We were looking for a dog trainer for our 2-year old male Samoyed (Mishka) who seemed well behaved enough after attending group obedience classes. But after a while, Mishka developed a tendency to bark and be reactive while on leash. We tried another private trainer in the area before Dean, but the trainer's philosophy was to essentially bribe the dog with treats without really changing behavior. We didn't love that, so we kept looking for trainers and found Dean. We had a few private lessons with Dean before moving onto group classes. At first it seemed like the training Dean was teaching us wasn't really relevant for our problems with barking/leash reactivity, but we were wrong. Dean's training ended up being the foundation for perfect doggy behavior, and Mishka's barking/leash reactivity went away essentially as a side effect of the training. Although it was tough going through the training process, we are happy with the results and 100% would do it all over again. It's challenging to learn Dean's technique at first, and he does have pretty high expectations. But we pushed through, and we came out the other side with a well-behaved dog who walks right beside us on walks, pays attention to us, and who we trust him to be calm around other people and dogs. Not only is Mishka happier (less anxious) but we are too, and we feel confident in addressing any behavior problems that might show up in the future. Also just want to shout out to Dallas, who was the best and always gave us helpful tips to improve! read more

BEWARE OF THIS BUSINESS .... $300 down the drain and they won't refund or return my calls or texts. In January, I contacted the owner Dean about helping me find a breed of puppy that is hard to find. I told him I'd already done my research and was speaking to a couple of breeders outside Texas and that everyone in Texas does not have any puppies available in the near future. After 2 phone calls, Dean - with his big vibrato, told me he would help me search and find me a puppy for $300 (which would include locating a puppy and a first kennel training session once the puppy is home.) after I paid the $ he went quiet. I only heard from him 1 more time - when I CALLED HIM a week later to ask about any progress. He told me he emailed the 2 breeders I was already in touch with and he had asked around Texas and that there are no puppies available in the near future ( which I had already TOLD HIM.) I contacted the 2 breeders he said he emailed (mostly because I didn't know what he would say and worried his bold personality might be off putting) and they both said they had NOT received any communication from him, at all. So, I gave it a few weeks and decided to text Dean a polite professional text asking for the return of my $300 since he did not in fact do anything. .... His reply... NOTHING ... so I resent the text and called his # and left a message a few days later ... NO REPLY. Dean just ghosted me after he swindled me out of $300. Bad business person, aggressive personality, con man. I do not recommend Dean or Club Canine read more

See all

When you pull up and see the 2' tall weeds/grass you'll start to question things (20 bags of mulch delivered 2 years ago still there). If u make it in you'll wait so long, as the one angry lady does the work of three people. After 10 minutes you'll wonder if ur invisible. Yes, read the other reviews, your dog will get Kennel Cough. Cost me $300 twice. The first year it was great. Multiple employees. Here is my real review, I called them at 4 pm Friday and was told 100% no issues for daycare on Saturday. 8 minutes before my hour drive is done I'm texted that I'm cancelled. I average 4 daycare days a week. $3500 in the last 12 months. Bye bye. Ha, I actually referred 5 people last year. read more

They use punishment-based techniques (jerking the collar). I highly recommend you to look for a dog trainer that instead uses treats and toys to reward your dog when they do something right, that uses and encourages head collars or body harnesses, that adapts the training method to each individual dog and that allows you to observe a session without participating, so you can watch the dogs and see if they are having fun. Their method is cruel and we truly regret we invested money and time to inflict pain and fear to our dogs. Dog training should not be this way, it should be positive for your dog to enjoy and actually, this jerking the collar thing they do to the dogs, can develop into serious problems of neck and spine over time. If the training techniques make you feel uncomfortable or scares your dog, run away from there, it's not the right place. If not sure where to start, always ask your veterinarian and I personally recommend you to read this book in the attached picture "Decoding Your Dog" by Horwitz, Ciribassi and Dale. I wish I had read it before taking this type of training for our dogs. read more

