I can't say enough great things about Ricky. We have a Coonhound which is a very difficult dog. Ricky trained him and us and how to use the correct tools for proper training. It's like night and day with our dog. We are so happy we chose Ricky. We highly recommend! read more

If you've found yourself on yelp looking for the right dog trainer, look no further. EPT is simply the best! First and foremost the staff is genuinely so kind - at the consultation appointment I left knowing without a doubt we'd start Piper there. She learned so fast it was incredible. I was a little skeptical about pager training but Ricky explained everything so nicely & now I wouldn't want it any other way. It's so nice having the tools at home & confidence that she'll listen. We even took her to dinner with us the other night and she laid next to our table just like we'd hoped but never thought possible. I can't thank everyone at EPT enough! On top of getting amazing training, the dogs really have the best time there. Piper would come home happy & exhausted. On our way to training she's cry out of excitement the entire way. To be honest, we feel bad that her training is over & joke to each other that she probably dreams about pack walks. Luckily they have daycare now! read more

Ricky's passion and insight into our dog's psyche helped save our once very unpredictable/ aggressive doberman-mix into the best dog we've ever owned in just six sessions! Before Ricky, my wife and I would go back and forth almost daily on bringing our dog back to the shelter. She was such an issue that she would even turn on us for no known reason, at the randomest of times. These debates literally stopped after the very first session with Ricky, and by the last session, we have a completely transformed dog. Truly amazing. Our dog's go-to behavior is no longer aggression. She now looks to us with trust and respect for instruction and the proper response to situations that make her uneasy. If Ricky could turn our dog around, I have absolutely no doubt he could do the same for yours. read more

Our Pitbull Ranger came into our lives in December. He had minimal previous training and mostly was out of control with pulling, jumping and taking off. I've had several dogs in my life and have been successful in their training but Ranger was a different story and I knew we needed help. Ricky's program is easy to understand and follow. His enthusiasm had Ranger immediately engaged and it's obvious that Ricky is committed to the dog's success. After our series of sessions, we had the tools to continue working with Ranger to improve his behavior everyday. Homework and consistency is a must. I definitely recommend Ricky and Elite Pup Training. read more

We can't say enough great things about Elite Pup Training! The first month we had our dog, she was shy, quiet, and timid. Then, she got comfortable and her personality completely changed - she was suddenly extremely protective of our home. It was nearly impossible to have guests over for months after adopting her. I was brought to tears more than once because I thought we would have to return her to the shelter. She was lunging, barking, pulling, and trying to attack our guests - it was a nightmare. Prior to calling Ricky, we paid for an evaluation with another highly rated trainer in town who wouldn't come to our house even though we expressed that our home was where the bulk of our dog's issues stemmed from. That's when we called Ricky, and right form the start we were blown away with his knowledge, compassion, and professionalism. Ricky's first evaluation was free AND in our home - yay! Now, we have completed 6 in-home training sessions, boot camp (where our dog lived with Ricky for 2+ weeks), boarding at Ricky's, and follow up in-home training sessions. Yesterday, we had guests over to the house and followed Ricky's protocol that we learned just a few days ago. It was like we were working with a different dog - absolutely amazing! She is so much more relaxed now that she knows we are in control and that she can trust us. Our dog used to try and attack Ricky every time he came over, and now they have a wonderful bond and they can't wait to see each other, it's really adorable. Ricky truly understands dog (and human) behavior and he isn't afraid to try new methods or approaches. He has empowered us with the proper tools and training to advocate for our pup and strengthen our bond. Ricky (and his wonderful fiancee Vanessa!) are amazing and worth every penny. We highly recommend Elite Pup Training, and we can't wait to continue working with them as we perfect our pup's behavior. read more

I came to Ricky after my adopted Malinois puppy Riker started to develop a serious aggression problem, especially when meeting new people. After just a few of sessions of pager training (as much for me as for my puppy!), I had the tools and confidence to shape my Riker's behavior - and while my puppy is a work in progress, he's doing great! I highly recommend Ricky & his amazing team! read more

