Testimonials
“This was such a great investment for us and our 1.5 year-old GSD. Before training, she was incredibly anxious, was terrible on walks (lunging, pulling), and wouldn’t listen to commands. We knew we just weren’t communicating with her the right way – she’s the sweetest dog, and she’s very smart and sensitive. After one lesson with Diana, she was finally able to walk loose-leash (no pulling, no lunging, even when she sees a cat or stray ball). It’s truly like night and day. I couldn’t recommend her more; she’s truly a life changer.”
-Gina V.
“Diana has made our lives so much richer by teaching us and our pup obedience basics! She was so lovely and our pup absolutely adores her. She worked hard with him and gave us regular homework to continue bettering our pup. As first time pup parents, we were super worried and anxious about training but Diana changed it all for us and now we enjoy our pup so much more. Can’t thank her enough.”
– Shoshanna S.
“Harry worked with Diana for private sessions and within the first 5 sessions our 4 month old puppy changed from a shy, unconfident, and sometimes frustrated puppy to a social, confident, and lovable little guy! Diana was so patient with him from the start. She helped Harry come out of his shell but most importantly taught us how to better understand our puppy’s actions and reactions, as well as how to better communicate with Harry. Even in the last three additional private sessions Harry has evolved so much! We are now loose leash walkers, our teenage outbursts have minimized, and his response to his commands have been fine tuned (which is amazing for a 9 month puppy). In fact, when Harry shows up to his doggy daycare or shows off his command skills in the park everyone asks where he was trained and I am so proud to say that his trainer is Diana because she has been the best mentor and friend to Harry!”
– Lauren D.
“I have worked with several trainers over the years, but none as knowledgeable as Diana. She took the time to get to know my dog (Brooklyn) and never pushed him beyond his limits. She also has helped me develop the skill set I needed to work with Brooklyn and feel secure in doing so. Diana is truly AMAZING and I am thankful for her patience and expertise.”
– Kelli E.
“This review is long overdue, but wanted to express how happy we are with our decision to train our dog here! Our dog Tsuki was getting more reactive to other dogs and we knew right away we needed help with managing her. Any walk or park outing we attempted was not enjoyable at all if another dog came in sight. We signed up for 8 private sessions and were given very clear demonstrations and instructions throughout all of our lessons. The sessions were always very hands on and the feedback we were given on our handling skills was invaluable. I felt like we made huge progress every week. By our last lesson, Tsuki’s reactions had minimized, her obedience improved, and she was learning to socialize better with other dogs. Our training ended back in June, but we’ve continued to implement all of the lessons we’ve learned from our previous sessions and Tsuki’s behavior has only been getting better. We were able to take her on a trip to Yosemite and stayed at a location where there were tons of dogs and it feels amazing to say that she was one of the most well behaved dogs there. We’ve been taking her out more to pet friendly places– restaurants with outdoor patios, bars, pet stores– and every single time she blows me away with her progress. I used to think we could never do any of these activities with her. Of course there are days/moments where it feels like we’re taking a few steps back, but it’s a lot easier to manage thanks to everything we learned. Thank you Diana for getting us to this point in our training!”
– Jasmine F.
“Diana really is amazing and worked so well with my dog. We worked on so many different aspects of obedience and recall. By the end of each session my dog was able to learn a new building step such as place, recall, heeling, and even off leash training. We were also assigned homework to implement the training at home. Diana was so helpful. Not only was she training my dog, but she was also teaching me how to implement the training at home and gave me a change in every session to practice…I am very satisfied with our training experience — definitely worth the price!
– Kelsey M.
“After 5 weeks of training with Diana, I have the perfect dog! Seriously though, this training was a game changer. Diana was so amazing with my dog and always available for questions and encouragement in between sessions. She was just the best! This training is worth every penny.”
– Julia D.
“10/10!!! After exhausting every Youtube video and trying every effort on our own to help our reactive dog, we sought out professional help. After just two sessions with Diana, he was already showing so much improvement! He used to bark at everything that moved, pull on the leash to the point of choking himself, and walks were stressful. Now, we can take him on hikes, to parks, even to busy places like the Americana and parks and he looks to US for guidance. His barking has stopped completely, and walks are something we can look forward to! He is a 10 month old Chihuahua mix. I recommend Diana to anyone looking for immediate change to their dog’s behavior. Don’t let the price of dog training push you away…the value of what you get is 100% worth it. Diana was amazing to work with. She is so sweet and professional. We are our older dog there next! The best part of this experience is that not only do we have a more obedient dog, but our dog is happier with structure and less anxious outside the home. His well-being is important to us, and I feel confident that this training was the best thing we could have ever done for him!”
– Morgan J.
“Great experience with our trainer Diana who I received as a referral from another friend/pet owner. Our pup Rocket we got during the pandemic was evaluated as insecure and through the lessons, helped us teach him to relax a bit more and bark less at strangers and other dogs. Rocket was a perfect subject during our holiday family card photo shoot having learned to happily sit still in one place with our family and 4 yr old son. Please note that you’ll be provided the tools and knowledge, but its up to the owner to do the homework from what we learned. I went in thinking he would need an e-collar but Diana taught us how to get it done with simple food motivation which was a major plus. Thanks!”
– Michael L.
“Diana was such a good trainer to my Yorkie and was able to teach me how to deal with her constant barking (which took effect after 1 day !!!) and spent a lot of time teaching me how to deal with issues I faced with her in my everyday routine. Diana was always so nice and patient with Barci and only moved onto more advanced training when Barci was capable of handling it. Throughout our sessions my Yorkie became MUCH more confident with her abilities and was less scared of her surroundings, she has progressed so much I can’t believe that just weeks ago I couldn’t get her to sit or stop barking while I cooked, but now she lays in place quietly while I get my chores done! I will definitely be recommending Diana to anyone that is in need for a trainer.”
