What's the old saying, "better late than never?" In 2005 I brought my 1-year old aggressive, non-social, Rottie/GS pup, Ruby, to Kate Jackson and Jabula to get her on the right track. I adopted Ruby from a local rescue when she was 6-months old and it was evident that the first few months before I met her were extremely traumatic. Our "meet and greet" went horribly, as she wouldn't let me close, it took me 15 minutes to get her in the car, and she bit me in return. However, there was something about her and I knew we belonged together. I had a contract job in Hawaii early in 2005 that was going to require me to be there for the better part of a month, and I thought that this would be the perfect time for Ruby to get some formal training since I was going to have make accommodations for her car while I was away. Upon finding out about Jabula's 2-week "all-inclusive" program (or whatever it was called back then), I was ecstatic that not only would she have a place to stay for two weeks with company and activity, but she would get the formal training she needed and deserved. It was going to be hard to leave her behind, but after meeting Kate I felt comfortable leaving Ruby under her care. While in Hawaii, Kate sent me emails and responded to my questions about Ruby's progress. I was excited to hear that she was adapting well and learning how to behave. I couldn't wait to come and see her. Once I got home and was able to pick her up, Kate went over all of the training they did (place, heel, come, etc) in an hour long session with us and the results were remarkable! She was still definitely an Alpha, but she wouldn't instigate any altercation, played well with other dogs, obeyed all commands, and was much, much better around strangers that previously she wouldn't dare go around. Ruby passed in 2015 but she was the best trained pup I've ever had, and Jabula was instrumental in making that happen. read more

Jabula Dog Academy - Pet Training Near Me - Decatur, Georgia

if I could give more than 5 stars, I would. I've been a client of Jabula for at least 15 years. Our current dog, Lilly, has been boarding there a number of times. She stayed again over the Christmas holiday while we were out of the country and the canine flu made headlines in Georgia. Kate and her team did a phenomenal job keeping all the dogs safe and healthy, as well as keeping their owners up to date on the extra steps being taken, including the mobile vet who was on call. We love Jabula and their entire team of hard working dog lovers. Thank you!!! read more

Jabula Dog Academy - Lilly the wild child. - Pet Training Near Me - Decatur, Georgia

Can't even begin to tell you how great the 2- week puppy training program was at Jabula Dog Academy. I have a very sweet 6 month old Pomeranian and was having small training issues. Nothing huge-- but things that were frustrating as a pet owner. I've never had a puppy or a pet before so I wanted to make sure he started off with good training. I knew I had to leave town for Thanksgiving so I thought it would be perfect time to leave him for the camp. I wasn't sure what to expect but Alli was the first person I met there. She went over all the things he would be learning and got a good idea of where his baseline skills were. Right off the bat she gave me some skills on how to handle some of the issues I was facing. She was really terrific. Then the day finally came and it was time to drop him off for the his camp. The staff at check-in was incredibly helpful and made me feel very good about leaving him there. So I gave my final kisses (shed some tears) and caught my flight out of town. I should mention at this point, my dog is a little sensitive to things as he is only 4 lbs. Even the smallest things will cause GI upset. 2 days later after leaving town I got a phone call from one of his trainers that he was vomiting and not acting like his normal self. While it wasn't terribly concerning for a normal dog, for a puppy of his size the staff wanted to exercise caution and decided to get him checked out. While we still don't know what was exactly wrong with him (though likely some weird allergy or glucose shift) the staff handled it incredibly well by texting me and keeping me in the loop at every moment. It made me feel so much better that my little guy was sick with very competent people. When you are out of town, this level of care is what you can only hope for from a facility. Given his strange medical situation, the owner Gill wanted to keep a closer eye on him so proceeded with his trainings at her home. She went above and beyond the call of duty to take care of him and extended his stay a few more days to complete his training at her home. I should add she did this all over the Thanksgiving holiday which was so kind of her. She kept be updated with photos and videos and process updates throughout the whole two weeks. The best part is that I have a very well-mannered dog now. He's still his normal fun adorable puppy-self but with better house-training, and a baseline set of skills to build upon. Furthermore, I can already tell it has made our relationship better as he's much more loving vs. being suspicious and running away from me all the time. So thankful for Jabula Academy. It was the right decision and I would do it all over again. Looking forward to practicing his skills and getting him ready for his at-home visit soon! Just a very special thank you to everyone at Jabula Academy--- you all are very good at what you do. I am so glad I chose you! read more

