My fiancé and I were recently anxious first-time puppy owners, and I cannot express how strongly I recommend attending their training sessions and puppy play dates. Wynona and the other trainers create a safe, supportive environment for both puppies and owners to learn and make friends, all while still allowing the pups to just be puppies. read more

Ahimsa is truly outstanding. The owner, trainers, and staff are extremely knowledgeable and skilled, genuinely care for dogs, and are all around wonderful humans. Our puppy is attending a number of their class offerings, and each and every one of them is fantastic: Puppy Kindergarten is a superbly-structured 6-week series that taught us and our pup fundamental skills, including invaluable desensitization and play with other barky puppies; Day Training gave us an opportunity to deep-dive on specific skills; Puppy Playtime, which he's still attending, is teaching him proper play and up/downregulation; and we're about to start Fun and Focus, their puppy/teen agility class. The 1:1 training sessions we booked have been just as valuable, with trainers available to meet at our home or another location that makes sense for the behavior being worked on. As someone whose late dog was severely reactive following a dog attack, I know the world of dog training better than I'd like to...and Ahimsa shines as a bright star in it. read more

Excellent puppy training class. Great, gentle and very knowledgeable staff. Highly recommended for anyone wanting to learn along with your dog on how to be a good custodian of canines. read more

Ahimsa Dog Training - My puppy learning to sit on a mat. - Pet Training Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Ahimsa was such an amazing dog training experience for my tiny puppy! She started out incredibly shy but by the end of kindergarten her personality was shining through! It also gave me practical things to watch for and great training foundations. read more

Ahimsa Dog Training - Sleeping puppy after training - Pet Training Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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We went to three rounds of puppy camp with Betty while she was a very young puppy. It is the best way to socialize a puppy to people, dogs, riding in the car to and from classes and a host of other beneficial early experiences forming a solid relationship with herself and the great big world she is in. She went from shy to a happy girl ready to play with all her friends with great joy. It was a light switch moment from day one to the end of three weeks. I can't say enough about how crucial this safe, concentrated experience has been for her social development. We are happily going to one hour play classes, and kindergarten class giving her two days a week to socialize and learn new skills. I'd hug them really hard but that would be weird. All four paws up for Ahimsa!!! read more

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Taught me legitimately nothing of value. I'm not spending money so they can help me train my dog to love a blanket she'll never see again in her life. I swear, it was a bunch of non-applicable training! I wanted to learn how to walk her on a leash without her pulling, but they never teach that! They don't teach basic stuff like that. They also all had an attitude with me, just rude and judgy in general. Wouldn't let me use a slip lead, weren't understanding when my dog (a 4 month old puppy...) didn't like the treats I brought. They told me my dog was too aggressive when playing, but she's completely fine outside of the environment they created & at daycare. Horrible. get your dog trained elsewhere. read more

I have an ancient breed puppy that I've been taking here for the puppy classes, playtime, and day camp, and I can't recommend them enough! This place was originally recommended to me by my personal trainer as well as the behaviorist I used to work with for my older girl, and it's definitely a bit out of the way for us (especially considering we live literally right next to a ZOOM Room, just a 5 minute walk away), but the quality of training and care you get from here is worth the 40 minute drive hands down every single time. Honestly, obedience is not that difficult if you're willing to learn for yourself, but structured and educated socialization is invaluable, especially for an ancient breed like ours which is notoriously reactive when not socialized enough both in quantity and quality! All the staff are well educated and competent as well as passionate about what they're doing, and have always gone out of their way to provide extra help for my puppy and I. During puppy classes, they help your puppy practice obedience and early socialization exercises (strollers, body handling, etc.) around other puppies, both ignoring those distractions and creating positive association with the puppies in a structured way, and then give them a playtime break in small, monitored groups before the puppies can get frustrated so the class is always fun and rewarding for them. During dedicated playtime as well, all the puppies are separated into smaller groups with trainers to monitor and intervene, providing structure and security for all the play. They frequently introduce little breaks for the young ones so they can help them regulate their emotions and try to recognize those big feelings on their own which is HUGE down the line if you've ever worked with a reactive or sensitive dog. All that said though, the day camp is probably my favorite. If you can only do one thing for your puppy, that's the thing to do. You choose skills to work with for your puppy--always choose leash skills for one of them. Trust me. Even if you practice this on your own every day (and we did), having back up on this is just going to make it stick stronger in your little puppy's head and make it easier to cement as an adult--but the truly most valuable aspect of day camp is the dedicated one-on-one time with your puppy doing mark and move and other structured social time with other puppies teaching them appropriate behavior on how to approach other dogs, interact with other dogs, recognize those big reactive feelings and learning to walk away when they feel that, and how to GENERALIZE that behavior rather than learning to do that behavior every time with each new dog they meet. This is the one thing neither I nor my private trainer will ever be able to do on our own. I have a rescue that missed out on this, and I can't overstate the importance of being able to generalize, and how important quality early socialization is for young puppies! Anyway, I would 100% recommend Ahimsa Dog Training! read more

