Better Nature Dog Training

4.5 stars
We messaged Jeff and were able to get an appointment a week out. Our newly adopted dog was pulling and misbehaving and driving us CRAZY! Jeff calmed us down and reinforced that we got a good pup on our hands. He even supervised our very first dog park visit which we were VERY glad he was there for. The training part of the training session was a bit lacking. He was training US more than the pup. That is totally understandable, but I would have liked more dog training too?

Jeff helped us so much! We adopted our dog, Ted, from the SPCA in June, and he was very fearful. He was afraid of going on walks, he wouldn't let us put collars, harnesses, or leashes on him, he would bark like crazy if we had any guests come into our apartment, and he wasn't housetrained. We had one zoom session and 3 in-person sessions with Jeff, and now Ted is about 98% housetrained, has no problem with guests, and he loves walks! He used to hide, growl, and snap when we tried to put the leash on him, and we weren't able to walk him at all for the first two months we had him, but now he actually gets excited when we get the leash out! Jeff gave us excellent advice throughout the whole process and we couldn't have done it without him.

The first session was amazing. We're still yet to implement Jeff's suggestions but he shared with us lots of great pointers and insights. We really appreciated his detail-oriented style focused on understanding dog's behavior, noting what works, and how to best manage that. After all, dogs have their own personalities that may not be exactly what we want them to be.

I cannot recommend Jeff enough. We are completely pet-inexperienced and just got a puppy. After a week or so of combing through YouTube videos and articles, trying to make sense of the sometimes conflicting advice, we decided to find a trainer. I reached out to many, but Jeff stood out. He appeared to be highly experienced and seemed to genuinely want to help (rather that some others that felt a bit like money grabs).

We had a phone call with Jeff and briefly discussed our concerns. Just from the conversation, we were able to take some of his quick advice into action and felt a noticeable amount of stress off our shoulders. We knew right away that Jeff was the trainer for us, and asked him to come for an in-home visit.

What a game-changer the visit was. Jeff is very friendly and professional, and arrived well-prepared with documented materials for us to keep. He walked us through the major points of puppy training, focusing on the parts that he knew we were struggling with. It was a completely customized experience. He included my 6 and 7 year old daughters in the training as well. He taught us not by just SHOWING us, but by having US do the exercises with our puppy, so WE felt comfortable. We covered a ton of material, and our entire family is adjusting our new and improved dog training methods.

After our visit, Jeff emailed us a follow up (like a doctor's after visit report) with reminders and recommendations as well as some additional resources that would help. Our family has already started putting his advice into practice, and we feel much more confident as pet owners now.

We are so grateful that Jeff has shared his expertise with our family. He will be our go-to trainer for all future training help we may need as our pup grows up.

Jeff was very kind and thorough when we had a video consultation for our new adopted puppy during lockdown. He also took the time to answer a follow-up email 2 years later. While we didn't end up training in person (protocol at the time), his advice was spot-on and he truly cared that both us and our dog were set up for success!

Jeff is an excellent trainer who was able to help us train our puppy on a variety of topics! Each time we met with Jeff, he would help us with ways to work on the different issues we were having with our puppy. It was personalized and tailored to our situation! We will definitely continue to book with Jeff!

I adopted a senior dog with some stranger reactivity / owner guarding behaviors and reached out to Jeff for help after finding him on google, and I'm so glad I did! Jeff does a very thorough initial consultation via email/phone, and came to our in-person session prepared with notes, strategies, and lots of wisdom! He approached us and our dog with a great big open heart, which really meant a lot. There have been plenty of times where I felt overwhelmed or judged for not knowing how to address some of my dog's behaviors, but Jeff's care and control put both me and her at ease. His advice was actionable - it felt like he was training me as much as the dog, which I think is a fair burden of responsibility :) He was realistic about what we're working with but also reassuring about the progress we've made, and encouraging about the faith he has in our good girl! Overall very caring, knowledgeable, and understanding - highly recommend!

Jeff was a fantastic help to me. I'm living in Costa Rica and I needed help setting up the foundations of training for my new puppy Mika. Over a zoom session, he provided me with a doable program, vital insights and helped me set realistic expectations and priorities. Now a month and a half later Mika and I are doing great and she has steady progress. Jeff was extremely professional, empathetic and expert in all things puppy, and I wholeheartedly recommend him and his remote services (over zoom).

Jeff has such a big heart and so much love for dogs. He has been so helpful and generous with his advice.

Jeff is amazing! I spoke with him on the phone today (after leaving a voicemail last night) about my dachshund who began having behavioral problems about a month ago. She had a successful back surgery 6 months ago but her back pain returned and since then she has been deathly afraid to be handled. I called Jeff asking if he could help her and while this wasn't something he believed he could fix himself, he did take his time speaking with me about my next steps. He provided references for vet behaviorist and information on how I could try to make her feel more comfortable on my own.

I can see how much Jeff cares about animals. He really took the time to help me through my stressful process and even gave me words of encouragement at the end of our conversation. 5 stars for Jeff and his amazing company. It is so refreshing to know there are good people in this world. Thank you so much Jeff. You gave me hope for my little pup!