TLDR Beverly's reactive dog training services didn't turn out like I thought they would. She said it'd be personalized, but this was the most cookie-cutter training I could've gotten. Most of the training is self-driven based on old articles and videos you can find on her website that she compiles into emails and tells you to perfect before meeting again. Yelp reviews seemed more aligned with my experience than Google fyi. ----- Even though Beverly was on TV before, she wasn't friendly like you'd expect from a "celebrity" trainer. I thought maybe her experience made up for it. But what she said her training would be like and what it was like were totally different. The biggest difference between my expectations and reality was that she effectively refuses to meet unless your dog has 100% perfected the homework from the previous lesson (which she doesn't really practice with you). This condition was never mentioned in the contract or in the consultation. Further, to get a repeat training of the first lesson, it took us 6 months of negotiating and literally hundreds of hours of self-driven training (I even sent her proof of our efforts and she didn't care). Another important thing to note for anyone else with reactive dogs is that Beverly did not ever see what our dog was like in the "real world". Our one and only in-person training was in her garage, so she only saw our dog "calm". She also never demonstrated how to do things correctly in-person and all of her feedback on our technique came from her watching very short videos we sent her. In-person session was mainly theory (see Yelp reviews for others calling this out). There was at most 10 minutes of practical training in the first lesson and none of it was related to addressing problems like reactivity that might make the homework tricky. So, there was never a good feedback loop to help us succeed. This was a major problem when we tried to do her homework. We literally spent 6 MONTHS trying to complete the part of the FIRST homework that required our reactive dog to lay down calmly in public spaces in less than 30s (this time requirement was emphasized on several calls, not an exaggeration). Over those 6 months, we had 2 feedback sessions virtually, but she continued to threaten to "fire us" if we tried to book an in-person session. In that time, she never proactively reached out to check in, even as months went by and she knew we were struggling. After 7 months, when I asked for more structured help (for a 3rd time) or my money back, she acted like I was asking for magic (her words). In the end, I was done with it. Beverly was not helpful and it felt like anytime we wanted her help it was inconvenient for her. The only two positive things I will giver her were: 1.) She was quick and responsive; however her replies were often rude, unfiltered and lacking the nuance we needed. If her communication was better, maybe her virtual-forward style could work, but that would require a lot of work on her end. And 2.) She invited us to a free group training session so we could get in-person help, but we were getting married that weekend, so we couldn't attend. She said she'd have more of those events, but she never told us about others. Next, Beverly's refund rules were crazy --she charged $395 fee for texts and emails, $395 fee for what was effectively a sales call and another $100 fee for re-reading our messages to calculate the refund among other fees. We completed less than 20% of the package we bought, but were charged over 50%. Thankfully, her prices were so high that the refund was enough to still get a trainer who is willing to meet with us regularly, as we requested from her. Speaking of which, before you sign the contract, ask her why she has a clause in it preventing people from posting bad reviews...most people wouldn't need that... read more

After seeing Beverly's reply. I do want to say that at the time of service, I was not unhappy with the training Beverly provided. I was also naive and didn't know what to expect from a dog training session as it was our first time hiring a private trainer. She was indeed very responsive both by email and by text and was gracious enough to help my fiance reschedule our lesson so he can propose to me. With that said, this is a hindsight review after having trained with other trainers. The first is the high rate Beverly charged. Looking back we paid over $3k for 6 sessions with 2 dogs. This is not six sessions per dog, this is a combined six ONE HOUR sessions with both dogs present. Which means if she had focused on each dog equally, we paid about $1500 for 3 hours of lessons with her for each dog (that's a rate of $500/hour). Compare that to other trainers who offer five sessions for $750 for each dog. We didn't think that her lessons were way better or more valuable at $500/hour than compared to other trainers at $150/hour. It is true that Beverly did instruct us to practice with our dog around dog parks, but this didn't quite translate over to walks itself. Maybe we didn't follow her methodology closely enough, but at the end of the day, another trainer was able to teach us successfully. I'm sure Beverly's methods work for many dogs and many owners, but it did not work out for us. It certainly wasn't worth the $3k we spent for roughly 6 hours of private instruction and a couple group sessions. Our current trainer is also very responsive and supportive via email/text/calls. He is also great about rescheduling. He has also met us at a park twice to show us how to manage our dog's reactivity in a real life scenarios. These are all baseline expectations I have for hiring a dog trainer now. We were not getting premier service at the $500/hour rate. Beverly didn't go out of her way to check in with us in between our sessions or after our sessions have ended nor did she extend support in any way after. Again, we were not unhappy at the time of service because it was our first time hiring a private trainer. It was only after we worked with other trainers that we realized we didn't get our money's worth in training with Beverly. Thank you Beverly for everything you have done for us, but I can't, in good conscience, recommend you to other struggling dog owners, many of whom may only be able to afford hiring a trainer once. I am also sorry that this review came at such an inopportune time. read more

I should not have paid up front for a series of sessions. I should not have let her severely correct my dogs. I should not have listened to her tell me that I deserved to have unruly pets because I was too weak to correct them in her sharp manner. I am glad I left and never returned. I don't care that I never used the remaining prepaid sessions because I felt I protected my dogs by never going back; I feel I failed to protect them by going in the first place. As I sat with my injured pet at the vet clinic asking my vet if Beverly's sharp corrections a few days prior were the cause of my dog's neck injury, my vet said if I was even ASKING if Beverly's corrections could have caused the injury, then I had the answer I needed, which was not to return to her. We'll never know for sure if she injured my dog's neck, but I never went back because I believe she did. If you opt for the series of pre-paid sessions (pricing sounds better, right?!), then think about how you'll be stuck with her if you don't like her or her tactics and how much more you'll end up spending on those unused prepaid sessions plus the next trainer you will be hiring. read more

Our puppy Annie is doing so well because of Beverly's training. She is learning to "come." She can walk on a leash quite well AND she is learning to stay by my feet when I ask her to. Also, she is learning balanced play and to interact with other puppies/ dogs and people respectfully so one day we can go everywhere with her! Further, she is learning to be by herself in the home without us for a short period of time. This way she grows up healthy and happy and won't develop frustrations and fears down the line. She is growing to be a very well trained and happy puppy because of Beverly's knowledge. Thank you Beverly for your expertise and guidance in raising our Labrador puppy to one day be an emotional support service dog! read more

