Kristina is an AMAZING trainer! She started working with us and our puppy Bertie shortly after we…read moreadopted her at about 4 months old. She taught Bertie (and us!) in a way that we all picked up so easily, setting us up with a solid foundation. And we even got into some tricks! We can't wait for her to return to LA next year, as we really enjoyed our time with Kristina, and the RESULTS!

Kristina is an all around pro. She's an outstanding communicator, deeply understands and influences…read moredog behavior, and I felt like she was training me (in a good way!) as much as my cavalier pup, Leo. She provided comprehensive at-home lessons, complete with adorable videos snippets, homework assignments to maintain and reinforce, and answered all of my questions professionally and patiently (I asked a ton of questions!). I'd recommend her to anyone in LA interested in a super high quality program. She's awesome and Leo loved her!

Drea is a wonderful dog trainer and a great person to know and hang out with and talk to. She…read morebreaks down training in a way that's tailored to the dog owner's capability and need. She understands dogs exceptionally well. This is her passion. This is her love and I definitely feel that when I speak to her and the way that she interacts with my pup. We've had five sessions so far and in those five sessions, along with the homework that I gladly do, I have helped my dog be more controlled on the leash and be more controlled and regulated at home. She's more comfortable and more confident now than she was when I got her. Even though I know the work isn't over, I'm confident knowing that I have Drea to help me and to inform me on best practices. The confidence that she showed me to train my dog myself is going to help exponentially. It definitely goes back to the idea: give a man a fish, they'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, they'll eat for a lifetime. Thank you Drea!

Drea is a FANTASTIC dog trainer and person and we truly don't know where we'd be without her!…read more We rescued our dog Otis in September 2019 from hurricane Dorian. He's a 2 year old American Staffie/Basset Hound/Chow/Terrier mix from Florida--a sweet, cuddly, goofy, hunk. Otis was SO ready to be loved and properly cared for, but as he settled into his new home it became clear he had never been socialized, showed physical and emotional signs of severe abuse, and had major anxiety/fear of strangers. We felt in over our heads, and worried Otis might harm someone out of fear (no fault of his own) but felt committed to giving Otis every chance we could to thrive. We found Drea on Yelp and were drawn to her experience with rescue dogs in particular. We contacted her right away and had an appointment set up within days. Drea came to our apartment to meet us and Otis and it instantly felt like the stars had aligned. She had total confidence upon meeting him-- no fear, and a great openness and connection with him and us. The first thing she said when she met Otis was "ok, you guys got yourself a real southern hound!" We knew we had found the right person. Drea observed right from the start that Otis is a pack dog and how important it was going to be for us to grow his pack and take steps to build both his and our confidence. Drea's training method focuses on the role that both owner and pet play and how those roles need to be established and reinforced through commitment, repetition, and positive motivation as the key drivers of success. Over the last 10 months we've learned how to use our voices, bodies and body language to do everything from solidifying Otis' basic obedience skills to being able to take Otis and ourselves out of our comfort zones and introduce new people, places and experiences into our lives. The results are tangible--a traumatized rescue who used to cower and tuck his tail between his legs on walks now barks with enthusiasm to go outside and wags his upright tail like a helicopter. Otis' behavior with, and fear of strangers is also noticeably different. His default reaction used to be aggression, but he's learned to control those urges, be calm and put his trust in us that all is okay. While we and Otis still have work ahead of us, the tools Drea has and continues to give us have provided invaluable confidence, patience, and a keen understanding of what it means, and what's needed to own and love a rescue pup. We couldn't love our Otis more and we are so grateful to Drea and know she will be a part of our pack for the long haul.

Andrea and the My Dog Hikes crew are amazing! I've been using them for 5 years now and have never…read morehad a single issue or concern -- that kind of consistency says everything. I first met Andrea when I contacted her for help training Theo, my Golden Retriever, when he was a puppy. I had tried other trainers with no success, so I felt very lucky to have found Andrea -- she made miracles happen! He's still, at times, a work in progress on my end (but that's all on me). He's strong, can pull like a freight train, and is always SUPER excited for his walks. But her team totally has his number -- they know exactly how to handle him and keep him on track for whatever adventure is on the agenda that day. Everyone is so professional and clearly loves what they do (and loves Theo!). He gets to run with his pack, burn off all that golden retriever energy, and if he's been an extra good boy, he occasionally scores a pup cup. Basically the best day ever for him. Theo and I are customers for life!

