Sirius K9 Academy

YIKES… reviews are so mixed that I don’t want anyone to think that I am best friends with the trainers. We are truly just clients. Very happy and ready to give a great review clients! Our year old American Foxhound mix is a «rescue dog» and was flown here from Arkansas. He is a really sweet dog but a real jumper. It was so aggravating that it affected the way people responded to him. He loves walking the trails in Fullerton with me but he wanted to jump on other dogs and walkers alike. We had him in training with John for two weeks and he came back a calm and well trained
dog. He actually lived with John the entire time and enjoyed other dogs and friends. He has been back for a month and he still has not jumped once and we love how he can stay so long in the «down position» while we have lunch on the patios of local restaurants. We love Cubby Bear and it was worth the cost to have him professionally trained.

I signed my dog up for training classes, and I was pretty excited to start. However due to me relocating houses I had to miss the first orientation class. I contacted Caroline who explained to me that I was able to take a make up class for $ 100 which I was OK with. After the trainer contacted me we set up a time and place to me meet. We’re were going to meet Saturday at 10 am. Unfortunately the day before (Friday) I was supposed to meet with the trainer. At 11:13 AM I emailed Caroline and notified her that I would not be able to attend the meeting the following day with the trainer. Accidentally deleted the trainers phone number so I was unable to text to myself, however I figured since I was emailing his boss she would notify him. To my surprise the next day the trainer texted me stating that he was at the location ready to meet me. I let him know that I was not able to meet up with him and that I had notify Caroline his boss the morning prior. Caroline then emailed me later in the day upset with me stating that I never notified her that I wasn’t going to be able to make the class and now she was going to take $ 25 off of my cost that I had already paid to pay for the trainers gas for driving out to meet me. I then screenshot my email to her to show her that I did in fact email her. She then stated well even if you did email me at 11:13 that still isn’t 24 hour notice so I’m still going to see you’re still going to get docked for $ 25. I then asked her to please cancel my services because I did not want to do business with a company that is going to blame me for their mistakes. Their communication skills seem to be lacking. They never explained to me that there needed to be a 24 hour notice. And what ever happened to professional courtesy? Even if it was supposed to be 24 hour notice, you’re going to dock me for gas money because I gave a 23 hour notice? I didn’t see anywhere in my contract stating that I would be docked $ 25 if I didn’t give a 24 hour notice it seems as though she kind of made that rule up as she went. still didn’t give me my $ 25 back. Be careful with your money with this lady. She might make up another fee. I would appreciate ALL my money back.

This is the second place I tried to help my very fearful dog. Knowing that there was probably no quick fix for my dog given the level of her anxiety — I chose Sirius K9 Academy because they offer more than just basic obedience. They have intermediate and advanced obedience as well as some other classes. Given that this was my second try at training my dog, I wasn’t expecting much from basic obedience but I was pleasantly surprised at how much we both learned. While she still had issues, she was much improved and I learned how to manage her behavior in all kinds of situations. The staff was very friendly and helpful. I have continued with my dog beyond basic training and the improvement is beyond my expectations. Training is now just for fun and I have a super cool dog.
I would recommend Sirius K9 Academy to friends and family.

It’s very rare that I give a less than favorable review (check my history!) But with that being said it’s unfortunate that I have to leave this. I was seeking dog training for my dog for a specific problem I was having. I contacted several trainers and businesses and told them my problem, many of which it would be taken care of. I contacted Caroline who said he would need to be put through basic training. I explained my problem very specifically what I wanted out of her company.
It was a 7 week course and after about week 3 or 4 I figured out quickly this is not what I wanted. I did not sign up to teach my dog his sits or downs. I contacted Caroline and explained to her and I felt like she was dancing around the situation. She mentioned he would get better through training, yet of all the trainers I contacted none ever mentioned that he would need to learn his sits and downs and his basic commands. They may have a wonderful program going on but I felt cheated signing up, especially since no other trainer ever mentioned a basic course would fix the problem like K9 did.

We recently adopted a very high spirited mini-​whoodle (that’s ½ Wheaten Terrier and ½ poodle) from a local rescue group and we’re so in love with him. Not so in love with some of the behaviors he was exhibiting so we asked around and a friend recommended Sirius. So happy we pursued it! The other review is right; it’s a bit odd to register, but once you’ve figured it out, it’s worth it. Caroline and her staff are completely awesome. We’re not quite done with our training and there’s some question as to whether we’re really graduate or not, but our little buddy can heel, sit, lay and come. It’s a night and day difference — so much more relaxing to take him for a walk or have him around people. John is an awesome trainer and his passion for dogs is infectious!
The classes are held outside — not inside as the previous reviewer indicated. They are moving the facility, so I’m not sure what’s going on, but we’ve been outside in a parking lot for the past 4 weeks. I would have preferred to be inside, but it’s not that big of a deal. The attention we get and the skills that we’re learning are so very valuable!

I have taken my dog to have private obedience lessons before but that started to get pricey. I want to continue with training so I decided to look for group classes. Most people I know took their dogs to Petsmart or Petco but I wanted a real trainer who would be well rounded and not just teach my dog tricks.
I looked around for a while before I found this place and from their website I could tell they were what I was looking for. It is a bit confusing to sign up because it is a several step process. First you fill out a form online, then there is a paypal link to pay the deposit. Although it doesn’t say how much to pay or anything but that was cleared up after the owner emailed me some info. You pay a $ 50 deposit for each dog enrolled and then pay the balance on the orientation day. If you have your pet from a shelter or rescue they will give you a discount on the class fee.
After the deposit and online form is done you need to send in proof of vaccinations which I like because it means my dogs will only be around healthy dogs. The Sunday class is very popular and if it fills up quickly. They have other times that same day they make available based on when you put down your deposit.
Classes are always 2 hours and you can’t drop in to other classes if you can’t make your assigned time. The orientation is also 2 hours and went over a lot of good information. Since I have had a trainer with similar philosophy I already knew some of the info but some of it was still new to me.
One perk to this place is that the classes are in an indoor facility so if it rains there is no problem. I much prefer this over other places that meet in public parks or parking lots.