The amazing trainers at Ahimsa have helped us so much, and my sheltie LOVES coming here for classes now. When I got my 8 week old sheltie, she was terrified of everything-literally she would shake anytime there were other people nearby, and she would freeze up and be terrified of other dogs. I've had other shelties, and they were a bit reserved, but nothing like this. The puppy kindergarten and puppy playtime at Ahimsa have just been amazing, and she's now a confident, happy go lucky little sheltie who gets really excited to say hello to people on walks and who loves to meet other small dogs. It's like night and day. The puppy kindergarten room is really well set up with separate areas for each dog, so they don't distract each other, and then an open area for supervised playtime. The playtime has helped so much; we learned how to give her time and space to say hello too other dogs on her own terms, and to protect her from being overwhelmed. Amazing. I was somewhat skeptical of clicker training at first, but seeing how she responds and how she's blossomed has been amazing. She is learning so much- Ahimsa has taught us not just "sit" and "down" and settling on a mat, but also how to teach new skills, and my sheltie really loves learning new things now! read more

Ahimsa Dog Training - My sheltie in puppy kindergarten class at Ahimsa - Pet Training Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Sadie and Brandi are our two Aussie mix puppies. The whole staff there are definitely professionals and know what they're doing. Our two girls are new to the world and Ahimsa dog training helped them adjust much quicker to all the monsters out there. Their philosophy in training is kindness and tolerance there's no abuse or forcefulness towards the animal. Wynona is the lead trainer for young puppies kindergarten class along with Erica and the other amazing staff. We felt our girls were in great hands in the puppy daycare and in kindergarten. Of course the training was for the owners but our young little girls had a blast. We all are looking forward to the next time our girls visit so the trainers can see how well our puppies have been doing thanks to Ahimsa we have a fighting chance now. read more

Ahimsa Dog Training - Puppies - Pet Training Near Me - Seattle, Washington

I recently took puppy kindergarten and puppy elementary with my dog Jagger. I feel like puppy elementary was not a build up upon Puppy Kindergarten. They were the exact same class. We did the name games, and allot of look at me drills. I had two different instructors throughout the duration of the class. The first two classes, I had hope we were going to get in some new skills. Then, we had a new instructor. It felt like the class was starting from square one. There was no advanced "anything" in this class. All in all, I was disappointed with the classes. These classes are expensive and time consuming. I really wanted to take more classes with Ahimsa, but I am not sure I can justify them biased on my experience. If I am feeling this way, I am sure others in these classes feel this way as well. Most of the skills worked on in both classes can be found online with a little time. Don't waist your time or money here. Look up Zack George or McCann dogs. The info is free, and way more useful then these classes. Or better yet, for the price of these classes, the money may be better spent on personal dog training secessions. Every single person I have talked to that have used the Ahimsa dog training classes have said similar things. It makes me sad. I really wanted a place to continually work with my pup. I think I may be looking elsewhere for future pup training. read more

We looked far and wide for a "shy dog" training class and are so grateful we found Ahimsa and caught a series of classes this winter. Our pandemic puppy really took some steps forward and we learned a set of invaluable tools to help us continue her journey into trusting the world (and the people in it). There is only so much you can do in one hour for six weeks, but the book they provided and the "homework" really paid off. I am sure running a class like that is risky from a liability perspective (shy dogs can become reactive/aggressive dogs) so I really appreciate the good heart they have to run that series regularly. Lots of good intel in the ebook too. It was a great experience - highly recommend that class series in particular. read more