Buyer Beware. Pros and cons. One in person session - good - learned new things. Then the struggle began - I pre-paid a huge premium for beginning, intermediate and specialty training for my fearful rescue. I really only wanted specialty fearful training as the rest is commodity dog training. Over 3+ months of our relationship I was only able to schedule one in person training session - I'll say that was good! But the rest was a frustrating struggle with Beverly to find the time within her busy schedule to perform the rest of the services that I had pre-paid for. So I canceled this contract for which she had no contrition - nothing - although she gave me a 25% refund thanks for maybe 10% of the services fulfilled (I'm being generous). Buyer beware. Make sure that she has time for you vs. filling her bank account without delivery of services. read more

I decided to hire Beverly even after I read every review because I felt none of the prior reviewers provided constructive criticism. Some critiques can be considered good, like warning of the dangers of aggression. Some reviewers seemed like people who are against using corrections, or hard corrections, which is more of a style difference. In December of 2010, I had a good evaluation and signed a contract. I had two in-person sessions and 3 phone calls. Over two months, she had a lot of bad luck in her personal life resulting in cancelled sessions and a rushed tone when working with her. Her sessions are lecture-based and it is difficult to have a conversation. Disappointing because the advantage of working with someone one-on-one is to discuss and work through a problem together. Her lectures do contain solid techniques. If you have never engaged in dog training before, then you'll learn a lot. However, her approach is not innovative nor contemporary so she won't bring any insight. She provides useful worksheets outlining a step by step process for teaching a command and a homework sheet to which helps to keep you focused. My first homework assignment was to work on something I felt my dog and I had already mastered. I tried to explain, but she emphasized the need to rigorously follow her instructions. My second session was in a dog park to work on my dog's barking problem. I left wanting to cry, and I'm sure if my dog could cry, she would have been in tears. Due to Beverly's lecture-like style, it was difficult to express my concerns, and when I did she deflected them. Instead of setting my dog up for success, Beverly set my dog up for repeated failure. Beverly placed my dog within 2 to 3 feet of passers-by which triggered my dog to lunge and bark furiously. This had to have terrified many people to see an 85lb shepherd lunging at them. While in that highly distracting situation, Beverly tried to get my dog to obey the "look at me" command without ever asking if my dog knew the command. Unfortunately, I had taught my dog the "focus" command. She would scream, "Look at me!" then pop the prong collar repeatedly in a series of jerks. When a dog walked behind my dog while she was laying down, my dog looked up at me, fully relaxed her body and leaned onto one side. My dog had gone into a completely submissive state while in the presence of a trigger and Beverly corrected me for praising my dog because she did not think my dog did anything to warrant praise. Due to all of the passing dogs, corrections and confusing situation, my dog became highly stressed. I told Beverly repeatedly trying to emphasize how bad it was, but she disregarded my concerns. By the end of the session my dog had completely shut down and refused to engage with me for the rest of the day. After that training session I realized Beverly was certainly not the best and I would have to work with another trainer in order to get what my dog and I needed. I had initially thought that I should just continue along with the course since I had already paid for it, but decided against it because her techniques are detrimental for my dog. I wrote Beverly a long letter explaining in detail why I was discontinuing her services and requested a partial refund. She declined the partial refund -- making her rate roughly $500 per hour. I broke my arm right after, so I was too overwhelmed to push the issue. I am giving her two stars instead of one because she tries to do a good job. She hired an assistant (a lovely woman) after the complaints about scheduling, and I am sure she has made other changes to make her clients more successful. I believe Beverly truly wanted to help me and did what she believed would be best for me and my dog. In conclusion, Beverly is not an effective trainer for aggressive, dominant or obsessive dogs. As for other types of dog owners, she could provide a valuable service if you are the type of person who has difficulty doing research, working on your own and want a trainer who focuses only on you. However, I do have to admit, that for the price Beverly charges, one deserves a better class of dog trainer. I have worked with 4 other dog training teams and two dog behaviorists, spending a total of ~$1400. I gave Beverly $1950. I cannot say that Beverly's services were more valuable than any one of the others. read more

This was in early 2009, and it was the person in the pictures shown here and we contacted you via your site. I still have all the relevant emails and documents. The cheque was made out to Beverly Ulbrich and my account still has the cashing in date and place of that cheque as such. If you claim this is a con artist, I will be happy to start an investigation with my bank to ensure I get my $1000++ money back and the fraud impersonating you jailed. Like others, we were given a list of 20-30 things to have the dog do 100% before contacting the pooch coach. We also spent about 30 minutes hearing about the coach's dog, and how it has been in movies and its extensive dental work. The reason we never contacted you ever again was because of the "recommendation" to shave my labradors neck to fit the shock collar better, it wasn't even that is was ridiculously hard to get a hold of you (because obviously no one else is as busy as you, right?) or the rushed 2 sessions we had to wrangle out of you. This is a dog that knew 47 commands when he met you, and you claimed that he was a mess because he would follow all the hand signals you were making (without asking us what we had assigned for down, sit etc) as a priority and took the voice command as secondary. You kept yelling "Hippopotamus" in our lounge, doing the signal for down, and our dog, went down EVERY SINGLE TIME. We told you we had trained him to follow hand signals as a priority, and if you stopped doing them and told him "Hippopotamus" he would not go down unless you explicitly said "Down". You refused to listen, while our dog was doing puppy pull-ups on our lounge carpet and saying "he is a mess.. a total mess!" Then you continued by saying that the only approach to "fix his problem" is to fit a shock collar on him. We have always been big fans of strict training (hence the 47 commands he knew, now 52) but there is a difference between no-nonsense training, and just unjustified arrogance with a novice approach and a deaf ear to your clients. **************************************************************************** So, Beverly, to conclude: if you still claim this to be a con-artist, please have your lawyer contact me and I will be glad to pass on the details for them to find the person who is not you but looks like you and claims to be you and cashed our cheque in your name. **************************************************************************** read more

