Alyssa is absolutely amazing and I should have written this review a long time ago! We have been doing training classes with Alyssa for almost a year and a half and have taken every one of her classes. Our three-year-old English Cream Golden Retriever was very reactive and needed more direction and help with calming down. Before Alyssa, we had worked with at least four other trainers and we never saw any improvements until working with her. Her step-by-step videos are extremely helpful and the fact that you can do things on your own time and pace are great! It only takes 10-15 minutes a day and the results are amazing. She also has great communication and really cares about you and your dog. I highly recommend Alyssa and look forward to when she has more classes available so Daisy can continue to keep learning. read more

7 years ago, we worked with Alyssa to help train our Siberian Husky (and ourselves!) to address separation anxiety, basic obedience and resource guarding behavior. Over the years, we have constantly shared what we learned with fellow dog owners and have recommended her services. Alyssa set us up with the tools for success so we could have an amazing life with our pack member! We worked hard with our husky Meeka to the point we taker her to restaurants, go camping / hiking / biking and even go on long car rides 6+ hours with few issues! We have even heard from strangers, daycare facilities and even Banfield that Meeka is so well behaved even when we're not there! I am so glad we decided to work with Alyssa because Meeka was honestly a rambunctious, overly excited and extremely curious puppy. The early months were difficult and many said she was a trainer's dog. Although my husband and I had never had a dog previously, we wanted Meeka to be part of our active lifestyle and were willing to do the work so we did not let that deter us! It took months of training to set up a solid foundation and years of continued positive reinforcement and training to maintain a consistent environment, but it was well worth it. We've been able to slowly expand her boundaries from needing to be in a crate when home alone, to being free to roam certain areas of the house without any worries! Alyssa is SO knowledgeable, genuinely cares, is extremely patient and is both professional and personable. She maintains a calm demeanor under every circumstance and we wouldn't have the sanity and calm household we have today without having worked with Alyssa! And that's saying a lot because even though Meeka is now 7.5 years old, many think she is less than a year because she is still so playful and energetic! I encourage anyone who is even remotely considering working with Alyssa / Legends Dog Training to do it! read more

Legends Dog Training - Break during our walk to do some training with Meeka! Alyssa set us up for success in 2013 and we still use those techniques today! - Pet Training Near Me

Alyssa was so amazing, friendly, and easy to work with. I was seeking training services to develop a better relationship with my hyper canines (2 yo blue heeler and a 4 yo German Shepard) as their reactive to dogs while on leashes. Alyssa's foundational training has worked wonders in changing or implementing new behaviors. I highly recommend Alyssa and will continue using in her in the future when in need of assistance! Thanks Alyssa! read more

Legends Dog Training - Pet Training Near Me

We cannot recommend Alyssa enough. As first time dog owners, our adopted 7 month husky-lab mix was a huge challenge. She exhibited over-excitement and over-arousal behaviors, and loads of puppy energy. We found Alyssa through San Diego Humane Society's dog training classes and she was randomly recommended to us by a neighbor who was a past happy customer of Legends Dog Training. We ended up taking a total of 2 online classes (6 weeks each, 1 hour zoom meetings each week) as well as a private 1:1 consultation. In our private 1:1 consultations, Alyssa patiently guided us to understand what our dog needs and how we can use management / prevention / training to establish foundational behaviors. She has so much knowledge to share. Through the online classes, we saw even more improvements in our dog's behavior throughout our 12 weeks together. At first we were skeptical about taking an online dog class but it turned out to be a great option for our dog and during covid-19. We're safer at home. Our dog is in our home environment where there are minimal distractions so she can learn at her own pace. As she excels at a behavior inside our home, then we gradually make the environment more and more challenging. The classes are structured and exercises naturally build on the skills we learn from previous sessions. Our dog started out as the dog who couldn't sit still for class. (honestly she probably would have failed an in-person class....) We constantly had to ask Alyssa for class recordings because our dog would be acting up (barking, mouthy, demanding attention, potty breaks) during class. By the end of the two classes, our dog became so calm that she can even sleep through the entire class if we didn't wake her up for the exercises. While our dog still struggles with some things outside the house, she's learned to be calm inside the house, love her mat and dog bed, and these days barking at the mailman is not even interesting. We are thankful and grateful to have found a positive reinforcement trainer like Alyssa. She has changed our relationship with our dog for the better. Choosing Legends Dog Training is choosing so much more than basic obedience. Legends Dog Training uses 100% positive reinforcement training to help improve your relationship with your dog. We adopted a dog to be our best friend; this was exactly what we got as a result of training with Alyssa! read more

Legends Dog Training - Pet Training Near Me

Our male Maltese mix (Wally) was bitten by another dog when he was less than 1 year old. Although the bite was minor (no blood), the bite was very traumatic for Wally. Ever since the day he was bitten, he was extremely fearful of other dogs. Alyssa helped Wally get re-socialized with other dogs. She worked with him every week for several months and he slowly began to tolerate being around other dogs. We can now take Wally for walks where he is exposed to other dogs and he's slowly getting back to normal. We found Alyssa on YouTube.com where she has lots of self-made videos about dog training. Alyssa is an excellent dog trainer and her videos really highlight her skills. read more