We came here for the Intermediate classes, and our boy learned a lot. I love that the skills they teach are all highly functional and useful, and the trainers are excellent. Every puppy will have its quirks, and whenever our little guy was struggling with something, our trainers would always have useful tips to offer, and they always helped our guy. Classes were a good small size, so we could get our questions in, and the trainers could watch our dogs and offer individual feedback. The trainers are also great at explaining the whys and the underlying doggy psychology, so we learned principles that'll be helpful as we continue to work with our pup. I feel like we got the right tools to train him on our own for a bit, but when we're ready for the next level, we'll come back to Ahimsa. Coming here made me feel really excited about the kind of dog our puppy will become! read more

Ahimsa Dog Training - Pet Training Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Yey!!! Puppy passed the training camp!!! :) And puppy love the training camp!! My cute 3 months old doodle came here for their 4 days training. He was spent after! 4 hours a day: bring your food, soother, blankets etc. Harnest! And viola. The place itself was made for puppies. Covered in rubber matts! Everyone get their own space/closed off area. And they have tunnels, toy boxes. Playmates! You pick 3 things you want them to work on. You get daily reports!! :) The hardest part was not being able to spy/ puppy cam your pup! But it was fun to pick up! They train with chicken! Tiny pieces of chicken! The pup loves it. And he was very happy and comfortable when I pick him up! No complaints there! The leash walking was one of the things I picked for them to work on: but being this located in the most industrial area, tons of buildings, trucks! Baci got scared. I'm glad they didn't push him too hard! And we got a little kindergarten certificate! 4 days for $350 ish! Not bad! Puppy elementary is next! :) read more

Ahimsa Dog Training - Baci's first day! - Pet Training Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Like many people, I got a quarantine pup! In doing some research, Ahimsa Dog Training came highly recommended. They have clear and transparent pricing on their website and the process to enroll is super simple. We went for Sunday morning puppy kindergarten classes and it is street parking only, but we never had any issues finding parking close by. My pup was only 9-10 weeks when we started going to class and one thing I would mention is that most puppies in the class were a few weeks older, so it could be a good idea to wait until 12 weeks before starting classes. Some things we learned include drop it, wait, come, name recall, touch - all useful things to teach a young puppy! One thing I didn't like about the training was that they don't always teach new material in each class - since they have a rotating group of puppies coming in, we covered the same material in at least half of the classes we went to. I do wish we learned a few more things as I practiced daily with my pup at home, so sometimes we left without learning anything new. Overall, I would still recommend if you are looking for a very beginner class that is well socially distanced, but if you're working with your pup a lot at home, maybe sign up for the next level up. read more

I'm so grateful for Ahimsa Dog Training! I cannot imagine what life with my anxious dog would be like had we not found Ahimsa. When I adopted Babette she was so fearful that she would tremble -- I needed top notch dog training and fast, or I would miss the window to socialize my puppy. Ahimsa has an amazing Puppy Camp for puppies who need special help. Ahimsa's trainers did intensive work building Babette's comfort with other dogs, then teaching me how they accomplished this so I could practice more at home. The trainers we had were so attentive, kind and professional. After Puppy Camp, when Babette was socialized and ready, we trained together in many different Ahimsa classes. We both love taking classes there; it's exciting for my dog, an education for me and a bonding experience for us together. I am well aware that I would not have the happy dog that I do were it not for finding Ahimsa. read more

They are great here with dogs that don't need help. Our dog was even used as an example dog for a problem dog that was scared of other dogs. We are in our third class so far have taken Puppy Kindergarten, Puppy Jr. High, and now we are enrolled in Controlled Unleashed + BAT 1. Take advantage of the free drop in classes we love the outdoor sports and games (which lets you know if your dog can do agility and is a great workout for them!) The problems I have is the uncontrolled kids poeple have in the class (if you can't control your kid should you really bring them to class? The kids running around the room while we are trying to teach our dog skills, and dangling toys in front of the dogs during playtime should be corrected but it wasn't.), and the clear plastic bags of treats... Treats should be in a treat bag at you hip and ONLY for your dog if you feed my dog treats during puppy play time not only does he loose out on socialization he will be jumping on you for more treats.. Also all treats should be prepared before class my dog, and other knows what a crinkling bag means if you can afford a class here you can afford a $10 treat bag... So bottom line go to class if you can follow the rules and have time for the homework. If you have a smart puppy that learns quickly this is a good starting point. We are taking ours elsewhere for agility they don't offer a good class for that. read more

