Absolutely Life-Changing Training Experience with Karyn Garvin! We cannot say enough wonderful things about Karyn Garvin and Garvin's Divine Dog Training. From the very first session, Karen's deep understanding of canine behavior and her calm, confident approach put both us and our dogs--Gracie and Stevie--completely at ease. Karyn worked with us on both obedience and behavior training, and the transformation has been nothing short of amazing. Thanks to her guidance, we can now take Gracie out in public with total confidence. She listens, stays calm, and responds beautifully to commands--something we honestly didn't know how to achieve before working with Karyn. What sets Karyn apart is her truly integrated approach. She doesn't just train dogs to obey commands--she taps into their natural desire to connect and please. With patience, insight, and positivity, she helped bring out the best in both Gracie and Stevie. It's clear that Karyn truly understands dogs, and her training methods are both compassionate and incredibly effective. We are so grateful to Karyn. If you're looking for a dog trainer who will treat your pet like family and help you build a lasting bond based on trust and respect, look no further than Garvin's Divine Dog Training. Karyn is simply the best! read more

We thought we knew dogs, having raised them for years. But when our daughter's job took her to a big city with a small apartment, we found ourselves struggling after adopting her dog. He's always been a great with us, but he was getting more and more aggressive with our neighbors and other dogs we would meet on walks or when people would come over. He's a rescue and DNA testing revealed pit, boxer and rottweiler in him. After a few close run-ins, we were at a loss on how to handle him and always anxious when we'd take him out. We decided we needed professional help. Met one trainer who came to our house, charged us $200 to basically give us a sales pitch and didn't even bother to meet our dog - we knew he hasn't the guy. Fortunately, we found Karen's number and had a good feeling when we talked over the phone. We had a follow-up in-person intro session and knew soon into that lesson she was the one for us so we signed up for a 10 session plan. And we are so glad we did. It's truly remarkable what she taught our dog and perhaps just as much, us. She always had well-thought out lesson plans that she would adapt to focus on our areas of concern. She took a holistic approach and spent a lot of time discussing tools & strategies with us that were perhaps just as helpful as the specific obedience training she did with the dog. She was always caring and humane, but also pragmatic and focused on results. By the end of the sessions, we were able to take him to the pet store where he was well-behaved around other dogs there. That was something I didn't think would ever be possible with him. Of course, he's still a big, intimidating dog. He's not a golden retriever, we still need to pay attention with him. But now we feel like we have what we need to avoid or de-escalate situations that before would have blown up on us. For "graduation", we did an outdoor hike with some big male dogs he just met. It was wonderful to see him able to enjoy the walk and be around other dogs without his hair constantly standing up or barking ferociously. Karen really knows what she's doing. We're so grateful she was able to help us get to a much better place with our dog. read more

We adopted our little terrier from Hope Animal Shelter and within a week decided it would be a good thing to have Ziggy meet Karyn Garvin. We'd heard good things from friends and decided on a one-on-one session. What a great decision for all of us! Karyn spent a great deal of time observing and talking to us about Ziggy. I remember one of her first comments: "You've got yourself a watchdog." With that, we now understand the task before us and have realistic expectations of what our life with Ziggy will be. Towards the end of the session she demonstrated how to teach him to sit, stand, and go around. Then she asked my partner and I to do the same thing with Ziggy so we could continue this training at home. One of our friends asked if Karyn was a "dog whisperer" and I answered, "Yes, she is!" I was amazed at how kind and respectful yet firm she was in relating to Ziggy. She contacted us a few days after our visit to see how things were going. We appreciated that follow-up. We plan on going back again for another session with Karyn in a couple months. While she also offers classes, having this time with her and our dog alone feels the best for us. We look forward to returning and learning how to make our life with Ziggy the best it can be. read more

Garvin's Divine Dog Training - Ziggy with Karyn - Pet Training Near Me

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Karen is certainly out there. We hired her for a consultation due to our dogs aggressive/erratic behaviors. Diet - she wanted us to feed them a variety of fruits and vegetables, just like a person gets. Digging holes - save the poop for several days/weeks and then fill in each hole with the dog poop. (Instead of discouraging digging, we actually had concentrated poop all over the place now. The dogs went crazy for it.) Clawing a hole through the drywall in our garage, right next to the doggie door. - Karen said the dogs were digging a portal to another place/dimension. Family time - dogs are not allowed on the carpeted areas so Karen suggested that we insert a couple screw eyes into our living room wall so that the dogs could be tied up and closer to us. All of this for $100. Actually, a wasted $100. read more