Club Canine - Pet Training Near Me - Houston, Texas

Where do I begin? Dean and the rest of the folks at Club Canine were truly our last hope when it came to our maladjusted 135lb Saint Bernard. Due to circumstances beyond our control as well as many of our own errors with our dog, she became fear aggressive. When you have a 135lb dog with aggression issues, you have to drop everything and try to address the problems. We tried other trainers who used food-based training which simply did not work. When we found Dean, we were desperate. Within just a few weeks, our dog was truly transformed. He did not sugar coat anything, which is exactly what we and our dog needed. Dean is as much there to train you as a dog handler as he is there to train the dog itself. We had to fully transform our way of interacting with our dog, and he made sure to firmly walk us through this difficult process. We had not been able to trim our dog's nails or take her to the vet in nearly 9 months due to her fear and aggression. After only one month of hard, diligent work, we were finally able to cut her nails without a muzzle or sedation. She is now interacting with strangers without barking or biting, and she loves to listen to us and follow commands. If you are struggling with a dog who may have aggression issues, please contact Dean immediately. He truly saved us and saved our dog!! read more

Club Canine - Maggie - Pet Training Near Me - Houston, Texas

Club Canine is not just your basic training facility for people who want to do a few commands and never think about "training" again. However, it IS for anyone seeking to build a healthy, confident relationship with their dog(s). Over the past 7 months we have seen our dog go from immature and impulsive to confident and enjoyable to be around. He's always been cute :), but he frequently peed when meeting new people, did not listen, and was insecure in social settings. Our dog can do so much more than we thought possible and so can I with the skills we've both gained by training with Club Canine! I'm inspired to continue training with my dog because we both enjoy the mental stimulation and challenge. It's exciting to see my dog respond to my praise and attention instead of treats while we train. I am grateful for the communication that's developed between us. One day I hope to do competitions and Club Canine will help me if I decide to pursue that hobby. They will truly meet you where you are. I would also like to note that during our 7 months of training, boarding, and daycare times at Club Canine I have seen dogs of all ages from a large variety of backgrounds make the same tremendous progress that we've seen develop with our dog, George. I love that young and old dogs can learn new tricks at Club Canine! read more

Club Canine was our last hope for an aggressive dog that we as dog parents had failed to help by being poor leaders at home. We tried two other trainers before, one a more strict board and train and a popular shock-and-train nearby and both failed to address our dog's aggressiveness. We were nearly at our wits end when our dog was aggressive with our dog walker whom he had seen every day for months. We were also unable to even go on vacation as no boarding place would take him. Dean and Dallas gave us all the tools we needed up front on the first day to maintain a healthy relationship with our dog. It's a bit of a shock at first, especially for a pair of humans that love to cuddle our dogs, let them jump on anything, and sleep in the bed. We've had to adjust our attitude toward our dogs home life, and while it was tough, we have never been more happy at home with the dogs on the floor and sleeping in their own beds. Our dogs took to the attention based training right away. There are no treats to carry around, there are no shock collars to charge, just a leash and a chain, something you can keep on all day and always have ready. It's a lot of hard work (especially starting in the summer!) but it has paid off a lot already. Our aggressive dog responds to our new found leadership and we're able to keep him under control in situations we knew him to be uncomfortable in. He's still got a ways to go, but it's night and day over other trainers who failed to address it at all. Club Canine runs regular in house training sessions, and they were always willing to come to the park and help us one on one. They respond to every call and text and they're always great to deal with. It's also great to have a place to board our dogs where we know they will get the proper attention (not a place run by teenagers.. like most boarding places seem to be). Definitely give them a try, and check your preconceived notions on dog training at the door. read more

The personal training style of Dean was a huge mismatch for us. We were told we had "failed the dog in our leadership" and were not asked any questions about his history while he came to our house. We paid a ridiculous fee to be insulted for 2 hours by a person who basically tried to give us the mindset that we were too ignorant and stupid to figure it out and that was why we needed him. I found one review on the internet that corroborated this horrific experience but found that it disappeared a few months later. I don't know where that review went but it must have been deleted, maybe like this post will be. I wish it could have worked out, especially since it costed us over $200 just to get the guy to walk through our front door, but it did not and I think for obvious reasons: training a dog is equivalent to training the owners of the dog. If you don't jive with the owners then you're not going to get very far with the dog. We found the personal teaching style to remind us perhaps to his professional background of a criminal investigator. It did not work out for us but we have found other avenues to help our dog (and us)! read more

