The Pet Republic

Most Recent Comments

• March 2024 by Kevin
  Been coming here for over 2 years and my dog loves coming here every time. Great instructors and a wide variety of interesting classes like nose work and agility. I love their commitment to science based training and positive reinforcement.
• March 2024 by Brianna Davis
  I met with Alison, for a private in home session last week to help retrain my poodle and his potty habits. I was stuck as my poodle is more human than dog and had exhausted what & I thought were all the options the internet could suggest. But after this short session with Alison I’m already seeing results not even a week later. She was able to help me identify the areas I was confusing my dog with signals and rewards and helped create new training Games and ques to use to signal potty breaks. After 2 days my dog began understanding what I was asking and today after 5 days we have ceased all use of pee pads in the house and are getting consistent with our potty routine outside! I am so grateful for the pet republic and Alison!
• March 2024 by Calvin Huynh
  Instructors were nice but not very helpful. Owners and dogs were sectioned off in their corner and the trainers stood in the middle giving basic instructions. We took 2 classes and felt unwelcome and disengaged by the trainers. They were just reading by instructions out of a manual and would go around each pen for 1-2 mins to observe and comment.
• November 2023 by Sydney Moyer
  The advice I got in puppy socialization class at Pet Republic was pretty unhelpful, to be honest. The trainer said it wasn't even worth it to start training my puppy until she was older, which directly contradicts helpful advice I got from other trainers. They also were heavily reliant on clicker training, which I personally find to be impractical when you're in the real world. You're not always going to have a clicker with you, and even when you do, when you're holding a leash and a toy or a treat and other things in your hands, it's very difficult to also hold a clicker and press it at the right time for the dog to learn. I recommend socializing your puppy using checklists online, Youtube videos, etc over going to the Pet Republic. And I recommend a different trainer overall.
• May 2023 by Victoria R.
  I don't really have the words to describe my experience. I came here twice. My dog was clearly struggling. He was not feeling well (he got sick in the car on the way there) and he was not responding to the treats that I brought with us due to being distracted by other dogs and not feeling well. I looked desperate and kept telling the trainers that he is not responding to my treats, so the exercises are not working. They made me take a bag off of their retail shelf and pay for it. They have TONS of soft, pre-cut meats at their disposal. I asked if he could please try some of those and they said no. The first time I came there they had no problem handing me their treats while I was trying to get his attention. It was a full class but only, in total, about five people. The instructor of the class was beyond militant. No one was being helped individually with their needs. I came ten minutes late (due to my dog being sick) and they didn't walk me through the exercise at all. There were three instructors there supervising and no one came to show me what to do. The entire class was essentially my begging instructors to help me, saying that he won't take my treats, and just petting him so that he would not be distressed. I also wanted to note the very obvious and uncomfortable stares I was getting from the instructors as I was flailing around trying to train my dog with no guidance. I felt like I was being shamed. I truly thought I was going to burst. It took everything to not cry and/or leave immediately.
• May 2023 by SAM BONELLI
  Our pup just completed “puppy preschool” and we were disappointed in the course and the instructors. The course description states that dogs will be introduced to grooming and veterinary handling, novel objects, and new sounds. This did not happen in the class at all. Additionally, the site says that puppies will learn “sit” and “down” but we never once covered those in our four classes. Class consisted of ~5 minutes of content and the rest was just rotating into other fenced off areas and waiting for you turn in the center. The instructors do not ever come by and offer individual help or insights. I know it’s a group class but there are three instructors and ~8 dogs. They can definitely spend a bit more time checking in on each pup.Also, one of the instructors had AirPods in throughout the entire class and constantly rolled their eyes when dog owners praised their pups?? It was odd and not the kind of vibe I want from a dog trainer.If you’re on the fence about where to go for puppy class I would recommend somewhere else with sequential classes, where they build upon skills, and offer more feedback . We completed this course since we had already paid for it but we signed up for another nearby trainer and it’s already 100x better.
