German Dog Training Center

We drove all the way from Southern California to take our German Shephard here after seeing all of the great reviews online. We dropped our dog off and were excited to come back to a changed dog, as promised. We got our dog at the beginning of Covid and, due to the nature of lockdown, weren't able to socialize her appropriately. Thomas promised that he would take care of her social anxiety and held her to interact better around people and in public by training her around people. We left her with Thomas for two weeks. When we returned, our dog didn't even recognize us as we walked up to her among the rows of kennels full of barking dogs. She ran around in circles in her kennel, terrified and involuntarily defecating on herself out of fear. I was told to go into the kennel, where she still ran back and forth for a couple minutes, not recognizing me and whimpering in fear, until she caught my scent and fully recognized me. I found this pretty odd, but didn't question it as I'm "not the expert." Thomas then took my wife and I into the adjoining field to "brief us on her training." He had us walk her on leash while telling us, "See, she can now sit and heel properly." Things she already knew how to do just fine. When I asked him about how she would behave around strangers from this point forward, he said that "She would do great." She didn't. She still has exactly the same social anxiety issues as the came there with. Her teeth were completely dirty and covered in brown grime when we left there, as well. My wife and I believe that Thomas took our money and simply kept her kenneled and didn't do a single thing to train her. But how could we ever substantiate this? All we know is that she was physically and mentally worse off when we picked her up and that she wasn't trained to do anything that Thomas said he would train her on. As far as we are concerned (based on our experience), this man is running a scam, and doesn't do the work with dog that he claims to. It has been a few years since this experience and I am finally getting around to writing this review because it has sat this badly with me these past few years. Anyone seeking services from this place, be very cautious. And, perhaps, go elsewhere.

This story starts out with my daughter adopting a German Shepherd from the Butte Humane Society. We had her for 2 weeks and she was a handful, would not listen, would not calm down and in general, was a dog that had no discipline training or attention for the first 2 years of her life. She had run away so many times from the previous owner that they finally left her at the shelter for someone to adopt. She was supposed to be my daughter's dog, but that changed after 2 more years and she became my best companion due to my medical issues. She follows all the commands and walks with me every morning without pulling or getting distracted. She is almost a service dog with her ability to follow commands. Thomas is extremely knowledgeable and an excellent trainer. We selected the full training package and she stayed at the training center for a few weeks to complete the training. That was the best investment in Midnight we could have ever made. As time went on we continued to go to the Saturday training classes as an outing for Midnight and myself. We would do various commands as well as off-leash training and it got to the point I was no longer able to attend the Saturday classes, but she has become such a good companion due to the training by Thomas at the German Dog Training Center. The facility is beautiful, clean, and has a large field for training. We can't say enough good things about Thomas and appreciate everything he has done for Midnight and for us as a family! Dale Carlson

After carefully studying for 8 years Thomas Sauerhoefer and his technics to train GSDs I've finally decided to dropped off my 4 month old dark sable GSD with him on 03/26/2022, Since i feed Logan Puppy food he recommended i bring Logans puppy food. I am confident Thomas will take care of my dog. Advance Obedience. I will get back to you all to let you know the results in 6 weeks or less. 05/08/2022 UPDATE: Picked up Logan and as expected...Well trained, German Commands. Dog responds instantly to commands. Def. Recommend Thomas!