Art’s Obedience

My Husband took our dog to the beginners class. We just wanted our dog to learn basic instructions like sit, stay & not to pull when being walked on a leash. At the first class our dog was not listening as usual, obviously because he had no prior training. To our surprise the male instructor was upset & singled out dog. I thought these trainers are supposed to be patient & help us train our dog. Instead, he was rude treated my husband with no respect. I should have listened to my friend when he didn’t have nice things to say about this class. We will not be returning. They can keep our $ 25.00.

Terrible. We’ve used Art’s obedience in the past for two of our dogs, and never had any real issues. Today, I took our new puppy to class and unfortunately another persons dog attacked a poor little sheltie puppy. Not only did this older lab attack the puppy, but wouldn’t let go and took 3 people to pull off this older lab. The lab also bit the sheltie’s owner, twice and made 8 puncture holes in his arm. I saw this lab, earlier showing aggression to other dogs before class started. One of the guys from Art’s, tells me to watch my dog, because of other bigger dogs are around. Don’t know his name, but he was the tallest haole guy there, wearing a hat with ear and neck flaps. He was actually the one handling that lab earlier, for two women that bought it. I watched him handle this lab, and saw him pull, choke, slap this lab. It was obvious, this lab had issues and shouldn’t have been anywhere near any dogs, especially puppies. I saw that lab, go after at least 3 other dogs, before the attack. If anything, this guy with Art’s obedience school escalated this lab more by his own aggression on the lab. This lab was already worked up and by choking it, and slapping it, only made it worst IMO. People were screaming and it seemed to go on, way too long. I love that Art and his staff, do really care about helping people with their dogs, but that clown that thought he knew what he was doing, was a joke. After he practically hung the lab by the neck, after the second attempt of going after another dog, he went up to the two ladies that bought him and said, «I hope I didn’t traumatize the two of you» WTF??? he was more concerned about the two women that brought the lab, then all of the other people and their dogs and puppies. I’m so pissed, that it had to happen, because it should have never happened. I positioned myself with my puppy far away from every dog there. I will not go back.
IF THIS SAVES ONE DOG/​PUPPY AND OWNER FROM SOMETHING AS TERRIBLE AS THIS, THEN I’LL BE GLAD. THE PUPPY LOOKED IN PRETTY BAD SHAPE, AND ART’S PPL MADE IT SEEM LIKE IT WASN’T THAT BAD. THE OWNER LEFT SHORTLY AFTER, BEFORE I COULD TELL HIM TO GET THOSE LADIES INFO AND MAKE THEM PAY FOR ANY VET BILLS. THE TWO LADIES THAT BROUGHT THE LAB, LEFT RIGHT AFTER THE ATTACK.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE
IF YOU DO GO TO ANY DOG PARK, CLASS ETC. BE AWARE THAT A LOT OF PPL DON’T WORK WITH THEIR DOGS AND SOCIALIZE THEM. IT CAN HAPPEN IN A SECOND.
LOVE YOUR DOGS, YOU ARE THE PROTECTER OF THEM AND THEY DEPEND ON YOU TO DO THAT!!!

Dog obedience training is a labor of love for Art, his wife Betty and their assistants. They hold obedience group training sessions for puppies and older dogs from beginner to advanced levels. Our dog went through the beginner and intermediate obedience classes. We did the puppy training in Aiea Newtown Neighborhood Park and the intermediate obedience in Kaneohe Heeia Neighborhood Park. What a difference it has made! Our dog is so good now (he was a holy terror as a puppy — prior to obedience training!). We can take him anywhere and we know he will be a good boy. The early socialization with other dogs and people is critical and Art spends a lot of time encouraging this in the beginner class. The ultra-​dedicated crew at Art’s Obedience are patient, kind and knowledgeable. The only drawback is that sometimes Art starts talking about some training topic and won’t stop for a looong time. This is hard on the puppies and the handlers. Puppies are getting antsy having to sit still for so long and handlers are getting fidgety. So, Art if you read this, spend more time doing and less time talking/​lecturing! I highly recommend Scott Seo for the intermediate evening classes in Kaneohe. Scott is an excellent trainer/​teacher. We also did agility with Betty (not the wife) for a few months. Our dog wasn’t to into it mostly because it was so hot. If they had an evening agility session, I would continue to take him. All in all, you won’t find a better deal for obedience training anywhere on the island. Art could double their rates and it would still be a steal compared to what other trainers charge. Here is the link to their website:

They have an 11-​week course for $ 25. What a steal! We’re on weak 4 right now with our dog and he is improving every day. Yes, there are a lot of people when Art is first explaining the class, but then you end up breaking out into smaller groups where you get to go to your preferred trainer. The trainer we go to (Tom) actually has a small dog, which is the kind of dog we have, so he is able to work with us extremely well. I highly recommend these guys!