I'm another years-later reviewer -- I found Pooch Coach via an internet search in ~2005 or so, as my shy fearful dog's problems seemed to be getting worse, fast. Beverly shared with me that her own dog had just died, and she'd spent big bucks on cancer treatments, as I recall. I thought THAT was the reason she was so eager to take my check and disappear. I had a similar experience to other 1-star reviewers -- pay upfront (I think it was $700), get a checklist in your first session, and then be left to your own devices, without a single follow-up or even a phone call to see how you're doing. In my case I did not follow up with Beverly when she didn't follow up with me. I thought my continuing problems with my dog were *my* fault, and that I'd failed to accomplish the goals on the checklist, although I kept trying. In my one and only session, she commented that she could "turn him around" in a weekend, and all I had to do was take him to a cafe, sit outside, and FORCE him to allow every passer-by to pet him. I kept trying for a long time -- it not only didn't help -- it made his problems WORSE. In fact, I ended up taking him to UC Davis vet hospital, at my vet's recommendation, to consult with a board-certified behavior specialist, who told me my dog was nowhere near ready for the techniques Beverly recommended. I've spent TONS of time and money with this dog over the last five years or so, and he's made an amazing turnaround. i've never regretted any of the money or time i spent -- except for the $700 I wasted with Pooch Coach. In my opinion, the large upfront payment for "unlimited" sessions should raise some red flags. No other trainer or specialist I worked with offered this model -- if there ARE pre-payments, it is for a specified # of sessions at a set price per session (with a some amount of discount per session to justify the package purchase). Lastly, I cannot recommend Pooch Coach if you have a shy and fearful dog. read more

Seeing Beverly 's response, I felt the need to highlight some things, explaining my reasoning behind low rating. As I said below, I was a novice owner with a troubled animal. In my "troubled" animal defense, she has never lunged at anyone as Beverly suggested. So, the bottom line: there is a novice owner, who really wants to do things right and desperately looking for guidance. There is a fearful dog that really needs help. There is a trainer who has an impressive syllabus of things your dog will be able to do by the end of the training. At the end we have a still clueless owner. A dog who still has her issues, and a trainer who is moving on to bigger and better things. Beverly didn't do her job well and didn't finish what she started. Thus the low rating. If you want your dog to shake paw, or sit at command, by all means, I am sure Beverly can help. But as a serious and committed trainer, who will stand by you through your fears and your dogs problems - that Beverly is not. (I appreciate Beverly's offer, but I honestly have no need for her. I have put in a lot of work into my dog, and her success is my proof. I am also honored to have a whole page on her site dedicated to me and my dog, but unfortunately Beverly's recollection of events is not very correct. Perhaps Beverly needs to rethink her marketing approach, and avoid clients who need help with aggressive dogs, and ::gasp:: pit bulls. I do wish Beverly all the best - us dog folks never stop learning. ) read more

Our dog had a very troubled past, no prior training, and a lot of issues with other dogs. After some research, we met with Beverly for a consultation. Within that first hour, she summed up some major issues with our "parenting" and made sure we realized that training is something you need to do EVERYDAY. We knew she was the right trainer for our dog. We signed up for a 4 months of training, going at the pace of our pooch. We didn't need her to be off leash-able; we needed our dog to listen to our commands, understand our commands, work out the seperation anxiety, and the aggression towards other dogs. We accomplished all of those things. True, she isn't the most friendly person out there, but she got the job done. We paid quite a bit, but it some of the best money we ever spent. Edit: After reading what others posted, I will mention that we paid $1700 for 4 months of training. It is true that Beverly gave us "homework", but she taught us the tasks beforehand. We met with her every 3 or 4 weeks, calling her whenever we felt Rambo was ready for the next lesson. We never expected her to set up all the appointments because we felt that Rambo's training was our responsibility - she just gave us the tools to be better owners. read more

The pooch coach is a joke. She took a large sum of money from me and did absolutely nothing to help train my dog-that was having issues w/being aggressive towards children. The only thing she did was come over to my house & write down a few suggestions on paper. No actual training was done. No follow up (which she said she would do)-so she failed to complete her contract. She is irresponsible & took advantage of us. read more

Read no further. I can tell you that our dog has come so far from the training she received from Beverly! People get on forums like Yelp to make others in the business look better. I truly believe this to be the case here. Beverly picked up on our pups' habits from the minute we met with her. Yes, a lot of the training session is the owner learning how to train your dog.... Let's be honest... Do you really think if you have the trainer do all the work with your dog every couple weeks and then you do jack at home with the dog, that it will really improve it's behavior??? No! She teaches you how to be consistent with your dog and why each step builds upon each other. For those of you that think she just lectures, you are so far off! It's a lie! She will walk you through the skills with your dog. She will show you (& correct you) so that you can successfully train your pup. It's great! Her own dog is a tremendous example of what a blessing a well trained dog can be! Every trainer has their own style. Chose one that fits yours. Beverly will take calls and emails and return them within the day. She will give you pointers and support, ideas and tricks all throughout and AFTER your training. She follows up and is very thorough. She is practical and experienced! I'd never take a dog elsewhere. For those of you upset that Beverly called you out on having a dog that is great at following hand commands, I challenge you to wave your hand command as your dog chases a cat into the street and is not looking at you. It only takes once. Dogs must be trained with verbal commands unless you plan to keep the dog within the confines of your home for the rest of it's life. Please consider the pooch coach!!!! she has transformed our dog from a hesitant, nervous pup to a curious, bright and obedient dog. read more

This review is not based on any training I or my pooches have received from Beverly (because we haven't received any), however I would like to put out there my personal experience in speaking with her today. Basically, the absolute love of my life is also a 6 pound terrorist. He bullies my two other dogs, and dogs at the park. He's never attempted to hurt another dog, but being the social person I am, I wish my dog to possess the same charismatic qualities =p. Also, seeing as I have just rescued a third dog, I now have a pack! & the last thing I want is my pack to run wild! It was time to seek professional help. Why I am giving her a good review even though she hasn't trained my dogs. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *she was very friendly *she returned my phone call promptly * She did not have a prejudice against small dogs ( like some trainers do!), in fact the age of my dogs was more important than the breed, which I like. What difference does it make if my dog is a pit bull or a yorkie? Either way the dog needs help! *She seemed to be extremely knowledgeable about the particular problem I was encountering. * she did not sugar coat the fact that what I have, is indeed a serious issue and told me that even if i did not choose her, to seek professional help. ( I like this because I did not pay the consultation fee just to hear that my problem does in fact need a trainer). Although, the pooch coach seemed like an answer to all my prayers, I alas, am a starving student and unfortunately cannot afford to have her coach my pups at this time. Which explains the four as opposed to five stars. However, I am confidant that she is an excellent trainer and is well entitled to charge the fees she does (She's been on animal planet, people!) Also, even though she does have quite a few negative reviews on yelp, she also has many excellent reviews if you look under the filtered section and on google! read more

