The Northwest Dog Trainer

I absolutely love this place. I think I enjoy coming here more than my dog. The staff are amazing. Between the two main trainers, Marcus and Jeremy, and their wealth of knowledge, I knew we were in the right place. Not only do they design training regimens based on the individual dog’s needs, their attention to detail while in class greatly sets them apart from other facilities I’ve utilized in the past. I was extremely impressed when they noticed that my Klee Kai needed more work in a certain area, they creatively came up with drills at subsequent sessions involving the whole class to address his needs; in the following weeks, my pup passed his canine good citizen test! The admin team, Melissa & Trinity are quite the duo. The mixture of fun and friendliness that these two ladies bring to the team sets the tone for the facility. Clear communications and a well organized admin team speaks volumes about their level of professionalism. Don’t get me started on all the fun events they host…this place has become more than just a training facility for us. I think we’ve made life-long friends!!

We have been taking Vinny to Northwest Dog Trainer since December 2024, and we are so happy we found a community that is supportive and gives us personalized progress. We initially reached out for a consultation because Vin was attacking our older dog. The consultation was VERY emotional, and we immediately felt heard and comfortable. While explaining our situation, one of the first clarification questions Marcus asked was “is your other dog sick” (we later found out that he had a cancerous brain tumor). We did not know that this could be a possible reason for what we were going through. The other thing I appreciated about the consultation is Marcus’s honesty by saying “We can’t guarantee that he will stop going after your other dog, but we can help”. I signed up for the Advance Obedience package that night, and they were able to get us scheduled for our first private lesson a few days later. I will say, some people might be shocked at the price, but keep in mind that this is an investment for not only your dog, but your own piece of mind. Since our first lesson, we unfortunately had to say goodbye to our oldest dog, but I am happy to say that we were able to control the situation, and we had no significant incidents during his last month. Northwest Dog Trainer helped us learn to look for triggers and has helped Vin gain confidence and obedience. Another success is that we have been able to take him to happy hours (we normally sit further away from the crowd but still progress and something for us to celebrate!) We have also received multiple compliments on the difference our guests see when they visit on how Vin settles himself down and listens to commands. We still have progress to be made with Vinny, as we have since found out he is more reactive than we initially thought, but we are so happy with the work that has been done so far. We now have the membership and look forward to continuing to build Vinny’s confidence and the bond we share. We are so thankful for Marcus, Jeremy, Trinity, and Melisa and will continue to recommend them!

Since our classes we (Dublin and Erin) have done pretty well. There is a beautiful Shepard on one of our walks who runs his fence line that borders the sidewalk. To keep up with our training, we practice as we walk by this house to keep ourselves calm and focused. Well, it payed off today. The gate along the fence was open and the beautiful Shepard decided to run out, saw us approaching and came charging. I reacted on instinct. I had Dublin sit and stay, took two steps forward and stood my ground. When the other pup came within a reasonable distance, I first said, “go home”. He slowed but kept coming. I then said, “Nein” (one of you had said this was ‘no’ in German and many dogs are trained with this command ). The dog stopped immediately. He didn’t turn around but it gave us a moment to back away and then turn around. Dublin’s focus was on me, well, truth be told it was the anticipation of the treat. None the less, thank you for giving me the courage to act under fire. Dublin and I still have moments of struggle but no one had a poor outcome today. Thank you Marcus, Jeremy, and Melisa. Thank you! Erin O’Rourke and Dublin