– Stacy G.
“So glad I decided to go with DCK9 to better understand and train my Dobie. Diana is the best trainer! She so knowledgeable and patient. Can’t thank her enough. Would 100% recommend them.”
– Ariana H.
“Training at Deep Connection K9 is definitely worth the price. Diana really is amazing and worked so well with my dog. We worked on so many different aspects of obedience and recall. By the end of each session my dog was able to learn a new building step such as place, recall, heeling, and even off leash training. We were also assigned homework to implement the training at home. Diana was so helpful. Not only was she training my dog but she was also teaching me how to implement the training at home and gave me a chance in every session to practice. The beginning sessions were in a controlled environment but the rest were actually in real life situations such as parks, restaurants, and our last session was at a busy outdoor mall for the ultimate test. I am very satisfied with the results we got working with Diana!”
– Joyce A.
“As a rescue, my dog has always struggled with behavior and interacting with other dogs. One day, I decided that I wanted her quality of life to be better and hopefully have friends! Diana was able to explain to me the reason behind my dog’s reactions and encouraged working on building her confidence instead of labeling her as “aggressive.” You have to be willing to do the work, but if you are, the results are worth it. She’s able to go on walks without barking at other dogs and has even made a friend or two recently! The daily training has improved our overall relationship as well as our communication and trust. Would highly recommend to anyone looking to improve their dog’s behavior, and greater understanding of why dogs act the way they do. It was like uncovering a whole new world!”
– Charles S.
“Diana helped our Gus grow up into the obedient, loving boy he is today. Prior to seeing Diana, we were struggling to get him to walk on leash without engaging in a tug of war. After Diana, Gus is now walking off-leash, has much better impulse control, and has mastered basic commands. We are so happy with how he’s doing now and we couldn’t have done it without Diana’s patience and ability to break things down into manageable goals. We’d 100% recommend her!”
– Lydia & Tren G.
“Before working with Diana, Joey was extremely reactive towards other dogs. She would lunge at every dog, bark, growl, etc. which made walking her very challenging. She is also a 10 year old rescue and other trainers told me that fixing these behaviors was hopeless. Not Diana! Her confidence in Joey and our ability to train her and improve her reactivity was so anxiety-relieving! She was professional, knowledgeable, kind, and fun to work with. I learned so many new things, and she made sure that I was confident in my ability to use each new training techniques before I left each session. Now, I can take Joey on walks without any stress, and it’s actually enjoyable! She heels right next to me even when passing other dogs. I can even take her to breweries and coffee shops where there may be other dogs. I would highly recommend Diana to anyone, especially people with reactive dogs!”
– Katie B.
“Our puppy Pepper is a sweet but mischievous pup. We struggled managing her while tending to our two young children. When she wasn’t supervised, she would find trouble. Usually in the form or chewing or eating something while we weren’t watching. We also struggled with her proclivity to pull and act unruly on walks. Diana was able to help us tame these behaviors with a focus on impulse control in her training. The focus on “place” and “heel” we’re the most beneficial in helping tame Pepper’s impulses. Pepper loved her training with Diana and we felt we were guided clearly each week on our new behavioral goals for Pepper.”
– Victoria T.
“I have an 80lb mixed breed dog (50% German shepherd, 25% pitbull, sprinkled with Staffordshire terrier and Rottweiler) who had already graduated from basic obedience and had done some additional training (on my own) with an e-collar I purchased from Amazon. My dog is extremely food motivated and quite intelligent so he was picking things up very quickly in the evaluation. We discussed some of my training goals for my dog, which included intermediate obedience (heel, down, down-stay, place, touch, up, down, impulse control, agility) and above all addressing two very important behavioral problems: his tendency to run towards scuffles at dog parks and his high prey drive. I was suggested to do 8 sessions given some of these issues. The prices they charge are reasonable for the knowledge and training they provide. Trust me when I say that you will walk away from your training with them with a transformed pup. If you are deterred by the thought of using an e-collar then either you have been misinformed or have heard myths. Diana educated me on its proper use. The e-collar levels range from 0-99. We started at 4 and my personal dog has never gone above 15. Diana was a great trainer, showing me how to do things and explaining her rationale, and then having me practice it in session with her. After you leave every season, you have homework for the week. If you think training your dog takes a long time, then again you have either been misinformed or heard myths. I trained my dog everyday, twice a day, for only 10-15 minutes a time. As he became more advanced in his skills, our training sessions at home (and outside of the home) grew in duration. Initially, we started working indoors at the facility. I learned how to hold the e-collar, how to use it, when to apply stim and when not to, and how to treat my dog. I learned language to communicate with my dog and let him know that he needed to come to me and when I was coming to him. As he gained more skills, our training moved outside of the facility to the local Home Depot and a park full of people and squirrels. He did extremely well in these very distracting environments. By the time I was done, I had a much calmer, more focused dog. I was a doctoral student at the time and after this training, I was able to bring my dog to 2-hour long classes where he would simply lie down, sleep, and wait for me to finish. Everyone was impressed, including peers who had seen him before we embarked on this training journey. I not only gained a much more well behaved dog, but I got to bond with my dog a lot. He eventually stopped running to scuffles and has improved a great deal on his prey drive; the latter I don’t believe will ever go away. Other than this, I was happy with my experience and would highly recommend.”
– Nancy D.