I am writing an update to my original review of Beverly. It has been a bit over a week since my training session with her and my very unmanageable 7 month old chow foster . It has been like night and day. Beverly gave me the tools and they worked immediately. I wasted money on a puppy class at SPCA and another trainer when I wish i would have come to Beverly first. Before my session with Beverly I could not even take her for walk without her biting the leash, me, my clothes and digging her heels in the ground and not moving. She was very defiant. Her temperament has changed drastically for the better and I have made the decision to adopt her. Thank you again Beverly! read more

We just got back from one of The Pooch Coach's meet-ups, and on the way home we're reflecting on how great our pup did (which was hard not to notice when so many people we were interacting with commented so). She has been working with Beverly for ~8 months and she has made so much progress. We started working with the Pooch Coach within a few weeks of rescuing our pup because like many rescues she had issues. She was scared of people 10 yards away minding their own business and would bark or growl, she wasn't house trained, and she barely knew how to sit. Like Beverly told us, "it's equivalent to her being in 5th grade and she still can't read." Today, she can take voice commands in a park full of distractions (people and dogs barking/playing) from 15 feet away, approaches strangers openly, and can maintain focus when passing other dogs. I can't remember the last time she has an accident. She's not done learning, but we can't deny the progress she's made thanks to Beverly. Here's the real deal, The Pooch Coach is direct and no frills. She gives clear and concise feedback, offers leading guidance when you're on the right track, and calls out your bad habits when you're not. This leads to real change in your owner behaviors which translate directly to your dog. If you want to be coddled, she's not the trainer for you. (Personally, I would chalk these negative reviews up to people wanting to be coddled.) Our dog has made amazing progress very much with thanks to her. If you have a dog with issues and are serious about fixing them and putting in the work, she's a great trainer for you. read more

As I sit here looking at my sweet rescue Remus, whom we adopted from the SPCA just over a year ago, I am reminded of the hell we experienced in June. When we adopted Remus (20 lbs, terrier mix), we were warned by the SPCA that he had some "Minor issues with meeting new people", what unraveled in the 2 months following his adoption was an absolute nightmare. His aggression was extremely more significant that we were lead to believe. He was territorial, would growl and lunge at my roommate and I, would not let us put him in his crate, would lunge and attempt to bite people walking past us, had extreme leash aggression and fear-based aggression. In June we started looking into aggression trainers, and that is how we found Beverly. Let me start by saying, I was very hopeful thanks to the reviews on her website, and I wish I had done more research prior to booking our consultation with her. We went into our consultation with a positive, ready-for-work attitude. My roommate, boyfriend and I (all of whom collectively share the responsibility of Remus) went to meet Beverly at her home. We were immediately criticized for there being 'so many' of us, and she asked that only one or two of us be present for training- while showing 3 people how to train a dog may take more time, we all felt weird being asked to sit out of the training sessions we would potentially be paying for. When we were let inside, she was extremely standoffish and had an awkward demeanor. Now, let me restate that we were here to train our untrained dog. When we walked in, she asked us all to take our shoes off, so as we were trying to do this,-me juggling my shoes and my dog (on leash)-, he walked the length of the leash, started sniffing this weird "designer" chair thing she had, and then lifted his leg and started marking. Beverley started freaking out, yelling and running to get towels and cleaner, and started screaming about how that was a designer piece and how she'd NEVER had a dog do something like that. The three of us all felt so uncomfortable and were unsure of what to do next. I considered leaving right then and there, thanks to how uncomfortable she made us. It felt like such an awful start to the ($150!!) consultation. What I don't understand is why a trainer who supposedly specializes in aggressive, difficult dogs, would have an expensive piece of furniture in the (very small) area she designated for her training consultations. I also find it hard to believe that no other dog would mark territory in a room that smells like many other dogs. Next, once she finally calmed down and could focus on us and Remus, we all sat down on the floor and talked about the issues we were having. At this point, we had only had him for a little over 2 months. She tried to call him to her, and he *surprise* growled at her, the stranger who had already been standoffish with him and who was yelling loudly and running around. She showed us her plan with the checklist and we discussed the cost. At this point, I had already known we were not interested in purchasing any sort of package with her, but wanted to stay for the entirety of our consultation knowing we were going to be charged $150 regardless. What she said next is why, a year later, I am writing this review. Following his growling at her, and her directing us to call him to come to us (again, a completely untrained dog), she made the following comments: This dog is 'unfixable', and that we will likely have to consider putting him down. I'm extremely surprised this didn't stop her from continuing on, saying that for an absurd amount of money, she could 'try' to work with him, and talked more about her magic checklist. She told us about how we would contact her once we accomplished the few items she would assign us, she would show us the next steps, and again we would go off on our own attempting to 'fix' our dog. We walked out of there speechless. I got into my car and immediately started crying, feeling like I had made a terrible mistake adopting Remus. My roommate and boyfriend did what they could to console me, but we all felt totally defeated. If an "all-star" dog trainer told us we had no hope, what were we to do? Not to mention, I (a cook with a tight budget) was now out $150 after being lectured for an hour. That same day we contacted Refined K-9 Dog Training, and our lives were changed. Through 6 weeks of hard work with a trainer who was present, thorough, instructive, and committed to us, and almost a year of hard work ourselves, I am so proud to say that our 'unfixable' dog is doing just fine and is as sweet as ever, no thanks to Beverly. We were able to establish trust with Remus and his fear-based aggression is now nonexistent. Remus is so loved and we are so happy we didn't give up on him. read more

Beverly is very intuitive and heart-felt in her connection with dogs. She has been incredibly generous with her time with me and my dog Max. I have been astounded each time I see her with her own dog who is incredibly well behaved.. the proof is in the pudding with that one.. I feel that Beverly cares about where the issue begins with the dog and not only the solution for the problem. She is helping me understand why my dog reacts in certain ways and is helping me fix the problems... Thanks so much Beverly.. read more

