Dog Gone Good Dog Training

My dog has been to other dog training classes, but there are a couple of things that keep me coming back to this one even though its a little farther out of the way for me. 1) Structure/curriculum- Leah is very organized. A lot of places they are just kind of teaching off the top of their head and a class can vary a lot. Leah makes sure she hits each and every exercise needed every week to build the skills that the class is intended for. She also gives you a lot of information throughout the class beyond the exercises on best practices relating to being a dog owner. 2) The office end of the school is very responsive and organized too, with Gloria answering any questions, assisting with paperwork and sending you reminders of your classes weekly. 3) My dogs particular challenge is overexuberance to greet people and jumping on them when he does. THIS IS THE ONLY SCHOOL where he gets to practice greeting with 8-12 strangers EVERY WEEK (in classes geared towards this). This is why he is in classes. I can teach him basic obedience at home but how to behave around strangers and other dogs is hard to teach around the general public as they just want to run up and reward him with attention even if he is jumping all over them. They usually have volunteers and most people bring someone with them so the dogs get to greet a lot of people that are all on the same page as far as not just gushing over them even if their jumping or pulling... no matter how cute the dogs are 🤣 4) My dog loves, loves, loves ❤️ Shaun. I am pretty sure he would rather go home with Shaun then me after class 🤣 All the trainers, volunteers and other clients obviously love dogs.

While our private lesson with Dana was great, the group class was not. Given the expense of these services (which I was more than willing to pay), I am deeply disappointed. We decided to enroll our Sheltie and Pom in the “Manners and More” class, as it was introduced as a level 1, relaxed training environment. I figured this was perfect, as we had only done one private lesson so far. This was far from the case. The teacher seemed quite annoyed at my Pomeranian (less than 6 months old) - yes, my puppy barked. But that is because there was a dog nearby to us who seemed quite aggressive and was growling. And also, she’s a puppy (who was allowed to enroll in the class). The teacher instructed me to pick her up in a rude tone rather than addressing the couple with the dog who was ALSO barking and growling at my dogs. The teacher also seemed to favor the dogs who were clearly more well trained and older, spending more time with them. When she made her way over to me, she was nothing but critical. If training is for the humans (as stated multiple times), and positive reinforcement was used, why was I treated in such a negative way? I enrolled in this course to help my pups. I love them and want to better understand their behaviors, not be talked to like a child. The class was held outside when it was quite cold and windy. My Pomeranian was shaking by the end of it, and believe me, this was not nerves. She is the most social dog I’ve ever owned. All she wanted to do was to say hi to everyone. She was just freezing cold. However, the teacher took it upon herself to recommend ANOTHER expensive training course (leash & greet) for the “anxious” dogs who were, god forbid, barking and shaking in freezing windy weather, and a VERY new environment around NEW dogs. If I had known this “level 1” class was meant for dogs who are already well trained, I would not have wasted hundreds of dollars on a class I will not attend again. The teacher said “The first class is always crazy” after getting her picture of us all ‘smiling’ - if you know that, maybe be more compassionate and understand that talking down to the owners of the dogs throughout the class isn’t the best way to teach. Positive reinforcement is the motto of this business after all.

I recently took two classes with DGGDT and worked with both Leah and Alicia. Both classes (Leash & Greet and Manners & More) were extremely beneficial in helping me to understand my new rescue dog, Gracie, and how best to communicate with her. I learned so much about how dogs think and the best ways to teach them what you want them to do. By the time both classes ended, Gracie had gone from literally not knowing anything to being able to execute basic commands, walk on a leash without being a total maniac, and remain safer on walks thanks to learning safety things such as "stop," "wait," "leave it," and "drop it." I highly recommend Dog Gone Good Dog Training. The investment is 1000% worth it. The training that Gracie and I received was invaluable, and helped connect me with my dog in a strong, positive way. Plus, Gracie enjoyed going to class so much. We will definitely be back for additional classes!

My border collie and I had a wonderful experience with Leah in her Manners and More class. She was very kind, understanding and patient with all the dogs and their humans. It was clear that Leah has a deep passion for promoting positive connections between dogs and their people. We were provided with a wealth of theoretical, valuable and practical information. Each class consisted of instructions, explanations and demonstrations of techniques to teach our dogs new skills and opportunities to practice and troubleshoot individual challenges. I highly recommend Leah and her team to meet all your dog training needs