DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME. Use Koru training instead! I am beyond frustrated. I contacted Shane via his website form asking if he could train a dog who had bitten. I needed it for a PDA permit and explained the situation. He said he could absolutely help and wanted me to come down and do the training. I asked if we could speak on the phone first to make sure we were a good fit before I spend the money and time to bring my dog down. We played phone tag as he doesn't return calls on a daily basis or even every 2 days. After 2 weeks we finally connected and he acted like he had no idea what I was talking about then said he doesn't do training for dogs that had bitten in the past?! He specifically told me he could help with this in his email and that he would even send a letter confirming completion of the training. Then he changes his mind, said he couldn't help me and wasted 2 weeks of my time. So sounds like he only does easy training like commands. I can do that. Sit, stay, come and walk. I can't believe he doesn't do aggression or behavior training as his website and emails lead you to believe he does. Go with Koru training instead!!! This guy is misleading. Koru is very upfront and has many choices. They are awesome and do it all. In home, board and train, behavior, aggression, everything. All over the East Bay. They were wonderful and not misleading at all. read more

I LOVE THIS PLACE!! My dog used to go to pet dynasty but that place sucked. We had him trained by Shane at Diablo k-9 and we fell in love with the place. There is lots of space for your dog to run around. They get lots of exercise and attention when they go there. My dog is always happy to go and see his friends. read more

We met with Shane and he was great! We just wanted someone with experience to show us how to better walk and handle our dog. I had watched so many YouTube videos telling me to do this and do that and I was starting to feel lost. Shane was kind and patient. I can be a more nervous person and he showed me how to walk more confidently with my dog. He also showed my husband and I how to properly put on a harness to better control our dogs pulling. Now we just need to take those skills and continue practicing them on our own! read more

We had gotten a German Shepherd puppy at the start of SIP. No places were open for training and I needed to get my 3 month old puppy trained before I couldn't handle her. My boyfriend knew about the academy so I called to see if they were open. Shane was very responsive and was able to get Riley into a 2 week training program. Riley was so unruly, would barely listen, had a terrible nipping problem, and alway thought we were the toy. After being with Shane for 2 weeks she was a new trained puppy. Shane was able to lay the foundation for us. I can't thank Shane enough for all the training he's done with Riley. Riley loves training time now and listens to us. She's come a long way from her not being able to hold the sit position or even walk correctly on the leash to now being able to be in sit or down until we say free or walk with a loose leash is truly amazing. I would highly recommend Shane to anyone who's looking for dog training. read more

Diablo K9 Academy - Pet Training Near Me - Pleasanton, California

Shane is a fantastic trainer! I recommend him to anyone who is looking for a professional, patient and dedicated trainer for their dog. He is explaining us the reasons behind every aspect of the training, he is teaching us to view and understand actions and reactions from the dog's perspective. Shane is giving us clear examples for all the DOs and DON'Ts of the dog training. It's much easier to follow through with Shane's advice when training your dog when you understand "WHY" you should do things a certain way. We adopted a rescue amstaff and after only 2 training sessions with Shane, Bucky made a lot of progress in many ways. We will continue the training as we need to work more on socializing him with other dogs, but we are confident that with Shane's help, Bucky will achieve this, the most important goal for us. read more

I've owned big and small dogs for the past 30 years. I used different trainers so I thought I knew how to train dogs.....!!!!! I started to go to Diablo K9 about 2 months with a new puppy. Shane is the BEST trainer I ever used. He is caring, he has solutions for home challenges and I really like his training method. To socialize my dog Luc with other dogs, I also have Luc going to his day care. Shane knows all the dogs very well and keep attention to all of them. So happy I found Shane. read more

We are the 4th home for our sweet, yet previously very hard to control Newfoundland. Shane is the 3rd trainer we have worked with and he accomplished more with us in 2 sessions than the others did in weeks. I work in veterinary medicine and feel that I know dogs well, but through the training we have done with him not only am I more efficient at working with my own dog, but am better equipped to work with challenging patients too. I would give him a million stars if I could and look forward to continuing our work with him! Kala says thank you too, and is thrilled to have found her forever home :) read more

Shane is great! He reminds me of ceaser the dog whisperer. Our dog came home happy and obedient. Now we just have to do our part and work with him read more

I use to work at marine world USA 20+ yrs ago with the big cats and have some animal training background. I also interviewed multiple dog trainers for all price rangers. Shane was of the rock star caliber and work every penny. He keeps it real and makes it easy to understand. read more

