Paws-Abilities Total Dog Center

I took my puppy to one class and didn’t return, I ate the remaining money and glad to do it. My puppy was not allowed to wear a humane harness, had to wear a corrective collar in the CGC class. CGC evaluations do not allow prong collars but do allow harnesses so why not train in the gear they allow? Be advised that while they allow the use of treats, it is not a positive approach to training. Also using the behavioral cue sit in praise after the behavior has already occurred is an error as it causes learned irrelevance of the cue which should only come before the behavior not after. I was not supposed to say good girl or any other praise, except good sit or good down, which is incorrect (site Pamela Reid, PhD, Excel-​Erated Learning). You are contributing to the understanding that upon hearing Sit he should do nothing. I could not get out of there fast enough and my puppy was scared in that environment. Had they been more transparent on their website I would not have signed up for this class. Expensive lesson. Oh and we were there for an hour, 45 minutes of that was the trainer just talking. We already knew about CGC or we wouldn’t be there, no need to tell stories for 45 minutes.
Also at no time were vaccination records requested or required even though I brought mine, as I thought this was standard best practice. Puppy families be advised that dogs in this facility do not have their vaccination records routinely vetted.

Puppy classes are definitely a waste of money. Went to 2 different classes here, thinking the second class would be different. Nope. In both classes the instructors were more interested in telling stories than teaching anything about dogs. Waste of time and money.

Pretty much a waste of money. Took my new puppy to kindergarten there and drove all the way from Lakewood because of some of the reviews I had seen. Our teacher was Dana. Was not very impressed with the class. She spent way too much time telling stories and didn’t focus on the training. She even skipped out on topics and said she would do them a different day and never did. Really feel like I missed out on two pretty important topics, one of them was healing on a leash and I can’t remember the other. We had three people drop out of class during the 6-​week session and I wasn’t surprised because I thought about doing the same thing.

If you want to see what kind of treatment your dogs are getting check out their Facebook page

We enrolled in the puppy kindergarten class with 4 – 5 other puppies in March 2016. Being dog owners for the last 13 years we thought we were educated dog owners. We learned so much in this class, Dana provided insight, suggestions and helped us understand why dogs do what they do. Not only the training aspect, but the clarity of learning how dogs think was worth the admission price.
Our trainer was Dana, we were in the same class as the lady who wrote one of the negative reviews. This is the part I dont understand about that review, if your opinions are different than the trainers, that is fine, but why pay $ 145 to argue with and contradict the professional trainers discussion? You and your dog are there to learn about each other and learn how to train your puppy, not constantly interject your opinions and disagree with the teacher. Honestly, if you would have been able to just shut up and listen instead of constantly talk and force your opinions on the class you may have walked away with valuable knowledge and insight like we did.
Sure Dana is set in her ways, she is knowledgeable and very obviously knows what she is doing. I can see how she can come across as maybe gruff or stern, but she is trying to teach a class full of puppies and owners who are there because they need help understanding the pups. This training involves discipline and patience, Dana is a valuable resource and we learned so much by just learning why these silly creatures do what they do. Dana has an understanding and relationship with dogs that wowed us several times. She trained our unruly pup in mere minutes with just some basic insight about their behavior. We watched and participated as we saw most of the dogs in the class go from being unruly to having manners and learning basic commands in just a few classes. We were successful with this class and learned so many training tips and games to help him learn. We were pleasantly surprised just how smart these little guys are. Thanks Dana!

We enrolled our two pups in classes with Dana. Due to their difference in age, one went to puppy kindergarten and the other to basic obedience. I wish I had enrolled my older pup in kindergarten a few months back. It proved to be a fantastic foundation for my large breed puppy! Both boys excelled in their respective classes! She had clear instruction and easy homework! The boys enjoyed it a lot! Dana is kind, and very straightforward! If she sees something that needs immediate correction, She says something. Her years of experience are very apparent! She’s intuitive with the dogs! We did use their grooming facilities as well!

I took my Aussie puppy to «puppy kindergarten». I quit after 2 classes. Was a complete waste of $ 145.00. And I was not impressed with their trainer Dana. Although very knowledgeable, she is also condescending and belittling if your opinion differs from hers. Would have spent the money better at PetSmart.

Dana is a wonderful instructor. She teaches many strategies to make our life with dogs easier! Highly recommend her training classes.

Unfortunatly, my previous high rating appears to be specific to Dana as a trainer. I’ve taken two classes through Dana and thoroughly enjoyed them and my dog did as well. Followed up with another course with a different instructor. My dog pulls on his leash like crazy. To the point of choking himself and I need help. I arrived at the class and he was doing exactly that. I was told «that doesn’t sound like choking» and told it was kennel cough. I’ve had a dog with kennel cough. Strange the sound was only on leash this time… Then she said his breath smelled like he may be sick. I give him a hoof in the car. They are pretty rank. I left and got in my car. Dog isn’t making a peep but now I’m mortified and thinking maybe they are right? Good news is that the dog is 100% up to date on shots and 100% healthy. Perhaps dog trainers should stick to training and leave Vet work to Vets.

