Dave McMahon's Dog Training Academy

I had the privilege of successfully completing the 1 Year Master Trainer Course under the guidance of Dave McMahon.

Dave, along with his team, possess an extensive understanding of balanced dog training methods. Their approach is dedicated to enhancing the training relationship between owners and their dogs. I thoroughly enjoyed acquiring a diverse set of training techniques to effectively assist clients both in their homes and out in the real world, such as during walks.

Throughout my apprenticeship year, I had the opportunity to observe numerous dogs at the academy. Dave's emphasis on clear communication, consistent technique, and repetitive practices significantly benefits his clients.

Dave and his team are not breed biased, offering both group and private classes to cater to individual needs and fortify the training relationship between dogs and their owners. I extend a special appreciation to instructor Sue and instructor Tammy for generously sharing their knowledge, patience, and attention to detail this past year.

I highly recommend Dave McMahon’s Dog Training Academy for your dogs training as well as anyone who is interested in learning more about the canine training world!

Best dog training school out there period. The classes are fun and inviting. The training works and you will get results. Highly recommend

This is this best decision I have made regarding our dog Otis. Dave & his team have taught us so much. Because of them, we can go on pleasant walks without Otis pulling & he listens to commands without hesitation. (Novice training program)
He can run free & come back once I call him. (Reality recall class)
I feel confident & so does Otis. What a great feeling. Thank you!

Bad service. They expect you to pay $20 extra if you miss a class, whether though if you’ve paid for a full course. This business takes money from you any chance that they get, with no refunds or exceptions.

I enrolled in the Novice Group Training and followed up with Board &Training to secure my pups foundation. Novice Group Class teaches the human techniques on how to handle and train your dog. I really appreciate this team, as they are serious about their craft and truly have your animals best interest at heart. I want to give Sue and the team all the praises, they worked 1: 1 with my pup during Board & Train and what a difference in him! He came back to me with obedience and habits I didn't even know I wanted for him. If you are in the position to do so, I 100% recommend Novice and Board & Training, or whatever training they offer for you and your best friend to build and bond from!

I read alot of comments before taking Novice of highly satisfied and a select few disappointed folks who expected their dog to attend 10 weeks of training, 1 hr per session, and have a miracle occur, in the sense of the team getting their animal to respect and obey them, without having to do the homework. PRO TIP: Trust and respect start and end with the owner, build that and then get serious and consistent on the skills this course will provide you, because you will definitely get back what you put in, plain and simple.

Thank you all at Dave McMahons Academy

I currently have an italian spinone being trained, a breed that is stubborn and independent, but have found that by combining the numerous years of structured training with at home continuance of the same activities our pup is gradually improving to be the best dog she can be. Dave and his team have been very understanding and exceptional at what they do.

The Good:
- The techniques they teach you work.
- There is no shortage of assistance from Dave and his trainers. If you give it your best effort, they are there to help you succeed.
- This is a great opportunity for your puppy to be desensitized to other dogs and people.

The Bad:
- It is a small room with a lot of dogs and people. It can get overwhelming while you’re trying to listen to the instructor, an assistant is also talking to you, and your puppy is misbehaving.
- They give a lot of SPECIFIC verbal step by step instructions. I wish they gave a sheet of paper with these instructions written down so that you don’t forget the specifics (i.e. Step forward with your left foot, hold the leash overhand, etc.)
- They expect you to spend 30 minutes twice per day walking your dog and practicing everything learned in class, which can be unattainable with busy schedules. I wish they gave a better idea of what to expect before signing up for the non-refundable course.

They train way too many people (supposed to be dogs, lol) at the same time and told me before that I was untrainable. They don’t help you, they tell you what to do with your dog and that’s your problem if your dog don’t listen to you. They were all rude! Just a waste of money when you can just watch YouTube. Whattajoke!

My fiance and I have had our rescue Bonnie for a year now. We've done various training programs both in person and online and we never saw much progress until doing Dave's class. We can finally see an improvement in our dog after completing the beginner class and we will be going back for more specialized training and further obedience training. Thanks to Dave and his team for the work they do!

