The Pup School - Mountain View, California

Meagan Prins-McKinney

We cannot recommend Dan enough. He's the best they come. He teaches *us* how to train our dog rather than focusing on directly training our dog himself, which is 100x more effective because we're with our pup every day, and Dan isn't (though we wish he could be!). Dan is incredibly effective, supportive, knowledgeable, and generous. We referred him to a friend who also only had glowingly positive things to say. Thank you Dan!!!! So glad to be working with you.

Beryl Torthe

My pup and I are so grateful to have come across Dan and we truly valued our time with him. Dan is as skilled with dogs as he is with humans; you will learn as much as your dog and you will both reap the benefits of having a stronger bond!

I contacted Dan because my 1 year old Goldendoodle pup had become fearful and reactive towards strangers during the pandemic. I saw significant improvements in her behavior from our first session with Dan and felt like I had a solid foundation on which to build upon in between sessions. Dan's training is realistic, intuitive and easy to incorporate in your daily life- in my mind, this set him apart from any other trainer I had worked with before. My pup was visibly more confident and relaxed on her walks as a result of our work together.

I cannot recommend Dan enough. His expertise was a game-changer for us and we continue to use his tips daily.

"Woof Wooof"- Thanks a bunch in Goldendoodle

Guilherme Pereira

Dan is THE BEST! Much patience and love was devoted to us and our Golden Retriever, Ginger. More than just training her, Dan ensured that we as owners understood the concepts involved. To this day, I still remember Dan's golden rule of the 4 things your dog can be distressed with - It saved me on several occasions!

Madeleine Sheehan Perkins

I can't recommend Dan enough. Our little angel Isla didn't want to go for walks, she's a bit unsure about things and prefers the safety of the house, so we called Dan in to get her to walk. A balance trainer probably would have put a prong collar on her and jerked her down the road (she only weighs 20lbs, it wouldn't be difficult to do) but that would have just made her reactive and scared and would have just results in even more problems. We're so happy we called Dan instead of using any terrible aversives on her. Through patience and persistence, breaking down all the training steps so Isla never has to fail, we've seen a huge improvement in Isla's behavior. She loves to see Dan and his dog Kal. There are no quick fixes guys, if a trainer advertises that they're probably going to put a prong or e-collar on your dog and just increase the pain til your dog shuts down out of fear, then claim they "fixed" it. You'd never let a teacher do that to your kid, so don't let them do it to your dog. We prefer Isla enjoys learning and doesn't get physically hurt from it, so if you agree and don't want to hurt your dog, skip the balance trainers and call Dan. His prices are more than reasonable (you can buy classes in batch packs) and your pup will thank you for understanding them rather than hurting them.

Elsa Gay

Dan has truly been the best thing I could have done for my new puppy, Kuma. He not only trained Kuma, but also totally changed the way I understand my actions and "trained" me. Within the first few sessions Kuma could do all the basic commands reliably. Also, with a new puppy, it was so helpful to have someone I could trust to check in with about anything and everything. I highly recommend the Pup School.

manika nangia

Dan is a wonderful trainer. He is very patient and not only does he train your dog, he also teaches you on how to train your furbaby! I love the fact that he is super responsive, even when I have random questions anytime.

Would totally recommend him! He also makes sure to organize pup socials which really help a dog with the socializing skills and you have a lifetime access to those even after the classes end !

It is worth the money to have your pup trained sooner than later ! 🙂

Maggie Harrington

Dan has been a wonderful trainer for us and our pup Rosie! His technique using positive reinforcement has been very effective - we started seeing improvements in our dog's behavior, and our communication with her, after just one session. Our sessions are always very productive, and he also organizes puppy socials which are great opportunities to practice new skills and meet other dogs. Can't recommend Dan highly enough!

Pooja Nerkar

We are extremely blessed to have Dan train our puppy Leo. Right from the day we brought Leo home he was barking all the time. After having just one or two sessions with Dan, Leo was so well behaved and everything was done with positive reinforcement. Dan has been a huge help in getting Leo trained and over a few months with all the puppy socials and one on one interaction with Dan, we feel that Dan is a part of our family. He is always available 24/7 for any questions that we had with Leo.

I still remember one day when our garage door was slightly open and Leo as a small puppy just ran outside the garage door. I saw my mom quietly standing in the garage and firmly calling Leo with a clap and ‘come here’ command. Within seconds, I saw Leo turn his head and run back inside the garage. If it was not for Dan’s training I don’t know what we would have done in that situation. To this day, we count our blessings for Dan’s amazing training. His puppy socials are so interactive and fun that one feels like going to these socials all the time. His method of teaching us as the dog owners to best equip our dogs is innovative and highly effective.

If I could give 100 stars I would highly recommend Dan for any kind of dog’s temperament and training. Dan genuinely cares about every dog he trains and we see that through the results of his training!