K9 Optima - Antioch, California

Vanessa Aguilera

Josh was recommended by the rescue where we adopted our dog from. He was fantastic and very knowledgeable. We did a reactivity assessment, and he brought out a couple different dogs with different personalities. He was able to give us some things that may trigger our dog and how best to deal with it. Overall we absolutely loved our experience and if we need any more training, Josh is our guy.

K G

We found Josh, and he immediately demonstrated a deep understanding of reactivity, in both his experience (literally training thousands of reactive dogs) and knowledge of physiology and the canine brain. Josh provided valuable advice on understanding and managing reactive behavior, along with the importance of closely watching and interpreting body language in context.

Josh, Natalie, and the whole family contributed to our lessons. We felt like they really cared about us and our journey, and my dog loves nothing more than to visit. Now, I feel more confident in handling challenging situations with my dog.

I highly recommend K9 Optima to anyone dealing with reactivity issues with their dogs-- his expertise, professionalism, and genuine care make him an ideal choice for transforming challenging behaviors into positive outcomes.

One more thing: I also highly recommend joining Josh's online community at K9 Optima (available on his website.) It is a valuable resource that gives you access to him on a regular basis. No matter where you are in training, questions come up all the time-- it is reassuring to be able to get answers from him during those weekly online sessions. In addition, the community is very supportive and offers a lot of great advice. With a reactive dog, you need support (IYKYK!), and everyone is available to help you. It also gives me peace of mind that if I need anything, Josh will make the time to help us.

Chad Wall

This a follow-up review confirming the excellent results we have continued to have with our Dalmatian. (We also posted on Yelp.)

Jazz stayed at K9_Optima for 12 days last October (~7 months ago) in one of their Board and train offerings, while we were traveling. We had a pre-stay session so Josh and Jazz could meet and just prior to the board and stay, we discussed our goals for the time Jazz was there.

While we were away, Josh kept in dally contact with us the whole time, sending us emails and even videos so we could see how Jazz was doing. When we picked Jazz up, Josh shared his observations about our boy; what motivated him, his natural tendencies, and how to use his innate nature to help us further his training.

Now, even after months since the training time with Josh, we've continued to find Jazz is much more attentive to us. We can even have him of leash at hiking trails that allow it, something we never thought we would achieve.

Through Josh, we learned the best ways to work with Jazz, and the results have been exactly what we hoped for.

We're very happy and we wouldn't hesitate to recommend Josh and K9 Optima.

Tim Clarke

Josh is responsible for my dogs happiness! Little bit of a long story, but worth it. Ruby is a golden retriever who was surrendered by her owner and while being fostered showed some behavior that could have possibly made her a questionable adoption into a home with kids. K9 Optima is a trusted resource that the rescue from whom we ultimately adopted Ruby. They made the call that they wanted josh to spend some time with Ruby to make sure that she would be a good fit for a home with kids. Josh did his thing, and signed off on the adoption and the rest is history! She's the sweetest dog ever and I would trust her with a newborn. Josh really nailed it. And in the process, Ruby and our dog Rooster have become the closest bonded dogs I've ever had. And even though one is a mutt and the other is a golden, we are constantly asked if they're litter mates!!

Chad Wall

We first heard about Josh and K9 Optima from a neighbor who had booked a board-and-train stay for their mastiff. We have an 18-month-old Dalmatian, and were very excited to hear that they were so happy with the results of their dog's stay. It worked out perfectly because we had a trip planned.

We contacted Josh and were impressed right away. He told us about his positive training methods, described the busy, stimulating environment our dog, Jazz, would be in, and asked questions about our goals. We set up an appointment for Jazz to meet Josh, and even in that short session, Josh began teaching our energetic, hyper-social boy how to politely greet one of his (very patient) dogs. We knew right away it would be a good fit.

Jazz stayed at K9 Optima for 11 days. Josh kept in daily contact with us the whole time, sending us emails and even videos so we could see how Jazz was doing. When we picked Jazz up, Josh shared his observations about our boy - what motivated him, his natural tendencies, how to use his innate nature to help us further his training.

Since he's been home, we've noticed Jazz is much more attentive to us. Through Josh, we learned the best ways to work with him, and the results have been exactly what we hoped for.

We're very happy, and we wouldn't hesitate to recommend Josh and K9 Optima.

James W. Argo

we adopted a German Shepard mix via Rocket Dog Rescue a year ago and while she is very intelligent and loyal - there were behavior issues that were beyond our abilities and experience. so we had some problems and ALMOST resigned to giving her up to a rural safe place in Northern California. But luckily we found Josh. He quickly identified the canine traits we were not aware of and taught us great techniques as owners & handlers to implement. And what a difference that series of sessions made in our lives. Now I feel that I have the best dog we have ever owned. A smart, alert & attentive companion who looks to us for instructions to serve us and we now know how to read her. THANK YOU JOSH!!

Hannah Rahn

Josh at K9 optima is the absolute best. His love and compassion for animals in unparalleled and he applies this same passion into his dog training methods. He sees value and potential in every dog. He helped me immensely with my dog reactive german shepherd. A true professional through and through. You'll be so glad you chose Josh and will wonder why you didn't do it sooner!

Anna Louise

Josh runs an online training community called K9 Optima On-Demand where he shares case studies, tailored challenges, and his assessment of videos posted by users. It’s incredible how much he’s been able to change my dog just through that community.

My dog’s leash reactivity has made enormous progress by implementing Josh’s outlook, tones of voice, commands, posture, and more. He has also taught me how to train my dog through play and keep her engaged with me.

In addition to the community, Josh also does TikTok lives Saturday-Sunday (almost) every week that I look forward to and pay close attention to. During those lives he assesses and/or trains up to 8 dogs in a row in full transparency.

In summary - he has taught me to be a more empathetic, effective and exciting trainer for my dog instead of just a regular “dog mom”.

(Pic of my dog chilling in a sit while dogs are walking behind me on the other side of the camera)