I'm writing this review after getting home from my second training session with Shane. I have a 4 yr old tripawd GSD that is s total sweetheart but wants to run my household. She pulls on the leash, doesn't come when called, and several other common annoyances you see in shepherds. I was skeptical to get training for dog evacuate ive paid a lot of money elsewhere and it did absolutely nothing. I heard about Shane from my local pet store and I thought I'd give one last effort to get some additional help. All I can say is WOW. Shane knows his stuff. He is great with Luna and very personable with her and myself. He is very honest with you and sets realistic homework for you to practice at home with your dog. Even if I do something he doesn't like, he politely shows you the right way to do something. Dog training is school for the humans as much as it is for the dogs so I was happy I found a place that doesn't make me feel bad about my training skills, and isn't scared to tell me to do it a different and more effective way. Luna has make HUGE leaps and bounds in 2 weeks and she loves going there. Lots of dogs are there for daycare and they all are so happy and get a lot of attention. I will continue to take Luna for the foreseeable future and he will be my #1 choice when we get more dogs down the road. If you're reading this, don't debate any longer. Call Shane ASAP! read more

I worked with Shane several years ago with a GSD I had adopted that began to display serious aggression to people after we had him for a couple of months. Shane was professional and honest in his assessment of our Dog and truly helped us to do all we could for this poor guy. I was impressed with his skills and knowledge and he did help us in many many ways the year that we had our boy. Unfortunately, there are some issues that no one, no matter how good, can undo. I'm not sure what terrible atrocities and abuse our boy had been through in his past, but he was unpredictable with humans outside of our direct family. He had been found as a stray in a terrible area of LA prior to our adopting him and bringing him to NorCal. Sadly we laid him down to rest where he would never be hurt or hurt anyone again. I still cry every time I think of him, and it's often. Doing the right thing is never easy. Thanks to Shane for all his efforts and advice throughout our very sad situation. read more

We have had such an amazing experience with Shane for both of our dogs (over a 10 year time span). In my mind he's basically the dog whisperer. We've sent many friends to have their dogs trained by him and everyone who meets him agrees, he's pretty much it when it comes to dog obedience! Can't say enough about him and it only takes meeting him once to understand how great he is at what he does. read more

over the last 3 years i've spent so much money on different dog trainers around the area and my dog was still having multiple issues as far as behavioral and other things. some were actually getting worse. a part of me was just getting to the point where i was slowly giving up on ever getting him trained. had my first class with shane today and he was absolutely amazing. i can't say enough good things about him. what the other trainers couldn't accomplish he was able to not only make a break thru with my dog but explain it in ways that i could understand what he was saying. i'd highly recommend him to anyone looking for a great trainer. he's also reasonably priced for the amount you learn per class. i'm definitely going to be recommending him to anyone looking for a high quality trainer read more

We brought our Rottweiler puppy to Shane's Tuesday daycare/ training mostly because we needed to get her socialized, but also so we could get a full day in at work without having to work half days! She naturally was a shy dog, but after several sessions of Shane taking the time to work with her and slowly introduce her to energy appropriate dogs her confidence grew and she LOVES going! I was nervous to trust someone with my baby all alone for 7hrs but when you pull up the place is so cute, clean, and all the dogs are so happy and playing. Shane's style of training is more relatable than the private trainer we have, he understands the average working joe and gives suggestions of training that we can implement into our life. For training and daycare it can be pricy and it is hard to get a spot, but that just shows that he's worth the investment. read more

Shane is amazing! Just finished our first lesson and I couldn't believe how he handled our Jackson! He is such a calming influence and really makes you think about what you are doing to make your dog act the way he is! I am so lucky to have found such a great trainer! We were ready to believe our dog was not fixable! But with Shane, we have a new beginning!! Thank you Shane! Les and Rhonda read more

We have been loyal fans and clients of Shane since we adopted our beautiful Red Doberman puppy in July, 2015. We brought our new puppy as well as our crazy 1 1/2 year old German Shepard to Shane for training. Never have we met someone as knowledgeable and who works well with dogs as Shane. Have to continue this review later as have to leave to pick up the crazy Shepard and other dog at Shane's doggie day care,,,truly a gifted trainer. read more

Having concerns about our dog, we went to Diablo K9 Academy for help. Shane, the owner, was quick to judge and then offer suggestions that didn't fit the situation. This is an example of only two of the dozen or so interactions with Shane; Shane - "When does your dog behave this way?" Me - "when I walk him and he comes face to face with another dog" Shane starts laughing, then asks, " and you let him come face to face with other dogs?" Me - "No, not any more. You asked when the dog behaves that way and I gave you an example." Shane keeps laughing and shakes his head. Another example; Shane - " Does your dog act aggressive or scared?" Me - "He acts timid". Shane - "And you don't think timid is aggressive?". Me - "No". And that is the gist of the appointment. We came away with nothing of value to help our dog. As a service oriented business, it would be good if Shane can better relate to customers. read more

Shane was great! As a new dog owner I came to shane for some advice and he was awesome! So helpful and enthusiastic with his training you can really tell he loves his job! This was a short session but I learned so much already he was very helpful and did great demonstrations with the things I need to work on. He left me with a sheet with the commands so I wouldnt forget. Great guy and look forward to working more with him! If you need a trainers help hes a great choice! read more