My dog Rosie and I just finished the novice obedience class with Dave and his helpers. Everyone was very knowledgeable in their teaching and helpful. I loved this class. I am now able to have a well behaved dog out in public and at home. I would recommend this dog training to anyone. Thank you to all there

Dave has been instrumental in helping us learn all about our dog. We have been taught how to train her and have been guided on how to manage her dog aggression. We love spending time every week with Dave and his team! It's been wonderful to develop a new relationship with our dog because of the training given to US!

Absolutely love coming here. We have done private classes abs looking forward to our group class with my Tank. Once he is completed I'm going to enroll my girly to fix some of her behaviors too ️

IMPORTANT IF YOU HAVE AN ANXIOUS OR FEARFUL DOG.
I'm not typically the type of person to review things (I usually take the just because it doesn't work for me doesn't mean it doesn't for others approach, hell.this is literally the first review I've ever written one.) It has taken me a long time to undo the damage that I caused by listening to Dave Macmahons advice on flooding and ecollars with my fearful dog. My instincts told me that it was the worst thing I could do for my boy, but I doubted my gut because after all, Im not the professional. After speaking to multiple other trainers/certified behaviourists since (I reached out to multiple parties because I wanted to make sure I was well diversified in my education before making the same mistake twice,) I now know that those methods were literally the worst things that I could do. I got my dog when he was 9 months and already extremely anxious in the world and I will forever hold that shame of utilizing those techniques when he was already feeling a lot of uncertainty. By doing the opposite though, with positive reinforcement, it took some time, by now my boy is starting to look to me for security and direction. I will spend the rest of our days trying to make up for the negative imprinting in such a crucial stage of his development that I put him through. Shame on me for that, double shame on Dave for guiding me there.
Disclaimer, I'm not saying that his obedience training is inherently bad or that I know more than them about dogs. I'm just saying that please, please: if you have a fearful dog. Please go elsewhere. Dogs give us so much, and they deserve the patience, security and mindfulness of going at a pace that sets them up for success.

Trained both our dogs, Kobe & Remi with Dave. Couldnt have asked for a more thorough and helpful trainer. Cant thank him enough!

My dog Zoey has completed, and passed the novice obedience course twice, and just passed the reality recall course. Dave McMahon's dog training academy is absolutely fantastic. His trainers are all great, very professional, and knowledgeable. Dave himself is a master of his profession, and great guy. There are so many positive things I could say about the school, and everyone who works there. I ask my dog if she wants to go to school, and she lights up and gets excited. We shopped around different obedience schools, and we chose Dave McMahon for best value for price. You also get many perks when you do classes here. Dave is extremely passionate, and uses a great mix of verbal, physical, and treat rewards. I highly recommend bringing your dog here.

We just finished my private lessons with Tammy for Mickey to control his aggression; Tammy is an excellent trainer with passion, her training techniques used for Mickey to control his aggression work. I feel confident to go out with Mickey for a walk with no problems… Thank you Tammy

Very knowledgable. My lab had a great time at class, and it really helped socialize her and help her with structure. Excited for the intermediate class we will be taking in the fall.

Just finished novice class with my golden retriever. Highly recommend, they're very consistent and knowledgeable. Trust the process, do what they say and you'll have a extra spectacular fur baby!

I took my human to training after she saved me from the shelter. We started out with my bestie, Sue, who really helped my human understand and encourage me when I was scared. I was able to see other four legged friends who had humans in group training too. There was alot to learn and I have done very well but I am going to take my junior human back so she can be trained and I can get even better. All the people were nice especially my "bestie", Sue. I cant wait to keep my humans trained so they can help me be my best.
Debbi was also a great resource in setting up appointments
Regards
Luna

We used Dave McMahon’s training for our cane corso puppy! It was amazing! We just wanted some basic obedience, and the difference of the dog is amazing! We get so many compliments on how well trained and calm he is! It is all thanks to the training! We had Tammy 90% of the time and she was fantastic, she would help us if we came in one week with a new thing he was doing and would check in on that the following week! Highly recommend dave McMahon’s training to anyone looking to get the dog trained!

