# Trainer Needed: Northern California/SF Bay Area



## Ef1637 (Mar 19, 2012)

Hi Friends
I am looking for a trainer for our 1YO GS girl, to help with leash aggression and overall building of her confidance. Much of the training will also go to helping ME/our family to being better parents to her, and importantly establishing me as the Alpha. My husband has been in the past year(adopted her at 3months old), however he now travels quite a bit and I am home with her and I think she's a bit put off by who is now the "protector". She is a VERY very sensitive dog, extremly smart and quick to learn. I had her in classes 3 days a week when we first got her, for about six months--until my husband was laid off and we could no longer afford it.

She knows her sit, stay, down commands fairly well. The training I want is to address the leash aggression specifically (when she sees another dog or furry animal she goes crazy wanting to chase them/bark). 

I have spoken with many trainers in the area and frankly, it seems that most are "part time" hobbiest trainers, and are not as familiar with addressing challenges. I did find one trainer who I really liked over the phone, Gary Maria in our area, however his fees are VERY high, like $900 for a six week session which we were a bit skeptical about without checking into him further. 

I would greatly appreciate feedback and suggestions for a trainer who knows GS dogs and truly knows what they are doing. 

thank you,
Elisabeth


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## Smithie86 (Jan 9, 2001)

What part of the Bay Area? Am from there and know a few very good trainers.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

If you don't mind the drive, Julia Priest is in Galt (near Lodi) and she is excellent with problem-solving.


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## Ef1637 (Mar 19, 2012)

Hi,
We are in the East Bay area, near Pleasanton.


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## Smithie86 (Jan 9, 2001)

What side of the hills from Fremont? near 680 or off of 580?


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## Ef1637 (Mar 19, 2012)

*Located off 580freeway*

We are off the 580 but will travel if needed


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## SentinelHarts (May 7, 2011)

FWIW $900 for 6 weeks of board and train is not overly expensive... Any good trainer is going to charge something comperable. (relate that to watching someone's 9 year old child for 6 weeks) While a 9 year old can occupy themselves for the most part and does not require the attention of a toddler, they do require your attention for a significant portion of the day, a dog that is living with the trainer requires a similar amount of time and attention... Essentially this is $600 a month, or $150 a week... Most boarding facilities are $35 per day so getting a trainer for nearly (or cheaper) the same price is not a bad deal

Rob at www.nexgenk9.com is very skilled and trains full time, he is located in Vallejo but travels to clients for appointmnets....


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## Baillif (Jun 26, 2013)

The Michael Ellis School for Dog Trainers


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## Gretchen (Jan 20, 2011)

You may want to look into this meetup group, German shepherds of the Bay area. They have training classes on their calendar, but I found my dog did well just being around and socializing with some very well trained dogs, they seemed to correct each other and the owners are very responsible and understand GSD characteristics.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Lisa Maze is also in Vallejo - she's Michael Ellis's business partner in the Loup du Soleil Belgian Malinois Kennel, and trains with the same methods: Muttamorphosis

Lisa has tons of GSD clients, and deals with reactivity quite a lot.


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## Baillif (Jun 26, 2013)

Lisa is great forgot about her


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## mspiker03 (Dec 7, 2006)

Cassidy's Mom said:


> Lisa Maze is also in Vallejo - she's Michael Ellis's business partner in the Loup du Soleil Belgian Malinois Kennel, and trains with the same methods: Muttamorphosis
> 
> 
> 
> Lisa has tons of GSD clients, and deals with reactivity quite a lot.



+1


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## Bear L (Feb 9, 2012)

Another +1 for Lisa from me too. She helped me with mine and that's where mine went for boarding and came back happy.


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