• February 2023 by Ellen E. Thompson
  TL;DR - Great experience, don't believe every negative review you read.UPDATED: Since posting we have gone to 4 total classes and a private training, across 4-5 different trainers, and we remain very happy about the results and experience. It's not "cheap" but it's not expensive either and we do get our money's worth especially with how quickly he's picking up skills at each $40 obedience class.I'm impressed with the facility, layout, the helpful free phone consult, training methods, staff, and scheduling system. My dog (and I!) have already learned a lot - Dudley learned how to sit within 20 minutes in his first lesson.Now, the reason I am writing this. Initially I thought twice about signing up based on some reviews here. I am so glad I went despite my doubts, and I'm coming in hot to address issues I find with those reviews.First - philosophy / methods - for complaints like “the approach doesn’t work immediately” / “they should teach verbal cues first” / “they give too many treats” / “they should offer corrective measures” / “watch online videos instead” / “a different trainer gave different advice so now I know they’re wrong”, then I suspect you didn’t put in effort to search for a trainer.If you're a parent, and you enroll your kid in a random school, and then realize halfway through the first week that they’re speaking gibberish to you, and now everyone is confused… and then you talk to a teacher from a different school, and complain about how your kid’s curriculum is deficient - then everyone’s going to walk away confident that the school is bad and wrong. But why didn’t you realize that you enrolled in an Italian-immersion school? It's not the school's fault that you didn't check the curriculum and don't speak Italian.... Read the website, google positive reinforcement, watch the orientation videos they send, call for the free consult. Or, if you realize you want a different curriculum - go find one. It doesn’t make this one bad, esp. if you don’t really commit to it and then claim it doesn’t work.Second - issues with policies. “They wouldn’t make an exception for me!” Ex. They wouldn’t bend their open hours, or their refund policy, they wouldn’t give me individualized attention that I didn’t pay for, they didn’t cater the group class to me and my dog, and they don’t offer dog socialization…. One said sticking firm with their refund policy = “they encourage sick dogs to come in and compromise everyone’s safety”. Twisted logic, not their true policy, and some exceptions people complained about could actually create unsafe situations. ex. no students let in early - there are behavioral reasons dogs and owners can't mill around inside, unstructured, before class - it's not a customer service thing. I'm glad they have clear policies they stick to, it's safer for me and my dog.Finally, there are a couple accusations that the staff are malicious. Ex. Instructors are unfriendly, everyone there hates small dogs, some dogs are unfairly labeled "irreversibly problematic". Are any of these claims true? Who knows, I don’t. But I doubt a staff dedicated to dogs would tell you that any dog is beyond help… and doubt they would automatically hate 50% of their clientele for being small. Do I believe that some small dogs probably exasperate the trainers? Yes. I am sure some big dogs do too! Do I think it's likely that a staff labeled a dog "inherently untrainable"? No. I can believe that a staff may have tried to say if you, the owner, are not willing to learn new techniques, then everyone (including the dog) is at an impasse. Can I believe that some staff are not super friendly sometimes? Yes. Why? Because they’re human.I have nothing to gain from this review, I just hope they stay in business so I can keep bringing Dudley back. It happens to be perfect for me and my dog, but it's not for you if you're looking for corrective training methods. If you’re on the fence about going, don't let the bad review
• December 2022 by Dan W.
  We've been taking our 1.5 YO rescue pup here for the past month. I love their methodology and our dog has really responded to it. If you're looking for a place that doesn't use punitive measures for dog training, this is a place to consider. All positive and treat based training and they even discourage from using pressure on the harness/leash. The facility is well organized and flexible . You can schedule a class whenever it works for you in the levels based training rather than needing to commit to the same time every week. The trainers are really knowledgeable and helpful. I'm so excited to move up to some of the more advanced classes with our dog.
