Barb Levenson Dog Training Center

Her only goal is to defraud you of your money. Once you have paid upfront, she becomes abusive so that you quit and refuses to refund you because she has tricked you into signing a contract. I was remiss in reading the reviews. Don't make the same mistake and DO NOT GO TO HER. She is a con and will steal your money. more

Please, please, please!!! Read all the reviews you can find on this horrible human being. She loves to berate people, and after meeting her I asked for a refund but she said “no refunds”. I’ll be taking her to court shortly after speaking with the local magistrate but wanted to warn others so they don’t fall into her trap. She’s ugly, mean and nasty to everyone and I can only amplify what others have said. She’s sickly and just a horrible excuse for a person. more

Barb is a wonderful trainer. She is genuinely concerned how my puppy is progressing. Since I started private lessons my rescue pup has made great progress. We follow her training methods each week. At times I’ve felt there is no way this will help...but within days I see positive progress. We couldn’t be happier with our results! more

A+ By far the ONLY school I will take my dogs to. We are back with our 4th rescue and this will be our fifth time training with Barb. The methodology she uses is bar none.....GOING TO PRODUCE OUTSTANDING RESULTS - HOWEVER - NOTE THIS - For those of you stating "buyer beware" rude" - "going off to a nicer trainer" well THINK TWICE - Im guessing you have not caught on that Barb is training YOU not your dog! If you are having problems check yourself first - and this mythology second. Nice-Nice is not going to train you how to work with your dog effectively - directness will and for those of us who get it...well...our dogs are well trained, great to be around, and expertly socialized. I am waiting for the next class to open - and in the mean time, I know enough from her past training, how to prepare my pup and get a head start - with great results already! So no "buyer beware" just don't sign up for the class if you are not willing to learn! more

Not a nice lady at all ! Very rude and condescending. I don’t want my dog to be a robot , just a nice companion. If you don’t know the homework she calls you out on it and makes you feel stupid! There is no love and kindness for you or your dog . more

“Rude, unprofessional, negative, fraud, crook, arrogant, offensive, belittling, insulting, bully, awful, threatening, mean, nasty, shady, pressuring, abusive, obnoxious, combative, intimidating, humiliating, thief, horrible, harassing, hustler, demoralizing, and traumatizing . . . “ These are some of the words used to describe this woman on a half dozen review sites. Do yourself a favor and check these out. And you’ll note that the 5-star ratings are suspicious at best. During an initial consultation for $90, my wife and I fell to the pressure tactics of Ms. Levenson and signed up for six private sessions. Ms. Levenson’s troubling behavior was just as iterated here by so many. And so, concerned we checked online reviews on her, her business practices and her training program and after our vet would not prescribe the two drugs for our dog that were to be key elements of her program, we tried to cancel the very next day. Apparently, per the signed contract and receipt which we were not given a copy of, no refunds are issued, this despite no services having been rendered and having paid for the initial consultation. This will teach us to read the fine print and online reviews in the future. A truly decent person would have credited our account. As a result, we are out $500. I strongly encourage everyone to think twice, long and hard before getting involved with this woman. Read the passionate negative reviews. more

be careful when choosing her. She was mean and demeaning to a person I know. more

Two years ago, I brought a puppy to one of Barb's puppy classes, was very put off, and questioned what she was teaching. I pulled the puppy from the class, but the more I learned elsewhere... I couldn't get Barb out of my mind. I decided to go back with our newest puppy, and I'm sure glad I did. Here's the deal. Barb will push you. She won't accept excuses. She knows when you aren't doing the homework, and will call you out on it. There's no denying she's a tough cookie. Every single thing she does is to better your relationship with your dog, and to set your dog up to succeed. If you disagree with her, or want to know why she recommends something, ASK. I've set up a number of private consultations just so I could learn more. Do this! There's only so much time in class... I am very happy to fully recommend Barb, with the caveat that if you go, be prepared to work... it's all for your dog. If you want to teach your dog to sit, there are plenty of videos you can watch. If you want to learn how to train your dog, and how to have a better relationship with your dog, go to Barb. more

