Tailored Dog Training

We had the pleasure of taking our 12 week old energetic aussie mix puppy to 2 puppy socials so far, and met both Ally and Chelsea (separately) who are both very helpful, full of advice and great with our puppy and others during the social. The social class was small but perfect for the puppies to play and learn how to greet other. Ally and Chelsea allowed for their own trained dogs in on the fun to help with the socialization and we and our puppy thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
We signed up to the puppy manners class with Ally and Jeremy and we look forward to getting our puppy well mannered to tackle the next level classes.

Prior to working with Ally I had a consultation with NexGen K9 and I cant explain how horrible that was. Long story short the recommendation was to 1. Put my dog down or 2. Embark on a very expensive ($ 3000 for the first month alone) training session that would require medication for my dog and a 50% success rate. Not to mention it was a negative reinforcement approach.
I was referred to Ally by Sweet Dog Rescue where I got my bulldog from and I cant say enough amazing things about her. She has changed our lives and we’ve only had 2 sessions thus far. Her pricing is very reasonable and she has a wonderful way of explaining things to me. I honestly cant believe the progress and I haven’t even had the chance to work with my dog as much as I should. Her approach is very positive, no negative reinforcements, no choke collars or shock collars. Just treats! I can rant and rave about how awesome and effective her approach is but it wouldn’t come close to explaining how great and creative she is. I’m very happy with the way things are going and recommend her to anyone who needs any kind of training.

I have used several of the services offered by Tailored Dog Training, and I have to say that I could not be more pleased!
Piper and I started off with Level 1 classes with Chelsea. We felt like the class size was appropriate for a small-​group learning experience; we were able to focus on Chelsea and she was able to spend some time with each of us to assist if we were having difficulty, suggest modifications, and also to praise Piper when she was doing well.
We also did a combination of a day train and private lessons with Ally. I cannot recommend this highly enough! Ally started with taking Piper for the day to observe her behavior and personality. She sent updates throughout the day and detailed notes at the end to describe behaviors she noticed and suggestions for how to work on things we wanted to improve. We followed this with several private lessons to hone in on anything we wanted to work on.
Piper has also enjoyed getting to know other dogs at Puppy Socials, and we really like the workshops that they offer.
I always joke with Ally that *I* learn more than Piper from every lesson, but it is true! No dog trainer is going to be able to completely transform your dog in one session, but they can give you the tools that you need to be able to relate to your dog, learn about what they do and don’t respond to, and how to shape the behaviors that you want, which is how Piper and I will be able to continue to grow together.
Thank you Tailored Dog Training Team! We are looking forward to starting Level 2 classes in a few weeks!

This review is long over due (Like winter of 2014 over due). My boyfriend and I went to tailored dog training hoping for help with our rescue dog in November 2014. Close by and reasonable pricing is what brought us here (and the Unilocal reviews).
Our dog was in pretty Bad shape obedience wise, and although the it was going to be group training we decided to try our luck anyway. For the first level of classes, our dog was the biggest and seemed to be oldest one there. He was hard to handle and we were told to work with him about 30 – 40 feet away from the rest of the group (okay with us, safety for the smaller dogs and puppies are important). Because we were placed so far away, my boyfriend and I constantly felt like we were disconnected from the group. Ally was very nice at first, but then she never came to help us train our dog in class. She would come over, ask how’s it going and then leave without helping with our problems. She would just send Jeremy out to help us, but when she needed help with the other students he would have to leave and do the training for her while she moved on to «talk» with the other students .
I get that she only had an our to work with all the dogs in the class, but it felt unfair that she spent a whole 2 minutes out of the hour with us and the rest of the time with everyone else who was allowed to be in the group circle.
For our last class in the session, they cancelled due to rain and ended up rescheduling for when we were not available. We were never able to get our last class with her (and we didn’t really want to go anyway at that point). There was no improvement with our dog unless we gave him crazy amounts of treats (suggested by ally). So at this point we felt it was better to just not reschedule and stop going.
The only reason I’m giving this place 2 start instead of 1 is because Jeremy (the assistant) was very kind and helpful when Ally (the owner) was never there for us when we needed help. So Go Jeremy!
We were able to get help from a wonderful woman in Concord that was awesome and helped us with everything.
If you don’t have a puppy or small toy dog, I DO NOT suggest bringing them here. If she didn’t give up on us after that first class, we probably wouldn’t have given up on her.