We cannot recommend Club Canine enough! These trainers are exceptional in their knowledge of dogs and how to build effective communication skills with your dog. We would have been lost without their guidance. After trying two other training services in Houston to help us handle our anxious and aggressive German Shepherd, we still were not seeing results. Club Canine was our last resort - and the difference in our dog is night and day. Our pup went from an anxious, fearful and people & dog-aggressive dog to a focused, obedient, trusting companion. We wish that we would have started with Club Canine first! After a year and a half of training and pack socials with Club Canine, we ended up having to move out of Texas, and thanks to Club Canine we felt completely comfortable that our dog would succeed in any situation we put her in. And she did! During our move, she had to be around several other dogs and people as we visited family members, and she was great around them. She now knows how to focus, do anything we tell her to do, and she respects us - ALL without any treats. This is a complete 180 from her pre-Club Canine days. Club Canine not only makes your dog a better dog, but most importantly, equips you with the skills you need to be the best dog owner that you can be. We are truly so thankful for all that Club Canine has helped us with -- they saved us and our dog! Highly, highly recommend this group- they are the BEST trainers in Houston. read more

This place is great! Training really works but you as the human need to put in the work. Highly recommended for any kind of training

I cannot say enough about Club Canine! They have been a savior for me, my wife, and our English Bull Dog. After two unsuccessful attempts at obedience training with our puppy we had all but given up. Add to that some early signs of dog aggression and we were worried our dog would never be a social dog. The best decision we made was calling club canine. The owner, Dean, is very professional and knows dogs, bottom line. He has developed a system that works and not only teaches your dog how to behave but teaches the owner how to behave and lead their dog. Club Canine offers a customized training plan based on the needs of the dog and the owner. For us personally we had to go through 3 months of private lessons before graduating to the group classes. It took us that long to learn how to control our dog and work through his aggression tendencies. Dean and his team never gave up on us and we have a more social more controlled dog now. We are now working towards a canine good citizen certificate. If you have an aggressive dog, or just a dog needing some training, give Club Canine a call. You will not regret it! read more

Dean and Dallas did an amazing job transforming my dogs from aggressive behavior to always wanting to be together! I adopted a blind dog in October, 2016 after the loss of my 14 year old labrador. My 8 year old lab mix was lost without him. There were 2 minor incidences of aggression until January, when a friend's new alcoholic husband pinned my dogs' heads together on the ground causing my 8 year old dog to be aggressive toward the blind dog. Two weeks later, my blind dog was attacked by another dog pulling out of the leash on the walking trail. Two home sessions, a week of boarding and training, and a brief class when I picked them up resulted in the blind dog now walking vs. pulling the leash, and being able to walk past other dogs without barking and lunging at them. The aggression is a thing of the past with my dogs. I've never been on board with choke collars, so those were immediately removed and replaced with harnesses. I've continued reinforcing what they learned at Club Canine with modifications. My husband and I are happy with the training the dogs received! read more

We are such big fans of Club Canine. In just a few short months, Dean, Dallas, and the whole team have already helped us begin to transform our formerly skittish and fear reactive rescue dog into a confident girl who is now socializing with our friends and family and attentive to us in a room full of other dogs or distractions (things that used to trigger her). Club Canine's method requires a commitment from both you and your dog. You'll work on the skills every day and in the beginning things may feel restrictive before they become freeing in order to allow you to get a handle on your dogs behavior. That said, this program WORKS and even after a few short months we are seeing a remarkable improvement and the light at the end of the tunnel where the world will open up new possibilities to us as a result of all we (and our dog) have learned! I cannot recommend Club Canine and their team highly enough! read more

