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March 2024 by PJ B.
We found Pohan to be so helpful during our consult. She gave us a lot of tips that we started using right away. We felt so comfortable with her and so did our dog Cooper. We signed up for 3 in home sessions and are looking forward to working with her.
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March 2024 by Kim M.
Annalie Joyce has been a great trainer for me and my dog. She is very patient and gentle with my dog. We have made great progress. I would highly recommend her.
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March 2024 by Case Perkins
Tonka has been a student of Athens dog training since she was a puppy. She was able to start with basic manners, progress to trick training, and then passed her canine good citizen test! Pohan has a charismatic way to positively train with all of the dogs in class. She will take your dog and demonstrate the skills in front of other students to show exactly how to execute the technique, which builds confidence for the dog and the owner. She is also willing to slightly modify the items to ensure it meets the expectation of all of the dogs in class. Pohan has now become one Tonka’s favorite people to see
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January 2024 by Shakira Karipineni
"Danny is truly accomplished in training dogs. Solomon is an adopted shelter German shepherd, 13 months old and had bitten a family member and we thought he needed Boarding to be trained. We had talked and met with many trainers and my gut feeling while talking to Danny was that this was the one person I could trust with Solomon to be kind and gentle and train in the best manner possible without using any forceful treatment He took Solomon through many different processes to test him to assess his abilities and how best he could be trained. He was patient with us as well, explaining things as he was putting him through various maneuvers, testing the limits. He had his own dog Penny who interacted with Solomon and it was a sight to see. I was so very scared that Solomon would run away, but no, he responded to all the cues from Danny. Finally Danny said that private in home lessons would be the best for Solomon and us. That is what we are starting now God is good He sent Danny to us"
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October 2023 by Shazia Hussain
After going to several dog trainers (both through large orgs and individual trainers), we are SO thankful to have found Danny at Athens! We were finally able to see progress in our 2 year old adopted pup who was a covid dog so was very reactive and poor leash etiquette. Danny helped us learn how to specifically work with her, and now we’re going on much better, happier, and relaxing walks. We and our sweet pup are so grateful and couldn’t recommend Athens more to anyone looking for some of the best dog trainers around town!
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October 2023 by Annette Compton
My husband and I reached out to Athens Dog Training to get help for our dog Apollo who was extremely difficult to walk due to aggressive pulling. We had all but given up on being able to take him on long walks in our neighborhood. Then our miracle worker Pohan Bystrom arrived on the scene with private at home focused training sessions that transcended our walking experience with Apollo from difficult to delightful. From Apollo's initial session, he immediately responded to Pohan's directions and exceptional guidance. Apollo was literally a new dog after the first session. Pohan's expertise and exceptional dog training skills reinforced behavior changes with additional sessions. We so enjoyed our bi-weekly sessions and were very despondent to see them end. Her valuable skills are a must for anyone looking to transform their dog’s behavior.
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October 2023 by Robin B.
New pet owner here and honestly didn't know what we were getting into...I had dogs growing up but in reality, it was my mom that did all of the training...I found Athens through google/yelp and set up a consult and it was what I wanted: positive based reinforcement and a mix of private and class lessons. Here we are almost a year later and have worked with most of the trainers: Danny for the private lessons, Annalie for puppy basics, Pohan for intermediate and now Alex for advanced/AKC prep. All are outstanding and know their stuff and are certified trainers. I've supplemented with a couple of online courses to help reinforce the messages but keep coming back to Athens group classes. Patience, positivity, and practice have helped us get to where we are. Not perfect (what pups are?) but we continue to grow with Athens and hopefully will get to service dog level confidence with our pup.
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October 2023 by Annette C.
My husband and I reached out to Athens Dog Training to get help for our dog Apollo who was extremely difficult to walk due to aggressive pulling. We had all but given up on being able to take him on long walks in our neighborhood. Then our miracle worker Pohan Bystrom arrived on the scene with private at home focused training sessions that transcended our walking experience with Apollo from difficult to delightful. From Apollo's initial session, he immediately responded to Pohan's directions and exceptional guidance. Apollo was literally a new dog after the first session. Pohan's expertise and exceptional dog training skills reinforced behavior changes with additional sessions. We so enjoyed our bi-weekly sessions and were very despondent to see them end. Her valuable skills are a must for anyone looking to transform their dog's behavior.
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August 2023 by Erin Buehler
This review is long overdue! We reached out to Athens (maybe two years ago?) for help with our bully, Echo. Danny was amazing with Echo. Echo came from a foster and was highly reactive. Danny worked with us over the course of several weeks to build up trust with her. He taught us a tremendous amount about dog training and also offered explanations for why to use or not use certain techniques, including citing contemporary research into canine behavior. Fantastic experience overall, highly recommend these folks.
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August 2023 by E. B.
This review is long overdue! We reached out to Athens (maybe two years ago?) for help with our bully, Echo. Danny was amazing with Echo. Echo came from a foster and was highly reactive. Danny worked with us over the course of several weeks to build up trust with her. He taught us a tremendous amount about dog training and also offered explanations for why to use or not use certain techniques, including citing contemporary research into canine behavior. Fantastic experience overall, highly recommend these folks.
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May 2023 by Cat Cyr
Rochelle is just great. She showed us many great way to train our baby. Our girl just loved her too! Very much worth what we payed.
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May 2023 by Emma Richardson
I signed up for an unlimited pass with Athens for my puppy. He had already completed puppy classes with another group, which went well. We went to the first few classes, which were fine. Unfortunately, as he went through puppy puberty he became increasingly reactive and was unable to stay calm and participate during the group classes.I contacted Athens phone and email to discuss options given my dog's reactivity, since we had only been to a few classes and had an unlimited pass. The staff member I spoke with recommended transitioning his training to 1-1 given his reactivity and asked me to text them so they could help coordinate further training. They never followed up and did not respond to my follow-up email requesting a refund or to actually schedule the 1-1 sessions.At the end of the day, we were only able to go to about 5 classes after paying $600 to do so. The classes were fine but less organized than others I have been to and their lack of responsiveness was incredibly disappointing.
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April 2023 by Wendy G.
Pohan has been so wonderful with our rescue pup, who suffers from fear aggression and reactivity. She is teaching us techniques to give our dog and us the best relationship. Our dog, Finn, can't wait for her to arrive each week. We are so glad we found Athens Dog Training.
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March 2023 by Destiny D.
10/10 amazing staff. Always supported you if you had a question and had amazing tips and tricks
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March 2023 by Nicole K.
My husband and I are not novice dog owners by any means, but we needed help with our newest (at the time) addition; our Aussie who presents with anxiety. Our usual tricks with trying to redirect her attention or to stop the herding behavior (with the kids, we don't herd the kids, Lola!) were going unmatched and we knew we needed help. We started with in home private lessons with Rochelle. Some of what she taught us was a bit "duh" because we weren't thinking outside of the box, but also much of it was teaching us to be better dog owners, to tune into our dog and meet her where she was at. The 1:1 training was truly beneficial as Rochelle was able to come into our home and witness the behaviors we needed help with. Over the course of several weeks we became better dog owners and Lola learned lots of new things. We then transitioned to group classes with Rochelle which I admit the mere idea of stressed me out. Lola had never done well in public and was often triggered by too many (often random) things. But to my surprise Lola performed amazingly. She often lost her marbles about 30-40 mins into each group class but the other amount of time she was spot on and eager to learn. I am so proud that she was able to be handled by Rochelle on a few occasions and has become a confident dog who thrives in the outside social world. I will forever be grateful to Rochelle for teaching ME how to be a better dog owner and for showing me the potential Lola always had.
