Hear what our clients have to say about
The IDEAL Dog:

We were very pleased with the training Wayne Oitzman provided to our little puppy Spark. His method of reward and patience worked well to house break her and also to teach basic commands. He was very responsive and flexible to our schedule. He showed a good understanding of basic dog behavior and how to effectively implement different types of training to make our dog responsive and manageable. Spark seemed to feel very comfortable with him and so did we. Wayne always encouraged the participation of everyone during the training sessions and afterwards. Wayne had a very good disposition to the training and was very professional, reliable, and courteous. The training that Spark received made a significant improvement in her behavior and our understanding of dogs. We would recommend 'The Ideal Dog' for the training of your dog.
~Antonio, Pam, and Rafi





I think that you guys did very well at teaching Bella the essentials she needs to know to grow to be a good dog. I think Bella responded very well to you and she has already shown a lot of progress. You have taught us to be good owners and how to further teach our dog. You guys were great!
-Michael and Jordan S.

Thank you guys for giving us the tools to be better dog owners. We have had fun and learned so much from you, but most importantly we are enjoying Angel more. We will use our new skills for a lifetime!
-Linda H. 


We adopted a 3 year old black and tan coon hound named Willow from the Arizona Animal Welfare League in January. As we got to know Willow, we found that she was very skittish with new people, dogs and objects and that she pulled on the leash to the point that it was difficult for me, a 5'2" woman to control her, a 75 lb. dog. We were determined to learn how to work with Willow and how to make going in the community enjoyable and safe. We chose Wayne Oitzman and The Ideal Dog because of his professional looking website; his quick and informative answers to our emailed questions; and his focus on positive methods. Wayne and his daughter Heather had a calm and gentle approach with Willow which she responded very well to. They taught us about our breed of dog, how to consistently address her behaviors, and how to give her mental stimulation so she had a purpose. They also seemed to personalize our training program based on the personality of our breed of dog. They stressed the importance of us working with Willow daily and every week had homework for us to do. Throughout the training, Wayne and Heather not only built Willow's self-confidence but built our confidence in working with her. Because of The Ideal Dog and consistent practicing, we can now brag that Willow can sit, stay, shake, lay down, come, heel, settle, find hidden treats, walk calmly on a leash, and much more. She has also decreased her nervousness with new places and people and we now know how to confidently introduce her to those situations. Even though we are done with the official training, The Ideal Dog, has given us the skills to continue working with Willow. Willow has recently mastered rolling over and is learning to bow and give kisses on the cheek. We have The Ideal Dog to thank for helping us discover what a smart and lovable dog Willow is. We highly recommend The Ideal Dog and have already given our friends glowing reviews of Wayne and Heather.
-Michelle S.


Our family had so much fun training with Sophie. The instructions were simple and the results were awesome! Sophie responded very quickly. We feel much more confident as her owners in how we should treat her and what we should expect from her. Sophie and her family are very happy now!
-Becki N. 
                                
                                

My husband rescued our dog Betsy off the street when she was about 4 months old.  She looked like she never had a home and was full of fleas, ticks and also was very skinny.  When we brought her home, we felt like she was sweet as she could be, yet she was very lonely too.  As she grew older, she started to get aggressive around her food bowl and we couldn’t even get close to her bowl of food without her growling. She was not the same dog that we found and she had completely changed.  Also, because of our busy life, her active personality without much attention, this gave her an opportunity to be in a position of a lead dog. She was not a good listener and she chewed anything she could in our backyard and house too!

I decided I would have to find a good home for her or hire a good trainer so that I could make her more calm and obedient.  I didn’t want to take Betsy to be trained by a pet store because I knew that she needed one on one attention; and because she is over 2 years old, I thought it was too late.  After I heard excellent things about Wayne Oitzman, we had him as Betsy’s trainer for the past 8 weeks.  She completely changed from a wild, active dog to a calmer, obedient pet.  She doesn’t jump on us anymore! I was able to understand her personality more, work with her to be closer to us and make her understand the boundaries and rules.  We developed a great relationship, consistency and leadership with her.  To walk on a loose leash without her pulling was like taking a little lion for a walk!  And for all the improvements, I have to thank Wayne, for being so good and patient with us; every single question and concern he helped me.  Betsy is a great dog and I am so glad that I found Wayne and that he is in our lives.   I strongly recommend Wayne for your pet, he is just awesome!
~Marina G.   
 

     
We adopted an American Staffordshire Terrier who had been neglected by her previous owner. She had been dumped off at a Petsmart and was so skinny you could count all her ribs. She had never been properly socialized and acted aggressive towards strangers and other dogs, and is scared of everything from vacuums to pencils. Taking Chloe on a walk was a nightmare because she would drag you down the street. The aggression (turned out to be fear) was a huge problem and we realized we needed to hire some help. We did lots of searching online and found Wayne's website which had wonderful reviews. We thought it would be impossible to re-train Chloe, but Wayne proved us wrong. With his professional guidance, Chloe has become much calmer around people and is a lot more obedient with us. The walking has improved and I don't feel like my arms are going to get ripped out of their sockets! Training her will be a lifelong process, but we credit the progress we have made to Wayne and we couldn't have done it without him. I know that she will never be perfect but with all the things we have learned from Wayne, we can continue with her for the rest of her life. Thank you so much to Wayne Oitzman (and Heather, too!) for answering all our questions and for doing such a wonderful job with our Chloe!
-Ashley K. and Matt G.

  
My family and I used Wayne with the Ideal Dog to help with training our new Golden Retriever, Landy.  We were amazed with the results just after the first session. Wayne not only trained our dog, but trained my entire family so each and every one of us could work with her on a daily basis.  Each week we saw the results in every aspect of her training.   She is amazingly well-behaved for such a young dog and we look forward using our knowledge we learned from Wayne on continuing to grow our Golden.  Wayne takes his work very seriously and it shows in our new family member.  I would highly recommend Wayne for any and all types of animal training.
-Doug L.

   
Want a well-trained dog? Call Wayne!

Wayne and Heather truly saved our sanity and ensured a happy home for us, and our dog, Athena. Athena was a 10 week old pound puppy listed as a German Shepherd mix, two weeks later we found out that the “mix” was a bloodhound. We knew then that a “one size fits all type of training wasn’t going to work - good luck getting Athena’s nose out of the ground for group and/or park training!