Lorenzo’s Dog Training Team

This team of dog trainers is simply amazing! My wife and I had the pleasure of working with Alexander and he was top notch. The training that went in to not only our dog but us as handlers was great. By the end of our training we felt comfortable with the knowledge that we received to properly handle Allie.
Just a little background, Allie was a rescue of sorts that had issues with small dogs. When I say issue I mean that she liked to bully smaller dogs and instigate fights when she felt she wanted some action. My wife first told me that we needed to have her trained before we re-​homed her so we called Lorenzo’s Training. I was skeptical at first but the difference was evident within the first session working with Alexander. By the last session we could leave Allie off leash and in a down position where she would hold that position until we gave the command to release. Honestly we were on the path to re-​homing Allie (which is obviously not what we wanted to do) before we called. I think these guys are great and they will get the opportunity to train our 6 month old GSD Helo.
Awesome Team! Thanks for everything guys!

Best dog trainer of all time! Getting Anton and Lorenzo’s Dog Training Team was the best decision I’ve ever made concerning my dog. Anton started by training me as the owner, which was key to the entire process, and has helped me stick to the training to this day (almost 3 years later). My dog, Mobi, is a super hyper Golden Doodle and he definitely likes to press the limits on what he can get away with. Without the training Anton provided I can’t imagine what my life would be like. I started training him right when I got him as a puppy, worked with him 1 – 2 times a day for 10 – 15 minutes as prescribed, and he is the dog I always dreamed of having. Not only can he sit, lay down, stay, come on command, and walk in heel position perfectly, but he can do a bunch of other cool stuff as well. He can pick up almost any object off the ground and bring it to me, hold on to his own leash, and we’re working on getting me bottles of water out of the fridge on command. Mobi loves getting trained for new things, and I continue to push him which he enjoys immensely. This is all accredited to Anton Yablonsky.
If you want the dog of your dreams that behaves & listens then Anton from Lorenzo’s Dog Training Team is the way to go. It’s worth every dollar invested and it’s definitely worth the 20 minutes a day it takes to work with your dog.

My mom’s dog, Cody, was having a hard time adjusting from being a working farm dog (keeping coyotes and stray dogs away from the farm animals) to living in a suburban area and coexisting with other city dogs. After he jerked my mom to the ground when on a leashed walk in order to jump on a passing dog, my mom decided to get help. She researched and asked her vet technicians, who recommended Anton. He met her at her house and after working with Cody for a little while, said he could see she had a problem and that he would take him. After two weeks Cody came home a changed boy. He heeled and sat on command. Anton returned and worked with Cody and my mom together several times. My mom was also impressed at Anton’s patience with her when she was learning new concepts.
Months after the lessons, Cody has retained his training. My mom can take walks and when they encounter dogs Cody will sit until they go by. He doesn’t react aggressively when passing dogs bark. He has even started to play at the dog park.
We are all very pleased with Anton’s work and would recommend him.
Thank you, Anton.

Skip to «Our Results» below if you wish to read an abbreviated review.
About Us:
We live in a high-​rise, pet-​friendly condominium in downtown Phoenix. This means our dog should be able to ride in the elevator without barking/​biting/​maiming any other creature (human or otherwise) in the elevator. We get one shot at this. If this happens once, our dog goes away — for good.
Our Dog:
Rhodesian Ridgeback (Lorenzo’s Training started when pup was 6 months old).
Before Lorenzo’s:
We tried three different no-​pull harnesses
We tried the gentle leader.
We tried the motion-​restrictive harnesses.
We tried a prong collar.
We tried three different puppy training and obedience classes.
We tried treats — ranging from puppy treats to cheese.
Nothing helped.
Our Issues:
After 3 months of intensive puppy training with three different certified trainers in the Phoenix-​metro area, we were at our absolute last straw. We had leash aggression issues. While the pup was perfectly normal off leash, he always wanted to go and play with other dogs while on a leash. This resulted in a lot of barking and pulling. My wife was in tears when he almost pulled her down when he was just 4.5 months old and at 45 lbs. People would avoid us in the elevators and public areas. It was quite humiliating. Ridgebacks are very stubborn dogs. Ours was no exception. He was not food-​motivated at all. He could care less about the dog treats (or string cheese) if he’d decided he wanted to chase down another dog. For us, there was no such thing as a «high-​value» treat. When we could not control our 45 lb. puppy at the Vet for a routine exam, the Vet recommended Anton and Carmen at Lorenzo’s stating they had seen meaningful results with Lorenzo’s.
Our Experience:
In one word, Outstanding. Anton Yablonsky and Carmen McNamara were our trainers. During the hour-​long evaluative session, Anton and Carmen watched us handle the dog — and basic commands. Then, came the moment of truth. Anton calmly began handling the dog. Within the first 5 minutes, he made our rambunctious puppy «down-​stay» for 10 minutes. We can confidently say that Lorenzo’s is the only reason why we have such a well-​behaved, well-​adjusted, friendly yet playful dog. There is no drama in our household. The trainers start sessions with leash handling techniques. And then, depending on training goals and the dog, you get a customized training recommendation. In our case, we just wanted a happy, well-​behaved dog. When Anton and Carmen casually mentioned that they can make our dog walk off-​leash in less than 3 months, we thought they overestimated their capabilities. Thankfully, we were proven wrong. We wholeheartedly endorse Lorenzo’s training methods — and specifically Anton and Carmen.
Our Results:
Our dog is now just over a year old. After 12 sessions with Carmen and Anton, we can do the following with our dog with absolute confidence:
– Walk off-​leash.
– Run off-​leash — in downtown Phoenix with distractions ranging from dump trucks to rabbits.
– Recall — Every time we call our dog back, he comes. Without fail. Every. Single. Time.
– Kids — plays exceptionally well with kids. Attached is a photo of a 1.5 year girl playing with the dog’s ball. Note the dog calmly waits for the ball to drop rather than jumping up and down in excitement.
– At restaurants, the dog will «down-​stay» while we eat. Often, people won’t notice we have a 80 lb. dog sitting under our table.
– At a public place, he will maintain a close «heel» position. This way, we walk our dog (and not the other way around).
– Boundary training — calmly waits in his «spot» or his «crate» with an open door until asked to come and greet anyone at the door. When we open the door, the pup automatically and immediately goes to «sit-​stay» and awaits the release command.
– Counter surfing — Ridgebacks are notorious counter-​surfers. Not our dog. Thanks to Lorenzo’s.