Jabula Dog Academy - Pet Training Near Me - Decatur, Georgia

My vet recommended this place. Talked with Keenan and Maggie who both said they'd be able to work with my dog. Growling sometimes at strangers. Nipping at dogs after long day care day (no biting or contact). They recommended a 2 week $2750 stay, but said he'd need a temperament test which he passed today. NOW I'm told the $2750 is for a General Obedience class and of course they can't deal with specific issues. No thx. What a bait n switch. Can get this at PetSmart for 1/10 the cost. What an underhanded deceitful ripoff SMH read more

This place came recommended to us by our neighborhood animal lover facebook page. It does cost quite a bit more than Petco, but then again, you get what you pay for. My family (hubby,kids, dog, and I) met with Ali for a consult. I loved the idea of a consult so we could get an idea of things we can start doing with the dog. They also confirmed what type of lessons Biscuit would need. They watched her interact with the kids and gave us some tips which were wonderful since I have never had a puppy before. The location is not easy to see from the road when heading East on Avondale Rd, so you may need to make a U turn like I did. No big deal. The trainer was very knowledgeable and we look forward to our group lessons soon so our dog can stop jumping on the kitchen table and eating all of the kids toys. Seriously, she would eat my daughter's homework if it was in her reach. read more

Jabula's is my dog's favorite place in the world. She has been trained there and now is taking agility classes. We have been with them for 3 years. The staff is amazing and so supportive. It is the only place I will board my dog. read more

Unfortunately we did not have a good experience with their puppy skills even though they came highly recommended. One reason we chose them was because people told us they were good with kids. We wanted our 8 year old son to learn how to handle his new puppy. Our instructor seemed more annoyed than anything with our son. When i would ask her specific questions about behaviors we were seeing, she never really gave us an answer. This was our first dog as a family and we are now going to have to hire someone else or go to another class because all we learned in this class was to get Your dog to sit and lie down. And it is extremely expensive. Don't waste your money!! read more

We took our 5 month old rescue to Jabula for a basic obedience course. We were going to do the group class, but with our pup's biting issues, we opted for a private class. Ms. JD is amazing. I thought I was good with my dog, but when he wouldn't listen to me, she just calmly gave him the same command once, and he obeyed without question. The methods and curriculum are excellent and easy to follow. There is no hitting, just patience, common sense, positive reinforcement, and an attitude that helped me and my two young children (who accompanied me to a few classes) understand that dogs do not think like people, and if we want them to behave AND be happy with them, we need to treat them like dogs. The most important thing I got out of it was figuring out that I must always be the pack leader, and that my dog is happy when he has a place in the pack--even when he is last (these words are mine, not Jabula's). We will be taking our dog back for further training. I highly recommend Jabula for anyone who wants a happy, well-behaved dog. read more

I visited Jabula Dog Academy as one of the several ATL metro dog trainers I'd been researching for my recent rescue C.K. I adopted my basenji mix about a month ago and noticed she had some people aggression "reactivity" issues. She would bark, growl and snap when people entered my home or if anyone approached her. Also, if we were standing in an enclosed area like a hallway or an elevator, she would also snap. I'm the kind of person who likes to address problems immediately. So, I had put a list of potential trainers together and Jabula was one on the list. I had read the owner, Kate Jackson's, story in Voyage ATL about her Labrador Winston and it struck a chord with me because I was going through a similar situation. I'm the kind of owner who likes to spoil their dogs (within reason) i.e. annual vet visits, grooming, wellness plans, premium diets etc. I don't spare any expense when it comes to my four legged family (even with my last dog that passed away.). So, I'm happy to spend money on a GOOD dog trainer who first has compassion for the animal, is transparent about their methods and offers frequent updates.This place will cost you around $2100+ if you plan on doing board and train. Good trainers deserve to make a good living. From start to finish, I had a great experience. Shelby, their front desk manager, immediately answered my call and quickly scheduled me to meet the trainer Alli. Personally, when it comes to dog training, I think it's prudent to do what's best for the dog. I don't believe in one-size-fits-all solutions. To be transparent, Jabula does a mixture of positive reinforcement training with ecollar based training. However, if a client has a preference they're more than happy to accommodate. The board and train consultation with Alli was great. She didn't rush me and heard me out. She suggested I come to her dog reactivity evening class (which I did) to see her in action. The class only had one student who attended that night so although the training was good, I didn't feel like I got the most accurate representation of what to expect when my dog would return from their program. Because I'm anal when it comes to trainers, based off of some very hard lessons learned in the past, I demanded to see where the dog would be housed, and Kim Downs had zero problems giving me a tour of their boarding space. They kennel the dogs in a new Decatur location. I was told they were selling the farm in Loganville. At the end of it all, I decided on another trainer only because I wanted my dog to be housed in a home environment. But because I received such excellent service and no push back when asking hard questions and seeing the boarding space, I definitely recommend this place. A good trainer is hard to find when there are so many frauds happy to take your money and abuse your dog. Jabula is definitely not one of those, and I would certainly recommend them. read more