I can't say enough good things about My Dog Hikes. I have a very sensitive dog and was looking for…read moresomeone to walk her who could take her personality into account. Her walks with other companies left her nervous and agitated. From day one with My Dog Hikes my dog was smitten. She looks forward to her walk with Sussy every day. Sussy is so kind and loving and firm. I get a personal note with photos each day to let me know how the walk went. Everyone I have dealt with at My Dog Hikes has been extremely responsive, professional, and caring. I can't say enough good things about how this company treats dogs!!

Thank you, Amanda Gagnon Dog Training, for helping us train our shorkie puppy, Kiki! Kiki graduated…read morefrom their puppy kindergarten course, which was a great way for us to learn how to train her as well as for her to get some puppy playtime! Denver is incredible with both the puppers and their humans. Kiki also had two private training sessions with Sam (who's fantastic), attends AGDT's puppy day school, and puppy socials - plus, one of their dog handlers watched over night Kiki while we were out of town on a five-day trip. All of our experiences have been positive. Kiki is always excited when we enter the building, loves everyone she encounters (other dogs and all the trainers), and comes home exhausted from the playtime and mental stimulation. While it's all very expensive, we view it as an incredible upfront investment in the health and well-being of our pupper.

Not very good at caring for the dogs while they are in the facility. The dog barks non-stop…read morethroughout the day and they sound stressed.

Bushwick Pet Care is an outstanding dog professional team! We came to them for assistance in…read morewalking and socializing our rescue, Illay. Before working with Stephanie, Illay was pretty fearful of both humans and other dogs. I'm so happy we found Bushwick Pet Care to help us work on these difficult traits! Stephanie took careful steps to build a relationship and had so much patience to make sure Illay was comfortable around the team first before sharing walks with other dogs. Now, Illay has real friends in the neighborhood! Shes recognized the dogs she shared a walk with if we ran into them, and was able to react friendly. Illay is so excited for her mid-day walks with Stephanie. She has so much more confidence in her strut. She can walk with and enjoy the company of other dogs. Each walk, Stephanie gives us a full write-up (including photos) of how the walk went and how many times Illay relieved herself. We've taken her to Krista, the team's groomer, a few times and she has come back so soft and squeaky clean. Like a little cotton ball! Their team does a wonderful job at de-shedding and trimming nails. They even deliver her back with a little bow :) We've been working with Stephanie and her crew for almost 6 months now, and Illay's attitude towards people and other dogs has improved immensely! I can't thank them enough for their attentiveness and trustworthy care when handling Illay's rescue quirks. They would go an extra mile for my dog, and they would for yours too! :)

Steph and team are great!…read more Ruthie has worked mostly with Adam (highly recommend) since she was adopted at 5 months. Being an adopted puppy (with high prey drive), we have really struggled with finding the best tool that works for her. Adam has been through multiple walking tools with us and is always very willing to give us honest feedback. Ruthie is a difficult puppy to walk and I am always less stressed knowing she is getting breaks throughout the day with Adam. He also takes really fun pics and sends updates! My husband and I always call him Ruthie's third parent. We've been extremely lucky with being able to trust and rely on Adam. Ruthie adores him and he is extremely patient with her. He is also a cool person who we consider a friend and neighbor. I love supporting small local businesses and I am so happy to support this one. Ruthie gives 4 paws and her humans give four thumbs up!

I've been taking my dog, Lua, to Anna since she was a puppy and I can't recommend Anna enough! Lua…read moregets anxious at the groomer, and has a tendency to get knotty in between visits. Anna is so kind and patient with her, and always does a great job :) We're moving soon and I'm very much dreading having to find a new groomer. Lua & I will definitely miss Anna!!