We have attended the dog training with two of our dogs. Both experiences were amazing! Our dogs were just pups, and with the techniques and knowledge acquired in the classes, they quickly became the most well behaved dogs!
We recently took our 10 month old Bernedoodle pup camping with us and everyone who saw him commented on how well behaved he was. They were shocked at his walking skills, his ability to listen to commands and how comfortable he was around all of the children running and riding bikes.
I would recommend Dave’s McMahon’s Dog Training Academy to anyone and everyone who has a dog! Well worth it!

Took my puppy here for the Novice course. He is already signed up for the intermediate and reality recall course. It was a great experience. My puppy was very anxious and Dave’s team did such a great job with him. They went the extra mile to give me tips and tricks on how to calm him down. They even gave him treats so I could listen to the instructor and not have to worry about him jumping around. They were so helpful when I had questions and they had no problem taking me aside to clarifying the training and giving me tips on how to get my puppy to compete the training. Overall it is a great place to take your dog for training. My puppy has shown such a great improvement!

I voted for Reader's Choice Awards. I have had a great experience with our training for private behavioural classes and Yogi along with his parents have learned so, much. Yogi needed to learn not to be grumpy and to be reactive to commands. He's intact and 100lbs so we needed a professional. The trainers are very good at what they do. He's been a better student than I. Clarke has more strength for correcting but the Mini-E has helped with that, tremendously. We highly recommend his school and his methods of training your pet and you as an owner. Looking forward to private reality recall and group novice class, next. Yes, he has bed head and needs a trim. ️

Professional to say the least
Best Dog Man of all times. Drive from Bancroft, Ontario for the absolute best.

I love Dave’s one command response training! The support and consistency training was amazing from all of Dave’s staff. Booster classes being offered for review, reassurance and guidance of weekly training was such a bonus and I definitely took advantage. Definitely a training program I would recommend.

This place is life changing for both you and your dog and your bond you will develop.

We had pretty serious buyers remorse when we got our pug. He had a tough act to follow as our previous pug was one of those "easy" / "one-off" dogs that took little training and was a great dog. Well our new guy tested every fiber of patience we may or may not have had and we seriously regretted getting him.

We made the best choice by checking out Dave McMahon's Dog Training Academy and OMG thank goodness, it was the miracle we needed. Needless to say now that our pug is around 13 months, passed novice and continuing with intermediate classes we can look back and laugh at how we thought we got a lemon.

Our pug really seems to thrive on mental stimulation and loves when we say "wanna go to school? " He isn't perfect but, he has come a long way and yes it takes work, no it's not easy, no attending a 1hr class per week isn't a magical solve.

You have to commit. TO you and your dog. FOR you and your dog. It does take work. YES you do have to put in the work. But what you get when you go to Dave McMahon's, are the tools you need to understand the theory, so you can put that to practice and build a foundation of trust and respect which will translate to an obedient dog and a great bond that deepens your relationship with your dog.

YEP, you get more than what you pay for. For all the doubters, the problem is YOU. Sorry to be brutally honest but, anyone that complains (doesn't get this) are ultimately the problem by not taking what you should from the situation and not giving what you should to this process and allowing it to fall into place. TRUST ME. It is worth the effort.

Over the two years I've worked with Dave & his team, I've done the group novice course, the group intermediate course, and reality recall course. The experience has been amazing to say the least and my Chocolate Labrador is incredibly well behaved as a result. The training that Dave & team offers is invaluable to myself as a dog owner and I recommend it for any and all dog owners.

I've been with Dave and his trainer's now for almost a year! I brought my 4 month old Chiuawaha Lilac here to Dave McMahon's dog training academy school and what real fun we have! The training is incredible! My chi and I graduated the 10 wk novice and are now in the recall, and intermediate class! It's truly amazing and unbelievable how well she does Everything that we were taught and still learning! I can't rave enough about Dave and his trainer's.my Lilac loves it there, all the dogs do! It's a truly wonderful experience between you and your dog! I highly recommend Dave and this incredible journey with your!