We boarded our 2-year-old Goldendoodle, Cooper, at Jabula over the Christmas holidays. Unfortunately, there was an outbreak of Canine Influenza during his stay. Fortunately, it was at Jabula because the owner Kate and her team went into full care mode and immediately isolated the affected dogs, called a vet to examine each, and quickly began administering medicine and care. Kate called us to inform us of the situation on the first day of the outbreak and to relate that she had been in contact with the State of Georgia Veterinary Medicine office and found that Canine Influenza was sweeping the Southeast. We were concerned but Kate assured us that Cooper was getting the best medical and kennel attention. She continued to call us with daily updates until we were able to return to Atlanta and pickup Cooper. She sent us home with full medical records, prescription medicines to continue his treatment and then called the following day to follow-up on how Cooper was doing. It is said that you can measure the worth of a person best when they are in crisis. The Jabula Team has proven to us that they can provide superb attention and care in the most trying of circumstances. read more

My puppy and I have done their puppy class and basic obedience classes and had Alli in each one. She was a very knowledgeable trainer and felt like we learned a lot together. We also do their boarding and daycare services. My pup always seems like she's excited (sometimes too much) to go in and see the people that work there. My only complaint that would be that there are limited class offerings for sports and classes other than obedience compared to a few other places in the Atlanta area. read more

They just raised the price of the two week class from ~$1500 to $2100-$2600. This will price most folks out, especially those trying to get decent training for an adopted mutt. I've heard good things, but now it's an unreachable luxury for anything short of a Westminster show dog. read more

We went to the basic obedience training course with Gill who was awesome. She was very enthusiastic about her job and seems to have a great understanding with dogs and is able to pass that understanding along to the people in the class. Each class has a maximum of six dogs which is a good class size. The point of obedience class isn't really to train the dogs, instead it's to train the owners who can then know how to train their own dogs. At the end of the classes our dog knows how to sit, lay, walk on a leash, go to his bed on command, and you can put food and treats in front of him but he won't take them until you give him the ok. Gill is also good about answering questions about individual animals. She knows that every dog is different and some may need different solutions than others. Overall I was quite impressed. read more

A friend recommended Jabula for dog training when it turned out that having two dogs was a lot more difficult than having one dog. Alli at Jabula is incredible. I rarely write reviews, but felt compelled to do so because she has gone so above and beyond to help us over the last year, and I am so thankful. She not only is an expert on dogs and dog behavior, but she's able to be straightforward and kind to their owners in a way that's non-shaming and very useful. I have come to entirely trust her opinions and judgments about caring for dogs, training for dogs, and selecting new dogs. She has been incredibly responsive, respectful, thoughtful, and professional. I can't recommend her more highly. read more

Very pleased with our experience at Jabula! We began with the Basic Obedience class and after class two, found that our dog's needs were not being met and that he required individualized instruction. Kim was incredibly accommodating and quickly set us up with a private class. Each lesson expanded on the last and were catered to address our dog's specific needs. By the end of lesson three, we left with great information and an action plan. Overall, it was a success! read more

About a month ago I met the potential newest member to my household, Moose. This is the first dog I have adopted in a long time and the foster didn't have much to say about him other than he was fine with her dogs. Since I was actually considering adopting him and not taking the time to foster and figure out his personality I knew I had to do something to get the personality figured out much quicker. A friend had told me about Jabula and how they did temperament testing on dogs. It costs about $70 and they run your dog through a battery of tests to see how it will react in different situations. I took Moose there and he passed with flying colors so I decided this guy is a keeper. A week after the adoption went through I had to head out of town for the weekend. I had already known that multiple friends had put their dogs through obedience class at Jabula and really liked them, but another friend told me they also did boarding at a farm outside the city and that for a bit extra they would also do training sessions with your dog. I had already planned to put Moose, a 120 lb great dane, through class since he doesn't know any training commands, but I decided this might be the best bet for him to get a little boost on training. I left him on a Friday and picked him back up on Monday. He was pooped. He ate his dinner and went immediately to bed, not waking up until the next morning. The next day I started rolling through the commands they had worked with him on and he was already sitting on command with a 30 second hold... pretty impressive for a stubborn pup that before I left would have to be prodded into sitting. We are now in basic obedience classes with Gill and Moose is kicking ass. The classes are once a week for six weeks and you learn multiple commands at each class. He is acing the commands he worked on while I was away and is a little slower to pick up on the new commands. Just tells you how much they did while I was gone and how good they are. My trainer Gill has been fantastic and constantly gives us tricks on how to get the dogs to listen and work. Keep in mind classes only work if you work with your dog outside of them. Hopefully Moose will graduate with honors in four weeks and then we will move on to off leash basics. The goal is to get Moose to be a well behaved and happy pup. read more