A poor business person. Karyn came out to the house to interview the two dogs and the one being a puppy. She spent about two hours or less. She said there would not be a charge at this time because she did not spend quality time. We signed up for her special training rate, which we had to pay in advance. Karryn said she would contact us to set up a training schedule to coincide with our time frame. She got into a car accident and would have to get back with us at a later date. After numerous phone calls/emails and FIVE months later and a thread to contact our attorney, Karyn finally answers our email. She wanted to set up training. We said no thanks. How can we trust her? Just send our deposit money back. Karyn did return our deposit money less the two hours of No Charge Cost from the initial visit. read more

Karyn is making a huge difference in the lives of our two little dogs, and our lives as well. Our newly adopted 2-year-old guy seemed to be having trouble adjusting and displayed what we thought were fear-based behaviors. Not only were those behaviors quickly gone, thanks to Karyn, but so were our 5-year-old guy's worst anxious habits, which we'd assumed we couldn't do anything about. Both of our dogs love "going to school." They've learned so many skills from Karyn over the past couple of months, but the most important change we've seen is an overall increase in security and well-being, especially in our new buddy. He went from a hypervigilant pacer who woke up at night barking in fear to a sweet cuddlebug who trusts us completely. We're all so much more relaxed now, and practicing what we learn in class has become a daily bonding routine at our house! read more

Karyn came to our house to help us with our adorable but rambunctious and somewhat naughty (destructive) 2 year old lab mix. She started by asking a lot of questions to really understand all our issues and their magnitude. Then she took them one by one and offered suggestions for how to deal with each issue, also explaining relevant issues about a dog's innate (and learned) behavior. She also gave us a copy of a book she just published, her third. I had heard wonderful things about her, and now that I've met her, I can say there is probably no one in Tucson with more experience with dog training and animal behavior. She had a calm, low key presence and I am most anxious to start using her training techniques. One of the most reassuring things is that she was very clear that he is not a bad dog; he is just a dog. As the humans we have to take responsibility for letting him know what is acceptable and what isn't. And Karyn has given us the tools to know how to do that. I will report back how things are going in a few weeks! read more

Karen has met with me and our two dogs twice. She has solved 2 years long problems. We are looking forward to continuing to work with her. She wears a mask and is cognizant of safety during this pandemic. She communicates respectfully with the humans in my family and is insightful about our fur family. If you want your dog(s) to bring more joy to your family, work with Karen. read more

Just had an hour and a half session with Karyn. WOW! We have three dogs sadly in need of training and she spent time to get to know us and pinpointed what we could do. We learned more about our dogs, our training needs, and ourselves than we thought was possible. She listened. She took notes. She demonstrated. I am totally impressed how she was able to vocalize some of my fears and concerns. She didn't say she had THE answer...she gave us options on what we could try. I am so excited to start this training. She is very personable and very knowledgeable about dog services in Tucson. I will definitely recommend her to friends and family. Andie & Rudi Graessle read more

She knows dogs but be ready for a HARD SELL. When I did not buy her $1,000.00 + package, she became angry and told me I owed her $50... just to come in and have my dog "evaluated". BEWARE. read more

My dog Schotzi came to Karyn's as a 5 month old puppy for Boarding and Training. After his training was complete he went home. After a few weeks there were major changes in his family and he needed a new home. I was able to adopt him and that made me very happy. Now almost 5 years later he is still the dog of my dreams. He is an obedience demonstration dog and a certified Therapy dog. He makes my everyday better just being able to be with him. I am so thankful to Karyn and her staff for bringing Schotzi and I together. I have seen Karyn work with many dogs. She is truly "Tucson's Dog Whisperer" She just has an amazing ability to understand and work with dogs. I highly recommend her. read more

Hands-down the best dog trainer I've come across, and I've been around dogs my whole life. Highly recommend Karyn's integrated approach. Her knowledge and love for the dogs' well-being is overwhelmingly apparent. She can teach the dogs (and you) just about anything from agility training to service training. She's smart, attentive and incredibly caring. In under a year-and-a-half, our 90lb puppy is hiking/camping off leash (e-collar of course) and rolling left and right for just about any treat. He's been left uncrated alone in the house since about 6 months. Do yourself, and your dog, a favor and get in touch with Karyn. I'm sure glad we did. read more