All I can say is after one class I never wanted to go back. The negative reviews speak volumes and I agree with all of them. I wish I would have heeded these reviews. I am out $150 plus the ridiculous starter kit fee of $45 which won't be used. She is a not nice and will criticize you and where you got your dog. Do not fall for it. I am out a lot of money for absolutely nothing in return. more

Barb Levenson is a very nasty, condescending and mean lady! I have trained numerous dogs in different categories and have never felt so belittled in my life. She looks at anyone needing help in class with complete disdain and disgust, and does not offer solutions to problems, only evil looks and high pressure sales. She will shame and intimidate you in front of the whole class, tell you your healthy dog is overweight and that you are a lazy owner. If a dog/owner does not get something right first time she will point you out in front of everyone and make you feel a complete idiot with no praises when you get something right. If you already have some handling skills you will not be allowed to use them and will need to start from scratch with her commands/signals which confuses a dog more. Dogs are not allowed to socialize, greet or even look at each other, if they do she says they are ready to attack, just because her dog got into a big fight recently and are both mean. There was absolutely nothing positive about the training, she didn’t learn the names of the people or the dogs or find out what owners hoped to achieve, or introduce herself to the dogs to put them at ease, even at the meet and greet. Her own dogs follow her continuously as they are always kept hungry and will do anything for food. Telling owners to put their dog in ‘puppy management’ by pulling its head to the ground and standing on the leash does not teach anything but fear in your pup. Avoid the garbage can outside, covered in maggots. With a completely discourteous and unprofessional manner I would recommend that the public and all dogs stay well away from her – there are hundreds of bad reviews online which I wish I’d seen before I signed up. At her age and lack of mobility she should consider retiring and making the dog training world a happier place for people and pups – it’s supposed to be fun spending time with your fur babies, not something you absolutely dread every week and makes your poor doggy a nervous wreck! more

Did not pay to be belittled and conned into spending a huge amount of money. You can get better training elsewhere and feel good about it, this is not it. more

Yes she is unfriendly but she will teach you how to train your dog. She is not there to be your friend she is there to show you how best interact with your dog. I took my Weimaraner puppy to her 15 years ago and we did well. Yes she thinks that all owners should spend as much time working with their dogs as she does with hers which is impossible if you have a full time job but I did learn how to discourage certain behaviors and in the end had a well behaved puppy that turned into a large 112 lb dog that I could walk while pushing a stroller. If your feelings are easily hurt or you can't take criticism then find someone else. BUT she does acknowledge hard work also. more

Aside from the fact that the woman is a thief and a tax cheat, she is a horrible person, no people skills, horribly disorganized and generally unpleasant. You should never give this woman a dime. Any problem you have with your dog, can be fixed by buying something from her store, but there is no sales tax, cause she defrauds the state. more

Barb is good with her dogs and agility, but not as much with her customers. She is rude and disorganized. She emails the homework late, berates people, and prefers to sell products to solve problems. She is also disorganized with scheduling classes, with her preference being agility trials and dog shows. If you are a novice dog owner or having a serious issue, I would suggest finding another trainer. more