I can't recommend Alyssa enough. We started working with her because our lab rescue had gone from hyper to nervous around new people and dogs, even snapping at people a few times. Before working with Alyssa we had to put him away any time people came over. Now we are seeing steady confidence building in Charlie. And most importantly, I have a much better understanding of my dog's behaviors and great tools to work with him and a much stronger bond. I feel so much more comfortable having strategies to keep our visitors and Charlie safe. And as a bonus Charlie is much more attentive to me and several family members have commented on how much calmer and well behaved he is when they visit! And in general I find his overall anxiety and secondary hyperactive behavior to be greatly decreased. Where the 5 mile runs and hours of fetch didn't do anything to get rid of his high energy now he is calm most of the time, and it really only takes a few minutes a day to keep him that way. read more

I've been working with Alyssa on separation anxiety for a few months now. I'm only at the beginning stages of his training, but I'm so impressed by Alyssa's professionalism, insane knowledge, incredible structured weekly plans, and her ability to customize a work plan just for my dog Kevin. I've worked with MANY trainers to remedy our issues, but she is far superior to anybody I've ever met or worked with. Her approach to behavior change is methodical. My underweight dog is challenged with health issues and in a very short time she's improved his appetite with her behavior plans, and he's gained a pound! She takes detailed notes and studies the weekly behavior patterns and aligns with a base mat training method. Her approach has the dogs best interests in mind, ensuring I'm able to understand him better and only go at the pace he's ready for. Additionally, she provides the option to do video training so I don't have to drive. It's so helpful. I will update my review as my training progresses, but she's legit - everybody needs to work with her. read more

Legends Dog Training - Pet Training Near Me

As my husband succinctly said after our puppies' first session with Alyssa, "She is the most competent dog person I have ever met!" We are experienced dog owners, and we adopted two puppies (littermates--shar pei/lab mixes) earlier this summer. What makes Alyssa superior to other dog trainers we have used is her ability to EXPLAIN the rationale behind her behavior modification techniques. For example, she suggested that we tell our young children to stand still ("like a tree") when the puppies jump on them in enthusiastic greeting. This was counterintuitive to us--our instinct was to correct the puppies immediately. But Alyssa explained that even negative feedback may reinforce the jumping, because it is still attention. Sure enough, after several days of the kids channeling quiet oak trees, the puppies stopped jumping on them. Incredible. We highly recommend Alyssa!! read more

Everyone who gets a new dog or puppy should definitely give Alyssa a call! She can do wonders! I recently just got a new puppy and needed help with potty training, crate training and house breaking. Even after our first session, I noticed a huge change and improvement. She is great with my puppy and with me too! She has helped give me the right tools to practice exercises and reinforce what she has worked with him on. Alyssa is extremely patient which gives a frazzled new puppy owner like me, hope. Calling Alyssa was the best thing I did for my puppy, myself, and my home. read more

Alyssa at Legends Dog Training was highly recommended by a pit bull rescue in San Diego. I have a 4 year old pit bull who is very stubborn/excited and has had training in the past that hasn't worked. I was getting very frustrated but then I found Alyssa. She done wonders with my Bubba. The positive reinforcement has really changed him and made him much more confident dog. I say, " Bubba, do you want to see your girlfriend?" and he knows exactly who that is. It's pretty darn cute For the first 4-5 weeks she came to my house twice a week for trainings and then we moved to training where I met her in Balboa park so I could watch them in person. While the training was being done when I wasn't home, Alyssa would take videos of them working together so I can mimic that for my trainings to keep things consistent. When I was with her at the park she would point certain things with his body language to watch for. All the tools she's given me has me much more aware of my dog and what I need to careful of. She has built such a nice relationship with him and myself. I've referred her to my friends and would highly recommend her to anyone in need of training with their dogs. read more

I used Alyssa Lapinel as a dog trainer when i was pregnant to help prepare my dog for the baby. She did a great job and he has adjusted to his big brother role very easily and doesn't get jealous of her. The best advice she gave was to tug on our dog's ears and tail so he would be used to it when the baby gets mobile. Last week my baby bit my dog's tail and he just rolled over and smiled. I would definitely recommend Alyssa's training services. She also did a lot of agility work with my dog. He is very good at jumps and tunneling and it is a great way to give him a work out on a rainy day. read more

It has been six years and I can say Alyssa changed my relationship with both dogs, especially Ginger, in an enduring way. They're both getting a bit long in the tooth and I'm forever grateful for the help she provided years ago. read more