• August 2022 by Christina Stephens Malloy
  My experience here was disappointing. I signed my dog up for a one-on-one consult so I cannot comment on the classes they offer. I have a small older dog that shows reactivity towards other dogs, and I was hoping to learn some techniques to help curb this behavior. First, I was disappointed that the trainer did not do an assessment of my dog’s behavior to determine if her reactivity is fear based or just social aggression. I’ve been around dogs long enough to know a training plan should be built around the individual dog’s needs, not just a blanket plan. Second, I felt like the trainer spoke to me like I was clueless. I worked in vet med for 7 years, have two dogs, and am now a therapist, so I’d say I have a better than average understand of both dogs and behavior. But I am not an expert, and I was there to learn new techniques to help my dog.The training methods here use A LOT of treats. Your dog does anything? Treats! I felt this went way beyond traditional positive reinforcement methods. She also didn’t encourage any corrective training methods which is I guess is dependent on the trainer. When I questioned giving my dog treats after showing reactivity towards another dog, she told me that you cannot reinforce fear-based behaviors. This is frankly not true AND she never even determined if my dog’s behavior was fear based. I shared this comment with another trainer, and they were shocked another trainer would say this.The training plan included a lot of games (AKA more treats), enrichment activities, and a “reactive vacation” to keep my dog away from others for two weeks. Nothing in the plan to help/correct her reactive behaviors. Overall, I just feel the methods here don’t align with my or my dog’s needs. Another review said they don’t seem to like small dogs and treat your dog as a problem rather than meeting them where they are. While I’m sure that’s not the intention of the trainer, I felt the same way after our consult.I had another consult with a different trainer (not here) shortly after this and learned a lot more about my dog’s behavior and learned training techniques that my dog has been responding well too. If you feel this place isn’t right for you, it may not be a good fit.I also want to share that I arrived at my appointment 10 minutes early and the trainer told me that we needed to wait outside. It was 90 degrees out, and there were no other people/dogs inside when we arrived. It was HOT and I almost left because who makes a senior dog wait outside in the heat like that? Their client care could use some improvement.
• June 2022 by sophia helverson
  I echo Maura's review completely. I took my terrier here for a series of training classes, and repeatedly had my questions brushed off--they don't offer one-on-one help in these sessions, or any kind of coaching if you ask for help. The solution to all problems? more treats. I would say coming here set us back in training, because I became a "high value treat" ATM and these treats lost all value. Some of my concerns--which I was told by pet republic were irresolvable--were eradicated within days when I started working with a new trainer. My puppy was less than 6mos old, and they treated him like a lost cause, and treated me like a fool. I came for help, and got mostly scorn. Now, he gets treats when it is appropriate, not every step of every walk. This place is a lot of money for very little results. Go elsewhere.
• May 2022 by Melissa M.
  The puppy training class was a waste of time. It was never clear what we were actually supposed to be teaching the dogs but we were supposed to give them millions of treats. I learned TONS more from an online class from a major national pet store.
• March 2022 by Mary Amyot
  Bought the pet stairs they are a heavy foam rubber and easy to put together my ones I bought elsewhere were made with thin wood or plastic and break easily LOVE them going to order more
• January 2022 by Maura Hamel
  I took my puppy here for several rounds of beginner classes. This was during the pandemic and before vaccines were widely available. At first I thought we were horribly behind and needed a lot of work, but after spending a lot of time practicing at home I realized their approach just doesn't work for all dogs. I also don't think it's the most practical - all the commands that we learned were hand gestures. Living in the city where we are crossing busy intersections etc, I like being able to vocalize a command and have my dog be able to hear and understand me. Perhaps just personal preference.Every time I tried to ask a question about a certain command or for a bit of clarification because my dog wasn't responding as expected, they just told me to get a one on one consultation (which are ridiculously expensive).For one of the classes (again, before vaccines were widely available), someone showed up and had forgotten their mask. The instructor LET THEM IN ANYWAY! I almost left because I am immunocompromised and their facility isn't exactly ventilated.Overall, many of their instructors weren't that friendly, all of the material they taught were little tricks you can find anywhere online, it's way overpriced, and I ended up training my dog on my own. After spending at least $400ish on classes, I didn't end up sticking with a single thing they"taught". Complete waste of money. If you aren't vibing with it/don't feel like it's a great fit, just trust your gut.
• November 2021 by Mary-Ann D.
  Honestly, I cannot say enough good things about the team at Pet Republic. So far, we have taken little & big puppy classes, level 1 classes and private training with Jill. All of the instructors we worked with are professional, super knowledgeable, and seem like they really care about setting you and your dog up for success.We've learned a lot about understanding our pup's body language and improving our communication skills with her. It's made a dramatic difference in our training sessions and overall relationship with our pup.Highly recommend
• November 2021 by Brendan B
  Great trainers, super friendly, been taking our pup here for a month or two, and have learned a lot!