Disclaimer: We came to Beverly with our rescue puppy (6 months old). Our unique situation proved a good match. Although after our first meeting I went through the range of emotions only a Lifetime movie can evoke, I realized she was right and if I didn't want to feel like a bad owner I had to stick with her. Some people may not jive with her style or demeanor. If you continue your lessons it does get easier and better for you and your dog. Remember, she is teaching *you*. ___________________________________________________________________ Beverly did an amazing job coaching my fiance and I on how to be good dog owners. Her laconic style of teaching means she is cutting the crap and maximizing your time with her. I'm glad that she introduced us to her dog. How her dog behaves is a great example of how we want our dog to behave. We held lessons at her house. Beverly coached us on how to be alpha to our rescue dog. Our dog trusts us, loves to obey commands, and is no longer obsessively protective of us. We took our time with the homework and made sure we were ready to move on before meeting with her again. She was fairly easy to get a hold of and answered all of the questions we had. If Beverly comes off as curt it's because she is really good at being an alpha herself (She sat with the afternoon sun to her back so that it was almost painful to look at her while she was talking to us : Alpha.) I found this highly amusing and I trust someone this serious as someone who is determined and committed to her training techniques. I would absolutely see her again and recommend her for any owner(s) who are okay with the strict, no frills didactic teaching style Beverly uses. read more

Beverly has a plethora of knowledge on everything dog (proper care, training, health, behavior, diet, well-being, etc.) and understands the importance and ins and outs of the human-dog bond. She holds a holistic perspective, which is invaluable to not only the dog, but also the owner. She is a prime example of someone that embodies her work and makes it a part of her minute to minute existence. She has a tremendous passion for what she does and will go above and beyond to support anything and anyone related to her line of work that touches upon her core values and beliefs. She has a strong network of professionals, which acts to provide owners with many trustworthy and reliable resources. Her extreme love for what she does is evident beyond measure. I would give her 10 stars out of 5 and would highly recommend her services. She truly wants the best for everyone that crosses her path and I fully trust her with me and my standard poodle. read more

I worked with Beverly back in 2011, and recently thought of her after working with another trainer for a different dog. So although it has been a long time, I wanted to say a few words about my experience, especially as the Yelp reviews here seem to be all over the place and I think a more balanced view is in order. Beverly helped us with our female yorkie, Sammy. She was around 7 months old at the time and is now 6 (time really flies!). Although she was a tiny little adorable yorkie, she was also a terror. She was aggressive, destructive, and had a biting problem that would literally bring me to tears. I had many puppies growing up, but I had never experienced these issues before and did not know what to do, so I searched online for a trainer and contacted Beverly out of desperation. I'll start with the overall outcome of our training sessions. Sammy improved dramatically after Beverly educated us and we implemented many of the strategies that she suggested. Since our training sessions and to this day, Sammy never bit us again. She will not even play bite, except with our other dog. More than that, while she can still be a defiant terrier that doesn't listen, she is for the most part very obedient and gentle, and I do credit Beverly for arming us with the appropriate skills to make her the dog she is today. Granted, she was a puppy at the time and puppies do bad things that they later grow out of, but I really believe that left unchecked, she would have carried a lot of her aggressive behavior with her into adulthood. General positives: Beverly was responsive to email and spoke with me several times over the phone at length in between sessions if I had any questions or concerns. She is very thorough and detailed, and she is also effective - I remember being amazed at the first training session with her and how fast she was able to reign in Sammy and get her to listen. As time went on, Beverly provided useful exercises and tools that really worked, and she demonstrated/explained everything during the sessions in great detail. Additionally, seeing how incredibly well trained her own dog was really demonstrated to me that she knew what she was doing. General negatives: Yes, she can be a little abrasive and judgmental. I did sometimes feel like I was being lectured and/or scolded for not following everything she said to the letter (to be fair though, I think you'll find this is the case with most dog trainers). I also did not agree with all of her methods or suggestions, most notably the use of a choke collar, which I refused to use and did not feel was appropriate. So it wasn't the most warm and fuzzy environment, and it was sometimes awkward to have to tell her I didn't agree with something, but in the end I honestly overlooked all of that because I could see the change in Sammy's behavior and was happy with the results. To sum it up, I didn't love everything about her approach and style but ultimately, I ended up with a well behaved dog and the issues we wanted to fix were fixed, so I'm a happy customer! read more

We received a notice from the "The Meet-up" with SF Dog connect that DOGTV will be filming at Christopher Park In San Francisco on 6/11/2016. We have never been to a Meetup with The Pooch Coach and we were very excited to talk to her about our 11 month old English Bulldog "Hercules". We arrived at 1pm...1 hour late coming from the east bay in traffic. Meet-up is from 12-2pm. The moment we arrived, The Pooch Coach immediately scolded our puppy for urinating on a bench wall. He is a dog and dog's mark their territory. Not to mention, there was already markings on the bench wall already. She was not warm or inviting. She was very abrasive and as she walked by, she shouted at a dog "GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER". My kids stood by with their mouths open and couldn't believe those words came out of her. What kind of dog trainer is she? I would never ask for her advice or pay her 1 cent to train my dog. I don't understand all her recognition. I can only shake my head in disbelief that these tv shows would give her any tv time. We walked away after 10 minutes because as much as we wanted "Hercules" to be a star on DOGTV, it was not worth it with the bad vibes we received from The Pooch Coach. read more

I called Beverly to help get my dog to stop barking since I just had a baby. My dog is fairly good dog, but tends to bark crazily when someone knocks on the door. When I arrived she invited me in and I told her about my problem. She had someone come over and watch her dog, but constantly said that her dogs were well behaved. why did she need a dog sitter then? Anyway, Before she spoke to me about anything she gave me a run down verbally of her price sheet. I felt an a ton of pressure to choose right there. She suggested a 1500K program for my dog. I couldn't afford that program (although I knew it would probably help my dog) but I just wanted to "work on the problem". She charged me a one time fee which was about approx $325. She waited until I wrote her check until she spoke to me. She basically suggested I get a choke collar and give a command 1x then 1 more time and if they dog didn't obey, to tug (hard)on the choke collar. That was it. I looked at her and said "that's it?" and she said "yes" She said I should work on it for about a weekend. Then I asked if we could at least demonstrate and she said, "it's probably not going to work here" well it did my dog barked when her "dog sitter" knocked on the wall. My dog stopped barking after her above suggestion. So, in the end, yes it worked, but I didn't feel Beverly was very nice to work with (she is not very friendly), she made me feel like a poor dog owner and I felt like I was "chumped" out of my money. I know dog training is expensive, but I wished she could have given me a little idea before I drove all the way into the city to meet her. She said I could give her a call for "tips" but I didn't bother. I am glad that I couldn't afford the long term training. read more