Ahimsa Dog Training - Storefront - Pet Training Near Me - Seattle, Washington

We absolutely love Ahimsa. It was recommended to us by some friends and we are so glad we went. We got our yellow lab puppy at 8 weeks old and took her to Puppy Bootcamp right away. We were definitely nervous about parvo & other dogs not being vaccinated, but Ahimsa strictly enforces their vaccination policy and the space they have the puppies in is extremely clean. Our pup was always tired after Bootcamp and she learned some great manners. We decided to enroll her in Kindergarten to build on her skills learned in Bootcamp. As an owner, it's been so helpful to know what is/isn't okay when it comes to playtime with other dogs. There are plenty of things you can work on when you go home from class. The clicker training is amazing. After the first week of Bootcamp, we would pull out the clicker and our dog would automatically sit. We just graduated from kindergarten tonight and can't wait for elementary school! read more

Ahimsa Dog Training - Graduating from Kindergarten! - Pet Training Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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This review is for puppy elementary and play and train. TL;DR: This place is fantastic. Let me tell you why. PLAY&TRAIN: This is great for motivated parents who WANT to be a part of their dog's training. On my puppy parent journey, I've learned that the problem with Play without any training at all is that it taught my dog that he doesn't have to listen to me when he's with his friends. My guy had a great time, and was sufficiently exercised at other Day Plays and Puppy socials, and we felt that it was a victory!....we were doing everything right by taking him to puppy socials all over Seattle, and making a ton of new friends, right? Well, not exactly. We got a "friendly" dog, but now he's too excited, and now we have a problem with hyperactivity around other dogs.....Oops. Ahimsa really taught us how to get our dog to LISTEN around other dogs, during Play and Train, and even calm down around other dogs he REALLY wants to play with! A 6 month puppy! He actually listens around his biggest trigger! Whaaat What I really appreciate about Ahimsa is that they actually get the ENTIRE room to de-escalate, if the energy is getting too high. This is important because, not only is it a safety measure, it teaches EVERY dog to behave (as opposed to putting just one in timeout), AND it teaches the OWNERS what signs to look for, and it's fantastic practice for us in a controlled environment. Keeps us vigilant, but it also gives us the experience to not be so nervous all the time! Wynona also picks good play matches, and will often "translate" dog language to nervous owners so they can learn to communicate with their pup better. Play&Train might not be for you if you just want to drop off your dog for exercise, but if you want a dog you can bring everywhere and to set them up for success, this is honestly the way to go. PUPPY ELEMENTARY: Really recommend these classes. Gotta warn you though, you get as much as you put in. Ask questions, if you have specific problems, makes sure you tell them via email before class starts, write it in the "notes" when you sign up, or speak to the instructor at class. Or be neurotic like me and do all that. Elementary is one step after the basics skills "Kindergarten" class. They use science-based training and techniques of veterinary behaviorists. My dog started at a different facility as the one kid that would banshee scream in class because he couldn't immediately play. Smart. High energy. But Inconsolable, even with extensive exercise. Where different trainers have failed and made excuses about his breed, Wynona saw potential. After just a few classes, we're managing his hyperactivity better and better, and our kid is THRIVING in class. Instead of making us feel like something was wrong with our guy, she taught us methods of managing his energy apart from all of the exercise and training we were already doing. You can tell how experienced Wynona is, she's got the tips for all kinds of very specific problems. Believe me, I've scoured online communities for all of the advice that they have, but none of them have answers specifically tailored to you. Wynona is also happy to answer questions after class, which I appreciate. Also very responsive to email in my experience. If you have high hopes of your dog of specific problems you'd like to work on, I highly suggest shooting them an email, and writing "notes" when you sign up for class and bringing it up at class. You get as much as you put in. This is getting long, but a final word. I appreciate that ahimsa offers growly dog and fear and aggression classes, which a lot of dog trainers shy away from because it's so difficult and so case-by-case. In fact, I learned that they sacrificed programs like competition agility ($$$$) because "that's not why dogs get rehomed or abandoned" and they chose to stick to trying to giving more dogs opportunities for a happy life. read more

