Nathan Woods Dog Trainer

My partner and I did not have a positive experience with Nathan and ended up terminating our sessions before we completed the training. I knew up front that Nathan did not use positive reinforcement training, but what made me uncomfortable was Nathan's insistence on using new collars even after we expressed hesitation. We bought the chain and prong collars, but told him we did not want to use the electronic collar. He was very pushy on using the electronic collar and also on having our dog neutered, even though we repeatedly expressed that we weren't ready to move forward on that. His method of training is lazy and relies on the collars more than on actually building trust with your dog. Our dog hated him from the beginning and we dreaded our classes with him. In addition, Nathan's schedule is booked out weeks in advance, so don't expect to see him on a weekly basis. Our training sessions with him were only about 30-45 mins long and mostly consisted of going over his written syllabus, which we were expected to practice with our dog daily until we could see him again, which could be weeks after the last session. You're encouraged to call Nathan with questions in between sessions, but he's not really available during the day, so we ended up playing a lot of phone tag and trying to answer questions over voicemail. I appreciate that he tries to be responsive, but his schedule is just too busy to provide adequate support to all of his clients. We ended up never scheduling a 5th session, and Nathan never called to follow up or refund our money for the final sessions. We found him to be unprofessional, socially inept, pushy, and not good with our dog. I would highly recommend looking elsewhere for your puppy training needs.

My husband and I chose Nathan to train our lovable, though wild and crazy lab mix puppy, and we couldn't be happier with the results. The eight-week program, with the homework, and finishing up with the field-trips for off-leash training to the beach and Douglas Preserve was exactly what we and our pup needed. As a graduate, she knows her commands very well, listens, respects, and is still the same happy-lucky-girl, just with perfect manners! We heartily recommend Nathan's training!

I knew that this might be my last dog and I wanted him to be able to travel with me everywhere as a well behaved and trustworthy friend. Nathan helped me to achieve that. I signed up for the VIP package and I must say, I know my dog is smart but I never practiced with him so I know whatever Nathan does, it works! And I also like the fact that treats are not part of the routine! My dog is obedient because he loves me and wants to please. I have now the best dog I have ever owned! We just finished off leash yesterday. I took him out to 3 fields today to practice that, mostly to get me accustomed to him being NOT by my side. Bruno played with other dogs and when it was time to come, I just had to call. Never used the sound to get his attention. I was able to bring him back as he was about to take off into he distance with just one "Bruno Come!" and a beep and he turned around and sat in front of me. Now my dog is 20 months old, and I have never had a puppy that was so well behaved. He is still a puppy! When I walk with him in parks off leash, if I say Bruno heal off leash, he remains at my side, even when other dogs pass me. I am so used to my dogs running off to greet other dogs that I almost expect him to be gone but he is always just right there at my side. WE go to restaurants and he sits patiently by my side. We go to bars, and he sits patiently by my side. He is super socialized after staying at Loose Pooch during his training. Also, I do not believe that Bruno was taught with a correction collar until off leash. So if you are worried, don't be. I could go on but I will stop here. Just know that if you need your dog to be the best dog ever so that you can keep him by your side everywhere, Nathan is your guy! I will be forever grateful.

Nathan Woods is absolutely one of the best dog trainers you can find. I have known him for over 10 years and has trained my American Bulldog who had behavioral issues after an illness as a puppy and being displaced from a 2009 wildfire. He helped integrate her to society and she became a very friendly and sweet dog to everyone she came across. Nathan is now training my German Shepherd since she was 2 months old and she has surprised many in terms of her nature and behavior. I highly recommend Nathan and we call him the “ dog whisperer “ of Santa Barbara My German Shepherd will be 2 years old on April 5th, 2020 and she has gone through and beyond Obedience Level 2 training with Nathan Woods. She has earned her Canine Good Citizen Certificate and she is currently working as a Service Dog. She travels with her handler, she goes on Airplanes and Restaurants with him. At the same time Nathan Woods has taught her to pick objects (medicine bottle) off the ground and retrieve them back. He also has shown us not to allow her to integrate with strange dogs so that she never experiences any sort of aggressive reactions. In return, when she goes to play with other dogs at Loose Pooch, all who have been interviewed by Nathan she can play happily with them with no fear. Nathan continues to follow up with her and is always there for us whenever we have any concerns.