Anton Yablowsky and Lorenzo’s Dog Training Team are very knowledgeable, however I give them a low score for puppy training. I thought I did my research online and thought the website was great. The site had convinced me that the trainers where very good and well versed in all types of training. I had Anton come over, I told him I liked his spirit. I did tell him he spoke too fast and that my customers would not like the way he was handling his puppy. I am a hobby breeder of Labrador, I am not a certified dog trainer, and thought he was rough in his corrections. He was training a 5 month doberman, his correction made the puppy Unilocal,soon after his dog puked.
Ok — maybe the dog is high strung? So I thought he knows best. I told him my clients would not approve of the way he handled his dog with their puppies. I went on to explain my customers are looking for a program for 8 to 12 week puppies, he said they do have programs designed to the individual. Ok, so he will have a more gentle and better display of correction for my customers with puppies. So, I sent out an email to the litter parents and one of my customers hired him. Well to my disappointment, the customer called and said after the 2^nd visit, his wife was in tears! He said he spoke down to his wife and handled the puppy so rough that his vet told him to put a sock on the puppy’s neck due to the chafing from the choker. I saw the puppy today and could not believe how red the puppy’s neck was. My client also told me that Anton corrected his dog and soon after the dog puked. Hmm, Anyway — I’m sure they are good for some people and for another type of training, but I will not recommend them for Puppy Training. Sorry Team —
I am a believer that you need to be a good teacher first, teaching the human, then the canine. Set up expectations, and explain what you are doing and why in a tone that your customer understands. Hope that helps!
I will say Lorenzo’s corporate office did the right thing and reimbursed my client for the sessions also apologized the experience — I thought they handled this in a professional manner.

I am a registered veterinary technician who have seen over 3 clients with patients who went to Lorenzo’s for training and unfortunately after training the dogs became so aggressive and other behavioral issues occurred that some clients were considering euthanasia which makes me more upset then you could ever understand. I then gave this clients behaviorists information and resources to help with these new issues. Negative reinforcement does not work, if you beat, scream, choke, etc any animal over time they will listen out of fear. This fear then raises these dogs likelihood of biting and being so afraid other behavioral issues start. They should not be picked up after training shaking and scared. Please do your research when looking for a dog trainer, some dog trainers have had only 2 weeks of training and are unaware of what they are doing and def do not have your dogs best interest at heart. For a dog to be so aggressive after training that the owners come in crying asking about euthanasia is an extreme situation and I have seen it more then once with this trainer. This is unacceptable and I know there have been a lot of complaints but Lorenzo’s is still seeing new client.

I feel as though I must give an update on my original review. Although, I do feel the same as my original post with my experience during Lorenzos training with Nathan. I was very unhappy with the way he operated his business overall. Would any of us expect to have a job after a no call, no show, or being consistently late, or an unreturned phone call? With that being said, I do hope that Nathan is working on all of this, as I know he was very busy and the only trainer in our area (no excuse when you are paying money for a service), but I do see that there is a new trainer now in our area, so hopefully things will change. The basis of Lorenzos training is phenomenal. After we adopted a dog from the rescue, our first pup Lola had started to attack her a year later for what seemed like no apparent reason. Nathan took Lola into his home for a little over a month. When she returned, as Lisa J. said, she was a totally different dog, and even seemed scared of me, at times. But we integrated the training into our lives and modified some things and saw an extreme change in her behavior, while still keeping our «same» dog. So my advice for Lisa is: after you use the prong for a bit, maybe put her back on the choke collar for walks and when she is misbehaving and see if that works.” That seemed to work for us. Lola appears to be much happier and is SO much more well behaved. AND she is no longer attacking our other dog. We still do a down stay for her, she sits and downs before we walk, and the best part is she walks on a leash wonderfully. I just wish I knew how to walk them both together without them fighting over who is in front. The training part of this program is phenomenal! We were contemplating getting rid of our beloved dog, due to her attacking our other dog and we no longer have to worry about that anymore! The reason why I gave such a low scoring to this company was because of my experience with the trainer. (i.e. Read my first post) But the training does work and the program is great! I do hope that anyone who wants to use this program will give it a try and that the trainer we had will have some more help by now and have his stuff together.

When I got my 4 month old Rottie he was chewing my baseboards and driving me up the wall. On walks he had to smell and eat everything we came across. My vet recommended we have an assessment by Lorenzo’s (it’s where she trained her dogs).
Nathan Lochner came to our house and listened to us bumble on about how we were trying to train our «Monster.» Then he put a training collar and leash on «Monster» and just walked around the couch a few times. Then he told our dog to sit, then lay down and stay. AND HE DID!!! We were blown away!
After completing the Basic Training we decided to do the off leash training. And now we have a dog that our whole neighborhood knows as «The Good Dog.» «Monster’ is only a monster because he is huge, not because of his behavior. I have people asking me all the time if I am a trainer because my dog is so well behaved. I just smile and say, «No, but I know a great one!!»