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February 2024 by Oathlivion
In a word, perfection. The training was long, but very worth it. Our puppy, Bella, is a completely different pup! She’s more mild mannered and she listens perfectly. Very worth the price and time, and not to mention, they are wonderful people. ❤️
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December 2023 by michael Quigley Jr
I want to thank John Soares and his staff, for their remarkable training with our 5 year old German Shepherd, Duke. Prior to training with John Soares, my wife found Duke to be unmanageable when walking Duke outside. Duke became Dog Aggressive. Duke's tugging and barking had to be addressed.Having trained with John Soares years ago with success, I had total confidence, John and his excellent experienced staff would correct Dukes behavior. After John evaluated Dukes behavior, John explained to my wife and I in great detail, why Duke behaved in this manner. John designed a custom training plan to aid in Dukes training. Understand, No two dogs are alike.With Johns advice, my wife and I scheduled Duke for a Board and Stay Training. On a frequent basis during Dukes stay, John sent use training videos of Dukes improvement. John always maintain open lines of communication.After completing Dukes stay, John did a series of one on one training sessions with Duke, both my wife and I. The results were positive and enlightening.Both my wife and I applaud John Soares and his excellent and experience training staff with working with Duke. Having worked as a volunteer in a local kennel, I seen to many dogs surrendered for this type of behavior. I knew if anyone could correct this behavior, John Soares could.There are dog trainers and then there is John Soares. The teacher of trainers. Johns knowledge and experience with canines must be recognized as Outstanding. John has a God given Gift with training and communicating with Mans Best Friend.Both my wife and I highly recommend John Soares and no other.John with out doubt is a FIVE STAR TRAINER an a Great Guy!!!
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December 2023 by Jah G
Our 1 year old GSD just finished his board and train. We cannot say enough great things about John and his training. I mean just look at his history! You can immediately tell his passion for this is genuine. We cannot recommend him enough. Our Echo had a tough life before us. We all believe he was not dumped, but he was an escape artist and they forgot to microchip him on time. With that, he did not know proper manners. After the shelter found him as a stray, he was adopted and then surrendered THREE times by THREE different families. All because he lacked obedience, which was never his fault. John has not only trained Echo, but also trains us so that we are setting him up for continued success. We will definitely be continuing training with him. Thank you John and your team for taking great care of our boy.
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November 2023 by XQZ
If you LOVE ❤️ your dog, Please. Please. DO NOT take your dog here! They are so mean and cruel and just want your money! I took my black German Shepherd dog there a few years ago. They put a prong collar on my dog and literally held her up in the air on her back 2 feet while she was crying in pain. That is NOT training! Especially with a prong collar. My son sat in the chairs and also cried ? seeing his dog being abused. This place hurt my dog if anything. I did my research and apparently they had another location that was shut down for dog abuse. I know it’s been years to write a review. I don’t do reviews. But every single time I ride by this place my heart ❤️ goes out to any dog ? that is there. It doesn’t even seem like that like dogs ? Please. I beg you, DON’T go here. I wish I could rate it a zero! Save your money and your dog! Peace and much Love ❤️
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May 2023 by Paul Dauria
I can’t say enough good things about John. He’s trained multiple dogs of mine and my family. We have purchased a personal protection dog from his as well, he is knowledgeable and always available to help when needed. Thanks so much John, we appreciate you!
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March 2023 by Mark Portnoy
Took my 6.5 month Doberman for obedience training. John and team really did a great job, money well spent. Also, wanted to point out that John does ‘training’ of owners. Trust me, all owners need to learn how to communicate with their newly trained pets.
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February 2023 by Dan Kokulak
My wife and I have a Pitbull named Tito who’s less than two years old. Tito is a very smart and energetic dog, but struggled with obedience. He pretty much was in charge of our house. We thought him basic commands like sit, stay, come and no. However, even though Tito understood the commands, he would choose to disregard them. Also, Tito is very strong and would pull us on the leash during walks or whenever he became excited (if another dog or person was nearby). Additionally, his jumping on myself and guests was too much to handle. John trained Tito for six weeks and when Tito returned, we could immediately see a difference. Now, when given a command, Tito obeys. He is much easier to keep under control and we can even walk him without a leash. During walks, Tito sticks by my side. He no longer leads the walks by pulling and if I stop walking, he stops. I recently took Tito to the vet where there were many other dogs barking uncontrollably and pulling their owners through the front door as they entered. The old Tito would have been pulling his leash, barking and whining due to all the stimulation. But the new and improved Tito sat calmly between my legs. He knew that the environment did not matter and he had to obey my wishes. We have had company over many times and Tito still becomes very excited to see new people, but he will not jump on them when they enter our house. It’s much easier to let Tito out in the backyard by himself because I know he will come when I call him back inside. I believe Tito is a happier dog now that he understands I am in charge and he can relax. I would recommend John to anyone looking to train their dog!
