Austin Canine Central

We have a Great Dane and started private training at 4 months. Julie suggested we try group trainings and have been going for over a year and a half. She knows what puppies need and help them progress into wonderful young adults. We started with the beginner class and then did a few more of the classes. We have been doing Rally recently and will continue doing classes with Julie to keep our dogs and ourselves mentally and physically agile.

I came here about a year ago and quit after a few classes. This is not a force free trainer (just so you’re aware what you’re getting into). I knew this going in but thought it would be good to do basic obedience regardless of the method. But then I was too uncomfortable to return. I saw the trainer spray dogs in cages with water and yell at them to get them to stop barking while they waited for the owner to pick them up. My second or so class, the trainer took my dog to show how to force her into a heel. My dog, who is wary of strangers, was extremely uncomfortable and desperate to get back to me and then jumped on the trainer. Big mistake apparently. The trainer was ROUGH, continuously leash popping and yanking her down to the floor. All this did was continue to agitate my dog which, in turn, resulted in worse behavior like more jumping on the trainer and pulling away, towards me. My dog was the most nervous I’ve ever seen her with a stranger, continuously trying to just get away from this person and NOT understanding what the trainer was asking her to do at all. The trainer was also extremely agitated, almost angry, about my dogs behavior and told me she was misbehaving on purpose. For a beginners obedience class, the trainer seemed upset at dogs that were misbehaving, which is bizarre given the context. Overall the entire experience made me feel guilty for my dog and extremely uncomfortable and we didn’t return.