I recommend Ally of Tailored Dog Training with the highest regard. Honestly, she deserves ²⁰⁄₁₀!!! She is super easy to communicate with, gives you a clear and concise plan, is very patient, and a pleasure to work with. We have two Pomeranian/​chihuahua mixes we rescued, and they were ferrol dogs– so not at all potty trained (I think they actually thought inside the house was their toilet). Ally came to work with us, and has honestly worked miracles. Not only are they potty trained, but they also used to be so afraid of people and after working with Ally and using her advice, they’re the most loving, social, and obedient dogs. Again, I highly highly highly recommend Ally!!! :)

Ally and Jeremy are great dog trainers! I wish I could hire them full time! LOL! If you are thinking you need a dog trainer, invest in Ally’s expertise and you will not be disappointed. Sometimes one on one training is needed for certain behavior issues, and its worth the money. I feel very confident that Ally can successfully help me handle what ever struggles come about with my dog/​fur baby. Thanks Ally and Jeremy!

I highly recommend Ally at Tailored Dog Training. I’ve worked with a few positive reinforcement trainers in the past but Ally is the only person that has really gotten through to me in a simple language I understand to help with my reactive dogs. She helped lay out simple step-​by-​step directions to help me with training and I have seen great results. I also have attended some of her tricks classes and me and my dogs had so much fun and learned a bunch of fun new tricks and tips on how to shape new tricks I want to teach in the future! I’m looking forward to attending more of her classes since they are close to home, affordable, and super helpful. I’ve sent many friends and clients to her and they’ve all had great results too.

Ally and Jeremy — what can I say? They are life savers! We’ve trained with Ally both privately and publicly and she has helped us understand so much about our dog — how her rambunctious behavior (jumping, pulling, zooming around) are just part of her growing up; how some of her odd fears are perfectly normal for dogs entering adolescence, etc. She’s given us invaluable lessons on how to control unwanted behavior and channel our dog’s energy into other fun pursuits. Her private and training classes are fun and educational for both dogs and humans — especially the humans!
Jeremy is a wonder as well. We asked him to“weekend” our dog to help with issues like name recognition, coming when called and jumping. He provided us with an indepth report and videos showing training exercises we could use and tips on controlling her jumping and getting her to respond to her name. He spent time introducing her to people and other dogs so she could get socialized under different conditions. Raffles (our dog) really enjoyed her time with Jeremy and she has learned a lot. More important, we’ve also received a lot of valuable tips that are helping us daily.
Can’t recommend Tailored Dog Training enough!

Where do I even begin to explain how wonderful Ally of Tailored Dog Training is!!! I have worked with her in both the group classes, to work on general skills, manners and socialization and private in home trainings to fine tune specific issues with each of my rescue huskies. My eldest husky came from a horrible background and was unsocialized to people, places and things and in general exhibits what I call «stranger danger.» I know he feels safe with her because he will hurry to her to say hello and happily follow her in and out of the house and up and down the stairs (both major issues for him). She was very intuitive and took the time to observe his behaviors and recognized he was acting out of fear and showed me ways to build his confidence instead of just forcing him to do «what I wanted when I wanted» a tactic a previous trainer told me to use but never worked. My second rescue husky is just young and needs lots of guidance on how to be a «good boy» as well as overcome mild separation anxiety, crate anxiety and small space anxiety. All of which have vastly improved with Ally’s guidance! He can now be crated for 5 hours with no damage or harm done to himself or his crate. Huskies are not the easiest breed to train (stubborness and independence being two breed characteristics) but Ally has an amazing wealth of knowledge and always has a few tricks up her sleeve if things don’t go as planned! She is kind and patient with not only my two boys but with me! And as always all her training techniques are positive reinforcement based. It is all about love and hot dogs (or whatever your dogs favorite tasty morsel of food is)!! She is punctual and gives her full attention to you and your pets while working. If I hit a bump in the road with my boys I always know she is just an email or phone call away. I highly recommend giving her a call if you are in need of a caring, compassionate, intuitive, kind, patient, knowledgeable and just all around amazing dog trainer!

I’m not usually a Unilocaler, but I really want to give kudos to Ally, Chelsea and Jeremy at Tailored Dog Training for their amazing work. I’ve taken my 6-​month-​old pitbull-​lab-​mix puppy, Baba, to Level 1 classes with Ally and Jeremy and private lessons with Chelsea, and they have all been wonderful. Baba has benefitted greatly from their positive training techniques, and she truly loves going to the classes — which is a great sign! I’ll be starting her with Level 2 in July, and am really excited to continue training with this great group of people — professional, knowledgable and, most importantly, kind and caring toward dogs.

