Daniel Dagg, Bay Area Dog Trainer

I'm posting this review about a month after finishing up training with Dan because I wanted to allow some time to really reflect on the sessions we had and the results that came out of it. In May of this year, we adopted a 2 year old Australian Kelpie/Pit Bull mix named Ringo with TONS of energy. Total bull in a china shop. We adore him endlessly but recognized we had issues with excessive leash pulling/leash aggressions on walks, and he was also very possessive of us around strangers, especially when inviting friends into our home. Dan came into this training with open ear to hear all of our concerns and met us with 100% honesty on the work needed to correct these behaviors. I think it's important to reiterate the fact that these changes don't happen overnight, let alone in 4 stand alone sessions. These things take time and most of all, commitment to reinforcing the techniques that Dan teaches. We've had Ringo about 5 months now and I can honestly say he's definitely a happier/more behaved dog after implementing the lessons Dan taught us. Ringo no longer has any aggressiveness towards our house guests, and on the off chance he does, we know exactly how to correct it. In terms of him pulling on walks, that is still a work in progress, but I can fully admit to the fact that we haven't been as diligent on that training as we should be. My only critique would be to have better time-management/organization around every session, to get the most out of the time we have with Dan. But even with that critique comes admittance that my partner and I weren't always clear about exactly what we wanted to work on each meeting. Would recommend Dan to anyone who needs guidance around their furry friend!

We just finished our sessions with Dan for our 3 year old dog Reno we just adopted. Although Reno is supposed to be a water dog, he would have nothing to do with water and we felt he might fall in our pool and drown. On his second visit to our house, Dan arrived with his bathing suit and successfully encouraged Reno to get in and swim around without being in distress. In addition, Reno would run around the pool like crazy when anyone got in. Dan showed us how to make him feel comfortable around the pool and now he sits on his raised bed and happily watches people swim. On our final visit on Friday we were able to take Reno off leash in front of our house and have him heel as we walked around the culdesac . Dan was prompt and professional. I had to change one appointment because of a family emergency and we worked that out without an issue. I would highly recommended Dan for his experience and knowledge in training dogs. Thanks for the great training!

My husband and I just finished our last session with Dan today and we feel very lucky to have chosen him as our trainer. We have a rescued 4-year-old Min Pin mix “Charlie” with aggression towards other dogs and people. Charlie has been with us for more than a year and he has bitten some people. When he bit the last person’s leg and broke the skin, we desperately started looking for a dog trainer. We contacted multiple trainers found online as well as different organizations that offered board and train programs. My husband and I had the best impression towards Dan when we talked to him on the phone for the first time and now we can say our intuition was right. Dan is knowledgeable, confident and passionate. He has taught us how to be a good leader and a good parent to Charlie. We had spoiled Charlie with no disciplines and boundaries. A good example would be letting him sleep on the bed with us every night (which we leaned was a big no-no). It was clear Charlie thought that he was the leader of the family, which led to him being dominant or even fearful to other people who came over to our place. Dan gave us a set of guidelines/homework during the first session. In the subsequent sessions, Dan demonstrated many things including how to teach Charlie to behave when guests come over, how to walk him, how to use our body to convey a message to him, etc. We learned how dog psychology works. We learned how to teach a dog what’s good and bad to do in a daily life. We learned how important it is to use different tones of voice to train a dog. Basically we learned what to do in different situations so we can keep training Charlie on our own. We followed his instructions as much as we can and that made a huge difference in our relationship with Charlie. Now Charlie listens to us more, better, and best of all, he behaves better when people come over. He does not bark, growl, or try to go after people to bite their legs anymore like he used to do. Our last session today was at a dog park, and it was our most favorite session. Charlie, on-leash and muzzled, was introduced to many other dogs off-leash. We were scared at first, but Dan confidently took the leash, while teaching us it’s important to stay relaxed, and he demonstrated how to introduce Charlie to other dogs. He told us to immerse Charlie in the environment as much as we can. After watching Dan, we felt comfortable doing that in the future. During the last hour of the session, we moved to a different dog park, where Dan brought his own dog “Bear”. Bear was a very friendly, calm, wonderful dog. Charlie was muzzled but off-leash this time. He was probably 5 times as big as Charlie, and Charlie still tried to go after him. But it seemed like Bear taught Charlie not to do that and it was great to watch them interact. Dan will be a perfect trainer for you if you are committed to train your dog, if you have the time, and if you follow his guidelines. Each session was generally one month apart, which worked for us perfectly because it gave us time to work on what we needed to work on. He is a dog trainer, but in reality he trained us to be better parents to our dog. We will keep using the knowledge and skills that Dan gave us and continue our journey with Charlie. Thank you so much Dan.

When we started searching for a dog trainer, we were desperate. With two Mini Aussies who we loved so much but were struggling with aggression issues between the two of them, excessive barking, lack of socialization and much more. From the first visit with Dan, he truly started making a difference with our two pups. I love that he came to our house and really worked with them in their own environment. We had a goal of being able to finally take them to the dog park at the end of training and sure enough, they now go on a weekly basis and love it!! Dan has given us the tools to continue their training and has truly helped us keep both of our two amazing pups! Thank you Dan!! 110% recommend!!