Dogs With Dave

Dave is literally a lifesaver!
I called Dave last year the day after getting my 16 week old rescue puppy, Branson, and began working with him immediately. I was a bit overwhelmed at first, to say the least.
When I called Dave, Branson was skittish and timid around people and other dogs and had no training whatsoever. Within a week, he was able to sit and stay, was beginning to walk obediently on a leash, and had begun socialization with other dogs. Several months later, Branson is a changed dog who loves socializing with people and animals alike. He has passed his canine good citizenship test, loves the dog park, dog beach, and trips to the pet store.
Dave was amazing working around my husband’s military schedule when he was home, and working with just me and Branson when Mike was deployed. Branson LOVES Dave and is almost overcome with excitement every time he sees him. We recently moved across the country and my husband often jokes that he wants to fly Dave out to teach Branson new skills and tricks.
Bottom line: I can’t recommend Dogs with Dave enough!

I now have 2 dogs that can be out of their crates AT THE SAME TIME. Before Dave that was impossible! And a lot of work and coordination of who’s in and who’s out. We did that for 9 months. but not any more. I’m so happy!
thank you Dave!

Dave took on the tough job of helping us train our Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy. Apparently it’s not an easy task. I’ve never met as mellow and well adjusted RR, except maybe for one other who also received training from Dave. Thanks Dave! You helped us make Emma a treasured and loved member of our family!

I contacted Dave twice, 9 days ago, on December 18^th, first by phone, then via email. All I got back from him was an auto response by email with the subject line «Dave can help!», assuring me that we would talk soon. Did we? No, we did not. And Dave did not help. He simply never got back to me.
I don’t know what kind of excuse one might come up with to justify that. Now, in the 21^st century, everyone has mobile phones and email accounts used interchangeably. No matter where you are — at home with the flu, enjoying your vacation in Paris, or taking care of your sick auntie, you can and should respond to people looking for your professional services. So no matter what others might say, in my book, a person who doesn’t have the discipline and respect to do so, cannot be possibly capable to teach those important behavioral skills to my dog.
Unfortunately, there is no option for zero stars here. In my opinion, since Dave never bothered to get back to a potential client, a service that was never provided, didn’t earn even one star.

We absolutely love Dave. He changed the game for us with our feisty Kerry Blue Terrier. Dave patiently helped us develop skills and techniques that made life with our dog better than we could have imagined.

We love Dave!
My husband and I contacted Dave before we adopted our dog last year. We discussed breeds, ages, sizes — pretty much everything — to see what type of dog would suit our living situation and lifestyle. (Apartment living, we both work 8 hour days).
After adopting our pup through a rescue, we went through many months of training with Dave. He quickly identified that we had no experience working with dogs, and he helped us build confidence in ourselves and also helped us build a strong relationship with our dog, Sylvie. We went over all of the basic commands, with Dave prioritizing that we understood and properly executed commands over learning as many commands and tricks as possible. We went over doggie play etiquette, and he even made a house call to answer any day to day interaction questions we may have.
Our pup Sylvie has blossomed from a timid dog into a happy, well balanced one. She has become an integral part of our family, loved even by all of the neighbors for being so well behaved. Thank you, Dave!

We’ve had Annie, a shepherd/​greyhound mix, for 5 years. She was a rescue dog that we acquired around her first birthday, and we were her third family. It didn’t take long to figure out why. She was a fearful dog, not cuddly, slept a lot (the greyhound thing) and had a fast startle reflex. Her sky was always falling and we often felt like we were in the background of her life, in third place with her nose at second and stomach at first. Long story short we approached Dave for assistance in understanding and better managing her. It was a perfect fit. He understood her behavior… and ours. He may think we think we paid for dog training, but his card should read Dog Owners With Dave because as unusual as you think your dog is, that’s where the training starts.
At the end of the training package Annie is still a little fearful and probably will always be to some extent. She was simply not socialized early enough and we suspect was traumatized by little kids in prior families. But we came to understand she is a working dog, so we now give her things to work on. Before Dave she would never have crossed the Adams Ave. bridge over 15. We would have had to drag her. Now she’ll heel, sit, stay then jump up onto one of the street lamp bases, trafffic roaring below, to get a treat. She jumps off and proudly completes the trip to the big park. Yep, proudly, prancing, tail relaxed. Walking her is a pleasure. We feel prepared to anticipate her triggers and give her the right work.
If you decide to do this, seriously commit to the weekly class. A half hour is plenty for dog and owner… and Dave understands that «repetition is the key to adult learning.»
So in our last class Dave gave Annie an A and us an A. But who really deserves the A is Dave.