Another 5-star review for Ahimsa!! We've been attending puppy kindergarten, Play & Train and now puppy camp since the beginning of July, 2020 and they are incredibly professional, knowledgeable, and caring about the development of puppies and their puppy parents! Guided by newest science and using positive reinforcement principles down to an art, we are thrilled with what we and our puppy have been learning. Something that's really important to us is feeling as though Covid precautions are being taken seriously. They disinfect frequent touch surfaces often, I hear them asking people to back up to give one another at least 6 feet of space, they all wear masks, the garage doors are open for ventilation, there is a lot of air & space in their building. The level of precision they take in their training is evidenced in their care for humans too in these pandemic times. Not only do we feel our puppy is in expert hands, but the way they are conducting business during Covid actually inspires me overall that people can care about one another through mindful action. Everyone I've spoken with at Ahimsa has been kind, professional, supportive, and helpful. Raising a puppy is no easy feat - and this place will help set you and your puppy up for a lifetime of communication, understanding, and the foundation to live happily together. We just moved to Seattle and this is one of the things about big cities we love - expertise and cutting edge knowledge applied and embodied. read more

Friendly and knowledgeable staff, clean location. Parking can be a little tricky, even on the street. Not a problem when you you don't have a huge crate to drag along with your pupper, otherwise, ehhh.... read more

It's odd and disappointing to me that the entire south side of the city is excluded from this company's service area. Not one of their trainers will travel to the south part of the city - which is considered the lower income part of the city. To travel as far as Shoreline, Burien, Redmond and more but specifically exclude other closer neighborhoods - that's unfortunate. read more

Great place. I took my mini aussie clover here when he was a baby. I get a ton of compliments of how well behaved my dog is. Honestly, I use the techniques I learned here to train my friends dogs who are not well behaved. I recommend them to Aussie and guess what, problem solved!!! pro-tip: wait for it is the best training technique. read more

If you are thinking about sending your dog to training, you need to send them here. Ahimsa has been amazing! My pup started class at 9 weeks in Puppy Pre-K and just completed Puppy Elementary. It has been such a life saver for us! They gave us the tools we needed to train, answered all our questions and the play time leaves our dog tired (yay for mom and dad)! The three trainers we've worked with are all awesome (especially Andy, Mila loves her). I hope you bring your pup and have the same experience we have had! read more

Ahimsa Dog Training - Pet Training Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Love the owner, trainers, facility, and philosophy. Have been working with Ahimsa and dogs I have owned since 2006 and will continue to for as long as I am a dog owner. You will not find a more caring and professional dog and puppy training program in Seattle. Thank you Ahimsa! read more

Ahimsa Dog Training - Pet Training Near Me - Seattle, Washington

I took my puppy here thinking of trying out a new dog training facility and I honestly will never come here again. First, they make all the dogs be "tied" down to their leash with some bolt in the ground. They then separate you based on your size of the dog. Whenever they gave instructions, you can barely see what they are telling you to do nor do they tell you in person what you can do to improve. What I don't like about this place was during the play time, they separated the dogs by size and barely looked at how your dog was doing during play. My dog was in the corner peeing himself to death because he was scared about the play going on around him. The trainer comes up to our area and says, "oh the play looks great here!" If the play is so great then why is my dog peeing himself in the damn corner?! I will never come back here for any dog training and instead going back to University Canine Learning Academy! read more

I brought my standard poodle pup, Phin, to Ahimsa for both Puppy Kindergarten and Puppy Camp. My puppy was not as socially effortless as my first dog was, so I knew he'd need a lot of socializing right away. I chose Ahimsa because of geographic convenience and good reviews. Overall a very positive experience that was worth the time and cost. The trainers are wonderful - we mostly worked with Wynona and Lindsey, and they are superstars. Wynona knows everything you need, and Lindsey is unflappably calm - I think she is a Buddha. Puppy Kindergarten is broken into play times and training times. Each pup, and owner, get a sort of kennel to be in for training, and then out in the main area for play time. As with so much of life you will get back what you put into this. I'm a lazy trainer and probably would get a C grade for my own effort in training, because my real goal was socialization through play time. If I had the option of nothing but puppy playtime for the full hour I wold have taken it. Ahimsa trainers sort the dogs for 1:1 play, and if it's a bad combination the pups will get resorted. Shy pups learn to be more assertive, insensitive pups learn social cues. Phin learned a lot about playing with other dogs. His play style after 6 weeks is worlds better than when we started. The trainers were also great about managing my own anxiety, which was worse than the dog's. My one observation (not a criticism) is that the play times are so brief sometimes they only get through the rough introduction. Puppy Camp is different in that you drop your pup off for about 4 hours, and trainers manage the time without you. They do ask what you want your pup to work on, and do send home tired puppies with report cards on the work you requested. Everyone is very kind and serious about the work. read more

