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Nathan Woods Dog Trainer

Santa Barbara, California

4.9/5· 67 Google reviews

About Nathan Woods Dog Trainer

Professional dog training and daycare in Santa Barbara since 2001. I do day training: your dog learns while living at home, so the results stick. Programs include the Ultimate Puppy Program, 8-session training, and VIP day-training intensives. I have trained well over 12,000 dogs across four decades, up to the highest levels of AKC obedience. Free 30-minute consults available.

Training & services

Training goals

  • Behavior consultation
  • Leash training
  • Obedience training
  • Puppy training
  • Recall training
  • Socialization

Behavior support

  • Aggression training
  • Reactivity training

How training happens

  • Board and train
  • Day training
  • Group classes
  • Owner coaching
  • Private training

Dog age

  • Puppies

Support between sessions

  • Homework and practice Customer-reported
  • Personalized training plans

Assistance and working dogs

  • Hunting dog training

Your dog’s background

  • Rescue dogs

Additional services

  • Boarding
  • Daycare
    Program details

    Safe, structured dog daycare with supervised play, socialization, and enrichment. Perfect for energetic dogs or busy owners. Clean facility, small playgroups, and professional handlers focused on comfort, fun, and positive behavior.

Other listed services

View 15 additional details
  • Dog training
    Program details

    Professional dog training focused on reliable obedience, loose-leash walking, manners, and behavior solutions. Customized programs for puppies and adults. Clear guidance, proven methods, and real-world results for calmer, well-mannered dogs.

  • Adopted Dog
  • Daily Training
  • Dog Park
  • Dog School
  • Dog Visit
  • Dog Whisperer
  • Job Training
  • Life Coach
  • New Dog
  • Old Dog
  • Pet Dog
  • Training Help
  • Training Sessions
  • Training Walks

Confirm current programs and availability directly.

Customer reviews

Google listing
4.9
out of 567 Google reviews

Mentioned in reviews

  • Basic obedience 6
  • Leash pulling 6
  • Confidence building 5
  • German shepherd training 5
  • Recall training 4
  • Breed understanding 3
All 10 topics
  • 8 session course 2
  • Calmer dog 2
  • Correction collar 2
  • Supportive attention 2

Google review topics, not confirmed services.

76 collected reviews

Text reviews first · newest first
Anca Tanase
5/5
Our experience with Nathan was a wonderful one! He offered structure and very good training to our husky! He’s truly a professional and he’s very dedicated to what he’s doing. He was always there for us with answers and support to all our questions. Great job, Nathan! It’s been a…Read full reviewClose full review

Our experience with Nathan was a wonderful one! He offered structure and very good training to our husky! He’s truly a professional and he’s very dedicated to what he’s doing. He was always there for us with answers and support to all our questions. Great job, Nathan! It’s been a pleasure to meet and work with you and congratulations to your great achievements with the dogs! We all know that what you’re doing is not easy!

Kathy and Rick Engberg
5/5
Nathan has been amazing training our puppy Rosa since March 2025. Rosa is a mini doodle with lots of energy. We had our doubts about the off leash training…although it went extremely well and she is now off leash ( in appropriate areas) almost every day. Rosa attended the VIP Pro…Read full reviewClose full review

Nathan has been amazing training our puppy Rosa since March 2025. Rosa is a mini doodle with lots of energy. We had our doubts about the off leash training…although it went extremely well and she is now off leash ( in appropriate areas) almost every day. Rosa attended the VIP Program at Nathan’s. Our lessons and hers went very well and we both feel “we are well trained” along with Rosa. Thanks to Nathan🐾🐾❤️ Happy Dog Happy Kathy and Rick

Shaylen Rudyk
5/5
This is Mango staring longingly at the buffet meat and cheese, yet following every cue and command like a pro. Over a year later, we’re still so impressed with the foundation Nathan helped us build. Mango’s obedience, and self-control (even in high-distraction situations) are a d…Read full reviewClose full review

This is Mango staring longingly at the buffet meat and cheese, yet following every cue and command like a pro. Over a year later, we’re still so impressed with the foundation Nathan helped us build. Mango’s obedience, and self-control (even in high-distraction situations) are a direct result of Nathan’s thoughtful, consistent training. We’re so grateful for his expertise and support. Highly recommend!

Madeleine Foster
5/5
TLDR: Nathan Woods is a real stand-up guy and an amazing dog trainer. I cannot recommend him enough. Our newly adopted dog had been owner-surrendered and scheduled to be put down due to aggression at our local shelter. He was a client of our groomers and when our groomer heard h…Read full reviewClose full review

TLDR: Nathan Woods is a real stand-up guy and an amazing dog trainer. I cannot recommend him enough. Our newly adopted dog had been owner-surrendered and scheduled to be put down due to aggression at our local shelter. He was a client of our groomers and when our groomer heard he was scheduled to be put down, he rescued him from the shelter. Our groomer thought he would be a good fit for our family and we adopted him. It turns out, Nathan had seen our groomer’s fliers about our dog needing a home and contacted him, letting him know that our dog still had half of his training left and that he honors it for the dog, no matter who the owner is. This dog was super sweet but we were worried about the aggression so Nathan’s generosity really sealed the deal for us with adopting him. We’ve worked with Nathan now for months and our dog has gone from charging my husband and scaring us along the way to behaving incredibly well and listening to us closely. In the first couple weeks, I thought we might have to give him back but he doesn’t scare us at all now and we feel secure in knowing that he will do what we tell him to do. He has a home for life, for sure. Nathan has been attentive and generous with his time and adjustments. He and our groomer absolutely saved his life. We are incredibly grateful that Nathan honored the training with us. This is a statement to Nathan’s character. Also a statement to his character— we took our dog in for 20+ days of training and he was always happy to see Nathan and be dropped off at training. Nathan clearly cares about dogs. We will use Nathan’s VIP training for all other dogs that we adopt in the future, no matter what their character is because it is amazing to have a dog that is so well trained. Thank you Nathan!

Lea Hebertson
5/5

Nathan is an absolute dog genius. He took a shelter dog that couldn’t walk on a leash to an a across the beach- recall dog in a month. Just do the VIP and let Nathan handle it.

Original customer experiences from the collected Google data. Ratings without comments follow written reviews.

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