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May 2023 by AJ Sick
Beware. Do NOT Bring Bully Breads here.This company hold prejudice against certain breeds.Everyone Has an attitude toward you. Very rude to the handlers for no reason. As a Business owner i would not allow my staff to treat customers the way my wife was treated." you should try something else this isnt for you" " hold her so i don't get bit".Mind you the dog is one of the stars of her class.They treat you like your less than a human.If you want to be talked down to by a bunch of retires this is the place for you.I will not recommend anyone test here.
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April 2023 by Robert O'Quinn
Mary helped us achieve a number of our goals with very well structured class sessions; valuable one-on-one advice and realistic homework assignments. We highly recommend this program that brought our undesciplined puppy into a well socialized and lovable creature capable of a higher level of understanding and obeying commands! Very enjoyable, lots of fun and hard work! Thanks, Mary!
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March 2023 by Karin K.
We adopted a 1 yr old Doberman who exhibited aggression towards other dogs & people. After taking the beginning puppy class she was a totally different dog! Mary really knows her stuff . We learned so much from the classes (we went on to the advanced class too) and now we have a loving dog who is friendly & obedient.
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February 2023 by Sarah Heiger
Bandit had his graduation from Beginners class last night. Mary and AJ really get to know the dogs that they are working with and what each of them needs in order to be the best furry friends they can be. Bandit, and I, have learned and enjoyed our time so far with The Obedience Center, and we both feel much more confident in basic commands. We are excited to be joining the advanced class starting this week, and hopefully earning our Canine Good Citizen award! I would recommend anyone who is looking for an experienced, no BS type of training, to come to The Obedience Center.
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February 2023 by Hallie Kilbourne
I was recommended to this place by a breeder, and with the reviews I thought that this would be a great fit. Unfortunately there are a lot of reasons as to why i’m rating it the way that I am. Mary was VERY harsh and rude with both me and all the dogs. There was a session when my dog was very distracted due to the very small and stinky area that the training place is held. Since my dog was super distracted and distressed because of the shots he got that day I was going to leave, however she told me word for word “i don’t really care if your dog got shots and isn’t feeling well, you make him do it and control your dog”. I thought that was very insensitive...needless to say that was my last session. We’re now at a different training facility that is so much bigger and nicer with a lovely patient trainer! If you want a small and smelly facility with too many dogs and a crabby old lady this is for you :)EDIT:She claims that I was “letting my puppy push me all over the room” but my puppy kept trying to leave and was clearly showing signs of distress and tiredness from his prior vet visit that day. I thought i’d try to take him to training anyways because I didn’t want him to miss it but he was showing obvious signs of distress. So like a good owner I was listening to my dogs body language which was telling me he wanted to leave. However, this crabby old lady rudely told me “i don’t care what the hell your dog wants you make him do whatever you want” I think that is extremely insensitive to say and treat your dog. This was my moms first time at a training session as well and she said that this lady was incredibly rude. My current trainer replied to this story by telling me a trainer should never act the way mary did. I hope you all listen and stay far away. Unless you want your dogs to be treated as a machine.
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October 2022 by Chris 2
Mary is a great, down to earth trainer.Went thru the beginner/puppy class and it helped build the foundation of a good dog and a great relationship with my dog.We're enrolled in the advanced class now.
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October 2022 by Demi G.
We took an introductory puppy training class with Mary and the techniques she taught us were very helpful! She uses a combination of positive reinforcement and voice inflection/commands to guide the dog. Her approach is to "train the trainer", so that you are not accidentally giving mixed signals to your dog.We adopted our puppy during the pandemic, and she has always been scared of other dogs and people despite our best efforts to socialize her. The training techniques Mary taught us helped our dog to focus on us, instead of outside stimuli in public places and helped her be a bit less afraid out in the world. We're looking forward to going back for more lessons! Thanks, Mary!
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June 2022 by Debra Lemke
May and AJ were very informative with teaching base commands. If you do your weekly homework you and your pup should get the hang of basic obedience. I feel it was worth the small investment. The only reason I gave a 4 star review is the classes are in a basement of a vet clinic with no ventilation so a bit on the stinky side and cleanliness was lacking. All in all a fun class.