God gives us hurdles every day so that we may grow and learn. My hurdle was the incredible dog I purchased 9 years ago. Oh, the lessons were mine, not hers. Moria of Garvin & Associates is the best! My class was filled with others like me who struggled with the pets they loved. Moria worked to retrain all of us so that we could live in hamony with our beloved dogs. Thank you, Moria and Garvin & Associates. read more

Karyn has trained me since I got my first dog 25+ years ago. My daughter just moved out and has adopted a new 10 month old boxer mix! He is adorable and friendly but has no manners! Karyn spent time learning about my daughter and her her pup and their relationship. Then she helped my daughter become more confident and within 1 hour she was able to walk her pup on a loose leash. She is the best trainer I have ever worked with and knows her stuff! I recommend any dog owner meet with her to get insight on how to communicate your wishes to your dog and have the best possible relationship with your pup. read more

We met with Karyn last week with our 2 dogs who are 1 and a half and almost 1. Our biggest problem was that they don't walk on the leash without pulling. We spent 2 hours with her, about an hour on the leash training and they are completely different dogs on their walk! I used to say walking the dogs was the least fun part of my day and now I love every minute of it! She is truly a gift to the dog world! We can't wait to go back and start our obedience training with her after Christmas! After seeing her demonstration with 4 of her 6 dogs, we were truly amazed and want the same for our household! We highly recommend Karyn! Our only regret is we didn't go sooner! read more

Karyn came to our house several years ago after we adopted a Siberian Husky from ASHRA here in Tucson. Our dog dynamics around the house were just too much to deal with and our older dogs were being beat up by the younger dogs, etc. After talking to Karyn, we enrolled in the dog obedience training with two of our troublemaker dogs and it really did make a difference. I learned a lot and also learned how much animals react to humans and how much they sense our anxiety and fear. I was actually creating a lot of the tension. It was well worth the investment! read more

Karyn completely helped my rescue dog! I came in with my dog who was about a year and a half. He was always friendly with other dogs but as a rescue, had a lot of problems with humans. My Dog Before training with her: - Extremely Scared of people, would not even move if a stranger took his leash. Would bark and growl and any person coming by. -Couldn't be crated, he would escape all sorts of crates -If left out of a crate, would chew the door frame at the front door and pee from being so anxious -knew a few basic commands My Dog After training: -Not as scared as people, he lets other people pet him, walk him. He doesn't bark at people anymore, still slightly nervous- but it will always be in his nature -Not crated still, but doesn't pee in the house anymore or tear up door frames. He sleeps all day like any normal dog! -Knows plenty of commands, if told to go to his spot, he will go and sit there until you say its okay to get off. He doesn't pull on a leash, he can heal, come, stay with distractions etc. Karyn not only trains the dog, but she trains the owners too! She explains what the dog's nature is and how a dog would react to you stepping with your wrong foot or holding a leash too tight. Changing the behavior of the owner instantly helps the dog's behavior! She is very personalized and understands the innate nature of your dog and tailors personal lessons this way. Once the dog has learned the basics in a personalized setting, the group classes were wonderful too. The added distraction! I would recommend her for any type of problem with any type of dog! read more

I really don't know what to say, other than Karyn saved me. And she did it remotely, on skype, in an hour. Did I have a lot of work to do? Yes. The changes weren't overnight but everything she said f'ing worked. I have 2 daushunds both 11 years old. One I've had since 12 weeks old and the other since 6 years. They were both crate trained and it was just the way it was- it was all we all knew. One of my dogs about a year ago started peeing in his crate. It escalated to trying to escape a few times and then within the last 2 months he has eaten through 2 crates and howls for 8 hours straight when I leave. Needless to say I was on my way to getting evicted. It got to the point I couldn't even leave my house to go to the gym for an hour. I was bringing him to pet sitters and losing my mind. Heartbroken that I tried everything and nothing was helping. Long story short- not only did the advice Karyn gave me work- it superseded my expectations. The energy has shifted so much in my home that now I don't even crate my other dog. They are so well behaved, no barking, no howling- they don't even beg for food anymore. It's a miracle. My advice would be no matter how crazy the things Karyn tells you to do- just friggen do them. Bc they work. Best $115 phone call I've ever made. Karyn, if I never marry- you'll be in my will. Hahah. Thank you for changing my life and bringing love and peace back into my home. read more