We had an initial consultation on how to pick a good 'first time dog owner' dog. We asked for follow up questions with a different trainer on a single specific question. Jabula refused to do this without and instead offered a second full consultation for another $85. Am I wed to the first trainer? Especially if I am questioning some of her advice? read more

I signed up my 4 month old german shepherd. Mainly I was aiming for socialization while doing my training. So far my guy is repsonding well to the lessons. read more

We were interested in pursuing private lessons for our puppy for leash reactivity. The package was three private lessons for $425. We had a discussion with the trainer via phone, where she explained the use of a training collar and where to buy it. We then drove to the center to meet the trainer, where we spent 20 minutes to hear the same thing we discussed by phone on the use of the collar. It was a total waste of time, and took about 1 1/2 hours out of our work day. I then received an invoice for $50. I called and asked did this go towards the $425 training fee. They explained during these times (COVID), they couldn't do that. I said ok you want me to pay $50 for nothing, and then you will lose the revenue opportunity of $425 for the personal training. They said yes...doesn't seem like good business sense, but to each their own. We will be looking elsewhere for training. I'm thinking I will bill them my rate for 1 1/2 hours of my time. read more

Amazing! The professionalism, the warmth and concern, and the authentic love of dogs all comes together to make this a wonderful experience. Well worth your money. We boarded and did training and wow- what a pay-off! read more

My Cavalier King Charles Spaniel recently finished the "Pint Size" class at Jabula. It was by far the best training experience I have had. Sherlock loved going to class every week and the trainer, Susan, seemed equally enthused about it. The other dogs in the class were great as well. The things Susan walked us through in class went above and beyond the normal "obedience" issued. Because we were a small class and everybody was comfortable with it, she gave the dogs a few minutes of socialization each week. As the dogs socialized, she walked us through how to read their "play" signals and contrasted those with what it would look like if they were being aggressive. By the end of the class, my puppy had a pretty solid "sit," "place," and "come" (he struggles with "down," but we're still working on it), and a good foundation in "heel." In addition, we learned some fun tricks like "spin" and "touch"! Would highly recommend Jabula's training and Susan in particular. You could tell she loved her job and took a personal interest in each dog and owner. read more

I had a older dog with major obedience problems. I signed up for 3 private lessons. I attended 1 session where they taught me methods to handle the particular problems. The trainer made it very individual. She gave me a personnel plan of action. I went home and obtained good results. My dog started to change his personality Unfortunately before my next lesson my dog died. It had nothing to do with the training. The academy was so understanding about my loss. At this sad time I take comfort that my dog was learning some obedience.. read more

SCREW UP AFTER SCREW AFTER SCREW UP!!! They'd be great if they could just pull it together and pay a little bit of attention to what they are doing, administratively speaking. I have 2 French Bulldogs, one of which needs 2 shots a week. We boarded both at Jabula for our honeymoon in April and promptly left the country, thinking our Frenchies were in good hands. WRONG!!!! One week into our trip, Jabula contacted us to ask: "how & when are we suppose to administer these shots?" Seems the one person who knew - the lady who conducted the intake of our cherished, little fuzzies - took off without relaying the dosing instructions to anyone else. Can you say P-A-N-I-C-E-D? Because that is NOT the type of call you want to receive when you are thousands of miles away trying to relax and enjoy your vacation. I was totally freaked out! And totally pissed, I won't lie about that. I wanted to cut our honeymoon short and fly home immediately, but I came to my senses and stayed. However, I remained very uneasy about the care of Riley & Oliver and had to work to put it out of my mind quite often for the remainder of our special, once-in-a-lifetime trip. The 2nd time we boarded our dogs at Jabula, they mixed up the $225 remote collar we had purchased from them for Oliver's training. (Oliver, our puppy, did the 10 day remote training during his 1st stay and we decided to give Jabula another chance since he really needed a refresher course.) Btw, if the "Sit Means Sit" dog collar and handheld remote don't communicate, it's completely worthless. (Yet, still cost ya $225!) So the 3rd time - yes, there was a 3rd time, against my better judgement - they screwed up repeatedly! The messed up when we dropped the dogs off, while we were away, and again when we went out to "The Farm" to pick them up! How does that happen, Jabula? Get it together, already! I specifically told them NOT to charge the credit card on file and low-and-behold, halfway through the trip, I'm sitting on the beach when I receive an email receipt notifying me that that very card had been charged the full amount. We had every intention of paying, of course, just NOT with that high interest card. I would have preferred to pay by check (or even better, the hubby's credit card!) upon pick up, exactly as we had for the dogs' 2nd stay. I really don't care if the lady working your office has only been there 2 weeks, Jabula, because I told her, in person, not to charge that card. (So your excuse holds no water!) Then on pick up, I find out that the medication I packed for Oliver - Temeral P - to fight his skin allergy flare ups, was given to him every single day! All 5 pills were gone. My instructions were to only give the meds AS NEEDED and its very easy to tell because he'll constantly scratch very aggressively and his belly will be very red & raw. We give him 1, maybe 2, a month at home. They gave him 5 in a span of 6 days! (Temeral P is a steroid, one O might be on for life, but his little body will eventually build up a resistance to it, making it less effective. So overusing Tem P is not only a waste of money, but a huge concern because it builds his tolerance to it, simultaneously lowering its impact.) I'm still kicking my own ass for sending more than 1 pill, in the first place. They tried to fix all these mistakes by offering us 1 free night of boarding for both dogs but that's way, way, way too little, too late. The offer felt a little like someone wrecked my car than tried to make it all better by giving me a single flower. I give up on Jabula. We have since started boarding our dogs elsewhere. I'm giving them one star because Yelp requires at least one star to write a review but that's too high a rating for Jabula in my book! read more