Jeremy is a patient, knowledgeable, and professional trainer. We personally know him before he became a trainer. We asked his help in improving the behavior of our adult Pomeranian/​American Eskimo dog. He has issues on barking, jumping, pulling on leash, and escaping. He had been trained before but still needs more training. Although we live in San Leandro, Jeremy took the time and effort to do a one-​on-​one training. Jeremy is always on time. Every time he comes he brings treats for Kito. Kito loves and listens to Jeremy. I love Jeremy’s positive training skills. In between private sessions Jeremy gives me homework to do follow training. I saw improvement in Kito’s behavior after three private sessions. I look forward to more sessions with Jeremy.
I recommend Jeremy to first time or long term dog owners. He is awesome!
Also, thanks Jeremy for taking my raw food order.
Soli S.
San Leandro, CA

Absolutely love Ally and her classes. I have been taking obedience along with other types of classes she offers with my dog Sofie for the past year and we continue to enroll in more classes. Ally holds her classes outdoors so it provides a more realistic environment with common distractions and offers a fun variety of series such as sporting classes in addition to obedience. Ally is very balanced in her approach and always makes people feel comfortable. If you’re looking for an excellent, well balanced trainer at a very reasonable price, check out her classes. I can’t recommend her enough!

I’m giving Ally’s services the highest possible rating; I cannot recommend her and her team enough. She is extremely knowledgeable, personable, compassionate, and provides a clear, customized, systematic program for working with your dog. Her approach is positive and holistic, incorporating command training and reinforcement, psychological insights, management techniques for unique problems and suggestions for medical or alternative therapies, all tailored to the specific needs of your dog. Though there is no such thing as a perfect dog, if you follow Ally’s program, you will definitely see significant improvement, have a happier dog and be a happier dog owner.
My story. .. I never owned a dog, and when I retired last year, I decided to adopt a rescue dog. Angus is a 10-​year Westie, with 2 previous owners, who was last surrendered by owners with children because of aggressive and problematic behavior. Needless to say, I was completely unprepared for bringing Angus into my home. My 2-​week trial adoption period was rocky, to say the least. Angus was an aggressive resource guarder (his crate, food dish, bones, etc.), and snarled and snapped when picked up or his paws were touched. On the plus side, he is very smart, follows basic commands, is crate-​trained, loves walks, other dogs, playing with his toys, sitting close to me on the couch, and being petted (so long as his paws weren’t touched).
I was definitely conflicted about keeping Angus, but I decided he deserved a chance. I knew I would need a lot of help, and finding Ally on Unilocal was nothing short of a miracle. Angus and I have worked with Ally for about 4 months now. Using her program for Angus, we have eliminated his crate aggression and his food aggression. I can’t overstate the crate aggression issue: Angus essentially turned «Cujo-​like» when I attempted to close his crate at night; it was truly frightening. It took many, many weeks of patient and hard work to gain Angus’ trust and modify his behavior. But with Ally’s help, Angus rarely displays aggressive behaviors, and I’m more confident in managing him in those rare instances.
Angus is definitely a work in progress, but the improvement in his behavior is remarkable. He is still «touch sensitive», does not like having his paws touched or being picked up. While I hope for continued progress in this area, in the interim, Ally has helped me devise management techniques to help with some of these issues. As an example, I set up a ramp to my garage sink and I’m able to bathe Angus, with minimal touching, in-​between trips to the groomer.
In closing, I’ve had a very successful experience with Ally, have a happier, trusting dog, and I am a much more confident dog owner. I recommend Ally and her team highly.

I’m writing this review after having completed another successful session with the Tailored Dog Trainer herself, Ally Lantis. I originally found Ally about a year ago after having come from a trainer who recommended the use of aversive collars on my dog and employed training based on outdated «dominance» theories. I looked online and came across her website and immediately emailed her detailing my experiences and what I wanted to accomplish with my dog. At the time, Jax, my German Shepherd/​Doberman mix, was about 3 months old and nipping and biting everything. I scheduled a private session where Ally gave us the tools and techniques to get his biting under control. Within a week of employing these techniques, the biting of hands, feet, and dangling sleeves had completely disappeared.
A year past and my family and I realized that we were struggling with ways to stimulate him as well as deal with his rambunctious, adolescent behavior. He liked to chew on the wall and wooden furniture, pull on leash, and we started noticing that he had some anxiety. We emailed Ally and scheduled some sessions and she has been a lifesaver. She gave us tools and tips to deal with his anxiety, his under-​stimulation, his destructiveness, and now a month and a half later, it’s as if we have a completely different dog. He doesn’t chew on the wall anymore, he’s more responsive to commands, and he’s coming along fantastically on his leash pulling.
Ally is creative and resourceful in her training techniques and I know this has been said before but she really does «tailor» the training to the dog. I can’t say enough about how great of a trainer she is. She just «gets» dogs.