I was in on the day their fast track obedience training class started and Jennifer was very accommodating. They were willing to give me and my pup a private one-​hour class to catch up to join the second day of classes. On the day of my private class, my pup was having a major attack of allergies. I didn’t feel like he would benefit from the class being so miserable. When I called to cancel, Jenna answered the phone. When I told her my reason for cancelling, she immediately started asking me all kinds of questions about what my dog was eating, what kinds of skin treatments I was giving. Without even being asked, she started giving me some very welcomed advice on other things to try with my pup, as she was going through the same thing. She gave me some great recommendations that I am looking forward to trying, including where to go get the best prices on the items she recommended. I will be bringing my pup back to Paws-​Abilities as soon as he is better and using all the services they provide. As a new doggie-​mom, I am so grateful for all their help! Thank you Jennifer and Jenna!

My German Shepherd was groomed there a few weeks ago and he looked amazing after! They had a great friendly staff and offered some unique products as well that I liked for training. This place does it all!

My review today is Pawsabilities Dog Training in Fife Wa n the staff that have come to know my daughter n I since 2002 when the military brought us to Fort Lewis. My beloved Service Dog Murphy passed last Sept due to Cancer. My daughter had a Service dog named Bizmark from a agency that passed in March. Camille now has a new Service dog named Gus. He is now almost 7m she has had him in training at Pawsabilities 18 weeks already. The program has become more in-​depth then it was 6 years when I trained my Labador. My daughter has a Labador /​chesapeak bay Retriever. The skills, knowledge and friendships you build while going to training weekly are amazing. Its a lot of hard work to produce a good dog much less a Awesome Service Dog. The training center is full of dogs weekly for all types of training and workshops come try it out.

Paws-​Abilities has been an essential part of raising all of my dogs. The training classes are amazing, the day camp is a God send and the groomers are very kind and patient. From behavioral issues to questions about health and well being the staff at Paws are always ready to answer whatever I may throw at them (which believe me is a lot). They have taken my dogs into daycare at the last minute when I had things come up, which means the world to someone like me who is always on the go. They typically have Groupons and coupons out and they always honor them. You won’t find a better training center, or grooming salon anywhere. These people truly care about you and your dog!

I took my dog who has since passed away here for advance training. She was a golden lab. They do great work here. Very friendly and clean. Very helpful. They taught both me and my dog a lot. I highly recommend them for training.

We’ve been taking our dogs to Pawsabilities for almost 20 years! In a word, they are awesome. From Puppygarten to STAR Puppy, Basic Obedience to Beyond Basic, and other classes, seminars, etc. it’s a great experience for you and your dog. Highly highly recommended! Two paws up!

Paws Abilities has been a big part of my family’s life for the past few years. We had one dog, and then a rescue that had a lot of behavioral issues. Dana and Jennifer are very up front about what needs to be done, and for some it might be a surprise. They don’t sugar coat it. But, these women, and all of the trainers, are so knowledgeable about the habits of the dogs and how to interact with them in way that creates mutual respect and a bond with your pet. At first, Dana seemed so tough to me, but as the dogs responded, I saw that her techniques work. And then when not training, you see the soft and how much these women really love dogs (and all animals for that matter!) Before working with Dana, I felt like every day my rescue dog was proving me stupid (the first dog was a perfect angel)… and with her help, we were able to get to a point where we aren’t worried about destruction, barking, accidents, etc… in our home.
Paws Abilities also has so many fun classes outside of obedience to do with your dog. I have done agility with my girl, and it was so fun. It gave my girl another purpose, and we have a different relationship now that we have done something so fun together. I have also done the Pet First Aid and CPR class, which has proved itself to be so valuable. This is a great facility with great people, great classes, and great dogs!

I have never been treated so poorly in my life. I am a paying customer and deserve respect. If you want to be talked down to and verbally abused this is the place for you. U was going to take my new rescue pup in for training and was told that since she is only 12 weeks old I cannot use the word resuce. I will not ever go back to this company even after the relationships I have build in the last year. The camp staff however is amazing and if you can deal with the owners lack of a filter you should do fine. I however do not have the energy to be treated like a moron. My training will be done elsewhere!

Jennifer, the owner, is very unprofessional and has given out private information to stalkers who have called her to ask personal information about my dogs and I. She even went as low as to write an article about me letting the world know about when and where my dogs were trained and what for. I personally contacted her last week to let her know my dogs had passed their therapy dog test, at her facility, and that we had chosen to use a different therapy dog company than TDI itself and that the new company was perfectly fine with that as long as they had been evaluated and had at least past the canine good citizen test. No where did I ever indicate my dogs were trained as service dogs for PTSD at her facility, but what she wrote in her little article about me implies that I did. VERY unprofessional, steer clear of this business as there are much better owned and operated dog training centers out there… Paws Abilities, the last few times I was there in the last year, is just dead compared to what it used to be a few years back. People want the best for their dogs and themselves and are finding much better options than this run of the mill unprofessionally owned business.

Dana and the staff are great, knowledgeable and friendly. My service dog, Yaz, took to Dana like a chunk of steak! Yaz knew he was facing a challenge impressing Dana and I believe he did a great job. While there I met some others with service dogs and got to know them and their dogs a bit. I travelled 5 hours round trip twice to train with Dana and would recommend this center to any looking for THE BEST training available.
Craig Murphy
U.S. Coast Guard
Veteran

All the staff here are fantastic. They know their business and their business is dogs. Dana has a true knowledge and understanding of dogs and you can tell that dogs respect her. I have my dog in their day camp and I am not sure who loves each other more. I would not take my dog anywhere else.