I met Toriano Sanzone by chance while shopping, just before Thanksgiving of 2015. I was considering getting a puppy for my children (11&6) for Christmas but was undecided on training. After speaking with Toriano and doing some research I decided to move forward with the purchase of our Labradoodle and place her in his Doggie Boot Camp. I have had dogs before and with out training I have found that the dog is more of a burden than a truly enjoyed, loved, member of the family. As of today my baby (puppy) has been with Toriano for exactly 30 days. I am VERY, VERY, happy with the progress I am witnessing. I have been attending weekly training classes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays for the past three weeks and each class I notice progress every time. My puppy is 17 weeks old and the level of obedience is amazing. Beyond the basic sit, stay, and down I notice a tremendous level of calm for such a young dog. When I walk her she is a pleasure to walk with. She doesn't pull she stays by my side, she automatically sits when we pause at intersections... It's Great. I have never been introduced to dog yoga prior to meeting Toriano and will admit his methods were different than anything I was use to however, his methods have proven to be ones that bring about Real Results. I enjoy preforming the dog yoga moves with my puppy. The first time she was rather stiff and resistant to the moves now I have noticed she is more relaxed and seems to enjoy the movements and streaches she no longer resist the movements. Maybe it's me but I feel as though this activity provides a stronger bond between my dog and myself. I will be bring my dog baby home in two days to surprise my human babies with our new addition to the family. I am very greatful to Toriano for his services and his sprit. I feel that because of him and his affinity towards dogs he has set a wonderful foundation for me and my family to build upon and we can truly embrace, enjoy and love our newest family member. I will end this review by saying all methods may not work for all PEOPLE however, Toriano's methods are extreamly effective for dogs and is a method and style of training I highly recommend and am glad I have been introduced too. I highly recommend Toriano as a trainer and will continue to attend training after my puppy graduates from boot camp. Who knew that vitimans are not the only good thing you can find in a Health Food Store!! read more

Toriano is a remarkable dog trainer! There are so many trainers out there including so-called experienced ones who claim they are skilled with dominant, pushy dogs and behavior problems. Sadly, only to find out they and their methods are not up to what they claim, AND you've wasted your hard earned money or you were told things that are not true. Toriano is NOT one of these trainers. He is in a league of his own, skilled with dominant dogs and is able to get the job done with no excuses, blending different types of training styles custom fitted to the dog and the owner. Years ago after trying several trainers, including one who hit the dogs and another "experienced" one of 20 yrs who kicked me out of class on the first day, who actually had the nerve to write a letter telling me I needed to put my new rescue dog down as he was a danger to society! This is when I met Toriano. He listened to my sob story, no questions asked, said no problem bring him to class; just show up and let me see him. So I did. He looked at my dog, laughed and said this dog is a cupcake! Needless to say I never looked back! Since then I rescued two more dominant dogs who are therapy certified. They are well trained canine citizens. Proof of Toriano's special gift as a trainer. His classes are not boring at all. He accepts dogs of all breeds and behaviors. He teaches real world skills, and doesn't waste your time or money on silly tricks, gimmicks or unrealistic situations. His classes are built on what you would encounter, how to handle it, manners and balance. From simple puppy skills to training and testing outside with distractions, smells and sounds. If you put in the effort you will reap the rewards! You and your dog will learn a lot, and take it to the next level armed with loads of information! Toriano has great people skills too. He never short changes you with a lame answer to questions. Even if you don't have a challenging dog. His classes are still for you. Puppy or adult dog the classes will create that strong loving bond between you and your well mannered fur baby!!! Thank you Toriano! read more

I have a 3 year old Rhodesian Ridgeback/Rottweiler mix with no prior training. My dog had been kicked out of TWO canine day cares within the past year for aggressive behavior. I found Sanzone Dog School of training on Craigslist and sent an email. The owner Toriano immediately called me back at 9:00 at night. He instructed me to bring my dog in the next day for a consultation. The first person I met was Mykeil who spoke to me about what the program entailed and the levels of structure. Brittany started working with Ugg (my dog) and he was just oh so in love with her. As I continued talking, another trainer by the name of Torrian gave my dog a command and Ugg jumped up and snatched the watch off of his arm. I was very afraid that my dog was at a point of no return! Long story short... my dog had Male aggression plus Dog aggression and he was super possessive of Me. My dog began boot camp that day which meant he lived with the trainer in his home for two weeks. The communication was awesome. I received updates regarding Ugg's progress along with pictures of him during the process. I came in for (MY) training classes with Ugg and the trainer, Torrian who was very knowledgeable. He explained what was taught and how I should reinforce the lessons upon returning home. My dog was returned to me better than the way I sent him :) My dog knows commands; he is no longer aggressive towards men. I am able to invite people into my house. He is not as frantic and he waits for my command. He came back with a greater appetite which let me know they were exercising him on a daily basis. The facility is very clean and odor free. I highly recommend this school for boot camp and I plan on continuing taking classes for socialization. It's a great support system. read more

