David Utter Dog Behaviorist Orange County Los Angeles

I’ve been doing private lessons with David on a regular basis for the past couple of months now and I can’t imagine how life with my dog would’ve been without David’s help. And the changes are so in my dog’s behaviors (reactive and aggressive before training) and obedience are so visible that even my friends and family commented on it! Now a more detailed review: First of all and the most important of all, David gave me hope! My dog has a bite history (with human) and resource guarding issues. We’ve tried the modern desensitization trainings and meds based on recommendations from the vets, but that made his behaviors worse. Then, other trainers in the area either were not specialized in training aggressive behaviors or worse, one of them told me to reconsider keeping him as my dog and she wouldn’t even get close with him in the initial assessment. But David immediately took on my case and showed great confidence and optimism! I’m forever thankful for that. Immediately in the first session, David got a sense of the situation and my dog’s personality. He explained dog psychology to me and demonstrated how to build a trusting and loving relationship with my dog by showing leadership, starting with our daily walks. After that first hour of training, my dog was happily exhausted and slept the rest of the afternoon! The best part about it is David has taught me how to build that relationship WITHOUT constant treats and incentives. He taught me and my dog how to communicate. In the past, it was a struggle when I didn’t have treats in my hand! Moving on to my dog’s actual behaviors. He was guardy, reactive, fearful, and a brat (honestly, his bratty personality is still there haha). He’s also extremely affectionate and sweet. After working with David, my dog is still as loving as ever, but he’s definitely happier and looks to me for leadership when he’s scared. We’re still working on the reactivity issues when he sees other dogs (he’s stubborn), but compared to the past? So much better! Now, he even learned “sit, check, down” on walks and would get down on his own before I even finish my prompting 🤣 There are so many great things about David’s training that I can keep on going on about. But the final few things I want to quickly write about are his pricing, boarding options, and communication. Spoiler alert, they’re all *excellent*. Pricing was much more affordable than I had thought (especially compared to the other “trainers” who told me to get rid of my dog). Boarding was also a fantastic experience. And I love that David has this service because no one else would take my dog. Knowing David’s leadership and his experience with his own dogs, I feel comfortable and relieved to board my dog in his care when I travel. Also, great pricing, again! Finally, communication - super responsive and a great conversation partner overall! He is great and quick in texting and setting up appointments. And he immediately contacted me after I reached out to inquire about training! If after reading all these, you’re still not sure, I honestly just think you should reach out to him and see it for yourself. His care, love, confidence, and training experience with dogs are immensely vast. Training with him is of the best decisions I’ve made.