Alyssa works very diligently with dogs, and uses her keen doggy sense to actually fix the underlining issues, not just mask it. She is really good about setting up training sessions around your schedule. Excellent advice is given by the bundle when I sat through my dog's session. She often uses a video camera, so you can recap what was enforced for training. The price is right, for what is being offered. My dog was very aggressive on his leash after we adopted him and with Alyssa's help he is able to recognize other dogs as training exercises and not a threat. And although my dog needs alittle more work on his leash behavior, I am gladly going to use Legends to fulfill that need. Thanks Alyssa!! read more

We really enjoyed working with Alyssa. She set a good foundation for working through our dogs' separation anxiety. She worked with both of them when we were at work and gave us strategies to work on at home by ourselves. I was most impressed with her follow through and how much time she spent answering our questions even after our sessions were done. I'm pretty sure I asked a crazy amount of questions and she always gave me very thoughtful and helpful answers. She even lent us a pen to help with training our new rescue to go to the bathroom outside! The cost of Alyssa's training sessions is well worth the investment in your dogs happiness and your sanity. read more

Alyssa has been a pleasure to work with. I have two mini-poodles which I adopted from a rescue. Through positive reinforcement she has alleviated their anxiety and made them feel more secure when home alone. She has also trained them to follow commands and has done an excellent job. I wanted my boys to be trained on a treadmill so that on rainy days they could still get the exercise needed. They have gone from being fearful of the treadmill to excitedly jumping on it! Alyssa is a true dog lover and does her best to improve the dog-dog relationship and human-dog relationship. She works around your schedule, always answers questions and provides great insight into what works best. She is a breath of fresh air. I highly recommend Alyssa ... she is a true dog whisperer. read more

About a year ago, my wife and I adopted a 9 month old German Shepherd who was abused and neglected. I grew up with dogs and my wife didn't. Cece, our dog, was having a very rough time and we didn't know what to do. I am so happy that I happened upon the Legends website. Over the last year, Alyssa has helped my wife and I learn and understand how dogs think and work. During this time, we have had numerous training sessions that have created such a close bond between our dog and us. I couldn't emphasize how awesome Alyssa and Legends are! Please do yourself and your dog a favor and give Alyssa a call. You will not be disappointed! read more

Alyssa has been amazing working with our German Shepherd, Saria. We came to her with an issue of reactivity on the leash and a situation that required a flexible trainer, Alyssa fit the bill. Even though I only worked with Alyssa a few times there was a noticeable difference in Saria from the first session, and watching the training sessions made me see the type of dog Saria could be. She was always calm an patient while training Saria, and used positive reinforcement to let her know what behavior was worthwhile. We were in a situation that forced us to re-home our dog, and Alyssa made it an easy process to transfer the training to the new owner. She was even kind enough to give advice to the new owner to make Saria's transition easier. I could not be happier with the choice to choose Alyssa! read more

After researching trainers we decided on Legends Dog Training specifically because of their philosophy. We are located in Charlotte NC and trained our pit-mix family member via online sessions with Alyssa. We couldn't be more happy with the results. Maxx has made tremendous progress. Utilizing online sessions has facilitated training for Camille and I so that we better understand Maxx. Alyssa is very diligent, highly competent, and comprehensive/holistic in her approach. She's patient with us and has a genuine interest for the well being of Maxx. She understands how to achieve desired results via positive training rather than consequence or negative reinforcement. This was a critical differentiation for us in choosing Legends because Maxx was adopted and had previously been mishandled and/or abused. We would recommend Alyssa with full confidence. The change in Maxx is astonishing. read more

Alyssa is an amazing dog trainer. She has been training my two dogs Tin Tin and Sandi for about 3 months. Tin Tin is a Belgian Malinois and I had a hard time taking him on walks because he tends to lash out at dogs, people, leaf blowers, and almost any sound he hears. After these 3 months of training, I am able to control him and calm him down so that walking has now become fun and a pleasure. Tin Tin was also scared of going to the vet. He did not let anyone touch him, including me, so it was hard for him to get his shots. With Alyssa's help, I was able to train him to be more calm. Last week, I took him to get his dog influenza vaccine. At the doctor's office, they even complimented him and said he was much calmer. We were out of the doctor's office in less than 2 minutes. Alyssa is also kind and patient. She takes extra time with her clients and my dogs truly love going to training. She takes the time to answer any and all of my questions. She also thinks about my questions and comes up with solutions that may better work with my dogs. I tried many other trainers in San Diego but Alyssa has truly helped me better understand how to communicate with my dogs. I cannot say enough. She is absolutely great. read more

Alyssa Lapinel has been such a help to me with my lab mix rescue puppy. He began to display some anxiety and fear aggression. She responded to my contact request within 24 hours and we set up an initial consult a couple of days later. Her help, guidance, gentle instruction, and genuine affection for my dog has helped me to work better with my puppy and her methods and calm demeanor has helped alleviate my anxiety as well as my dog's. I would recommend her highly to anyone who has questions or concerns about their dog's behavior. read more