Doggie Do Good

I came for a tour of the facility, considering bringing my puppy for their training camp. What I saw in just 15 minutes made it immediately clear this was not a place I would trust with my dog- and I want to share why, so others can make an informed and thoughtful decision. - The indoor sleeping area is a room with about 30 crates lined up in two rows. Staff said the dogs are brought inside around 4pm and stay crated until 9–10am the next morning. That’s over 17 hours of confinement each night. When I asked about bathroom breaks, they said there’s a 9pm "last call" potty break, and dogs are let out again only if they’re clawing at the crate. That means long hours of isolation with minimal movement or mental stimulation- something that can be stressful, especially for puppies and high-energy breeds. - During the day, dogs are outside from 9–10am to 4pm- but this time is also rigidly structured. I didn’t see any dogs playing, interacting, or relaxing, and there was no mention of playtime socialization or enrichment. Instead, across all training areas, every dog was clipped to a metal stake in a down-stay position. Staff told me they do 6–8 hours of obedience training per day, then are crated again for the night. That’s a full day of strict structure, with no visible time for play, socialization, or decompression. When the tour guide talked about enrichment she said there are occasional trips to the beach or the Vons parking lot for “distraction training.” - Every dog wore a bandana, and underneath, most had an e-collar and a prong collar visible... the bandana covering was just weird and showed a lack of transparency. While the staff mentioned tool use is optional, the fact that every dog I saw was wearing both suggests these tools are heavily relied on, regardless of individual needs or temperament. - The most disturbing thing was walking by/watching two trainers during a live training session. They were running down-stay drills when I walked by with my puppy. A few dogs stood up briefly, and the trainers became visibly frustrated. One got very upset with a young Rottweiler- wearing a service dog vest- who had briefly stood up. Even after the dog quickly laid back down, she continued pressing the e-collar remote five or six more times, repeating “no, no, no!” There was no redirection, no clarity, no reward for settling, just emotional, reactive punishment. That’s not thoughtful training and a completely unskilled use of a tool. It’s confusing and can damage the dog’s confidence and sense of safety. It was also concerning that the trainers weren’t regulating each other— the other trainer just kind of watched. - The entire environment felt like it was focused on compliance over well-being. Yes, this kind of high-structure, high-pressure approach might produce dogs who seem obedient quickly…but at the cost of their trust, emotional health, and long-term confidence. Some of the dogs I saw looked very young and a few seemed totally shut down. For anyone considering this place, ask direct questions.

There are not enough good things to say about DDG; they are an exceptional company! The staff was absolutely amazing, especially Destiny and Hannah, throughout the whole process! I came to DDG for a service dog for my Epilepsy to learn alert tasks for my seizures and lay with me afterward to help make me feel safe and secure. My dog Shadow gives me just that; she is so sweet while working and gives me and my family a better sense of security while home alone, at work, driving, taking a bath, etc. Shadow listens and does her job exceedingly well. DDG staff are all kind and highly communicative, making working with them extremely pleasant! Destiny talked to me and answered all my questions while Shadow was training. During the in-person training, Hannah welcomed me and taught me how to handle my Shadow. It was a great experience, and I could not be happier! Thank you so much, DDG!!!

My dog was exhibiting behavior issues that reached a point where I desperately needed professional help. After searching online, I stumbled upon DoggieDoGood. Despite the long drive from my home in LA, I decided to give it a try. The facility and environment were appealing, and it turned out to be the best decision I’ve ever made. DoggieDoGood provides an attentive and thorough training program that ensures your dog learns the basics of obedience. This fundamental knowledge allows for effective communication and trust-building, which is crucial for taking your dog out without any disruptions. I highly recommend DoggieDoGood. The staff and facility are exceptional, and they met every request on my “training wishlist.” My dog has transformed into an absolute gentleman, and I’m grateful for the positive impact DoggieDoGood has had on our lives. I took him back for two weeks of boarding and the little guy was soooo excited to be back since I picked him up from bootcamp!!!!

I was fooled by the bandanas and never told till the last day when I went to pick up my young dog. I was so furious and confused, they took my money, not cheap, over $3500 to train my dog with a shock collar….something that I could have done at home for a couple hundred dollars. My dog had no other behavioral training without the collar, all the dogs that were picked up that day together had shock collars. I had already seen in Petco months before the “Stop the Shock” of all e-collars/shock collars and knew I didn’t want to go down that route, and I realized then that they were very vague with how they would train my dog, and I just trusted them to know about this newer form of positive reinforcement for behavior training. So on the day I pick up my dog after 3.5 weeks, they “trained” us how to shock our dogs and we then had to purchase the shock collars, they weren’t even included!! I felt lied to, no where in the contract did they say they would be using this shock device to “train” my dog. I bought the shock collar and cried all the way home, feeling like the WORST dog mom to have put my girl through that. I used the shock collar for about a day but I found a place through my vet, Gentle Touch Pet Training in SLO. After calling them and explaining the situation, that I had just taken my dog to doggie do good camp and that they used shock collars and now my dog is afraid of people and reacts aggressively. The lady was so kind as I cried my eyes out telling her how horrible I felt leaving my young dog there for over 3 weeks! The women at Gentle Touch Pet Training assured me that I was not the first to fall to the doggie do good shock collar scam by hiding them under the dogs bandanna so the owner wont see it in the update pictures they send you. I was told to throw the collar away right, now, and she singed my dog up for their “Feisty Fidos Class: Small group classes for dogs with aggressive behaviors“. My dog has greatly improved and continues to improve her reactive behaviors which became exacerbated after her experience at doggie do good camp…they did my dog and me wrong! I feel cheated out of over $3500…but even more sick knowing it went to pay people to shock and hurt my sweet little pup. There is a lot of scientific evidence in the harm a shock collar ultimately inflicts onto the dog. Do a little research if shock collars do more harm than good!!! I hope someone sees this post before they decide to sign their dog over to this awful company who doesn’t want to use better alternatives, like positive reinforcement training, because that takes more work and training! Anyone can push a button and shock their dog when they miss behave, but can they understand their dog and what is actually happening behind the behaviors you don’t want? I highly recommend Gentle Touch pet training, they are so wonderful!