multiple training sessions, and no progress whatsoever with Dog A being comfortable around Dog B, AND seeing barely any improvement other than when we first introduced the meds, I got really frustrated. It was clear to me the trainers needed to see the dogs interacting together, but literally every time I mentioned it they shut me down. I was told I couldn't bring both dogs in together for a training session, I was told it wouldn't be helpful to see them interacting in video because it would be too difficult to see body language, and I was also told that if I wanted a trainer to come to my house we would need to take precautions like muzzling, working only outdoors, etc. keep in mind this was mid winter and a huge part of the failed training to this point was literally muzzle training! They found every way to tell me no and when I finally got frustrated and told them I felt like they didn't want to work with me to help my dogs get along, they told me it was unlikely that Dog A would ever be ok with Dog B and I would do better to consider keeping them separate at all times or consider rehoming one of them. It's fine if rehoming is the end result of a lot of diligent training that just doesn't work- I understand that sometimes that happens. But they didn't even want to give these dogs a chance to get along. I repeatedly told them I felt this was possible, but was brushed off and not taken seriously. I later moved training to someone new who actually listened to me and took the time to see the dogs together, and now, almost a year later, my dogs do great together and have even started to be comfortable enough to groom one another. I still supervise them closely and keep them separate when I'm not home, but they absolutely can and do live together peacefully without incident. I have a background with dogs and I know the difference between suppression of unwanted behaviors (which is dangerous and ends up causing way more problems) and actual training and improvement. These dogs are happy and get along fine now, although I will always implement prevention measures for their safety. I just think we could have helped them so much faster if the trainers here had actually engaged with us. I think that for the high prices they charge, they could do much better about actually listening to and engaging with their clients. I never felt like they didn't care about my dog, but definitely felt like they thought I was crazy and not worth listening to.

More like “a pleasantly sedated dog”. Any behavioral issue will be called a “chemical imbalance”. Your dog will be put on meds and they will require expensive training sessions. Group classes are just their way to funnel excited dogs into private training. 100% of dogs in private training are put on meds. If your dog has issues take them to Huff Park Baseball Field and let them run around till tired. Avoid this place at all costs. Read the negative reviews. What they do is unethical and they should be shut down.