After a couple of weeks searching on the Internet I found Toriano and Sanzone School of Dog Training. Toriano was nice enough to come out to my house to meet my fiance and I and our American bulldog puppy named Bailey. This first meeting went great and really let me see how Toriano interacts with dogs. We talked it over and decided to enroll her into his boot camp program a week later, she was only 13 weeks at the time. It was hard to let her go for three weeks away from home at such a young age, plus we only had her for three weeks ourselves at this point. Toriano was nice enough to call and give us updates on how she was doing and encouraged us to call when we felt the need. Of course my fiance took advantage of this he was more worried about her being gone from us for more than a day or two. After the initial two weeks Toriano told us to start coming to the group classes so that we could have her associate what she was learning with him with us as her owners. This was great because it allowed us both to see her improvement and for us to learn the proper techniques. After three and a half weeks she was able to come home with us. I think this was one of the happiest days for us. We have continued going to group classes which helped us to reinforce the training, but Toriano stressed to us that training was not only to be done in class time but at home as well. It is now several months later and Bailey is 1 year old. We have stuck with training with Toriano since that first meeting. She has earned her level three off leash training. Toriano has been a great help in getting her to where she needs to be. I don't think I would be able to handle her at 95 pounds if she didn't have the training instilled in her by Toriano. read more

Toriano is not only "as good as it gets" he is constantly raising the bar. We have 3 of our own dogs and foster other dogs. So, we had to sure up our training for our "wolf pack" at home. I needed the value for my money and with a family and work needed "proven methods" with "results". I did my own research and "discovered" Toriano while promoting his book. I could go on with all the practical hands-on skills I continue to acquire in a short amt of time. He's the best with "aggression issues". My experience has been excellent with Toriano as wolfkeeper training in pit training with my dogs. He is focused and full of Expert Knowledge so people who are "serious" about training come to his classes. People pay complete attention to their dogs and work together in building an environment of focus and "training is on". If you have had the experience where people don't train according to what is being taught and engage your dog in "undeseriable" ways then you know what I mean. Made my experience 110% more enjoyable, and productive. We were all on the same page and learning to be "Wolfkeepers" by demonstrating in our own lives what Toriano is teaching us. Do not hesitate run to sign up. I love his book because it refreshes my own training and use it all the time. Our foster dogs often come from puppy mills - no socialization and often lived in a cage so his "Wolfkeeper" Training works great on dogs that have no expereince. With triangle training and productive play I was able to gain their trust and boost my confidence and skill to train puppies or older dogs, where ever the need is. That is something I did not bargain for when I found Sanzone School of Dog Training. Thank you Toriano and staff, read more

I have been working with Toriano for about 4 months now and the progress we have made is amazing. I have a 3 year old Standard Poodle (Ruby), which I got as a puppy at 14 weeks. We did all the basic puppy classes at our local dog training facility, which amounted to about 18 weeks. When she was about 8 months she started to show aggression towards other dogs, strangers and became very territorial of our house. We stopped taking her out on errands, to the local dog park and caged her up when people came over to prevent her from attacking. I tried a couple of different trainers, but we weren't seeing any progress. We went to the vet to see if she had a physical/hormonal imbalance but she was perfectly healthy. They recommended medicated her, but I wanted to fix the problem not mask it. This is when I decided that a bold move needed to be done with her if we were going to see any improvements. I decided to try the 7 private lessons with Toriano first, we did see improvement, but decided that bootcamp was the way to go. I was hesitant at first to let her go, but the reality of the situation is that she needed more structure than what I was giving her. After 4 short weeks at bootcamp, the same Ruby came back, just better behaved! She is a work in progress and by no means is perfect, but we are able to go out and walk on crowded streets, go to a dog park and stores with no trouble. I'm working with her daily and she always showing improvement. We are currently going to class once a week to keep her on track. If you need basic obedience or have a dog with issues you can't go wrong with Toriano and his team. They use various training methods to suit your dogs needs. read more