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December 2021 by Carol Payne Graf
Mary the trainer is great. She's very patient with the dogs and the owners. She takes the time to focus on whatever training problems the owners are having outside of class.
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November 2021 by GiGI Batdemberel
Called in to inquiry about the course for my new puppy as to what the training is like. Before I called in, I was already aware of the fact that my 9 weeks old puppy is not ready for the training as he is still too young and need to get other vaccinations at his 12th week.The lady on the phone instead of explaining me about the course, she started lecturing me about the vaccinations I need to get before we come to the course. I told her he is up to date on all the vaccinations up until his 9th week and we have to get a few more as he is still too young but she just kept going on and on. If I wanted to learn about more vaccinations, I'd call my vet and not a training center! Horrible custom service!
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October 2021 by Gigi T.
Called in to learn about the class for my new puppy. When I called in, I was already aware my puppy was too young to be accepted into the class but I wanted to know their schedule and other type of programs that they offer when he is ready to accepted. Instead, Mary started aggressively explaining how many vaccinations my puppy needs. I understood her concern and I told her he is up to date with his shots but still not ready for other shots as he is too young. She would not stop or understand why I called in. If I wanted to hear about what vaccinations my puppy needs, I have a vet to go to. She did not explain anything about the course to me which at that point I had to hang up on her as she would not let me speak. Horrible service.
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July 2021 by Tracy del Castillo
Mary is the best!! I’ve been going to her for 13+ years. My dogs are very responsive to her training techniques. I highly recommend
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April 2021 by Melissa Turner
Mary is a very knowledgeable dog trainer. I took my Jack Russell terrier puppy to her class as it was affordable and felt that it would be a great way to socialize my dog in addition to training. My puppy wasn't the best at group training as he would get distracted easily. Mary was nice enough to meet with me on two separate occasions to ensure he was getting the best out of the class. Overall, I feel the Obedience Center is a great starter for training your pup - would definitely recommend.
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March 2021 by Lisa C.
we brought our 5 month old puppy to a new puppy class and we were at first overwhelmed with the behavior of two other dogs and their owners. one owner was very lax in the holding of her leash of her giant 8 week old lab. while mary did sternly talk to the dog it was the owner that needed discipline! mary had to ask her more than once to grip her leash tighter and the woman ignored her. her dog was aggressive and yet she didn't care. the other dog was lunging and guttural growls were coming from him. we talked about not going back, but decided to go at least one more time. we are glad we did. the two owners were asked not to come back and we had a great time with the other owners and their dogs. mary taught us so many things that really work on out puppy! it is not a glamorous place, but i want a well behaved dog, not a fancy training facility. we may go back for the advanced class. our dog loved it!
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January 2021 by Tara F.
We just finished a puppy class with our recently adopted 1-year-old Great Dane. He learned so much from this class, and "graduated" with so many new manners and skills! I love that the class was a mix of obedience and helpful tips/information about various puppy habits (chewing, greeting someone at the door, running away, etc). Having an assistant there to help show the commands with a puppy was super-helpful as well! It was also fun watching our dog do the agility course. . . who would've thought a 110 pound dog could climb through a swinging tire or crawl through a tunnel? Mary had high expectations and constantly reviewed the lessons from the previous classes before building on them. The first night was a bit overwhelming as our dog would not stop barking. Mary showed us different ways to stop this, one being the Binaca spray. I read through several reviews on this page about this tactic, and I can assure you, Mary tries different positive reinforcement approaches before resorting to Binaca. While there are some punishment-type corrections discussed, these are only brought up after positive strategies have been exhausted. They are NOT abusive in any way. I realize that some people may be uncomfortable with this, but in reality I need to be able to control my dog. . . this is why I am taking him to obedience in the first place.Mary constantly asked if there were any questions and really got to know the dogs and their owners. Our dog gets overly excited when seeing other dogs on walks, and Mary checked in with us several times throughout the sessions to see how he was doing with this and offer suggestions. She can come across as strict at first; however, she is doing this because she wants what's best for you and your dog. Just like in school, listening and following directions is imperative if you want to learn the lesson.I am planning on signing our dog up for the next level class. I can't wait to see what he learns next!
