Scott-Fox Training

Penny is the real deal. 14 years ago, we adopted a small over-​protective mixed-​breed rescue. Before we found Penny, we had a few sessions with a trainer known for his «positive reinforcement» approach. Well, he told us that our dog reminded him of a «hybrid-​wolf.» He was sure that she would attack someone and implied that she needed intensive private sessions. Did not feel comfortable with methods that seemed to be aversive, so we found Penny — she was at the Pasadena Humane Society. She is a master behaviorist. She understands why dogs do what they do, and how to change what can be changed. She met our dog, gave us a simple solution, and said that our she would be just fine. One brief session. Penny was right — our dog improved dramatically (ok — we did lots of homework) and became something of a model citizen. Since then, we have adopted two other chihahua mixes. They have taken a range of classes — basic obedience, canine good citizen, agility, and now nosework. They have learned so much and are having a great time. We have learned more, and are having at least as much fun as our dogs. She is totally into this work and is at the top of her game.

This training facility is really close to where I live so I thought I’d check out it out, learn about their methods and prices. Well I must have been a ghost because no one ever approached me or asked if I needed help. I was completely ignored and after reading a Unilocalers review that this place is «Snobbish» and favors people and dogs of a certain class/​breed, I now understand the cold shoulder I was given. Thankfully that was enough for me to cross this place out, like the saying in my family goes «Don’t chase the poop!» Peace out!

Very snobbish. Definitely favors certain people in her classes, especially those with pure bred dogs over the mutts. Her lack of interest in helping me and my pound puppy led me to not finish the class with her. She has some good methods, but not worth the cost of the class. I would take dog training classes else where.

After taking Penny’s classes for over 6 weeks, I did not find her classes to be very useful. Depending on her mood that day, she’ll engage with the dog owners or just sit in her chair and give out commands to her assistants as to what to do next. I agree with the reviews who say that she definitely favors those who muck it up with her. As for the others who weren’t engaged in her stories of all her accomplishments, she barely spoke to them and provided very little, if any instruction, as to how to improve on working with your dog.
Penny may have many awards from competitions, but frankly I do not think she is a good instructor or people person. If you’re in the business to help dog owners and their dogs, you should be personable, approachable and most of all be able to teach and provide valuable instruction to your clients. I experienced very little of any of this while taking her classes

I first met Penny when she was the Behavioral Director at Pasadena Humane Society in the late 1990’s and I was working as a volunteer in one of their visitation programs. Took agility classes from her with our male Golden retriever in 2003 and am now taking nosework classes from Penny with our female Golden. Having watched Penny grow and evolve over the years I have utmost confidence in her training and behavioral assessment abilities. She has a wealth of knowledge in all breeds of dogs and a passion for training dogs and their owners. Our dogs would not have been the wonderful companions they are had it not been for Penny.

I have had a great experience at Scott-​Fox Training. My dog has a lot of previous obedience training experience through the Guiding Eyes where she was training to be a seeing eye dog. The training from Penny was very similar to that training. We were able to get certified as a Therapy dog team through Therapy Dogs International.
We have also tried both agility and nose-​work classes. Both have worked well for us and have given us fun, interactive, structured time together. Great thing to do if you want to have a wonderful experience with your dog.

I have had many dogs and never attended any training until going to Penny. My excitement with a new puppy was short lived when my puppy decided she was terrified of dogs and people. Penny took the time to meet with us and work on my dog. I am happy to say with her help my dog is now doing nose work and agility and loves other dogs and even her fear of people has come around. She helped her build confidence and now loves going to classes. I would highly recommend her classes to any one interested in having a happy dog who they want to be socialized and be around a great group of individuals.

I have two dogs enrolled in Penny’s introductory nosework class. One of them is a very shy and anxious dog. I wanted to give the class a try but thought for sure that I had wasted my money because he is such an anxious dog. But the class has been amazing! My dog LOVES nosework and when he is in class he is a different dog. My dog’s confidence has been boosted 100%. He is friendly, his tail is wagging, and he is enjoying himself. Penny thinks about the dogs and does not overwhelm them with too much work in each class.. She wants them to want more nosework fun. And they do! My other dog is 13 years old and blind in one eye. He loves nosework too! Just a great class all around. And I am having a great time too!