I came across Toriano few years ago when I started having agression problems with my then puppy - mixture of Shih tzu and Lhasa Apso. I believed the bad reviews I found here as well as Toriano's competition and decided to go with someone else. BIIIIIG mistake! Few years passed and I contacted Toriano again when my doggie got really out of hands. (I wasted ton of money and time on other trainers before) Toriano was extremly nice and straight forward, he came to our house to evaluate our dog and then took him to his boot camp. Was it hard not to have the dog home? Absolutely. Was it paiful to leave him in the fascility after the training session? Extremly. But it paid off. I was really curious what our dog would act like when he sees Toriano after the boot camp and I have to tell you he was really excited to see him. Actually Toriano makes all the dogs happy at his classes :-) Toriano is a true Master Dog Trainer. He always knows what he is doing, he always comes out with a plan for your dog. If you run into a problem with your dog, he does not hesitate and comes even to your home to help out. We still keep on going to the lessons and we are taking it one day at a time. We keep on working on our dog's aggression thanks to the tools Toriano has given us. I really regret I didn't start working with Toriano after the first time I spoke to him few years ago. Our dog's problem could have beed solved long time ago. Potential new wolfkeepers, pls come and see Toriano to work with dogs and you will see why he is the trainer for your little friend. I must not forget to mention that his crew is fantastic as well and they all are very helpful. read more

Toriano has literally been our family's life saver. We adopted an adorable Australian Cattle Dog (Milton) from PAWS in April 2009. Unfortunately, he was mistreated when he was a stray and as a result has a multitude of issues, crate aggression, biting, attacking to be over protective, just to name a few. When we first met Toriano in July 2009, Milton could not even be pet by other people without biting and used to be very rough with my husband and me. He used to bark and growl so loudly whenever someone came in our house, we actually had to have our first lesson outside without Milton just so we could even hear Toriano. Private lessons were great because they taught my husband and I how to handle Milton and how to interpret his behavior. However, Milton is a "special" dog and needed more intense training so we recently sent him to boot camp. Boot camp was literally the BEST thing we've ever done. We actually had a party at our condo a couple of weeks ago for my birthday and not only could Milton be around people, but he wasn't barking or growling! We even took him to my in-laws' Thanksgiving and he was pet by all 15 people and played with 3 other dogs. We attend weekly classes, have Toriano's team walk Milton daily and board him whenever we go out of town. I wouldn't trust my little baby with anyone other than his team. Toriano and his team are well equipped to handle any situation you may have. He was the only person who didn't shy away from our dog's many issues, but I've also seen him work with dogs who just need a polishing on their obedience skills. read more

I bought a ten week old American Bulldog in July. Knowing that I would eventually ned help with such a big dog, I soon after began searching for dog trainers. I love my dog, and have a very special bond with her, so I knew that I would have to find a great trainer to take care of my little girl. After meeting with a few other trainers around Chicago, I met with Toriano, and knew right away that he was the trainer for me. I enrolled my dog in his doggy bootcamp she was gone for 3 1/2 weeks, however I was able to see her twice a week at group classes. The results were immediate and impressive. Toriano has helped mold my American Bulldog crazy puppy into a dog who turns heads on the street because of her awesome obedience at the young age of 6 1/2 months. The bootcamp was definately the way to go as I am still a college student and don't have the ability to spend weeks on end training for 12 hours a day. He took great care of her, and I was given the jump start I needed, and she was properly socialized (a must for any dog owner who wants to be able to take its dog anywhere). We are now already moving onto off leash training and are staying with the group classes. Also Toriano's new book gives me the ability to review lessons from class and really understand why it is so important to have a well behaved dog. Believe me a well behaved dog is the best companion anyone could ever ask for. I would recommend doggie bootcamp any day of the week, and owe a huge amount of thanks to Toriano for all of his help in training not only my dog, but me as well. read more

Upon Meeting Toriano, my dog Tilly ( a 7 month old miniature goldendoodle) and I noticed his confidence and love of the canine breed. "It's not the dog, it's the owner", was quickly realized as I had to rearrange my house so that my "cup cake canine" understood I was suppose the be the Alpha, not her. She resisted the new the feeding place, but in time she finally found she didn't have much choice if she wanted to eat at all. Toriano is an amazing person and trainer. He has a mission to save all dogs and their owners from the disappointment of losing their dog because they misbehave and injure an unsuspecting person. He also wants all dogs treated with dignity and shows us (Tilly and I) how to accomplish this through training. I enlisted Toriano's help to insure that if anything happens to me, my Tilly will be welcomed and trained to pass to one of my four sons. The thought of her being sent to a shelter because they could not handle her would be heart breaking. Yes Tilly is a puppy and yes I need to remember I raised four sons without coddling them and they are all the better for it. So, I had to put my MOTHER hat back on and keep the consistency with this adorable fluff ball and not waiver. It has been about training me as well as Tilly. She is responding with a lot greater speed than I expected. And, I am so thankful Toriano is guiding us and staying with us until the job is done. Toriano may even get a watch from Santa for being such a good man. (-: read more