I cannot be effusive enough in my praise for Dave. I cannot express properly how greatly helpful Dave’s training has been for our dog and for us. This is a long, long, long review, so I apologize for going on and on, but it’ll give you a sense of how wonderful our experience with Dogs with Dave has been.
We have a 7 year-​old Jack Russell, named Lucy. Prior to Dave, my wife and I would DREAD going out for walks with her. She would pull incessantly at the leash, zip back and forth between our legs, threatening to trip us, and threatening to get stepped upon by us. We could never allow our elderly relatives to take her out, for fear that she would trip them and injure them on a walk. And, a walk like this would be considered a good outing, in fact.
A bad outing would be a walk in which we encountered another dog. Whenever she would come across another dog, Lucy would begin making this incredibly high-​pitched and painful shriek. Neighbors would poke their heads out the window wondering if we were perhaps performing «enhanced interrogation techniques» on our dog. As the other dog would get closer, Lucy would then begin lunging and snarling and snapping at the other dog, and it would take all of our effort to prevent her from biting the other dog.
And nothing we tried would work. We would try picking her up to calm her down — and get clawed mercilessly by her flailing legs for our efforts. We would try to bribe her with treats, to focus her attention upon us instead of the other dogs — marginally effective at best. We tried yelling at her — not the least bit helpful. We considered using a shock collar — but we love her too much to do something like that.
We were at our wit’s end.
So, why didn’t we go to Dogs with Dave earlier? Because we got Lucy from a rescue organization when she was already 2. We have no idea what her life was like before we got her. And she had all sorts of fear issues and insecurities, so I guess we just thought, «Well, maybe she’s the way she is, and there just isn’t much you can do about it.»
Finally, one day, we were driving around, and we came to a stoplight, and saw Dave walking a dog, in his blue «Dogs with Dave» t-​shirt. We saw that the dog was walking alongside him, heeling, as though glued to his side. The dog looked happy and confident. When Dave would come to a corner, the dog would immediately sit, without any command or signal from Dave. And I said to my wife, «Gosh, I wish Lucy could be like that.»
And, well, why not? Why couldn’t Lucy be like that? At least we should give it a try, right? Now, I figured that there was probably only a 10% chance (at best) that after a training régime Lucy could ever be like that dog we saw Dave walking earlier. But, why not try anyway, right?
We’ve had 5 lessons with Dave so far. And I have to say, I could NEVER in all my years have imagined such a revolutionary change in Lucy. She is an absolute JOY to take on walks now. I can’t be effusive enough in my enthusiasm for Dave and for his training techniques. a) Dave immediately pointed out a number of things that my wife and I were doing that we thought were helping, but were in fact making things worse for Lucy. Easy to correct. b) Dave showed us some very simple equipment changes — what leash to use, what type of collar to use and why and these little changes have made a world of difference. c) Dave showed us how properly to walk and get Lucy to want to heel and obey commands, and pay attention to us during walks. All the techniques and training methods are positive-​reinforcement, low-​aversion techniques.
After just 5 lessons, I would swear that Dave abducted our dog, and replaced her with a wonderfully-​trained and well-​behaved impostor. In fact, just this morning, on our morning walk, I came to a stop at a corner, and Lucy sat for me, without any verbal command from me. I was flabbergasted.
After just 5 lessons, Lucy heels at my side, as though she were glued to me. Her tail is constantly wagging. She sits upon command. Other dogs come up, and she still gets excited, but I’m now equipped with positive techniques to ensure that her attention gets refocused on me, and that she continues to follow my commands, and doesn’t end up attacking the other dog, much less shrieking like she used to. The other day, we went for a 3 mile jog. She jogged along at my side, followed my commands, and ignored other dogs. In the past, going jogging with Lucy would require me having to check up on my life insurance policy — she was always threatening to trip me up while running at full speed, and I was always afraid of falling and breaking my neck. Now, she’s a wonderful running companion.
We still have 25 lessons to go. Next up: Stay, down, wait, etc. We’re so excited about all the coming changes.
Now, I only wish we’d taken Lucy to Dave years before! Don’t make the same mistake we did. Take your dog to Dave today!