Worth every penny! We had a rescue dog who would bolt down the street whenever he had the chance. After 5 lessons with Jabula, we have a happy, obedient dog. read more

Our 5 year old mixed breed rescue recently completed the two week training program. We have gone to different trainers for years in an attempt to correct her severe reactive behavior to other dogs and unpredictable behavior around children. None of the other approaches were successful. I can now report that Jabula has returned to us, a new dog. She now walks easily in heel position with a slack leash, goes to "place" on command and has even calmed her reaction to triggers like the mailman and UPS. This is still a work in progress but I feel Jabula has laid a solid foundation and given me the tools necessary to continue the improvement. Kudos to our trainer, Kenan, who has brought her this far. Kenan has a calm approach and has been very helpful with his follow ups to make certain I am reinforcing what he has taught. I highly recommend Jabula for those that love their dog but have grown frustrated with unacceptable behaviors. read more

I have continued to work with Kate at Jabula over the last several years. Recently we got a new puppy and she has been invaluable sharing her knowledge and experience to deal with a bunch of the normal puppy chaos, which I had forgotten about since it had been so long since I had a pup in the house. I have also boarded both my dogs with her at her facility in Loganville in the past month and was very appreciative of the care and attention they received. Kate continues to be the best in the business and I am always impressed with her! read more

Our dog has added so much joy to our lives and we feel very grateful to Jabula for helping us get to this point. He is a rescue with an unknown background. He's very sweet-natured, but not always docile. Having kids in the family and being around other kids so often, I really need a dog that is reliably gentle and tolerant. Taking our dog to Jabula was such a great decision. I tried several dog training classes (with a previous dog) and can say with confidence that Jabula is the best! It was recommended to us by several different friends and I now I tell everyone I know "Go to Jabula!" Jabula classes are fun, so that you will want to keep coming, and Jabula classes are effective, so that you will see positive results immediately. Once you take a class at Jabula, or just get involved by setting up an appointment, you will build a relationship with the trainers and have a team of experienced experts that can help you with whatever dog issues or goals for training that you have. The trainers are extremely knowledgeable and able to tailor their approach to fit your situation. They are flexible, professional, experienced, and just plain nice. The great thing is that your dog will love Jabula. My dog thinks that training is the most fun thing in the world. It isn't that difficult to have a well-behaved, happy, confident dog. Jabula makes it easy by focusing on things like "doorway manners" or "earning dinner" that have a big affect with little effort on your part. I like to take my dog with me on a lot of outings. He is always calm, quiet, and friendly. People always comment on his great behavior. Then, we show off with some silly tricks. We've taken four different classes and are now doing our fifth- Tricks! Wow- what fun! My kids have gone to a lot of the classes with me and they love training, too. Their favorite part is watching the Jabula dogs demonstrate the final behaviors. I guess that might be one of my favorite things, too, although I also love watching my dog learn to think and try to figure things out. He loves to bring me my slippers in the morning, tuck the kids into bed at night, fetch his empty water bowl so I can fill it up, clean up all his toys by putting them back in their basket, and sit nicely to greet visitors. He's learned so much in only two years! Jabula keeps us motivated to keep learning more and to keep having fun. read more