Ricardo was recommended to me highly by a friends friend. I have an 11 month old pit mix. He is pretty smart and in all respects "a normal puppy" but a LARGE, STRONG, EXTREMELY EXCITED PUPPY who has no clue how large he is. My hands hurt from walking him and he gets sooo excited at the beach he charges other dogs freaking people out and his bark when i leave him in car is shrilling. Needless to say with two kids and another dog I signed up for way more than I realized. I finally gave in to the idea of ordering an E-collar - after testing it on myself I realized I had better learn how to use it properly so he doesn't get hurt and so that I can efficiently and productively train him. I called Ricardo and told him I wasn't sure I had the means to pay for training and explained my struggles. He told me is main goal was to make sure I could efficiently and safely train my puppy and that the orientation was free of charge and would get me on my way-- he also shared valuable re-sources to look into. The session- Ricardo is so nice, amazing with explaining and the dogs. I learned SOOO much in that session with him and have already made progress within the two days since then. I will hire him again once I master the first set of lessons we went over- and to be honest if cost wasn't an issue I would literally have paid him for a package on the spot! I definitely suggest reaching out to him esp if you have a large strong willed breed like mine! read more

From the moment I spoke with Ricky on the phone, I knew he was the best person to help get our two sibling Leonberger puppies to be the great dogs they were meant to be. Sibling puppies are a challenge because they feed off each other. With giant breeds, it's important that they get under control simply because of their size. The first time ricky met them, he demonstrated how calm, assertive and positive behavior can help our dogs succeed. And, that's his focus. Helping us help our companions succeed. What that really means, is training the humans! After even just the first hour with Ricky, we had learned how to behave with them - differently than we were previously doing. They responded immediately. I highly recommend Ricky for anyone seeking to have a reliable, well-adjusted companion. read more

My sister met Ricky at Douglas Preserve at the time we were not looking for a dog trainer, But my sister got a business card from him and thank god she did, We decided to get a trainer for our 2 year old Husky Miklo! He was a handful when taking him for a walk always pulling and just not listening, He was also very possessive and just straight up a brat! But Ricky helped me get my dog back on track taught us how to correct my dogs behaviors was always answering all of our questions, giving us tips on how to properly walk our dog with the leash! Ricky was so great for us because even my parents got to be part of the training sessions because Ricky explained to them what we were working on in Spanish! Yes habla español! Thank you Ricky it was great meeting you and I will see you around Bud! read more

Ricky is the absolute best. He is knowledgeable, compassionate, incredibly clear, and the most committed trainer I have ever met. He trains often at the Douglas Preserve and everyone there knows him and respects him tremendously. He has helped me with my rescue dog who is older and has some issues with socializing. He has made us both feel so confident moving forward and we can not recommend him highly enough! He is amazing. Thank you Ricky! read more

Ricky and his staff are amazing. Ricky is very knowledgeable, responsible, on time, and helped us immensely with various behavioral issues such as pulling on a leash, leash aggression, and recall. He has an amazing way with dogs! Couldn't recommend him more. read more

Ricky is a great trainer he helped my akita for free when I was really struggling with her.

My wife and I are experienced dog owners, but "Scout" was such a strong-willed and ill-behaved pup (10 week old lab) that we were thinking of giving her back to the breeder. After 2 sessions with Ricky, we had a completely different dog and fell in love with her -- she was no longer biting us all the time, and came to us when called. By the 5th session we had our dream dog -- the best behaved dog we've ever had. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. read more

I recommend Ricky Rojas and his team of trainers to any of my friends with dog behavior issues. Ricky is professional courteous and always on time. Best of all he got results with our dog. We have a nine-year-old pitbull rescue which Ricky helped train. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? Time and money well spent. Thank you Ricky! read more

Don't be fooled by these fake trainers in Santa Barbara claiming to be Dog Whisperers. Anybody can take and pass Cesar Milan't training class if they pay the money. Ricky from EPT has a TON of experience to back it up but that's not what makes him the best, it's his amazing intuition. Being someone who trains 100's of the most unwanted dogs myself, I rarely find dogs that are "too difficult" to figure out. When I do, I know I'm not dealing with an ordinary walk in the dog-park. That's when I call on the master. Ricky comes in, assesses the dog in just a few seconds, and tells me what I need to do to get instant results. Because other trainers take a long time to show results, they wind up costing more even if their hourly rate is less. Elite Pup Training is truly Elite compared to other trainers. You're hearing this from another trainer in Santa Barbara - so you know there's no hidden agenda. read more

