Bay Area K9 Association - Santa Clara, California

Mitzi M.

Steve is incredible. His training changed my life and that of my dogs. I strengthened the bond with my dogs in an unbelievable way thanks to Steve. Steve is kind, patient, and always willing to help. He cares deeply for all of his students (human and dog!). My dogs are able to go everywhere with me and I trust them fully thanks to all of the work we did with Steve. Trust Steve’s method and be patient. It really works.

gina

I had basic trading with Steve. He is patient, direct , and numerous. Most Importantly he understands dog behavior and communication. He loves what he does, my dog Gus is a better dog because I was trained how to communicate with my dog. Big thanks to Steve!

Sean N.

I’ve been to several training sessions now with Steve now and he has been absolutely great. My staffy loves him and he is very patient. Both hands on and hands off. I checked reviews here prior to joining looking at the good and the bad. The take away of this, is that you have to be willing to put in the work yourself as well to see best improvements. Being structured and sticking to recommendations he gives will show progress. If you’re a lazy owner looking to just have a trainer do it all for you then you don’t understand the objective of training. This is not only to teach your dog, it is to teach the owner how to be the leader and use this training to your day to day. Any certified trainer can just show you tricks and how they would do things. You have to be the one at the end of the day to create that bond and spend time with your pet. Steve will show us methods for engagement and how to peak interest in several ways. Finding the niche that peaks your dog’s interest will be on you and your time spent knowing your dog. Within the last few sessions my pup has been excelling in her training and continues to show progress every session we have. As said before creating that bond and using the takeaway recommendations that Steve gives, you have to actually do it and put in the work. Your pup will only give you their attention as long as you give them yours. Thank you again Steve for being patient and walking us through Baileys journey. You are passionate about what you do and you love dogs to the max. It shows in your work during sessions and the time you spend even texting after sessions show you really care about the process.

Thanks from the whole fam.

Sierra T.

We couldn't be happier with our training experience with Steve! When we brought our 5-month-old Aussie to him, we aimed to create a life where both our dog and we could enjoy each other's company. Steve emphasized the crucial aspect of building a strong relationship with your dog, debunking the misconception in some reviews that he only plays with dogs until they're tired. In reality, he highlighted the significance of play as a rewarding element in training, making it enjoyable for the dog. Steve also emphasized the importance of neutrality in different environments, especially around other dogs. His unique approach sets him apart as one of the top trainers in the Bay Area. We're incredibly grateful to Steve for teaching us effective communication with our pup! He also takes some really cool pictures of your pup 🙂

Vaibhavi A.

When I adopted my dog from shelter, they said she is border collie lab mix. But she actually is largely a pit mix, and pit personality is very different from the other two breeds. As a new dog owner I wasn't prepared for that, I looked up dog trainers, talked to a few people and met Marie at last and she completely understood what I want from my puppy and clearly explained how we can achieve results. Marie gave me a lot of homework some days and she would regularly check results as well. Steve is also great, we took group lessons from him and it was so good. My dog has completely changed from how she was when she came home. I've been recommending them to all my friends.

Jamie

We had basic training with Steve. I really did not like the lesson plan as there was none. Every lesson, he would sit up at the front and just swing this giant toy around until the dog got tired at the end of the session.

He did not show us or teach us steps to reach a behavior, even a simple one like sit.

The only pro about his lessons are teaching the dog owners about loving your dog and using consistent and neutral tones when giving commands, which I think is great.

When he was advertising he said there’s a lesson plan for every time we go in, but don’t be fooled.

You will still have to go on YouTube to look at sequences to teach your dog bc all you will get out of this place is him playing with your dog until the dog gets tired.

Erica W.

Steve is incredibly nice and has two incredibly well trained dogs.

Unfortunately, after two short sessions I requested a refund because there was no structure as to how he was going to help address my particular circumstances. I was kind enough to pay in cash transfer of $699 so that he would not have the credit card fee.

Because he doesn't offer refunds, he asked me to give him another chance - he did extend the 30 mini sessions to hour long sessions. However, these were really ineffective training sessions. I specifically requested information on "the what and how" of addressing my dogs new behaviors (that likely developed during -COVID) such as well as what I needed to practice with my dog, but to no avail.

My dog already knows commands; and, he was not able to inform or assist me in addressing my dog's separation anxiety and protectiveness. He basically advised me to buy a Sprenger prong collar, which is high quality, does work, and does not harm him. However, it's not appropriate for all scenarios and is not a fix.

Huining L.

5 star is a must. My husband and I are first time dog owners. We have a trim-color Corgi called MaiMai, he is 1year and 2 months old when we started the class. Before we went to Bay Area K9 Association and met Steve, we thought training a dog is like training a robot, it's like you do the thing I like and I give you reward. Steve taught us the main point is to build a relationship and advised us to start changing from our tone. Our tone was high pressure and angry when the dog does not behave as desired. Honestly we were suspicious at the beginning, but still followed his professional advice. AND we are so HAPPY we did. We definitely feel the relationship between us and our dog was stronger and our dog would proactively pay more attention to us. Of course there is still a long way to go, but we are happy we find the right direction.