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!
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