Good CitiZEN Dog

Recently moved to the area, added a new puppy (replacing an older dog that passed a few months prior), thought puppy classes would be a good idea and Good Citizen and Deborah seemed to be held in good repute. I am hesitant to give one star reviews, but I cannot recommend this as a worthwhile option. Deborah seems to know dogs, she strikes me as one of those people that interact primarily with dogs and the people around her suffer as a result. The issues are many, but I will highlight one incident that speaks to the greater issues. I went to four of the eight classes and brought my wife to the third of the four, having warned her about some of the rough edges on the instructor. Most classes (this day was no different) began with a little Q&A, “does anyone have any stories to share from the previous week to share?” The first hand up was a ten year old(ish) girl who came every week with her mom and grandma. Deborah looked the three of them in the eye and announced to the class, “She keeps putting her hand up, but I don’t think there is a lot going on up there, you know… cognitively” She’s a ten year old girl. Of course she wants to talk about her puppy, there is absolutely no reason to belittle a CHILD in front of her family and and entire group of people. This was incident among many, but her general teaching method left a lot to be desired. I spent $250 on the class and only attended half of them based on her behavior. I would like to continue class with my puppy, but not here. I recommend you steer clear.

Took a class from Deb over 2 years ago to get our very big, very fearful dog to be able to relax around strange humans and dogs. Originally, every time we took her for a walk we were on edge not knowing how she would react to passing someone on the sidewalk. She was also extremely reactive when friends and family would come over and we were honestly afraid she would bite someone. Just in the time it took to complete the class, we saw a huge turnaround, I couldn't believe how our dog changed. The walk on the waterfront on the last day if the class was really astounding, I never thought I would see our crazy dog be able to walk past that many people and dogs and bicycles etc. Without having a total meltdown. Fast forward to the present, we now have a six month old baby and have started having friends over again after more than a year of no visitors, and using Deb's zen methods, we have been able to enjoy our time with the baby and our friends worry free. Cannot recommend Deb and her classes enough!

My puppy and I have taken the Puppy Kindergarten and the Puppy 2 classes through Good CitiZen Dog. The classes were excellent, I highly recommend them! I learned how to connect with my puppy and maintain her attention, which is absolutely critical to training. The sessions were very fun for both my puppy and myself and an excellent vehicle to socialize my puppy with other dogs and people. Deborah and Christina also help guide you through any issues you may be experiencing outside of class in a very positive and constructive manner.