Ahimsa Dog Training - For Puppy Kindergarten, bring a bed or just a good towel, and a lot of treats. Bone was provided by Ahimsa for training. - Pet Training Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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We've been coming to Ahimsa for puppy kindergarten class with Wynona and Rachel. I'm so glad we did! Our pup loves play time, he loves learning in class, and we love working with him. His first couple classes were rough, he was very shy and new to our home. By the 3rd class he was pulling us through the door so he could play. Now, he loves everyone. I'm sure at least part of it is because of all the socialization we get in class and the training we do with Wynona and Rachel. We highly recommend puppy class for any new owner. read more

Ahimsa Dog Training - Puppies planning their escape :) - Pet Training Near Me - Seattle, Washington

We've been taking our 15 week corgi, Barkley, for 5 weeks now to baby puppy kindergarten and we've already signed him up for another 6 weeks. This is a fantastic way to get the "zoomies" out of your pup and interact with other dogs in a safe environment. They break down each lesson to take back for the week that you can reinforce with your pup. After every session, I turn to my husband and say "I'm so glad we did this." You won't regret it, they are fantastic at what they do and I see us going through many more weeks to make sure Barkley is happy and well behaved! read more

Ahimsa Dog Training - Pet Training Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Would I say my dog is perfectly behaved? No. Would I say that I have sanity back in my house again? Yes. We brought our cattle dog mix to ahimsa after we moved to our new apartment and were experiencing serious behavior issues such as barking/lunging at every human and dog on walks, waking us up 2-3 times in the middle of the night, and barking all the time house. We signed-up for the Growly dog class, which was one lecture without dogs and four classes with five other growly dogs. Ahimsa taught us the basics of Clicker training and positive reinforcement training. From our experience with the other owners in the class, you get what you put in. Meaning the more you practice on weekdays, the better behaved your dog will be. During class you are paired with another dog and practice clicker training at safe distances progressively getting closer. There were two trainers that switch between each group to coach us. For our situation, Ahimsa also recommended we have behaviorist, Dr. Beal, come to the house and work with us. This was a god send because she gave us tricks for calming our dog in the house. She was also on retainer via phone and email to coach us through the hardest times. We saw so much improvement (sleeping through the night, not barking at people, less barking in the house) in our dog in just 4 weeks that we have signed up for more classes to help us continue to make progress. Some other notes: - We bought a muzzle because we were told to and ended up not using it at all - We were told there was going to be homework and none waa ever assigned - They asked for a lot of paperwork the day before the class started. Even though they said we should turn it in the first day of class they realized their timeline was unrealistic and said we can turn it in the next week. read more

We loved this place! We learned so much alongside our pup from this place. We did the puppy elementary schools and middle school. It helped our mini Aussie learn so much. We loved that it was really focused on helping our pup develop life skills, like waiting, listening to us with distractions. The staff patiently answered all of our new dog owner questions with easy solutions we could implement ourselves. We are thinking about starting agility in the winter and are planning on going to Ahimsa again. read more

Ahimsa Dog Training - Pet Training Near Me - Seattle, Washington

I've taken my dogs to three different dog training businesses, and hired individual trainers for 1-on-1 training. The quality of Ahimsa training seems about average compared to the other two. However, I'm giving a below average rating because their prices are higher and the customer service and response times much slower. In fact, Ahimsa didn't respond at all to my email inquiry, and on a separate occasion returned my call after the class I had reserved - when it was too late. read more

Best dog training in Seattle! We absolutely loved puppy elementary and plan to return for puppy jr high! Wynona is amazing and really knows how to make the class work for every dog. read more

We just finished our 1st online class with Ahimsa and loved it! We'd taken 3 in-person classes with our puppy and were looking forward to more when the pandemic started. Ahimsa offered a new online section for Agility & Tricks with Sarah and we learned a ton! Our 7 month old puppy earned her AKC Novice and Intermediate trick titles in class. The class was well organized, teaching videos were prepared ahead of time so she could quickly show us the technique with her pup, & Sarah gave each of us individual feedback while we practiced teaching the tricks. We were emailed a list of items to have on hand a couple days before class & links to the training videos after each class. During class, Sarah noticed that our pup needed more awareness of her back feet. So we now have some fun tricks that will help her gain confidence in moving her back feet which we're hoping will help her on some stairs she's been hesitant with. Our pup loved learning all the new skills & would get super excited when we'd setup the living room for class on Sunday mornings. Hoping to take more online classes! read more