I found Ally and Tailored Dog Training after already taking classes with another dog training company. Ally gives you and your dog so much more than just classes and lessons. You definitely get a tailored lesson even in her group classes. She has a very good social media presence and has always been available if anyone had questions or concerns. This has been HUGE, as every other place seems to not be available after class. She understands and has had experience with every breed and mix of dog possible and treats each person and dog as an individual with their own unique needs and strengths. I’ve taken almost every class that is offered and look forward to even possibly re-​taking a few of them, simply because my dog and I enjoy them so much!
I will be taking private lessons with Jeremy, her assistant, and both my dog and I are quite excited. He has been amazing and has provided great suggestions on how to deal with specific issues. And both he and Ally have provided great support during some growing pains that my dog is experiencing.
I can’t say enough about TDT. Contact them. You will regret it if you don’t.
Update: 03/​17/​2016
It’s been over a year since my dog and I found Tailored Dog Training, Ally, and Jeremy. The foundation that they help build with my dog has been tremendous! My dog and I are really lucky to have found them and have learned and retained so much. As a first-​time dog owner (and of a herding dog) — I know, I’m crazy — I can’t tell you how having a great foundation is incredibly helpful. It’s not all about discs, sheep, and tricks. You need to build a trusting relationship with your dog and Tailored Dog Training gives you the tools and resources to do that.

Ally has helped my dog tremendously. She helped her with her reactions to other dogs. Ally adapts her training specifically for the needs of that dog and she does an exceptional job doing this! I highly recommend her!!!

I found Ally on Unilocal and was not disappointed! She deserves 5 stars and more. I called her when my new puppy was only a few months old and have done private lessons as well as her classes. She is very knowledgable in dog training with positive reinforcement and Maggie has learned quickly. Highly recommend.

Nothing but great experiences with Tailored Dog Training and the owner, Ally.
My fiancé and I found Ally a few weeks before we brought our Cardigan Corgi puppy home. We really needed help with all the logistics that go into puppy ownership. Ally came by the week before we brought Gizmo home and gave us great pointers on potty training, brain games, feeding schedules and healthy treats. The information she armed us with really made our first few nights with Gizmo seamless.
Ally came by after we had Gizmo for a few weeks and helped us with some basic tricks and crate training. Gizmo really responded to Ally from the moment she walked into the door. She just has an incredible way with dogs. Gizmo went on to do group classes with Ally, some additional one on one training and even spent a full day with her a few months back working on daily training (like being around kids, leave its, and so much more).
Ally is pleasant to work with… she really knows her stuff. Plus she gives you great insight into your dogs behavior. I am so thankful we found her last year. It made all the difference in the world. We get compliments on Gizmo’s behavior all the time – and while we do work with her daily, Ally is really the person to thank! She laid some amazing ground work from day one. People are actually shocked when we tell them Gizmo is only a year and half.
Do yourself a favor, skip the Petco group classes and hire Ally instead. You won’t regret it!

Ally is amazing. My 9-​year-​old Border Collie had many in-​house problems, mainly barking and circling around my husband and I when we would leave the house. We could be leaving to take out the garbage and she would have a fit. Our first private session with Ally cured this. I am astounded that after years of trying to fix this problem by watching Youtube videos, reading countless blogs, and purchasing «calming» dog products, it only took Ally an hour to show us how to handle our dog. Within a week our dog was much more calm and we can leave the house with very few problems.
After our second session our dog is successfully working on not barking at the doorbell and rushing to our guests. We plan to do a few more sessions with Ally for a couple of other problems.
I cannot sing Ally’s praises any louder. Her prices are very reasonable and 100% worth the money and time.

This is a review for our first visit for private training. Ally was on time, and very professional. She jumped right in and we discussed the top things that I thought we needed to work on.
She was very intuitive to the dog and my actions. She left me with a lot of tips and tools to start the journey. I will definitely be calling her back for a regular session.
A+ all the way. She is very knowledgeable with ALL breeds. You can tell that she has worked with all types of dogs, and any issue you could imagine. She is very witty, and pleasant to be around.