STAY AWAY FROM TORIANO SANZONE. He is a sneaky and money hungry individual. On two separate occasions, we were to go up and check out his facilities so that we could have our lab Riley trained and boarded. Toriano would always come up with some poor excuse for us not to go up. When we finally went up to his floor, it smelled awful. There were two different litters of puppies there in puppy mill type conditions. They had no room in their pens and appeared to be large litters, stepping all over each other covered in feces.It sounded like there were more puppies in the back, but we were forbidden from seeing back there. There was one younger man up there as well pulling a young dog around on a leash, cracking him with it when he stopped walking. Toriano assured us that he was only training the unruly puppy. We told him we would take Riley home and think about it. He insisted that we act fast because his special discount price was about to run out. We ultimately decided not to take him there for boarding. Three days later, Riley gets sick with kennel cough and diarrhea. Our vet told us that it was from unclean facilities. Mr. Sanzone's facility was the only place we took our dog to. When we asked Toriano about it, he told us that one of the rescues came in with it and there was nothing he could do. He said that he would help us pay for the vet bill, but will not answer our phone calls. read more

I had fairly decent experiences with this business previously, and had even told a handfull of folks to check it out for the classes, but I was compelled to write a review after learning more and seeing a few things that disgust me. For one, I had joined their Facebook business page where Sanzone School posting an ad selling mixed breed puppies on Ebay classified for 400 and 600 bucks. The manager of Sanzone School, Kelly, is breeding Chugs and Pugoodles, they are Pugs mixed with Chihuahua and Poodle. You can look in my photos to see one of the posts advertising puppies by this business. As someone who is a dog lover, I won't recommend a business that is also a puppy mill on the side. They are currently involved in something that donates to PAWS. I though that is nice. Not so nice when this business is contributing to the exact problem PAWS is trying to fight by selling 2 litters of mixed breed puppies for profit. Most reputable trainers I know will recommend you neuter and spay your pets unless they are of show quality, not breed them just for money. Apparently this trainers dog(s) is not neutered either? There is also question to inhumane methods being used in training. Thank you for hearing my opinion on my experience and thoughts even though you may or may not agree. I feel their actions, in many respects, reflect upon the poor ethics of this business. read more

We sent our 3 dogs to Wolfkeeper university, and from our personal experience we are very grateful to Toriano and team. We have 2 miniature pinschers: 9yrs old and 8yrs old. We also added our great dane pup Ana who is now 10 months and 100 pounds. We had everything from dog on dog aggression, food aggression and overall dog chaos in our home. Our min pins were mean, and constantly fighting with each other. When Ana came she was nothing but sweetness, but a big CLUTZ that didn't know her size. Her obedience was nonexistent. So, with 2 toddlers under 3, we knew we had to do something as our problems escslated quickly after our Dane came aboard. When our dogs(littles) left they were aggressive, out of control, and I was unable to take them out in public or even on a walk...we now have our 3 stable dogs we have always hoped for. Not only are they calmer, submissive, sweet and some of the best behaved dogs I've seen in public, but they are HAPPY girls now. I strongly recommend training your puppies (alot easier training a puppy then a dog) Most people wait until after the problem, like we did. Toriano and team at the Wolfkeeper university did a great job with our girls. read more

We recommend doggy boot camp and other DOPA training classes. We have taken our dog there and if we get another one in the future, we would take that one there as well. Toriano Sanzone is an excellent teacher and he definitely knows all about dogs. He also explains how to communicate well with your doggie and how to handle your doggie well. He also explains how dogs can pick up your feelings of being relaxed or of being nervous, which can explain how they act towards other dogs or humans. We also love the dog yoga as she is so comfortable being handled by other humans, for example, she is very cooperative at the vet or dentist. Unfortunately there are some students (owners) who do not continue the important and diligent training at home and at other everyday environments and blame the school for their dogs negative behavior.... they think that they could just drop off the dog for a few weeks or so and presto chango, their dog is transformed into this furry child-like constantly obedient being. Boot camp or not, living with your furry friend is a constant learning process for you and your dog. Take your dog to the Sanzone Academy! read more

