I brought Yeti, my 4 month old German Shepherd puppy, to Whole Dog University and we just completed his Comprehensive Basic Obedience training!

Ruth has been an incredible teacher and is so knowledgeable about all things dog related and really cares about what she does. She provides you with all the right tools in order to accomplish whatever your goal is with your dog. She is very responsive and always willing to help guide us through any situation that we came across. She went above and beyond with helping us teach our dog!

When we first started with Ruth, all my dog knew was sit and down and we had some unwanted behaviors that we wanted to address. He is now well equipped with a lot of great basic obedience commands and we have seen so much growth in his behaviors and his ability to listen and control impulses. We have also created an amazing bond with our dog through training.

I highly recommend Whole Dog University and Ruth will absolutely be my go to trainer for any future training.

I also wanted to note that Whole Dog University is a small business and I feel like we got a lot more out of training with Ruth than we ever would have at one of those larger corporation ran dog training facilities.

The puppy training at Whole Dog with Ruth was different than what I’d seen with past dogs I’ve owned. And I loved it! The emphasis at Whole Dog on socialization and confidence building, along with breed-specific needs, transforms the puppy class from the usual “This is how you train sit” to “This is how you get a dog that isn’t reactive or afraid and will view you as the leader, but is also ok with being alone”. And I’m absolutely seeing the positive results with my 15 week Cavachon, George. Obedience training will be the next step and we’ll be returning for that. And maybe even for some more advanced off-leash training.

We got our pup at 6mo of age and she was basically feral at the time. So, everything she encountered was new to her. She was VERY reactive and not fun to walk or meet new people despite being very smart and quick to learn basic commands. At 14mo of age we gave up and enrolled her in Ruth's residence program where she was with Ruth every single day, all day long, for 2 weeks. Ruth got her around every type of person, store, noise, object available, and by the end of the 2 weeks, we had a new dog! Using her instructions, we've even been able to walk with her and not experience her growling/barking at other dogs or pulling on the leash. It was worth every penny to get this training. The socialization and de-escalation techniques are working so well while the obedience commands were an extra bonus for us. Ruth knows her stuff and is always available for random questions/instructions. She truly knows dogs! Highly recommend.

Our experience with Ruth was amazing! We got our dog from the shelter back in April. She was about a year old and definitely had plenty of issues as a result of being a stray + being adopted/given back within a month. We had a consultation with Ruth within a few weeks of adopting Piper. Ruth went through every single issue we were experiencing in heavy detail and we spent several hours talking through everything. During that consultation, she suggested letting Piper adjust to her new environment before starting obedience training, and gave us super helpful knowledge about handling the dog in the meantime.

We eventually started obedience training, and I was so impressed by Ruth's approach each week. We learned how to do all of the basic commands, but she also kept up with all of the other behavioral issues that Piper came with. One of our biggest issues was over-arrousal around other animals, specifically our cat (we've had to separate the two due to him running away and the dog chasing him). After learning about that issue, Ruth brought her dog and cat into several training sessions. This was so helpful for learning about Piper's mental state around other animals. Ruth also taught us so much about how to recognize signs of over-arrousal/fear/etc and how to handle Piper when she's in those tough situations.

I think the thing I'd like to stress the most is that there's no doubt that Ruth is passionate about what she does. She's not just there to teach your dog a couple of tricks and call it a day. She actively kept up with Piper's behavioral issues, health problems, adjustment to us/our home, socialization with other animals/people, and so much more! "Whole Dog University" perfectly describes her approach when training. She really will focus on every aspect of your dog's life. I absolutely recommend Ruth and the amazing service she provides!

Our experience with Ruth and her basic obedience training was amazing. We took our 6 month old pup with zero obedience and now we can have him sit, stay, heel, go to his place, and the list goes on. We did 6 private lessons (which I would recommend) and she sculpted our class to fit our needs and address behavioral problems. I would absolutely recommend her to anyone who is interested in becoming a better pack leader to their pet.
Edit 2 years later:
My pup is still an amazing dog and now we just expanded to a second pup who has her own needs. In a little distress, we spoke with Ruth about some of our concerns with our 18 week new puppy and how to integrate two dogs. She was again amazing and provided her expert knowledge which instantly transformed our experience as dog owners for the better! Thank you again Ruth!