My dog, Ella and I are currently in Penny’s Therapy Dog class. I rescued Ella in October and was able to start class with Penny in January. The best thing about her class is that we practice all of the skills in a group. Yes, my dog can walk wonderfully on a leash when we are at home, without distraction — but put in her in a room with 6 other dogs and it’s another story. I am looking forward to the end of our 10 week training and passing the test! I know that Penny will prepare us greatly with the skills we need an the practice (including field trips) that help to cement the behavior.
Penny has been doing this for a long time and knows the behavior of dogs quite well. If there is anything I’ve learned the past few weeks, it’s that the human is the one who benefits from the training the most; our doggies already know what they need to do. =)

I began Puppy Classes with Penny last year after finding myself with a puppy for the first time in eons. My former trainer had moved on from obedience to doing K9 Nose Work full time, and she recommended Penny. I have more experience with dogs than most, as I work with them professionally, so I needed someone super sharp, reward-​based, and local (No Westside!). I’ve been very pleased and continue to learn and be able to progress with my dog.
I went through Puppy Class, beginning agility, and have been in Fun Nose Work for over a year.
I highly recommend Penny, and feel that everyone with a young dog should enroll in her Puppy Class, no matter how many dogs they may have had or raised in the past. I also can’t say enough good things about the focus and confidence-​building that Fun Nose Work provides the dogs.

Spoke to Penny on the phone and was disappointed. I just got a new dog from the shelter who is shy and fearful, and I was looking for a private session/​assessment with a good trainer. She first said, «Well I’m very expensive.» Okaaaay… «You need to take your dog to puppy obedience where he will be around other dogs, otherwise there is no point. Mine is not until August.» The thing is, I told her that I was looking for help bringing the dog out of his shell, and that I needed advice on how to best make him feel comfortable in our home in these first few weeks. I offered to pay her for a phone consultation.
She laughed and said, «I am completely booked this week.» Then she suddenly said she had to go and would call me back. I never heard from her again.

I LOVE Agility Classes and so do the doggies! It’s great to be able to exercise their brains as well as their bodies. They sleep GREAT after class, even though both my dogs regularly run over two miles at a time.
I did A LOT of research looking for a dog agility trainer to get us started within the Los Angeles area. Unfortunately Penny isn’t in the south bay so we have to travel a bit. I can’t speak for any of Penny’s other classes she gives (obedience and nose work), but the beginning agility is great whether you are looking to just have fun or one day compete.
Penny has a huge amount of knowledge and experience that is amazing, and her assistant Connor is incredibly nice, helps so much, and will answer any questions you have.

Penny is AWESOME! She very kind, helpful and has a ton of patience. If I have a question or need help regarding the behavior of my dogs she is always more than willing to offer helpful suggestions.
I have two dogs, an 11 yr old pitbull mix and a 4 yr old tibetian terrier, both are rescues and attend classes at Scott-​Fox Training.
The 4 yr old had a rough beginning so she’s a bit skittish with people and different environments. She also has alot of energy, I thought Agility would help, it definitely has made a difference. Through Penny’s care she has become much more confident. She LOVES Penny!
My pit is very quiet and calm, but with many physical problems. He has done nosework with Penny, for an older dog it’s not physically demanding and he really enjoys it!
I’ve recommended Scott-​Fox Training to my friends and to people I’ve met while walking my dogs.

I have been through many dog training classes, but Penny’s are by far the best. She led the way for me to have an amazing relationship with my dog. I have a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel that can be a little grumpy (not typical of his breed), but she is so understanding and is willing to work through his issues.
Her style of teaching is so fine tuned since she is a behaviorist as well as a trainer. None of the «choke chain» training or mamby pamby food bribery. She is just right. She understands that dogs won’t know what commands mean until they do the action over and over again. It is a very positive experience!
I love her classes so much that me and my dog have been through not only her obedience, but also her agility, nose work, and CGC. They were all fabulous. I would recommend her to anyone, any time, and anywhere.
Be prepared for the REAL dog whisperer!

I first met Penny in her agility class. My dog loved it but was wild, not good with other dogs and hadn’t been asked back to his first agility class with another trainer. Penny is a behaviorist so looks at dogs from their point of view. She took us on and patiently worked with us. I went on to compete in agility with this dog and he also earned his Canine Good Citizen with Penny.
My husband and I have since trained two additional rescue dogs with Penny. All of them have thier CGC and love agility. The second dog was very abused and fearful. Penny’s careful, sensitive training helped turn this dog around. She is a well adjusted, confident dog. The third dog also has some behavior issues. Thanks to Penny, she has earned her CGC and is making steady progress in agility. I highly recommend Penny. Her experience in evaluating dogs, finding solutions and training the owners is expert in every way.