I found out about Wolfkeeper University via a Groupon. I was at my wits end with my Alfa pit/lab and was looking for a good training facility. My dog was beyond PetsMart and I was in need of a miracle. I found that miracle when I swiped "Buy Now". Toriano came to my home to assess my dog. He stated Messiah was a Red/10 (very aggressive/dangerous) and recommended their 6 week boot camp. I was reluctant to agree, but knew that if I didn't do something I'd have to get Messiah euthanized because he had bitten someone before. I agreed and dropped Messiah off to Wolfkeeper University the following week. BEST DECISION I could have made for my family and my dog. I received insight into how my energy was affecting my K9 and also how I was actually negatively energizing him!! It was all mind blowing and life changing. Wolfkeeper University not only made sure to properly train my dog, but also took time to properly train my family on how to be leaders of the pack. During the six week program my dog became a pet and I became a responsible owner. I highly recommend Toriano and the Wolfkeeper Team!!! read more

Toriano Sanzone is a remarkable person as well as a devoted dog trainer. Toriano makes the most of what he has. His training studio is small, but that forces him and his students to be sharp and attentive during classes. Ten owners with their "socially challenged" dogs in tight quarters makes for an intense learning experience for both. Toriano regularly refers to "Real World" situations and focuses the importance of maintaining control of powerful breeds. A field trip to Michigan Avenue's main shopping district on a Saturday morning is an excellent test of his students accomplishments during his course of classes. And this builds tremendous confidence in the trainers. The methods and principles that Sanzone shares with his clients are humanely effective. I use them with my "quirky" Pit-mix. We are both very satisfied and recommend the Academy. My relationship with SSDT began in the spring of 2008 and will continue indefinitely. I am fortunate and proud to be a student and friend of Toriano Sanzone. read more

I am so pleased with the training my two Yorkies have received at the Sanzone Academy of Dog Training. They attended the doggie bootcamp for 4 weeks and continue to go to group classes. While at the bootcamp I would join them for training sessions multiple times a week so I could also be trained on the handling and obedience techniques. One of Toriano's greatest strengths is his ability to teach. He provides useful feedback and training tips. Toriano is very knowledgeable about dog behavior and was able to explain to me (someone with limited dog experience) how to read my dogs and how to best communicate and interact with them to achieve the best results. Toriano uses training techniques that, to my knowledge, are not typical of basic obedience. He has high expectations of the dogs and the dogs always seem up to the challenge-check out some of his videos on You Tube. Toriano is always positive, energetic and excited to be helping dogs and their owners; I have never met anyone more dedicated to dogs than Toriano.- my dogs LOVE him!!! read more

I began taking my American Bulldog "Nala" to Sanzone School of Dog Training in April of 2007. She was 6 months old and an absolute beast! She did not know any commands, would not walk on a leash, would snap at my children if they touched her wrong and believed she ran the house. It too was very hard for us to leave her with Toriano and his team. We called to check on her often and when we came to see her she also was very thin. You initially get defensive and think, "they must not be taking care of my baby"! The truth is my dog lost weight because instead of being at home where she was laying around eating ANYTHING she could get her bully teeth on, she was being worked and trained and getting so much exercise that she lost weight. Toriano did a wonderful job not just training Nala, but training us. There is no one else I would trust to train my dog. Infact I have moved several states away, and continue to travel to see Toriano and have him train my puppies. The Sanzone School of Dog traing is by far the best you can get! read more

It won't allow me to not give any star! I would NEVER RECOMMEND Toriano to train any dog. But more importantly I would NEVER RECOMMEND his boot camp. My puppy had a clean bill of health the day before she went to Toriano's boot camp. When we got her home she had contracted 2 types of worms. One from an unhealthy environment. He switched her food without permission. We supplied plenty of it and we kept bringing more. The 3rd week he brought her by our home had her sit on a flower pot, was trying to get her to heel and kept stepping on her paws. AFTER 3 WEEKS!!! She's a smart dog which I taught to sit with one finger in one day, along with stay and lay. He asked me if i noticed any difference. Obviously my answer was no. The following week when we got her home we noticed her neck was severely like 'shaved' from aggressive yanking on her collar. MAKE SURE YOU ""READ"" HIS CONTRACT!!! BEFORE YOU SIGN IT!!! because we didn't and there was absolutely no way to fight it. He covered his tracks very well read more