Having a puppy is a continuous learning process. We knew when we got ours that we would need to take him to training and we are so happy we found Dave. Dave and his staff are great and they will teach you everything you need to know, from what toys to pick to commands and processes to make you successful in training your dog. We highly recommend Dave McMahon's dog training courses.

We went to Dave about a year ago, we attended about 3-4 classes and then stopped and went else where because quite frankly it was a mess. As a dog trainer he seemed more interested in money than actually training dogs.

We expected to actually have Dave training us (which I'm sure some got to experience, but we didn't) there were so many people all having training at the same time slot that classes needed to be split up into 2 groups, even then the split class size was still probably 20 dogs big in a very small area, many of which were reactive. Which was terrific when you're trying to train a puppy that's under 6 months old and your sandwiched between two large dogs that are going crazy.

When we were there it seemed like the trainer's didn't have much of a clue what they were doing, they either a) seemed like they were just pylons and offered very little help or b) were being trained but have never done anything with a dog before or c) were VERY unconfident with their abilities. The one person who seemed to have a clue forced the other "trainers" to do the class and would just be rude and condescending to the other staff and the customers paying to have lessons. While we were there the one trainer almost had a mental breakdown because of the rude one, and there was arguments between her and the other trainers a couple times.

If you were having issues or struggling with your dog, they'd tell you just be quiet and pay attention. This would usually just result in you and your dog still struggling, and you requiring a "private lesson" which costs additional money, and its still not with Dave.

Dave McMahon's training is as if he hired a bunch of people that had no idea what they were doing, gave them a script to follow and if anything deviates from it then they don't have good answers. I'm sure Dave himself is a good dog trainer, but a large majority of his staff were not, and it was very evident.

I had no desire to finish his course, I also never asked for a refund because he doesn't offer refunds anyways.

I'd wager only a small amount of people actually come out of this course with better behaved animals, and yes this also depends heavily on the owner putting in the work but it also depends on the methods you are taught. Basically the only thing I was taught from Dave was how to start a lawn mower because that's basically his entire method for teaching your dog to walk in a heel, it didn't work.

For the record my dog became incredibly well trained after taking her elsewhere, she can walk perfectly on a heel both on and off a leash along with other very useful skills such as recall. None of this was thanks to Dave's training/ trainers.

I will never take any of my future dogs to Dave for training.

Dave and his trainers are very helpful and knowledgeable. Classes are very good and lots of trainers to help you. Thank you Scott

I took my dog for training with Dave and his team and they did an amazing job teaching me and my dog. I highly recommend taking your dog to this place.

My dog Nelson and I just completed the Novice Obedience course with the Dave McMahon Academy and are extremely satisfied with the quality of service provided at this establishment. Dave and his trainers are well educated and extremely accommodating to all dogs and handlers at the school. They truly believe in a partnership between dog and handler and encourage strong bond building techniques to enhance the connection between dog and handler.
The training techniques used at this dog school work. I cannot thank the staff enough for all the encouragement and support throughout the 10 week course.
Dave and his crew rock!
Nelson and I look forward to continuing our training at this super facility!
Well-done!

Great novice classes. We brought our 3 month old hyper pup. The strategies they taught helped so much and he has come a long way in listening! We have already signed him up for the next couple of trainings.

Dave and his staff have been amazing with mentoring apprentices like myself to be
dog trainers. The proven methods and curriculum will ensure your dog becomes a well trained member of your family, like our Havana.

Howdy
I’ve taken novice course, intermediate one year, reality recall and other courses with Dave. I love all the information and detail. Train the person to train their dog. Being able to do group and have the option for one on one help. Pricing is great and fair. I can go for a hike with my dog and call them back each time. My dog is focused on my training and I love it. The whole
Team he has there is amazing and helpful.