Anna is an amazing dog groomer! When we moved to the neighborhood, I asked other dog owners who had…read morewell-groomed pups and they all raved about Anna. Our doodle always looks and smells great after his grooming sessions. He can be nervous at the groomers since he doesn't like the hair dryer, but Anna does a great job calming him down. She also went above and beyond when our doodle had been running around in the mud with his harness--she took the extra time to wash his harness too. Anna gives him the perfect teddy bear cut every time. We've had groomers in the past cut his bangs oddly, making him look strange (almost human like), but Anna shapes his face and ears adorably. She's also great about adapting his cuts for different seasons to keep him comfortable year-round. When we first booked with Anna, we had to wait a couple of weeks since she was fully booked. Now that we're in her schedule, we book sessions in advance and haven't had any issues. She's well worth the wait! It's really hard to find someone you trust with your dog, especially for grooming. We're so happy we went with the neighborhood favorite and are we are extremely grateful for her services!​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

I used Patti''s service when I was away for a week in July. She had Daniel, her worker, come over…read moreand take care of my two cats. Daniel came over prior to me leaving so I could introduce him to the cats. He came every day at the same time and fed them, took care of the kitty litter, played with them and send me pictures and videos. The cats were very happy when I came home. I cannot recommend Patti's services more highly.

Patti is great! She took our 2 small dogs on short notice for an overnight stay. They had a great…read moretime hanging out and cuddling with her. Clearly she is a dog-lover who enjoys the company of our, and hopefully your, dogs!

I don't know what we would have done without Elizabeth and DIW. Being a first time puppy parent in…read morea pandemic can be stressful when it comes to proper training and socialization. Thankfully, my fiancé and I were recommended to Elizabeth & DIW and it was the best thing that happened to us in 2020. I called Elizabeth a month prior to getting our mini goldendoodle, Mookie, and she was so warm, knowledgeable and immediately put my nerves to rest. She helped us prepare for our new puppy and left no question unanswered. Once we got Mookie, we immediately dove into 1:1 virtual training. Her virtual sessions are awesome (and really effective)! Elizabeth shows you how to best train & manage your dog with positive reinforcement. Before the lesson begins, she always opens up the session with conversation to get a pulse check on Mookie and answers any questions we may have had since we last met. In addition to the 1:1 training, DIW's play&train sessions are absolutely perfect for puppy socialization. We dropped off (perfect for COVID times) Mookie 1-2 times a week for 4x hour sessions which were supervised by the kindest, most professional trainers I've ever met (shout out to Roshni & Julia). Mookie was able to play with similar aged pups and get training reinforcement from what he had been practicing at home from his time with Elizabeth. Win win! And what's even better is they send adorable videos and pics each session. Mookie always gets compliments on how sweet and well-behaved he is for his age. He loves other dogs and people. And we can't thank Elizabeth & DIW enough for that. Elizabeth and her team really do care about each pup that attends DIW and become an extended family & support system for you and your pup. It's beyond exceptional. Highly recommended! One more note. Elizabeth is more than just a trainer. She is a guru, a friend and confidante when she enters your life. In addition to training, she also prepped my fiancé and I on how to move cross country with Mookie and put our mind at ease with any & all concerns. I'm happy to say, we're very happy in our new home.

We signed up for the COVID virtual training during the pandemic after receiving a positive referral…read morefrom a couple in our building. Our new pup was in need of some manners training. The package we purchased offered 4 virtual classes. The first class went over quite well; Elizabeth recommended we make lickies (wetspaw toppls) and use a stick (bully sticks) to help keep our dog occupied during the day. Both are great suggestions which we continue to use months later. Scheduling for the next few classes did not prove easy, Elizabeth needed to cancel the second training session, and due to some responsiveness problems we weren't ever able to get time on the books for another date. We ended up just finding a different in-person one-on-one training option which logistically has proven easier and yielded great results. Despite not making use of the virtual training classes we were able to frequently make use of the in person "Play and Train" classes offered for puppies. What an incredible service, the Dog Institute employees do a fantastic job providing a safe space for puppies to interract and grow their social skills. Without question the best service offered by this business, our pup is comfortable around all dogs now thanks to these early interractions. We had also been working individually with some wonderful institute employees to help board our pup based on their availabilty but this caused some complications as the business required that all such services be routed through the school for payment purposes. When push came to shove, what should have been an easy interaction between individuals got complicated when the business insisted on getting involved; the payment structure requested seemed to change each time and was definitely not commensurate with market rate. Overall a few negative issues hurt what would otherwise be a positive experience.