Fun Paw Care Dog Training

There are plenty of dog trainers who use positive reinforcement for dogs but whose training methods for human pet parents are less than satisfactory. Likewise, there are plenty of dog trainers who drill commands in class but leave dog guardians on their own to figure out how to apply these techniques in the chaotic world of the street, the dog park, the trail, etc. This is where Russell breaks the mold. He never loses sight of the fact that he is training you, the dog guardian, to be your dog’s coach. He is encouraging, gives useful feedback, and helps dog guardians figure out how to set dogs (and humans) up for success. His compassion for dogs extends to compassion for the humans who are trying to figure out how to create a good learning environment for their canine family members. Russell is also a dog behaviorist whose knowledge of dogs is based in scientific research, not in flimsy theories about dog’s wild ancestors or in anecdotal evidence. Indeed, he provides a slew of resources after every session so dog parents can do their homework and take the knowledge forward. Between our last dog and our present one, we’ve worked with four Los Angeles dog trainers before Russell and we can confidently say he’s the best out there. He treated our dog, Rufus, with affection, kindness, and respect. He also treated *us* with respect for our intelligence and our prior dog experience. His positive reinforcement and behavior modification approach makes perfect sense and we saw its impact on our dog right away. Our dog, Rufus, came to us with a complex of physical and psychological issues. A sweet tempered Rottweiler, he was nonetheless a mess as he had never been outside, had never been on a leash, and had not been socialized with other dogs. He was friendly with humans but had been taught that it was OK to jump, mouth, and bark at people in play. He was also suffering from hypothyroidism, which made it hard for him to focus and made him fearful and inflammatory bowel disease, which made him picky about food and therefore hard to reward. We are beyond grateful that Russell took the time to observe Rufus carefully and didn’t swoop in with proclamations about Rufus’ intelligence and that he didn’t mislabel him as stubborn or dominant. Russell taught us how to create lines of communication with Rufus by getting him to sit as a request. He showed us how to manage Rufus’ excitability around other dogs and moving vehicles with positive reinforcement and he worked with us to get Rufus to walk on a loose leash, something that has made a huge difference in our quality of life. We’ve only had two sessions with him so far but we will be back for more training, without a doubt. Look no further and seek out his services for your pet.

We met Russ in Los Angeles about a year and a half ago while on a walk with our dog. Russ was walking one of his clients’ dogs who was young, had some anxiety issues, and often stayed with Russ for training. We were very impressed with how gentle, patient, and loving Russ was with that dog and how much the dog responded to him and loved him. We often had our dogs play together when his client’s dog visited him, and we observed Russ’s interaction with the dog and how he helped the dog’s confidence grow over time. Now we are considering getting a second dog and we called Russ to get his advice on a range of issues, including adoption versus breeder, whether our second dog should be another male or a female, when the dog should be spayed/neutered, and questions about training and socialization. He had no skin in the game, so to speak, but he still spent time discussing all these issues with us and giving us his informed opinion. We are thankful for his advice and feel confident making the decision about our new family member!

Every new dog owner in Los Angeles should consider working with Russ – he really does understand what makes dogs tick! Our 5-month old puppy (Summer) was becoming quite a handful, biting at the leash and at shoelaces on walks, and was adding considerable stress to our home. After just one session with Russ, the change in energy (for us and for Summer) was palpable! Russ’s expertise as an animal behavioralist gave us a much better understanding on the things we needed to change to better owners, and walks are now a joy! We look forward to continuing working with Russ as we tackle our next puppy challenge; separation anxiety!

Russ After receiving an 8-week-old German Shepherd, little did I know what I was getting into. I wanted the best dog trainer/ behaviorist I could find to help me, so I reached out Russell Hartstein. I was overwelled when my new puppy Nika arrived and all the responsibilities. I consider Russ a life saver helping me to prepare and navigate the myriad of challenging issues that I have to deal with. Russ came over for our first training session and I witnessed amazing results immediately. He uses the power of positive reinforcement to train which proved to work beautifully. He is extremely patient with a caring personality which reflects in his successful techniques, makes all the difference in dealing with these new situations. After the second week with the new puppy, I realized that Nika needed more training, than I could do myself. I sent her to Russ’s Puppy Boot Camp where she learned more about socialization and behavior. I have so much yet to learn and work on; however, I now have had the confidence knowing that Russ is there behind me. I am hopeful to have a new and well-behaved best friend, as a result. I can’t speak highly enough of Russ’s expert knowledge, techniques, understanding and responsiveness of being the finest dog trainer and behaviorist in Los Angeles