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February 2023 by Morgan Brennan
I brought my very fearful and anxious dog, Rogue, in for 4 weeks of boarded training. Before the training, she would spin around in her leash and run into the street when she would get scared during her walks, she would run if anyone tried to pet her, and she barked at the sound of footsteps or doors opening in our house. Now she is much more confident, and we're able to break her out of her trance when she IS scared. No more running into the road, no more spinning around in her leash, and she only barks at unknown people entering the house (which we're happy with).The staff at Happy Dogs Boarding and Training is understanding, kind, and patient. Their expertise shows through their work, and you get to see the trainers interact with your dog in the videos that John sends you throughout the training process. They really take the time to understand your dog and tailor the training experience to them and the owner.I think the most important thing is that they were able to train someone more stubborn than Rogue -- me! In my post-boarding training sessions where I was handling Rogue, John was able to correct my mistakes in how I interact with her. Rogue and I have a much better relationship now as dog and handler, where before I was unknowingly validating her fears and enabling her anxiety.I can't thank the Happy Dogs Boarding and Training team (especially John and Kimiko!) for all of the amazing work they've done. I will be recommending them to anyone and everyone!P.S. Don't make the mistake of not training your dog at home. Do what John says and keep it up! Don't undo all of the hard work they did.
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December 2022 by Lori Ridgell
My one year old mini sheepadoodle have extreme destructive behavior in the home. In addition I could barely walk him on the leash. He spent 4 weeks at Happy Dogs for the board and train program. It was amazing what they accomplished during that time. Plus he liked being there - when we went back for our follow up sessions he was happy to see the staff. John and all the staff are extremely knowledgeable with behavior issues of individual dog breeds and truly caring people. I couldn’t be more pleased with the service I received.
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November 2022 by Ruth Cohen
Where to begin? Right from our first meeting/evaluation of our dog, Wally John had my complete confidence in his ability to understand each dog as an individual and train appropriately. It was clear to us from that meeting that this was the right place for our dog.: Wally is a very energetic standard poodle, loving, smart, affectionate and challenging. We have probably spoiled him , not setting clear boundaries as who was the dog and who were the owners.. John helped train us and Wally as well. We have been amazed as the difference in Wally's whole attitude, none the less affectionate but accepting of boundaries and behaviors. Our job now is to consistently practice what John has taught us and Wally. We are so grateful to John and his staff. We cannot give them enough gold stars.
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October 2022 by web808state
We highly recommend John as a trainer! After interviewing many trainers in for our 18-month old Rottweiler, and after he evaluated our dog, we though that John was the best at setting our expectations for her training, putting in practical terms what goals we could achieve and how we would get there. Our dog spent 5 weeks with John and we are really happy with her training. John not only trained our dog but the 4 post-board training sessions with us and our dog, trained us how to handle her as well. We found John to be really observant correcting our body language and verbal cues, explaining to us what our dog’s perspective is. This helped us to adjust our routines with her at home and proof his training. We look forward to her next training session with him as we make progress together!
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October 2022 by Melissa (Mel725)
Highly recommend!!! John is amazing at training. He and the entire staff have gone above and beyond to ensure our dog was properly trained. He provided clear instructions and responded promptly to any of our questions. We are forever grateful to John and his team. Our dog is so much better at walking— no more pulling me or dragging me across neighbors lawns or chasing squirrels!!! . Again I highly recommend this place for any dog training needs. You will not be disappointed! Thank you John!
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October 2022 by Betsy Estrada
John is an amazing trainer. We have a two year old German Shepard who unfortunately was not socialized during his first year, since we were in quarantine. But John has been such an amazing help when it comes to his aggression and sociability. Hunter now listens to our commands and is a lot calmer when it comes to other people. We do his exercises whenever we can and for the first time in two years Hunter does not rebel, instead he is very submissive. We can not thank John and his team enough for their help with our pup. We highly recommend him.
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September 2022 by Ed Castro
John and his team are simply the best! He is great with our German Shepherd. So knowledgeable and patient with both the dog and us. We received videos of Max’s progress and we completed the training with him. We can now be more confident when taking him out on walks. He is much more disciplined and we are enjoying our time with him much more. We couldn’t be happier with the results. If you are looking for a trainer, look no further!
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September 2022 by Bill Levin
John was recommended to me from folks at one of the top Vet Schools in the country. He has been a real blessing in terms of teaching me how to work with my French bulldog puppy Walter. I left Walter with John for about a month and when I picked him up he was a completely different pup. He was still the sweet, loving little guy that I knew but now he was much calmer, and no longer was he pulling on the leash. Walter and I continue to work with John and his team with the aim of Walter becoming a therapy dog that I can bring into work with me. I simply can’t say enough about John and his crew. They are amazing dog trainers, but also wonderful people!Sincerely,William Levin, M.D.