Beverly, Are you really asking me if it was someone else that we hired? Um, no. It was most definitely YOU! And we never went outside of my apartment. My apartment was where my pup was most comfortable and didn't really have any issues unless there were strangers in the house. We only had 2 sessions, because a) I got frustrated with your teaching/training and b) you said you were booked for the next month due to some play your dog was in. Since you were a stranger to my dog, he did not like you, and it was clear you were afraid of him. Tossing treats to a fearful/agressive dog will only get you so far. You never gained the trust of my pup and now I can see why -- I never trusted you either. And I should not have trusted you with all the money upfront. I'm just glad that I didn't pay $1500+ for your "help." Beverly's approach to dog training is not for everyone...and that is being overly nice! I wasn't looking for a positive-only dog trainer (ie, ignore all the bad behavior and reward the good behavior) because I do believe that there should be consequences for bad behavior. But there was almost NO positive reinforcement with Beverly...maybe because my dog never trusted her enough to ever show anything other than aggression around her. It's funny, if you take a look at Beverly's website, she has an article titled "How to Recognize and Avoid Aggression in Your Dog." I think anyone with half a brain can recognize aggression in a dog, right?? Well she certainly does not address how to AVOID aggression in your dog in the article. She does however say that you should contact a dog trainer (i.e. her) to quickly resolve the problem. If you want to save a few thousand dollars and your sanity, look up NILIF (Nothing In Life Is Free) on the internet. This is the approach that both Beverly and our second trainer recommended (however our other trainer was able to help us incorporate it into situations outside the home). Basically, your pup has to earn EVERYTHING...food, affection, sitting on the couch, walks, you get the idea. They no longer have a "free ride" so to speak and instead of being spoiled, they have to earn all the things they take for granted. I'd be happy to discuss our success with anyone interested. Please feel free to message me. read more

Yes, like the others, Beverly contacted me, a one-star reviewer, and offered me all my money back. I said no, just half, as I thought that was fair. (I had used half of the services) Also, I didn't want to be beholden to her for a five-star review, as I suspected that's what she wanted, as is her right. And she was not getting that. Kudos to her and her fairness. And also kudos for hiring an assistant. read more

Update 1/21/16 : Dear Beverly, In response to your reply on here. Thanks for giving me adequate time to consider taking my post down. All of less than a day. I actually posted something on my Facebook page asking for people's opinions in regards to taking down my post. I was still receiving comments today and was going to decide tonight. I just got home from work after a 10 hour day. However, I no longer need people's feedback to decide my course of action. Your lack of sincere apology along with one excuse after the next and NOW, you're going to try to turn the tables and point the finger about why I was calling and how THAT affected your attitude. You were cold from the second you picked up the phone to the time we hung up. When I told you my dog had bitten people you didn't skip a beat. You just kept on with your coldness, your short answers, and your lack of forthcoming information. If you remember correctly, you actually went on and on about how you get phone calls from people all over, not just in California. You explained how people called you all the time for free advice and how draining that was for you to have to talk on the phone with them all the time. Do you even understand how unprofessional that is? I'm sorry, but the only one hurting your business is you. Take responsibility for your actions. My bad day had nothing to do with my decision to take this post down. Had you given me enough time to consider things, I just might have. But unfortunately you sealed your own fate and I had nothing to do with it. Good luck to you. read more

This review comes years late- I think we tried the pooch coach 3 years ago.. I found her business card at a local/favorite pet boutique, and thought, yes, my dog can use some help. He's a 70lb american bulldog, which means, he looks like a pitbull on steroids, and often sends people running with their kids- even though he loves people more than food. However, after being mauled by some horrible labs about 6 months after I rescued him, he became fear aggressive of dogs, and can be unpredictable with them.. as in, some he loves and kisses, some he thinks he needs to snap at. I should have realized the pooch coach wasn't the right trainer for us when she said she would not train my dog until we had a prong collar.. i like a positive reinforcement training and am against prong collars.. his harness works so much better. Did I mention my big man is deaf? Yep, an extra hurdle. She gave us homework, like making him sit at the door before leaving and such, which I understand is good and necessary and he has to be well behaved with me and in the home before he's going to be a stand up dog citizen in public.. but I needed help outside, and fast. The sessions were rushed, and until I had his homework completed, we couldn't move onto the next step. So, I'm still struggling outdoors.. and am getting irritated. Then we hit the outdoor stage, he liked to pull as hard as possible (which is like a semi truck) to get to the dog, and have his loud, horrendous deaf dog bark and then start jumping around like a mad-man.. seriously, he'd go crazy (he never bit any dogs, but I was also over-cautious mom). She took him on a one block walk. That was our outdoor experience. One block, and on it, we never saw a dog, she she never witnessed the mayhem. Her suggestion was, when he sees a dog, make him sit and behave, and when he does, then he gets to meet the dog. Ummm, that's the problem, he won't sit and behave. And he's too big, so I can't make him. That's where we got stuck, it was sort of along the lines of 'well, then he doesn't get to meet the dog'. yes, yes, this is what we've been doing, he goes psycho, and doesn't get to meet the dog. But I was never told how to get him to sit and behave.. and until I was able to get him to do that, we weren't able to move on. And alas, after maybe 2 short sessions and $500, my doggie and I said, well, he knows 'down' now.. I guess we got something. read more

Since this post, I emailed with Beverly and she offered us a partial refund and we accepted. Her explanation was even though the contract was for unlimited sessions, in order to calculate a refund we'd have to assume an average number of sessions with her at 4-5. Considering we saw her 3 times she offered to give us back up to 2/5's of our total program cost ($1700) back which rounded up to $700. The contract we signed with her was non-refundable but she offered to make the exception. Things could have been better but they could have been worse. All in all, it was a huge learning experience for our wallet. My biggest recommendation is for those of you looking for a trainer is to do your research before you lock into a non-refundable contract with Beverly. There are some excellent trainers out there that are dramatically more affordable. Even if it took 10 sessions with Beverly vs. 20 sessions with another excellent trainer that only charged $65 per hour we would have saved a significant amount of money. So do your math and know that there are other really great trainers in San Francisco that charge a lot less which can help you get excellent results. In the end, it will always be a matter of how much work YOU put into the training no matter if you spend a fortune with the Pooch Coach or get the same training elsewhere. You might as well just save several hundred dollars getting the same information from someone else. read more

