Barb Levenson Dog Training Center

I, personally, have had multiple experience with Barb, if one is invested in their dog and serious, you will be get what you sow. This has been a great experience for us. I highly recommend Barb more

I have had multiple experiences with Barb, both private and with 2 dogs. I rate all very highly. Barb is very calm, only and I must strongly reiterate only deals with positive concepts. Barb admits to training the owner not the dog !!Dog training is the owner's dog. The only time I have seen Barb be negative is with an owner that wants pixie dust as in not working with the dog. I strongly recommend her training. Carol L - Pittsburgh more

I think alot of the negative reviews are from lazy dog owners. Barb requires you actually work with and train your dog daily. She will call you out if you are not working with your dog. Training takes time and if you are to lazy to do, don't bother signing up or getting a dog. Barb is great. Thanks to her training and my continued work with my pets, I have the greatest dog. more

I have attended classes at Barb Levenson Dog Training Center including Puppy Kindergarten, Basic, CGC, Rally Obedience and Agility. Thanks to Barb (and a lot of work) I have learned a great deal about dog training and will continue to do so. Let us be honest. Barb's training methods do evolve, by borrowing heavily from the best trainers out there, Susan Garrett, Susan Salo and Silvia Trkman to name a few. Her building IS spacious, but it is also freezing in winter, sweltering in summer and very dirty. The floor IS padded for agility, but the equipment is always out leaving very little room for other classes. Her classes are some of the most expensive in the area, yet do not include use of the facility for practice. Finally, Barb DOES engage in high-pressure sales for the next level of instruction or continuing classes. She will try to shame and intimidate if you decline. It is true that "you get what you put in to dog training like anything else in life. If you do not work your dog it is going to be obvious in class." However, to call any student "lazy" is simply unprofessional. I have been to many classes and witnessed people belittled, scolded, insulted and dismissed, all under the guise of looking out for the dog. I cannot remember anyone being "showered with praise" in class. I work very hard with my dog so it is unfair to conclude the only "folks that are complaining are the ones that need to practice more training." Barb IS good with dogs, she's just horrible with humans. Unfortunately, humans are the ones who pay for classes. Truthfully, many clients are casual students and NOT the responsible pet owners they should be. However, they paid for and showed up for class. At the very least, that should earn them courtesy, not contempt. Barb may have been in business for 25 years, but I wonder just how many clients she has lost or will continue to lose to unprofessional conduct or personality conflict. In the end, how is that good for the dog? more

After adopting an adolescent dog from the shelter on a decision based purely on emotion, I realized immediately I was over my head. Family & friends feared for my safety and their own. Barb Levenson was the only person able to see a misunderstood, high spirited sweet dog with plenty of potential and encouraged me to give him a chance. She has been able to bring out the best in me and my dog through perseverance and consistency with positive training. Instructions are clearly explained and backed up with weekly reading material. Barb and her staff have gone above and beyond to help guide me into developing a happy, well adjusted dog while preserving his spiritedness. Be it for harmony in the household or continuing the challenge into competition events, if you trust Barb's process and work hard you will be rewarded. more

Looks to me like somebody is going out of their way to write multiple positive reviews. The only positive thing that ever came out of my experience with Barb was watching her facility get smaller and smaller in the rear view mirror. more

My dog and I have had nothing but good experiences with Barb. Maybe the folks that are complaining are the ones that need to practice more training. "Don't complain, train." We are lucky to have such a large indoor facility (with a padded floor) and an instructor who really cares about her students in this area. more

I have enjoyed classes at Barb Levenson Dog Training Center with my dogs, putting one dog through Basic, CGC, Rally Obedience and Agility. I am now training a second dog, have completed Puppy Kindergarten, Basic, and am currently doing CGC, Rally and Agility. Barb's methods are always evolving, bringing the latest advances in training to her classes. Her building is spacious, with a padded floor for agility, and the openess that you need for dog training. I have audited classes in other local facilities, even done a workshop or two. I have to say that Barb's methods definitely beat the others hands down! And her building is one of the best that I've been to - several other local training schools meet in horse barns and arenas where there is horse manure mixed in the sawdust on the floor. Her instructors are well trained and required to keep current, attending training seminars and workshops. As long as I have dogs and Barb Levenson is available for training, you'll find me attending her classes! more

I've been training with Barb Levenson for 10 years, with 2 of my dogs. It started with the desire to learn how to train a new puppy and blossomed into a love of dog training. The information and training I have received in classes has been unbelievably helpful. I was able to work through a number of problems with my first dog and she has become a wonderful family member, responsive to cues, and able to go anywhere with me. We've even done some therapy work in a nursing home; something I never would have believed possible! When I got my second dog, there was NO question where I would train. Barb is an intuitive instructor, tailoring her help to the individual. She has an extensive background in behavior work, and is very experienced in helping with problem dogs. She has helped me desensitize my dog to a terrible, crippling fear of thunderstorms and the improvement is unbelievable. I would (and have) wholeheartedly recommend Barb Levenson Dog Training to anyone!!! more