This is one of the first times I have reviewed on Yelp and it is because of how amazing Ricky, as well as his entire staff have been with in helping our rescue dog over the last few months. We rescued a five year old mix (Staffordshire Terrier and Catahoula leopard dog) from a Foster home last October. We originally hired Ricky as our dog became increasingly anxious and fearful on the leash and finally ended up going after another dog on a walk. When we first met him he was sitting in a group of dogs and lived with dogs as well as going on pack walks so we thought he was good with other dogs. Since getting a new home his anxiety increased with loud noises as well as men entering the front door as well. We originally saw Ricky for four sessions once a week where he trained our dog to not be anxious on walks and be fine when other dogs were walking beside him or even coming at him when they were off leash. It was amazing how in tune Ricky was to exactly the issues our dog had and the reasons behind it. He instantly took to the training and was great ever since. Even the very first meeting Ricky brought his two dogs to meet our dog and instantly our dog was at ease with them due to Ricky assessing his personality and what he needed. A couple months later we saw our dog try and nip at a couple people when they entered our house which was out of character and it was with people he had always been fine with prior. We were going on a trip and Ricky at late notice fit our dog in for a week at his facility for dog boot camp to address his fear and anxiety issues as well as more training with other dogs as well. After that week Ricky came to our home for a drop off and to show us the training with the E collar. He listened to every command instantly and then Ricky showed us how to implement it all ourselves. Because he had gone so far in his training in just a week we agreed we wanted to do one final week so he would be at the best level possible. We have had a couple rescues over the years and love the Pitbull/Staffordshire terrier breed but know the responsibility that comes with that breed. As Ricky mentioned we want our dog not just to be "well trained" but an Ambassador for the breed to show how truly loving and wonderful they are even with issues they might have had in the past prior to being rescued. We have also had numerous trainers in different cities over the years and no one compares to how knowledgeable, professional and truly caring Ricky and his staff have been. We feel like it is a gift that we have found them. If you are looking for a dog trainer for any level of difficulty, Ricky is the best of the best and has probably saved many dogs from being given away by what he is able to do. I would give him 100 stars if it was an option ! read more

Our 7 month Aussie would behave reasonably well in the house but as soon as he got outside he would behave like a maniac, chasing other dogs, kids, bikes, imaginary friends, and he would never EVER come when we called him. Back home he'd sit, lie down, roll over be affectionate and loving but we'd begun to despair of ever taking him out to the beach, letting him off the leash, meeting friends at a coffee shop with him etc. because he was just too naughty. Our neighbor recommended Ricky. We used to comfort ourselves by thinking that at least her dog was *much worse* than our dog. But then suddenly her dog became perfect and made our puppy look like an (adorable) monster: We knew we needed help. As we were going on vacation anyway, we left our pup with Ricky for a two week 'boot camp' and when we came back he'd been transformed! Now he ALWAYS comes when we call him. He lies down happily in the house and snuggles with all of us without trying to bite our faces, he no longer tries to steal strangers' snacks at restaurants, and he heels perfectly. I'm wondering if he can do the same for our 10 year old son... Jokes aside, Ricky has been amazing, and we really appreciate the ongoing training the family has received as part of our package. Ricky is one of those rare dog trainers who's actually good with people, too. He intuitively understood how to connect with our introverted teen daughter to get her on board with the training process, and we love our dog so much more now that he is civilised and well behaved. Also big up to Vanessa, who runs the office and is incredibly organised, polite, and responds to all queries within hours. Highly recommended. read more

I just finished my eighth session with Ricky and I could not be more grateful! I have a siberian husky/german shepherd mix and he was A LOT to handle, especially because he had been in the shelter for so long. He needed a lot of help and Ricky helped me work on his behavior not just his obedience. Koba (my dog) has a ton of energy and is very anxious but Ricky taught me how to handle it and how to improve on it. Now I can take Koba to parks and he can be around other dogs which was not a possibility before meeting Ricky. He's even working on being off leash which is crazy! Thank you Ricky, I am eternally grateful for all the help and helping Koba be a dog! read more

Ricky is like the dog whisperer! He certainly knows what he's doing and he knows how to read dogs so well. We were having some behavioral problems with our pitbull and he helped us build so many skills to feel more comfortable introducing our dog to new people and dog friends. I did not know if I could bring my dog in public again without the chance of an incident and Ricky showed me how it's possible. He was very professional, always on time, patient and I would recommend him to anyone who wants help training their dog! read more