I was very sad to see BLDTC's sorry attempt to hide unfavorable comments by creating a new listing. Truth is truth and you can't hide from it. I attended classes at Barb Levenson Dog Training Center: Puppy Kindergarten, Basic, CGC, Rally Obedience and Agility. Under Barb's instruction (and with A LOT of PERSONAL work) I learned a great deal about dog training and will continue to do so. BE honest! Barb's training methods borrow heavily from the best trainers out there, Susan Garrett, Susan Salo and Silvia Trkman to name a few. Her facilities are spacious, but also freezing in winter, sweltering in summer and VERY dirty. The floor Iis padded for agility, but the equipment is always out leaving very little room for other classes. Her classes are 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. While it is true "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", to call any student "lazy" is UNPROFESSIONAL. I have witnessed paying students belittled, scolded, insulted and dismissed, all under the guise of "looking out for the dog." I work very hard with my dog so it is unfair to conclude "folks that are complaining are the ones that need to practice more training." Barb does know how to train dogs, she's just horrible with humans. Unfortunately it is the humans who pay for classes. Truthfully, many clients are casual students and NOT the responsible pet owners they could be. However, they PAID for and SHOWED UP for classes. At the very least, that should earn them COURTESY, not CONTEMPT. Barb may have been in business for over 25 years, but how many clients has she lost and how many future students will she lose to unprofessional conduct and/or personality conflict. In the end, how is that good for the dogs Barb claims to care so much about? more

I was looking for a new facility to do Agility in. When I called she was pretty nice, although completely bashing and criticizing the other facility, saying they use harsh mannerisms etc. So I finally made an apt to see one of her agility classes. To start, the place for filthy! I walked out with chigger and mosquito bites, there was dog hair ALL over the place, and it was WAY hotter inside the building than outside. The class went well, and she even ran her overly eager and hyper dog. The problem didn't begin until she started asking about MY dog. I told her my dog is unaltered and 2 years old. She immediately switched and started accusing my husband and I of being bad pet owners for not neutering our dog and his testosterone is causing ALL of the problems. My husband and I went through a traumatic experience where we lost our first dog when she got spayed, and when we happen to find our second dog, we are hesitant to take the plunge again. We aren't breeding the dog and he is certainly running like a mad dog. Not to neglet to mention, he is CGC and Tdi certified and we volunteer in a Hospital with other dogs! But Barb said my dog has aggression and territorial behavior and she NEVER even saw a picture of my dog! She said she would have to tell my dog to leave her class because he would upset her unspayed female dog, who will come to her classes INHEAT! My husband and I don't critisize anyone for what they wish to do with their dog, but if you claim that You can fix any issue with positive training, WHY can't you work with me and my unaltered dog?? The Icing on the cake was this: Barb said " I know that teaching behaviors using positive reinforcement is that our obedience class is for, but I can't work with your unaltered dog"...ironic right?? It isn't like our dog is attacking other dogs...we want to work on his attention to us and not just run in circles... Btw...we have a small white dog... So Unaltered...NO WAY for Barb...sad... Then she told us to come back when he is spayed...no thanks! more

For the folks who feel Barb Levenson is "good with dogs" I would query you to uncover how many of her dogs she has euthanized so she can get another puppy. Barb's dogs live in crates 24/ 7 . If you really want to see how "good she is with dogs" watch her compete her dogs. They can't wait to run away from her. Good advertisement for her "Really Reliable Recall" seminars. more

I agree with the other two reviews. Very good training and advice on building good relationships, but if you are looking for a trainer that cares about you or the dogs this is not the warm and fuzzy place to be. Owner of facility tends to be very unpleasant towards the owners. more

The trainers are very knowledgeable and will teach you a lot about how to understand and effectively train your dog! There are a variety of classes that are offered. more

I have put 2 different dogs through Barb Levenson Dog Training Center within a 8 year span. I have had a great experience and outcome in both situations. The classes are the perfect size, in which you get individualized attention within a group setting. Barb tailors each class, within the lesson plan, to that particular classes needs and questions. She has ample time and patience for each handler/dog. She really assisted me and my dogs to gain the best relationship possible. I have gotten and still get many compliments about my previous and current dogs discipline and behavior. I owe all this to Barb and her positive reward based training. Her vast knowledge and love of dogs is an example to follow for all trainers. It’s not just a job/business to her, it’s a passion. I believe there isn’t a dog or owner out there that couldn’t benefit from a trainer with such commitment and understanding. I know my dogs and I have benefited greatly. more