The Pooch Coach was not a good fit for us or our dog, and I stand by everything I said in my original review. I have to give Beverly credit for contacting us and offering to make it right. If you have worked with her in the past and weren't satisfied, let her know. If you are looking for a dog trainer, definitely shop around, don't rush into anything, and most importantly, trust your instincts. read more

We met with Beverly today and I hired her. I read all the reviews on here as well googled her and read even more reviews on a couple of other sites (which by the way are glowing and of recent experiences not years after the fact). I recommend you do your own research and come to your own conclusions. I went in a little reserved - although open minded. After about a 40 minute conversation regarding behvior isses we discussed her approach and what I could expect as a client. My experience was Beverly was warm, welcoming, gentle but firm with my dogs. I did not experience any of the negative experiences described by other reviewers. I am of the firm belief that a poor experience after a good initial experience means that expectations that were set, were not met - for whatever reason. That is unfortunate. Because of this, I took the extra step to clarify her services and my expectations and how we were going to work together going forward. Of note, If you think she is going to do all the work you are mistaken. You need to know that the time and effort on your part is going to be substantial and that she is going to be there in between sessions by phone or email to "coach" you. I find this way of working to be preferential to hourly rates where I really don't know how many "hours" I will be paying for to get the dog results I want. With a flat fee up front (figure it averages to about 15 - 20 hourly sessions with a by the hour trainer at $150 / hour) For your average, non-aggressive dog. Also this is self paced - which means that some things we may breeze through and others may take some time to master. This is substantially different from classes that meet weekly - at the end of 6 weeks you are done - regardless if your dog has mastered the material or not. Not so with Beverly - we won't move on to the next steps until the first steps are mastered. Other reviewers are right - she provides hand outs. I am glad she did as I would not have recalled everything we covered. With just our first session under my belt, I took one of the dogs for a very long walk and used the techniques she showed me to keep him from racing ahead and maintaining control. It worked pretty well! As we work toghether (the dogs and me) I am confident that together with Beverly's help our family will end up with dogs that we are proud to take out in public, to friends homes and just relax around the house and enjoy! I highly recommend checking Beverly out to see if her style and approach and way of working are in line with your expectations. I am already a fan! read more

Unless you appreciate condascending personalities and aggressive training techniques, I would steer clear of the Pooch Coach. Beverly came to our home for an initial consultation after we corresponded via email for several days. She was there for about 30 minutes, most of which was spent with me receiving an in-person pitch about her "program" (something that could have been presented to us via phone or email). She charged us $100 for that visit, and gave us an estimate of an additional $1,000-$1,200 to work with my dog (which was equivalent to approximately $240-300/session). I didn't receive any guidance from her that wasn't available free on her website, and was totally dissatisfied with the entire experience. She reprimanded my recently rescued, extremely submissive pound puppy for seeking attention, and told me it would be necessary to train out the behaviors 99.9% of the population finds endearing, i.e. offering her paw, nuzzling, and sitting or sitting down before asking to do so. It's been over a year since her visit, and I still cringe at the prospect of having my dog trained by someone who came off as so hard-hearted in a matter of minutes. Since then, my dog and I have worked with two other trainers, both who provided excellent service and follow-up. The sessions were $75-$100/each, and each session lasted at least 1.5 hours. They also provided free follow-up support via email and in-person. My total investment was $175 to date, and I continue to correspond (and meet) with them for no additional charge. Normally I don't bitch and moan about customer service interactions. But I think people who are interested in adopting rescue dogs are likely to appreciate honest, up-front communication and reasonable, competitive prices. There are also many qualified and committed trainers in the East Bay that could serve Bay Area pets with warmth and effectiveness. read more

Bev is a wonderful dog trainer, and it pains me to see such bad reviews. I have a very 'needy' dog, who I allowed to let think that she is the alpha female in our household. After explaining this to Bev, she graciously agreed to have a consultation with us to see just how we interact with each other. Since this initial meeting, I have had Bev help me with Willow and I couldn't be more pleased with the results. Willow is much more responsive to my commands, and she even is to a point where I can take her for a walk off her leash and she does not run off. I highly recommend Bev to anyone that is looking for someone to help with obediance training. read more

Beverly has a no-nonsense approach and dogs immediately respond to her because they pick up on it. She is creative, fashioning the training to the individual needs of the animal and the person. This is good, since we all know not every method works with every dog...flexibility and the ability to evaluate what will work best is absolutely key. Bev has a knack for it. She donates training sessions to Rocket Dog Rescue foster dogs whenever she is asked and follows up without fail. If you are looking for a dog trainer, please consider The Pooch Coach! read more

Beverly is really great. She was very helpful and had tons of knowledge. I was very impressed with her. I've seen other trainers, but their techniques were different and not very helpful to train my dog specific issues. One trainer didn't even think my dog needs much training, or any further meetings with her. Beverly made many excellent points to think about. She explained them well. Had given me tips and came up with training exercises for my pooch. It was a pleasure meeting her. I highly recommend her as a trainer, not to mention that she is a very nice and easy going person. read more

I'm at a loss for the number of bad reviews on this site, as I have nothing but positive things to say about Beverly. I am currently training two eight-month-old puppies with her and we've been attending training session for about three months. I've lost count of the compliments I've received on how well-trained my pups are. Restaurants that don't normally allow dogs (even outside) allow my pups to sit next to me on the patio. People can't believe they are only eight-months-old! At the consultation, Beverly was able to assess each dog's personality almost immediately. The dogs learn so quickly from her and she has never been aggressive or mean to them. The bottom line is you have to do the work. This is not some place you drop your dogs off for two weeks and expect them to come home fully trained. Beverly know dogs and knows what they respond to. She teaches you the methods but you have to practice them with your dogs on a regular basis. And you do it at your own pace. She isn't going to be hounding you with calls making sure you're doing your homework; it's up to you to complete the tasks she demonstrates for you and then call her to set up another appointment when you are ready to move on. There have never been any communication issues. Beverly always makes times for any questions I may have, whether it be training or even their general health. I'm new to dog ownership and one of my little guys has been sick twice; both times I turned to Beverly for advice and she responded immediately, even following up the next day to make sure everything was better. I highly recommend The Pooch Coach. read more