Dave is AWESOME! We were on a family vacation in Palm Springs when we first called Dave. We had just adopted a 1 year old poodle mix from a local shelter a few weeks before the trip and had an aggresion incident that caused us concern. I had seen him training other dogs around the neighborhood (Kensington) and decided to call him. He walked us through a series of questions about the incident and the current environment and gave us very specific steps on what to do and what not to do to get us through the week until we returned to San Diego. He explained the exact rationale of each step and why each one was important. It worked like a charm and everyone, including our new dog, was able to enjoy the remainder of our vacation!
Once we returned home we started working with Dave a couple of times a week and we can’t say enough about how much we appreciate his guidance and support! He has a great sense of humor and knows how to provide the subtle but effective motivation for those times when we haven’t completed our homework. He gives you all of the tools to be successful and is sincerely concerned about the well being of our dog and our family.
Dave came over to our house this past weekend for a home training visit and George (our dog) is now making amazing progress on not barking when the door bell rings in addition to his almost perfected skills of sitting, heeling on walks, coming when called and greeting friends and friendly strangers when we are out and about at soccer games, etc.
We referred Dave to our friends who had a very challenging case involving severe separation anxiety. He successfully helped them, too and I cannot emphasize enough how great his interaction skills with both dogs and «parents» are — thanks Dave!

Dave has been helping us train our vizsla pup for just over a month, but the difference even at this early stage is apparent. Our friends comment that they can see huge improvements already as we’ve been learning how to manage the energy level of our high-​engery-​level dog. She’s already better-​behaved, and we are already learning so many ways to set our dog up for success.
My wife and I had taken a puppy class through the Humane Society (which was very helpful), but we really needed a more focused approach. Dave has not only helped us deal with the specific needs of the breed of our dog, but with her specific personality.
Dave is super-​friendly, patient, disciplined, patient, knowledgeable, patient, has a great instinct for interacting with dogs, and is patient. He’s also patient.
Seriously, though. He’s really making our lives better by helping our dog become a better pup. And based on how many people wave at him every time we walk through the neighborhood, I’m not the first or last one to get amazing results.
Go with Dave. He’ll meet you where you’re at and take you and your dog to where you want to be.

7−03−12 Well, Kali and I are ½ thru OUR training, and I am really happy with the results. Dave has taught both Kali and I a lot. When Kali and I do our homework it is fun and not «work».
When I first started, I was concerned about her aggressiveness and separation anxiety, but I soon learned that Kali had to learn first other things. She knew SIT and that is about all. Well, she now knows sit, down, off, stay, and MOST of the time to come. :) She is not barking and charging at skateboards and bikes anymore at the park and she is much better with new dogs and people at the park but still needs more work on that. My two dog sitters tell me she has improved with being with them when I am not there and soon stops crying etc after I leave her with them. It does help that she really loves them and feels comfortable with them too.
I will be back with my final review update when the final 10 lessons are done.
Dave is really a great trainer and I am happy I found him.

Dave,
Your an AWESOME dog trainner! Huntley and I are going to miss our classes, now that he is finally graduating! I remember reseacrching for a trainner last summer and almost every trainner did their trainning indoors. I’m so happy I found you, I think its extreamly inportant that dogs are trainned out in the real world. I also love that your pricing for One on One is the same as it would cost to go somewhere else and join an entire class. People ask me all the time, why do you have a trainer? I tell everyone, It is SOOO worth it. I think its the best thing for the owner as well as the Dog. A must do!
See you soon :)
–Cassie

Thanks Dave for taking Poppy down the calm behavioral path! The early investment is paying off already and we know it will continue for years to come!
Puppy to Princess is the way to go!