Ricky is absolutely the best. He is kind, personable, and most importantly an extremely knowledgeable and effective dog trainer. My 7 month old Goldendoodle was a love, but ran the show. We had been trying to train her with positive reinforcement only, which was not even coming close to being effective. I was a little hesitant about an e-collar but Ricky was able to calm my fears when he explained how it worked and after I saw how effective it was. Prior to training, my pup would constantly pull at the leash on walks, bolt any chance she got at the beach or Douglas, and it would take me 20 min to wrangle her when it was time to leave the dog park. In six sessions, Ricky was able to get my pushy puppy to come when called (even when it was away from something she really wanted like dogs to play with), walk beautifully by my side (with or without the leash and it very stimulating environments like walking down the stairs to the beach which she loves), and enjoy off leash play without running off when something interested her. You have to be willing to put in the time in between sessions to see good results, but I found the training really fun and a way to bond with my puppy. Ricky makes every session accessible, easy to understand and replicate, answers all your questions during and in-between sessions, and makes it fun. I have recently been stopped by other dog owners asking, "Wow, how did you get her to do that?"...The answer is Ricky. Training was absolutely worth the investment and I would do it all over in a heartbeat. Thank you so much Ricky!! read more

Amazing!!! We had tried out a couple of trainers in Santa Barbara and weren't very impressed, then we found elite pup training and from our very first evaluation with Ricky we knew that he was someone who genuinely wanted to help and is the best of the best at what he does. We did 8 sessions with him, and in just 2 months our English staffy/pit mix, Kinley has changed so much! Kinley used to be so scared of dogs from being attacked at a young age, she would always be pulling on the leash on walks, lunge at other dogs, wouldn't come when called, and was overall very unpredictable with dogs. Kinley was a challenge for us because she's very sensitive but also stubborn, Ricky knew exactly how to train her and most importantly he gave us the tools to make her results long term and not just a temporary fix. We are blown away by the results that we achieved in such a short period of time. She is a joy to take on walks now and we can take her to the beach, let her off leash with other dogs around and know that she will come back when called and has much better dog interactions! Our lives have totally changed, and we can't thank Ricky enough! read more

We met Ricky while volunteering at DAWG. He was the volunteer trainer educating us on how to best work with the animals. We were so incredibly impressed that when we bought our 7 week old Rottweiler, we contacted Ricky and agreed to a 6 session training. (and another one as our pup got older) What we quickly realized was that Ricky wasn't training the dog, he was training us! This was the most valuable training we could have ever received. Our pup will be 1 year next month and I can't tell you how many people tell us what a well behaved dog we have. While she has a strong personality and can test us, she is a loving and obedient dog. I personally was very reluctant to get a 'bully' bred dog but our training has given me the confidence to take care of her and the comfort to be around other big dogs. We actively promote Ricky and Elite Pup Training because we see the difference between trained Masters and un-trained ones. We highly recommend Elite Pup Training and suggest every family member be a part of the training. He is our local dog whisperer. He cares and loves dogs. read more

Ricky is gifted in training dogs (and their owners!). He has worked wonders with my young boxadore, who came to me from the SB county shelter and had significant impulse control issues. I highly recommend Elite Pup Training! read more

Ricky has completely transformed our nervous, aggressive dog into a confident, dog-friendly, obedient hound! Ricky is professional and knowledgeable. Truly he is worth the time and the money, we now have our dog "back" and are able to enjoy our Olive once again. Thank you for your hard work and dedication, Ricky! read more

Ricky really knows what he's doing. We ended up finding our dog through him and he really helped us through the transition period. He let us text with tons of questions and concerns through out the day and would always call us with answers, no matter how busy he was. He's dedicated and will definitely do what he can to ensure both dog and owner(s) are adapting to each other to make sure everyone has a happy home. read more

Ricky and his helper - BLUE - are very helpful and friendly. He has great techniques to train a dog, he understands them very well!

We hired Ricky to help us train a pit bull mix puppy about year old. The dog is very sweet but very energetic and difficult to handle around other dogs (though friendly). Ricky has been awesome so far. He has been patient and knowledgable with both myself and my daughter, who is the one who adopted the dog. There has been a remarkable change in Zeke and we look forward to our next few sessions with Ricky. I would recommend Ricky to anyone looking for help training their dog. read more

Our rescue dog was aggressive and did not respond to our attempts at training her. We were wondering if we had made a huge mistake, when a friend introduced us to Ricky. She ended up staying with Ricky for 2 months, and came back a changed dog. And Ricky made sure we knew how to keep the training going. He has made himself available to us any time since then. Our dog is now a joy to take anywhere and we don't worry about dog fights or biting. I highly recommend Ricky to anyone with dog issues. read more