I am shocked by the reviewers who have been unhappy with Beverly and her work with their dogs and especially those who say she didn't call them back or wasn't interested in their animals. I have been working with Beverly and my three dogs for a couple of months. She not only responds within a couple of hours to any email questions I have, but she has driven to my house on the Peninsula and worked with my dogs at my home. My dogs are progressing nicely and Beverly was able to put the whole idea of training dogs in terms that both my friend and I could easily understand and relate to. We are now walking all four of our dogs at once and are able to enjoy the neighbors and their dogs without barking, lunging or any of the other inappropriate behaviors that we had been experiencing. Beverly has been very patient and understanding with us and our schedules and has been more than willing to work with us in any way necessary to train all four of our pack! She has helped us work on a variety of issues with the four dogs (my three and my friend's one) that makes life at our office (where all four dogs spend the day) much more pleasant. I am pleased to recommend Beverly, as a friend did to me, and encourage anyone who has a dog that doesn't behave the way they might like to contact her. Her skill, her energy, her caring and her expertise are all five stars in my book! read more

Beverly does a great job of explaining not just the "how," but also the "why" of dog training. Her approach is no-nonsense--If you're looking for a sympathetic shoulder to cry on as you explain how you've done everything right and your dog just won't cooperate, keep looking. Beverly will tell you why your dog isn't cooperating and show you how to change that. She takes her work seriously and she gets results. read more

It's first important to say I've read all previous reviews about Bev - "The Pooch Coach" and her services and expertise as a dog trainer and found myself shaking my head at some of the negative comments posted on some of the reviews. I have a beautiful rescue dog that had a lot of fear aggression as well, to the point where snapping would take place when he felt threatened or in danger. Bev took the time with me to go over the reasons why this was happening, what she would be doing as a trainer, what she expected of me as a pet owner and how my dog would fall in line if I stuck to the program. I immediately saw positive changes and behaviors after following Bev's instruction. She would go on walks with me, demonstrate EXACTLY what to do in this situation or that situation and probably spent more time than she should have with all my neurotic questioning. Not to mention I would call her constantly with questions on what to do IF this happened or THAT happened. I too am not a big fan of prong collars, however, I trusted in Bev's knowledge of dogs, their physicality and the one she suggested (actually gave me) did not hurt him at all. The moment that collar went on him during our walks, he was a changed dog. Nearly two years later, I am still calling asking for her help when *I* have not lived up to my bargain in keeping up the constant training with my dog. Bev does have a "to the point" mentality and could come across as harsh or non-caring. But, she HAS to be that way when dog owners do not live up to their end of the bargain and the seriousness involved. It's not the DOG, it's the owner! She is giving of herself and devotes a lot of her time and energy to helping dogs, helping rescues and helping owners learn how to become better "parents." I am blessed to have found her! read more

Beverly Ulbrich is a Bay Area Treasure. As first time dog owners, we were way in over our heads with a difficult breed. She responded immediately to our call for help. We set up a consultation at her home, where she examined us and the new dog, and came up with a mutually agreed upon plan and cost. She saved our happy lives! Like anything else in life, you get what you put into her program. There was hard work and lots to digest. Each meeting in her home had a particular issue, which was covered with discussion and demonstrations. We were given printed materials, the necessary tools, a specific plan of action, and told to contact her when ready for the next step. No issue was too small or too big for her to tackle. The results were immediate and awesome. She is highly skilled, deeply knowledgeable, fearless, focused, consistent, devoted, friendly and funny. She never wavered in her support nor hesitated to correct either us or the dog if we were making mistakes, no matter how many times she needed to. Her love of humans and dogs is a gift beyond measure. read more

My husband and I adopted Charlie from a rescue organization. She was picked up as a stray in a very rural area. Nothing was known about her background and the vet thought she was about 7 months old. She was not housebroken, was not familiar with a collar or leash, and showed no signs of having had any obedience training. She was fearful of cars and noise in our more urban environment. Soon after bringing Charlie home, we realized she had some aggression issues around food and other objects. We knew we needed professional help in order to overcome these issues. We did our research and contacted Beverly. Even before we were able to meet with her, she answered questions and gave us advice through email and over the phone. We told her how we were dealing with the food aggression, and she told us to stop what we were doing until we could meet with her and she would teach us how best to handle this. She also gave us some good medical advice. At our first meeting with Beverly, we focused on how to overcome the food resource guarding. What we had tried to do on our own to correct the situation might have worked for a young puppy with no aggression issues, but it was only making things worse for Charlie. Beverly taught us how to address this issue, and after one lesson, we had the food aggression issue under control. Beverly also focused on leash training at that first meeting. Charlie responded very positively to the training, and we were much better educated on how to work with her. We have now had several sessions with Beverly, as well as numerous communications through email and on the phone. With each session, we agree on the exercises we will work on and master before our next meeting. She has given us several educational handouts to go with various training exercises, and we find these very clearly written and helpful when we go through the exercises with Charlie. The self-paced program works great for us. We are learning more and more how to interact with a rescue dog that has trust issues. Beverly is a very patient and clear communicator. She tries to help us understand what is going on in Charlie's mind. Beverly often reminds me to contact her with any questions. She is very prompt in getting back to me. If she isn't available immediately, then she lets me know when I can expect to hear from her and it has always been the same day. We couldn't be happier with the quality and timeliness of communication. We had an uncomfortable situation where Charlie was aggressive with a guest in our home. We were very concerned. We needed help quickly, since we were about to head out of town and leave Charlie with our daughter. I spoke to Beverly, and she went the extra mile by offering to come to our home and meet with us within a few days. She took us and our guest through a series of exercises with Charlie. Charlie responded very well, and we learned how to deal with this type of situation. It meant a lot to me that Beverly gave such personalized help, and she even followed up with me after the meeting to see how things were going. There are many wonderful things about Charlie that we love. We weren't expecting to have the behavior issues we have encountered, but we have learned that they are fairly common with rescue dogs. We feel she has made significant improvement, and we don't feel we could have done this without Beverly's help. Beverly's style and approach have worked very well for us and we highly recommend her. read more

My dog, Vader, and I are clients and I'm very happy to be working with Beverly. Vader is an adult rescue with fear aggression issues. My family has had him for two months. We started working with Beverly at two weeks together. Vader and I and my family are all getting to know each other in positive and healthy ways that put us all at ease. Vader is a wonderful boy so learning how to put him at his ease and not be afraid of strangers or strange situations is terrific. We're working with friends, extended family, and strangers now and the progress is excellent. It's definitely a process over time, and I'm glad we're in it with Beverly. read more