If you are looking for a good dog trainer look no further! You have found someone who will change your relationship with your dog forever. I have two dogs, a three year old border collie mix and a two year old siberian husky. I didn’t start training our dogs until i got my husky. Of the three trainers i emailed about star puppy training only penny responded, and boy am i glad she was the one to respond. Since taking classes with her i’ve tapped into potential i never knew my dog had. We’ve competed in nosework and are beginning to compete in agility and rally-​o. All along the way penny has been there to help and encourage me. I honestly don’t know what i’d do without her. If you want to improve your relationship with your dog of any breed, penny is the dog trainer for you.

Penny is the best trainer you could ever hope to meet. She has a real gift for bringing dogs and their humans closer together. I’ve been taking her classes with my dog, Muriel, for over 3 years, and I’m not alone, most of her clients are what she cheekily calls, «Lifers»!
Yes, Penny’s classes are fun, affordable, and her training methods are creative — all the great things the other reviews say; but, what keeps people like me continuing to train with Penny is that for all of us she has changed our relationships with our dogs from ordinary to extraordinary (and in some cases, from hopeless to extraordinary).
People see me with my dog and say, «the way she looks at you it’s obvious she really loves you.» Well, she loves me because Penny taught us how to be a team in agility and have loads of fun working together, and how to keep it exciting year after year. And she taught us the skills to pass the Canine Good Citizen Test which was Muriel’s first achievement — and boy was she proud to have done well for me. And she encouraged us to get into Nose Work, a new sport that Penny was in from the ground level and is a top competitor in. Basically, she went beyond what one would expect from a dog trainer and she saw the path for me to take to grow closer with my dog and she put me on that path and now I have the best imaginable relationship with my dog.
My experience is not an anomaly, I have seen many other dogs and their humans undergo great transformations with Penny. This is what she does. If you care about your dog and want to have a great relationship with your dog, Penny is the only trainer for you… Muriel has her head resting on my foot right now, aah, the way she’s looking at me. Thank you, Penny!

Penny seems very well qualified at what she does. That’s why I’m perplexed by my two-​star experience.
My wife & I took our new dog to Penny’s puppy training class. Penny’s first comment to us was that she doesn’t typically like our breed of dog. Um, okay. Is that supposed to engender confidence?
Things went downhill from there. The class had far more dogs in it than originally advertised. Penny’s training was weirdly contradictory — for instance, one week she said not to worry about verbal commands because dogs don’t understand English. OK, makes sense. The next week she was making a big fuss about everyone picking a verbal command for a certain behavior. Well, which is it?
Other advice just seemed bizarre and off the mark. For instance, Penny talked about how much she enjoyed walking her dogs off leash in the park. I’m sure Penny’s dogs are well trained. But beyond the fact that it’s illegal, that just seemed like exceptionally bad advice to give to a roomful of people with unruly puppies.
My wife and I abandoned the class once Penny had deflated her credibility. Too bad. Penny certainly has a good reputation; our experience was the opposite.

I contacted Penny Scott-​Fox because our young dog was rowdy but smart and previous attempts to train her weren’t successful. She seemed to have the attitude, «when are we going to do something interesting?»
Penny was recommended by friends who also had a strong-​willed dog and when I saw agility I thought it might be a match. Penny responded to my email immediately (good sign in my opinion) and indeed it was symbolic of how Penny treats her clients. It’s all been fun for both the humans and the dog ever since.
Fun is as important as thoughtfulness in dog training. Penny really teaches you how your dog thinks and how you need to think. She is gentle, and guides you to be a better owner. Suddenly you have a better behaved dog. The changes in our pet as well as other dogs with whom we are training is amazing. We are in Level 2 and our dog is looking like a competitor. Whether you just want your dog to learn to obey your commands or you just have fun, Penny offers every kind of experience. Check her out, she’s very approachable.
Last thought: we want to start a practice group. Penny is working with me to get that off the ground. She supports us without taking over. Unlike other trainers, she always strives to make us better along with our dogs. Her expertise is behavior of all kinds.

Penny Scott-​Fox is one of the nation’s most respected dog behavioral specialists with international acclaim to boot.
She came highly recommended by a neighbor of ours who did basic obedience training with their dog. So… we did that too, BUT we have also since done agility training with Scott-​Fox Training (think obstacle course training with jumps and weave poles), which is so much fun! Talk about a workout for your dog AND you.
We didn’t stop there. We continue to take fun nosework class (think K9 narcotic sniffing dog except without the drugs and bombs!) because our dog LOVES it, she actually prefers this over agility training.
We’re what Penny calls a «Lifer» because we’re hooked. She’s great at what she does. As her web site says, «her passion for training is contagious.» True dat. We’ve caught that bug big time.