This is a review that I have been excited to write because my experience was/is so amazing! After being a foster failure and adding to my dog family my pack dynamic changed. I have 3 rescue pit mixes. Although I love them to pieces they began to show aggressive behaviors towards my roommates dog and I needed professional help. I had heard the name Ricky Rojas a few times but knew I needed someone who could deal with 3 aggressive black pit mixes (we all know the black dog stereotype). After speaking to a few dog friends I called Ricky and it was the best decision I could have ever made. He arrived for our consultation and was patient and open to hearing all my issues. Throughout our training sessions Ricky continues to show that patient presence. Ricky was willing to help me in the environments that we struggled the most. He was/is always available to contact and ask questions. He always got back to me and gave me full and complete answers to my questions. I loved that he provided recaps and summaries of our sessions so I had something to refer to between sessions. Ricky provided doable training skills and not only taught my dogs life long skills but me as well. Ricky was/is always there when I needed him. Without Ricky, I'm not sure I would have been able to keep my 3 dogs due to their aggressive behavior. Ricky increased my confidence and education to give me hope that I can control and teach my girls what they need to know for life. I now have a confidence and a understanding with the girls that allows me to take them anywhere and interact with any dogs with success. I have recommended Ricky to other friends and they are equally happy with his knowledge and ability to communicate and teach dogs. I am forever grateful to Ricky for providing me the tools to keep both myself and my dogs safe, happy and healthy for life. Ricky will always be my go to for dog trainers! Ricky is the best!!! read more

Ricky is awesome. Good dude with a great attitude. Loves being around dogs and very good at training them obviously. His methods are very effective and easily the quickest way to achieving results. If you are like I was, fed up with a disobeying dog to the point of considering putting him/her back up for re-adoption, then please go see Ricky! We weren't able to use Ricky for more than one session (due to some financial constraints), but that session gave us hope and we are grateful for that session. Since then, we have been able to use the same techniques to turn our dog into a totally different dog, one that has become part of our family which we never thought was possible. It has taken a lot of work on our part, but without some guidance and hope we wouldn't have gotten here. Thanks Ricky! read more

We are the (now) happy owners of two rescued pit mixes. We've had them since they were weened pups, but they are from the same litter and have a deep, strong pack relationship. I'm going to be quite blunt and probably over-share here, but I think it's important to do so because it underscores what a huge difference Ricky has made in our lives. Our dogs, mostly through our laziness, developed some bad habits. As a pack of physically strong, prey-driven animals, they were becoming difficult to walk, difficult to have people in our home, and a destructive around the house. They were sweet, safe, and loving with us, could lay around with our kids, had never bitten anyone, or anything, but were just too overprotective and too high-anxiety with anyone or anything outside our immediate home environment. They were collectively, or alternatively, afraid of getting in the car, walking on tiled floors, anything with wheels, etc. They were starting to charge at the vacuum cleaner (instead of ignoring it, or at least running away), or would become impossibly frightened if the battery needed changed in a smoke detector. They had dug up the entire back yard, desperate to get to the gophers. They would do things like bust out through the front door (if I held it open to talk to someone) to chase after a dog walking across the street. They broke the front window because someone walked in front of our house with a dog...it was getting stressful. Ricky straightened it all out through an intensive boot camp experience. He is a serious professional who is passionate about what he does. And he will be straight up with you about what you and your dogs need. Our dogs love him to death, but also know he means business. Not only are they well-trained now, but most importantly, so are we. Ricky has taken great care to customize our training to our specific and vast list of concerns, and to include our entire family in the learning experience (he's great with kids!). This experience has greatly improved our enjoyment of our pups. Every single person who comes to our home sees the difference and expresses their amazement. My neighbor, who would not come near our house because of her fear of them, will now hang out and have coffee with me. They are truly new dogs. There is not enough high praise to express how much we appreciate what he has done for our family. If you, or anyone you know, has a dog that has persistent problems or seems hopeless, this is the man to call. read more

I met Ricky while I was volunteering at DAWG. I was impressed with his ability to customize the training solution to the issues at hand, instead of the one size fits all solutions I had been presented with two other trainers I had worked with previously. With the other trainers, I felt like they weren't listening to me, so were unable to work with me on identifying his triggers and then correcting those responses. My boy was so sweet 90% of the time, but if the right circumstance presented itself, he was unpredictable and would bite. I became scared to take him out in fear for his safety and the others he may be a danger to. Ricky immediately recognized his fear aggression, the triggers that brought it out, and then we began the process of making us both less fearful and more confident. Sadly, my boy recently passed away; however, due to Ricky, for the last year he was able to enjoy dog parks off leash, meet numerous other dogs without fear, and many weekend jaunts downtown to dog friendly patios. I am extremely grateful for the quality time Ricky enabled us to have. I highly recommend him. read more