I wish we had known about club canine years ago when our dog family was growing. Unfortunately, we found out about club canine after a frantic search for "houston dog behavior help" when our loving pit rescue started attacking our other dogs. Our veterinarian referred us to Club Canine before suggesting we put him on some sort of medication. Some background: our family has 3 older dogs. Before I started training I would say "our dogs are not the best, but they are pretty well behaved!" which I quickly learned was completely inaccurate. Our house was a dog den (we considered ourselves very animal friendly) meaning dogs were on the furniture, and there were basically no rules at all. At the time we contacted club canine, our husky/lab Brigid was 9 (adopted as a puppy), our bernese mountain dog Daphne was 8 (adopted as a puppy) and our pit mix Damian was 6 (adopted at 6 months). These dogs had all been together for YEARS. Out of the clear blue in December 2018 Damian started attacking Brigid and my sister's dog who had previously lived with all the dogs 1 year prior. Everyone was okay and initially we thought "that was weird!" and moved on. But then it happened 2 more times and we were terrified. Our loving Damian had snapped and we had no idea what to do. 1 month later we had a consultation with Club Canine. My world was turned upside down. I had no idea the pack dynamic we had created was so unhealthy and breeding insecurity with all the dogs. I have never met people so attuned to animals and they really have the animal's best interest in mind. I repeat they have the DOG'S BEST INTEREST IN MIND. This is not a convenient, easy, comfortable, or feel-good process for the human. It is hard, and there will be times it does not feel good-- but like most things that are difficult-- it brought amazing change that was 1000% worth the time, effort and emotion. We were reminded that these dogs had years of experience engrained in them that would not go away over night. We worked with club canine for about 14 months. After about 6 months of dedicated, consistent work, we noticed a huge change. The dogs were more confident and calm. We now keep all dogs out in the house at the same time and there is 0 conflict. Damian has not had any acts of aggression with the other dogs in the house. We have taken all 3 dogs out to public places and they are behaved and confident. Friends who have known the dogs for their entire lives remark on the changes they see in the house and with the pack/family dynamic. The dogs are not only responsive to us but calm and happy. Our bernese mountain dog Daphne had always been more of a "loner," she would hide when people came over and kept to herself the most of the time. She didn't display aggressive tendencies but she had a serious confidence problem and wasn't getting the most out of her life. After training with club canine she is as social as most other dogs. She spends time out in the living room and will approach friends and company that visit the house. She is living a full life and we are getting so much from our dogs now because of this training. I cannot say enough good things about club canine and the trainers. Thank you Dean, Dallas, Don, Gabby and Caroline. You guys changed our lives. We are animal lovers and will always have dogs be apart of our lives but now we know how to give them full and happy lives. We will be back !!!! read more

Club Canine has been the best decision I have ever made regarding my dog. I have a 70lbs male Malinois-Pit who HAD behavioral issues (notice I used "had"). Though we are still in training classes because my dog is not at the level I want him to be yet, he has improved a lot (people who knew him before and after the training are surprised with the results so far). He was very dominant and protective around me and very nervous. He could not control himself around dogs (barking) or people near me and I could not control him under those stressful situations. Club Canine staff (Dean, Dallas, Josh, Don) is very friendly and helpful. They want you and your dog to succeed. Yes, the training can be very strict and hard sometimes (depends on your dog and also the owner) but it is worth it and you and your dog will enjoy it. I will totally recommend this place if you want a well mannered dog who listens and trusts its owner. P.S: Also they have an awesome 101 Dalmatians floating in the sky poster and that is always a plus! (Just kidding Dallas, it is not) read more

Dean and group trained all three of my Lagottos...that has been years ago...I always get compliments on their behavior. Great dogs. I have lost one and have two new puppies coming...Club Canine is my go to for great training and well behaved dogs... read more

My dog, Tango, loves going to day care at Club Canine. I feel so much better having Tango at day care where he is getting to play with other dogs and being socialized than locked up in a crate at home. Dean has been wonderful with him and has helped us with some minor aggression issues he had. read more

Our initial home visit with Dean was eye opening for my husband and I as well as incredibly stressful for us and our dog. I believe a sign of a good trainer is a happy dog and happy and inspired dog owners. After the visit, our dog was noticeably traumatized after being provoked and subjected to Dean's aggressive dominance tactics. It took a couple days for our dog to regain trust and open back up. My husband and I were super bummed that we had let the meeting go as far as it did. For the $200+ prepaid cost of this visit and his experienced bio, we hoped for the best and got the worst. Our dog is a young rescue who we've had for over a month. He has never shown signs of aggression and has done pretty well learning commands in the short time we've had him. We thought it would be good to get him in obedience classes so we could elevate his training beyond what we knew and make sure we were working well as a team. This was definitely not the right fit for us- like getting rid of an ant hill with a steam roller. Maybe it's a different story with super aggressive dogs, I don't know. I believe there are other effective ways to train animals without breaking their spirit. read more

We have a 7 year old weimeraner that had agression issues with people and other animals. Through Dean's training we have experienced huge improvements in our dog's behavior. We had tried several trainers before Dean that used food to encourage good behavior without any success. Our dog would behave as long as we had treats with us. Prior to training at Club Canine, our dog would go crazy when people came over and he would try and attack any dog that would get near him. He is now calm when people come over to our house and is tolerant of other dogs. We also don't have to worry about him jumping on people including us and staying off of furniture. I would recommend Dean as a trainer for any dog not just dogs with aggression issues. read more

Excellent trainer who takes the time and effort to educate owners and not just the dogs!