The instructors are so friendly and I love the individual training areas, which make it easier for little pups to focus while they learn. They do a great job of pairing puppies for play time and being realistic about how much you can accomplish at each age group. I look forward to continuing our training here! read more

I'm signed up for a 5 week private training at my condo with Klara and today was our first session. My rambunctious 2 year old Frenchie has already made huge progress. I'm amazed! Klara is so patient and really helped to come up with manageable solutions and exercises to retrain the bad habits of my dog. We rode up and down in the elevator to practice not jumping on the neighbors, we also did a lot of work with remaining calm when guests come to the door. Klara's advice was invaluable and I can't wait for the next 4 lessons! Only downfall is the Ahimsa website isn't very user friendly and it took awhile to actually get the classes booked correctly. Emailing directly worked best for me. read more

Wynona is a dog whisperer. I loved my puppy, but he was a jerk and I was having trouble with training. We did a series of classes with Wynona and she taught us how to train our pup, who is a master at commands now. She is amazing. read more

Ahimsa Dog Training - My baby, at graduation - Pet Training Near Me - Seattle, Washington

We love Ahimsa! We've worked with one of their private trainers and we're in the middle of their puppy kindergarten classes, and I'm happy to say we've seen impressive improvement in the behavior of our puppy. We have a cattle dog with a ton of energy and who is extremely clever. We were really struggling with how to approach our training him and how to strengthen our bond with him. Ahimsa made us feel like no question was too silly to ask and reassured us that everything we were experiencing was normal and not to worry. This organization is a great, great resource for new and veteran dog owners alike! read more

My wife and I got a new pug puppy this last fall and this place was recommended to us by multiple people. We signed up for puppy kindergarten, twice a week for 6 weeks, and just finished up the course. We were really happy with the trainers and the progress our little pup made and the tools they provided, and we even signed up for puppy elementary starting in a couple months! read more

Our baby lab puppy has become quite well trained via these puppy classes and socialization. We just took her to the Iaws (she is 14 weeks) and everyone was impressed with her behavior and her interactions with the other dogs she interacted with. I would recommend Ahimsa to anyone needing to train their puppy. read more

We took our dog to Fear and Aggression 101 (required for Growly Dog) and Growly Dog. Three things stood out to me from these classes. 1. For these classes, you fill out a long form with tons of information about your dog, then explain your dog's specific issues in class, then do a reactivity test with a dummy dog in the first Growly dog class. This seems like a lot of opportunity for the trainers to learn about your specific dog and his or her reactivity. Nevertheless, the trainers never seemed to understand my dog's reactivity issues. Every class I would try to explain again, and I would feel like I had made progress in communicating by the end of the class, only to show up to the next class and have to start all over again. The trainers seemed to think that dog reactivity takes one form and all dogs fall into that classification. These classes really deal with one specific kind of reactivity, and if your dog does not fall into that type, the class will not be very beneficial. Unfortunately, the trainers didn't seem to make any effort, despite all the information I provided, to see if their techniques fit my dog's issues. 2. I would regularly leave class not knowing what we were supposed to do and why. When I said that to the trainer during one of the classes in an effort to communicate that I needed clearer instructions and explanations, she said, "You can read about it in the book we gave you." Then why was I attending class? It seems pretty basic that you should leave understanding what they were trying to teach and why. 3. Ahimsa has one specific approach to reactivity training (BAT) and they do not deviate from it. In fact, they do not even acknowledge that there might be other ways to train reactive dogs. We've actually seen a lot of improvement over the years in our dog's reactivity using other methods, and yet we were told during the class that if we did not do the BAT setups we would never see improvement and our dog would never be able to walk past another dog on the sidewalk without reacting. In fact, our dog is able to walk past most dogs on the sidewalk without reacting. In contrast, when we initially tried to follow the mark and move instructions, our dog became more reactive to other dogs, because he thought reacting to dogs would get him a treat. After talking to my sister who has worked with a number of trainers for her reactive dog, we learned that there are ways to "treat" your dog without giving them food, like continuing the walk or allowing them space to avoid the other dog. We had to tell the Ahimsa trainers that we were absolutely not going to use food treats when our dog sees other dogs, because they were making things worse, and we had a lot more success by just calmly telling him that he didn't have to say hi to the other dog and giving him space. From talking to other people in the class, it seemed like other students were benefitting from the training, so I'm sure it's useful for some dogs. In our case, though, the training wasn't appropriate for our dog's specific issues, and that was never understood or acknowledged. read more