Very Good Dog Training

Updated: Nice to hear from you, Stephen. As a reminder, my phone and email is also open. Your response is a little much despite bracing myself for whatever reaction you had to my comments. To clarify facts: first session was May 10th, 2022. Last text from Stephen was May 20th. Our last text to Stephen was May 24th. I canceled our final session scheduled for June 2nd on May 30th after almost a week of no contact, and over a week since seeing a text from Stephen - over a week, in the context of 4-week program. No coaching notes or materials from lessons two or three meant a few weeks without substantial contact. Everything I stated in my initial review is correct and true. As the meme says, change my mind.. but I have the text chain right here. Be well. Original: Jumped in wholeheartedly after first meeting with Stephen; followed direction, ordered the collar, leash and lead he suggested, was pumped to dig in to an intensive month that would lead to more structure in the months to follow. Did the daily drills with our pup, paid for a month up front, signed the paperwork, booked 4 sessions, literally changed 2 familiar/known commands to suit Stephens suggestion. Now feeling fully taken advantage of, to the extent of canceling our last session. Wanted to type out some specifics of our experience, since I would have liked to see these things called out before making the commitment. -The promised follow ups (and general effort) from Stephen after sessions ended after week one. -In addition to the $100 consult and $1000 program, we ended up spending another $96 on training materials that were supposed to be included. -We tried to leverage the text/contact between sessions less than a handful of times (this contact between sessions was a selling point for us with this investment so we wouldn’t be on our own if something came up), and Stephen simply.. did not respond after week two. -Admittedly, we didn’t use the text option as much as I initially imagined we would. The first attempt was met with a condescending re-wording of my clarification, rather than trying to take what I said (when I had already spent time and effort to draft the text in a way to ensure I conveyed the appropriate concern, and did not blame our pup for our inability to figure out Heel) and work with me. I’m not interested in literally paying for the privilege of someone assuming I do not have the right intent or common sense for the sake of making an unhelpful point. -Between this behavior and the signed agreement, there is really no room for discussion around us quickly becoming unhappy - and even if there were, I have the suspicion I would likely just be labeled a non-compliant client (despite the opposite), or whatever other justification is needed to not have to render services. -It is not easy for us to get an hour off from work, especially both my partner and I, and even more so with the time zone difference (we’re in CA) - but we had committed to doing this and the effort was not matched, despite the exchange of funds. -I'm considering us ghosted by Stephen at this point, and suspect he would tell me this is because I canceled the last session (the only non-compliant action I've taken) instead of reflecting on why I would feel compelled to do so - my unwillingness to show up to another appointment where I have to yet again feign politeness with someone who doesn’t seem to respect my time, money, and need. Specifically, his inability to follow up on his end of the deal via written follow ups, training material, feedback, progression, and even just responding to texts. -Ultimately, I can’t speak for in-person and can only speak to the virtual/remote experience. It seems like an easy way for Stephen to almost immediately disengage once payment has been made. I had my doubts about a virtual trainer, but again - trusted Stephen in that he had done this before and was going to follow through at a basic professional level. -At most, the collar and maybe the consultation is the only value we got for this pretty major investment.

It has been such a great experience working with Stephen. We found him through social media. I was hesitant at first, wondering how virtual lessons would work and a not so good experience with a previous dog trainer. Our dog Chevy was reactive during walks and that was our main reason for hiring Stephen. Stephen is very professional and sets you up for success! The education he provided us with via videos, reading material, and virtual lessons will stay with us forever. We can now walk Chevy and he is not reactive like he used to be. I can not say enough about our experience with Very Good Dog Training. Highly recommend!

We hired Stephen from the VeryGoodDog training to help us train our 6 months old goldendoodle puppy. She is really attached to us and had a lot of separation anxiety, she was unable to walk on the leash. Every walk was a mission impossible. She was also getting crazy every time she was near me-biting and jumping on me. Stephen helped us address all of those issue. Now she walks proudly on her leash when we take her outside, she is much more relaxed and calm and she finally started to relax in her very comfortable little bed. Stephen also gave us a lot of useful tips on feeding her, crate training and others. We are planning on coming back for the advance training with VeryGoodDogTraining very soon.

We couldn't be happier with our decision to work with Stephen. Our 1 year old golden retriever is a super high energy pup, especially on our daily walks. After 4 weeks of Stephen's program, the transformation of her behavior during a walk is unbelievable. No more zigzagging or aimless pulling. Working with Stephen, you get a real expert with a true and tested method who will understand your situation and know how to improve it (for both you and your dog!).