We got an Australian Cattle Dog, and knew the breed very well as we had two others prior to this one. This one turned out to be the dog from hell. He was still a puppy, but showing signs of aggression toward other dogs and us. We have had dogs all of our married lives of 52 years and love them as part of the family, but this one was really trying us. We contacted our vet clinic and they gave us two names. We called both, and Karyn called back first. We think that was God guiding us to the right trainer. She is a miracle worker. We trained with her together, and she she also worked with our dog one on one. He is a different dog now. He absolutely loves her when he see4s her, so we know that she trained him with compassion, but firmness when needed. She really cares for the dogs she trains and wants to make their lives and their owners lives better. We cannot thank her enough for what she did. She saved our dog's life, as we have never surrendered a dog, but he could have been our first. We cannot thank her enough. I would recommend her to anyone who loves their dog, whether they are having problems or not. She is wonderful. read more

I consulted with Karyn about my foster dog who is extremely shy. Within a short period of time, she had him cooperating and performing a new behavior. It is my plan to have Karyn assist me with improving cooperation with my whole pack. I also recently took a seminar from Karyn and found it to be interesting and helpful. read more

I didn't pick my dog Daisy, I inherited her from a break up. But, I have always loved her. She is half Pit Bull and half Boxer. I guess I watched too many news stories, and the Pit Bull part made me nervous. Whenever I walked Daisy, I was always concerned others would be fearful of us. Because even though Daisy is part Boxer too, there is no mistaking she is a Pit Bull. Well, these thoughts definitely created a self fulfilling prophecy, as they say in world of Psychology. I believe she sensed my fears and nervousness and she started developing aggressive behavior towards other dogs. It got so bad, that I considered re homing her, because I got so nervous and stressed about walking her. But, the thought of giving her up, would make me cry my eyes out, and she was so loving in every other aspect of our lives. I knew there had to be a better solution. Then I found Karyn Garvin and her Integrated Approach, and things turned completely around. I know this might sound a bit dramatic, but one session with Karyn and it was as if she had taken my old dog and switched her out with a new one! I realized Karyn had to change my behavior, and that is exactly what she did. After she discussed my situation and explained things to me, it all made sense. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would have never believed that literally in a few hours of working with Karyn, I walked my dog, by numerous other dogs, and she was completely well behaved. I seriously wanted to cry, and kick myself for not calling her months sooner. I would have saved myself a lot of stress. I was even a bit skeptical, that maybe after Karyn left, my old dog would come back. But, as long as I follow the instruction that she gave me, Daisy and I go for walks now, without any fear or stress. THANK YOU KARYN, and Daisy thanks you too, for teaching her mom how to be a good dog owner! read more

What an awesome experience we had with Karyn teaching my Dog Spencer a few more commands. We were getting ready to fly to NY and do a road trip back with my Fiance' car. My Chocolate Lab was 80% ready, but needed a few pointer's. Karyn suggested a Halter which made all the difference in the world. My Lab is 7, and is now my Therapy Dog and can travel with me anywhere. We had no problem what so ever making 2 connections out of TUS and doing a road trip back with Spence. He was perfect!! I highly recommend Karyn, she is truly a Dog Whisperer. Thx so much!!! Chara read more

Our dog Rocky graduated from Obedience Training, Agility 1 & 2 Training through Garvin's Dog Training Center. Karyn and her excellent staff "trained" us in how to transform Rocky's agressive behaviors into manageable, obedient behaviors. Once he graduated from Obedience, we began taking him to Agility training, where he graduated from the 1st level and 2nd level. We can now take Rocky to the dog park, on walks in the neighborhood and on mountain trails, into stores, without incident. We utilized "tools from the tool box" in our training and are so happy with the results. Rocky was a dog we were looking at giving away because we thought he was too aggressive, but it really wasn't him, it was us as the owners who needed the training and tools to help him become the dog he is now. We are so grateful and appreciative of what Garvin's did to help us keep Rocky in our home. I really could go on and on. Don't hesitate if you have doggie troubles, call Garvin's and receive quality training! Lisa Schroers read more

I could not have been more pleased with our experience with Karyn Garvin. She took the time to really get to know my dog and understand the best ways to teach him. In just a few lessons he learned so much. In addition, she took the time to learn about Max's family and what was important to us. This really personalized the training to our dog and our home. Plus, I learned enough to continue training with Max on my own. And, very important to his family, Maxwell loved everything about the training. read more