I have put one dog through Barb's school (Basic, CGC, agility, and Rally) and now have a second going through her classes. I love her positive methods and she is always up to date on new training methods, to improve her classes. I have found that the more work you put into training your dog, the better your dog learns. If you come to class and haven't worked with your dog all week, it shows. You can't blame the trainer if your dog isn't doing what he's supposed to, you need to do the work. The building is quite large and perfect for having the space you need to work with your dog in class. I have never seen or heard her use any type of negative reinforcement on her own dogs or suggest it for anyone else's dogs. She has great relationships with them and it shows in their performance and their attitude toward her. Classes are based on positive reinforcement and hard work. It can be fun, but you need to do the work and not expect it to just happen!! more

Several years ago I went to Barb for help with a severely traumatized dog that I had rescued. That dog is now a happy, mellow dog who not only brings joy to patients and nursing home clients as a therapy dog, but also regularly competes (at the Excellent and Advanced levels) in American Kennel Club Agility and Rally Obedience events. My success with this dog is due to Barb's teaching techniques and instructional methodologies. I had never trained a dog before. But, training a dog is very hard work - it requires tenacity, persistence, attention to detail and the willingness to work with your dog every day. Barb's training facility is one of the few in the Pittsburgh area (if not the only one) that has sufficient space to set up a full size agility course - a tremendous advantage if you want to learn the sport. In addition periodically she brings in nationally and internationally renowned dog trainers to give seminars on a variety of topics. I have personally heard these men and women comment on the 'wonderful facility' that Barb has in Oakmont. more

You get what you put in to dog training like anything else in life. If you do not work your dog and it is obvious in class that you have been lazy, then you have only yourself to blame if you are not being showered with praise. Barb's cares about the health and well being of her customers' dogs as well as her own. She does not recommend starvation ever. You are foolish and erroneous to imply that she does. You must have some sort of vendetta against her, other wise you wouldn't make these outlandish comments. Did you not get enough pats on the back one night in class? I have in fact, heard her tell people that they aren't feeding their dogs enough. Her building is clean and actually has no smell which is amazing if you consider how many people and dogs are there each week since she is the best in the city. When I don't work my dog enough, it is up to me how I chose to react to any comments or corrections that Barb may make. Buck up. I have had 3 dogs go through Barb's school and they are all happy, healthy dogs who are easy to control and joys to be around. Dog training is hard work. Any thing worth having is worth working hard for. Instead of spewing garbage and untruths about Barb and her school, why don't you just talk to her about whatever is angering you so much that you are resorting to high school forms of cyber bullying? A person isn't in business for 25 years if she isn't good at it. I wish you peace To people considering training with Barb, make your own decisions based on your own experiences. Something odd is going on with these reviews. more

The owner/trainer is extremely difficult to work with, intellectually rigid, and dismissive and insulting toward (human) students. Practices annoying hard-sell techniques to get you to spend as much up front as possible. Claims to train "positively" but relies heavily on isolation and, as another reviewer noted, deprivation. (This is called "negative punishment.") She's incapable of admitting mistakes; lashes out when questioned. Her own dogs are poorly socialized. We took puppy class, graduated with flying colors, and moved on to trainers who were more knowledgeable and more fun to work with. The one useful thing is the set of handouts you get. Most of that information, however, can be found for free on line, however, on the websites of more accomplished operant-conditioning trainers like Shirley C.. more

I called Barb for some behavior work because my dog has some separation issues. She was really nasty and told me that the breed was stupid and should be put to sleep. How dare she. I have taken business else where and have had great success. more

I admittedly missed a class and scheduled a follow up session. I had to cancel the follow up and Barb was very rude to me and accusation. I will gladly share the email trail with anyone who wants to see it. When I was in class I saw her treat others rudely and speak to them in a demeaning manner. I would not recommend her to anyone based on her personality. more

Barb is NOT a positive reinforcement trainer, she is a deprivation based trainer. Her lack of relationship with her dogs is evident in the agility competition arena as her dogs can barely make it around the course. When her dogs fail to compete successfully she simply buys another puppy instead of working through issues. Barb, you really need to hang it up!! more

had a terrible experience. she is always pushing you to spend more money and constantly says negative things about people who used to attend her classes. although she preaches positive reinforcement for the dogs, she does not practice what she preaches. more

Barb is nasty... not friendly at all to the people who pay her good money to be there. I dreaded going each week. It's ironic how she preaches about positive reinforcement yet is only ever mean and nasty to her customers. more

I never even made it to Barb's training facility. She told me there was an $80 deposit for the appointment and another $80 to actually have the session. When a family emergency came up I called and asked to reschedule - not to cancel. She told me she was charging me the $80 and that I would have to call back for a new appointment, which requires another deposit of $80 plus the $80 session fee. She is abrupt and rude to her clients and will take all of your money. I have no idea if she would have helped my dog - she was so rude on the phone that I no longer have the desire to find out. more

I took my dog to both puppy kindergarten and basic obedience at Barb Levenson's dog training center. The classes were quite large and I didn't feel that I received the level of feedback that was useful. Also, the main instructor quit halfway through basic obedience and so the entire class was managed by a single assistant instructor. It was good motivation for me to practice with my dog but other than that, this course was pretty useless. more