Spot-On K9 Training Reviews Summary

Training Effectiveness

Pros:

• "After just four classes with Stephen, my dog Toffee is completely different."
• "Stephen helped train (mostly me) and my two 9 year old, wild labs to walk on a leash without pulling me down and amazingly to walk off leash in only 5 sessions."
• "After just our first few sessions of training together, I saw a very fast & positive change in Pretzel’s behavior."
• "Stephen's ability to simultaneously correct poor behavior while earning Ares' trust and respect through praise and reward set the tone for the entire program."
• "Stephen is clear, direct, and does not complicate the process of training a dog."
• "In just 6 weeks his reactivity is basically gone, he walks by our side and his recall is nearly perfect!"
• "After just one session with Stephen, and implementing is at home trainings, Frankie has completely transformed into a well behaved, kind, calm, and loving pup."

Cons:

• "The first 5 minutes of our final off leash session was fairly stressful for me."

Trainer Qualities

Pros:

• "Stephen is a pleasure to work with and we appreciate everything he did for us!"
• "Stephen is very knowledgeable and caring."
• "Stephen is a masterful, trustworthy and patient trainer."
• "Stephen is the best! He is truly The Dog Whisperer."
• "Stephen is a caring and skilled trainer we highly recommend."
• "Stephen is an attentive trainer who thoroughly explains the reasoning behind everything we implement in class."
• "Stephen is professional, knowledgable and effective."

Cons:

• "Having invested a tremendous amount of energy in self training him at a young age, I found myself emotionally drained."

Communication & Support

Pros:

• "Stephen actually listened to our problem, understood it and taught us the tools we needed to improve Ziti’s behavior."
• "Stephen sent us emails and texts to check in with us before the classes and sent us great information and techniques/skills to incorporate at home with Mylah."
• "Stephen is also extremely responsive to questions and has endless resources to help understand and train your dog."
• "I loved that I could reach out with questions and he would get back to me quickly and email me pages and pages of documentation."
• "Stephen's patience and relentless coaching and reminders for me to keep practicing and give him status updates, Taro made remarkable progress and a year later, is now an expert in off leash recall!"
• "We were so grateful with how responsive Stephen was via email and that he booked all of the sessions that came in the package at the beginning."
• "It is enjoyable to take her on walks since I am confident she’s gonna behave properly around other dogs."

Cons:

• "The only challenging thing was both Stephen and my wife and I have busy schedules so it took a few months to find mutual availability and complete all 5 classes."

Personalized Approach

Pros:

• "There are lots of training services out there, but Stephen puts a personal touch and clearly is very successful at what he does."
• "Stephen doesn’t actually only train your dog but he also trains you to be a better dog owner."
• "Stephen has a natural connection with dogs, your dog is going to feel very safe around him."
• "Not only is Stephen a lovely, kind, and extremely communicative individual to work with- he understands dogs like no one I have ever met."
• "Stephen approached our pups' training with exceptional patience and understanding."
• "As first-time pet owners, we greatly appreciated Stephen's ability to quickly identify subtle mistakes we were making while walking Nori and educate us on how dogs learn from our body language."
• "Stephen is more than knowledgeable, you can tell he's REALLY passionate about helping dogs be their best selves."

Cons:

• "I was concerned getting a trainer in the city because I thought most trainers in NYC would be more familiar working with smaller and less reactive dogs than mine."