Training by Tara

Tried another trainer before this who was no help. We learned enough in just one private lesson to make a huge difference in our dog’s behavior. She is a mixed breed large dog we got from a shelter and they handled her perfectly. Thanks so much!

I was extremely excited to get training scheduled with this company. Although Unilocal
reflected mixed reviews.
I, initially, called, the voicemail requested that I go online and fill out a request. The email
was responded to by an automated request for information on our dog. The form was
submitted. After a week, no response. I followed up with a second email… No response.
I do not and would not feel confident having my dog handled or trained by this company.
Todays service businesses are built on service and character.

Tara is extremely knowledgeable, and she is an expert in reading and understanding dogs and their body language. You can tell by attending her training sessions that she truly loves and cares for dogs!
I got my dog, a mini Australian Shepherd, when she was 6 weeks old. At first, she was such a friendly puppy and loved everyone she met! However, that changed when she turned around 3 months, and she began to fear meeting new people and dogs and turned defensive (barking, growling, etc.). She began barking at everyone that walked by us, and that became too problematic for me to put up with every time I took her out for a walk, so I finally decided to ask Tara for help.
I have taken several classes/​courses with Tara, and she has helped Bella overcome her fear so much. Bella loves Tara and her yummy treats! :) I took the leadership class with her, as well as Reactive I and Reactive Walkers 6-​week courses. I also took one private class at her location, and another one at my location. I do recommend her 6-​week courses since the programs are more structured. What you need to remember when going into this is that you have to be patient… you are not going to see results overnight. Tara teaches you to «protect» your dog and shows you how to handle certain situations to set your dog up for success, and it is your responsibility to keep practicing outside of the class.
To my surprise, my dog picked up very quickly. She is not scared of every dog and person anymore. She still has her guard up sometimes and feels the need to defend herself in certain situations, but overall, she is a much happier, more confident dog. I never have to worry about her barking or growling at people when I take her out now. This is a huge improvement, and I will forever be grateful!
Thanks, Tara!

I’ve been to several seminars and training demos by Tara, and she is unquestionably one of the most talented trainers in Austin.
Her areas of expertise span from the basics like puppy training to Canine Good Citizen. But, Tara’s specialty and where she really shines is in training fearful, aggressive, or otherwise challenging dogs.
Rather than correcting behavior through punishment (i.e. swatting, leash-​yanking, etc which can often exacerbate problems with challenging pups), Tara trains *you* on doggy body language and pack behavior and how to use those to effectively communicate commands to your dog.
Tara also dedicates her time and abilities to rehabilitating deaf, blind, tripod, and other «differently-​abled» (not disabled) dogs. I have seen first-​hand some incredible transformations of these dogs in the care of Tara. Whereas they might have otherwise been abandoned due to their handicaps, these dogs are able to live whole, happy lives due to Tara’s training.
Thanks to Tara and her team for all of the love and dedication they show to Austin’s pets and pet people!

Highly recommend Training by Tara. I have a 100+ lb young dog that easily over powered me and he was starting to be reactive with other dogs. This was problematic living in a heavily dog populated apartment complex. We have used other trainers in the past with little success but Tara’s approach was so different and effective. I never imagined I could walk past another dog holding his leash one handed (and feeling comfortable). We were also very pleased with her boarding services.

I enrolled my 5 month old puppy «Charlie» for basic obedience with Tara based on her Unilocal reviews.
Our first surprise the first day of class was the fact that Tara was not the trainer and it was a lady named Lisa. We don’t think she has the skills or sufficient training experience to teach a class. She was always reading a paper to see how to explain the 3 – 4 commands for each class. We asked her a couple of times on how to address certain issues with our puppy and her answer was let me ask Tara or Savannah how to resolve the issue. In two occasions the shed where the class was held had a horrible smell due to the fact that they keep dogs in kennels there and how know how often the kennels were clean.
My wife and I decided not to finish the basic program, we didn’t even go to the last class.
I wish we could experience Tara’s experience and that’s what you are paying for and not for an apprentice or somebody that doesn’t have the knowledge to teach the class. Lisa is a nice person don’t take me wrong but lacks of experience and knowledge.
If you enroll to train your dog here, make sure Tara is the trainer, we feel that we paid for something that was completed different of what Training by Tara offers and we wasted our money there.

Just picked up my pup from two weeks of boarding here. He was as happy as could be. I wouldn’t trust any other facility with my dog, not only with boarding, but training as well. Ive only worked with savannah and I can say she is wonderful. she’s patient, kind and willing to work with just about any dog you bring to her. Ive taken a few classes here, and have been happy with the results every time. I plan on taking a 1 on 1 with tara in the coming weeks.
I will never stop bringing my pup here for any training/​boarding needs, and will continue to recommend in the years to come.

I want to start by saying that we loved Tara and Savannah, but just didn’t feel like we got what we paid for and we were not satisfied with the progress of our main problem. My Weimaraner Jubilee went to classes for over a year at Training by Tara. She did some obedience classes and a reactive dog class. We initally took her because she had fear dog agreesion or as Tara called it «reactive» & we couldn’t walk past another dog without growling/​lunging. I dont want to go on and on. To sum it up. Jubilee did improve. She could walk better on a loose leash & learned a few new tricks. However, at the end of the reactive dog class she stll had issues being near other dogs. The classes were overly structured and nothing like you would encounter in real world situations. The only further instruction Tara recommended was to take the class again. I was depressed. Here we have spent all this time and money and my dog was still a liability. I searched online and found the most awesome testomional of a dog named Sammie (who was in way worse conditionthan my dog) who had been trained by K9 Mastery. I was hooked. If that dog could be rehabiliated to be a good, not aggressive dog then Jubie could too! Right? We have been going to training with K9 Mastery for some time now and i am confident taking my awesome dog everywhere with me again. She can go to bars, shopping at the domain, and on walks with out incident. I am only writing this review for those few that mabe need a different approach after going to Tara. I realize that Tara is cleary successiful in helping many dogs successfully, & i hope that there are not many people like us! We wish it had worked. Who wants to pay for more training! A new student in our class had this same circumstance after going to Training by Tara which prompted me to write this review in case people need another option. Good luck training your dogs!

As first-​time dog owners, my girlfriend and I were a little over our heads when we adopted Anderson, a staffie mix, from APA. He had a bad case of separation anxiety and wasn’t friendly with other dogs, but he was too beautiful for us not to take home, even if we had no real idea of how we were going to deal with his issues.
We tried a couple different trainers and, reluctantly, a couple different medications. Nothing worked. After he chewed the bars off his first crate, cutting up his face in the process, we tried keeping him outside on the second-​floor balcony of our apartment. In just a few weeks he had chewed through more than half of the balcony, even taking a good chunk out of a load-​bearing cedar column. I didn’t see any way we could keep Anderson, but then we heard about Tara and decided to give her a shot.
We started with a series of private lessons, which immediately payed off. Tara gave us a ton of helpful advice. In addition to teaching us helpful commands and how to use body language to more effectively communicate with our dog, she recommended a specific crate that would help Anderson deal with his separation anxiety. After the private lessons, we enrolled in one of the group obedience classes and then the Reactive Walkers class; each one helped Anderson develop his confidence and become a happier dog in general.
We are now able to leave Anderson at home in his crate for a whole work day without him urinating, defecating, or trying to escape; and we’ve taken him to dog daycare over 10 times with no incident. I can’t thank Tara and her team enough for how they’ve helped us. Prior to enrolling in her training, I had very little hope that my girlfriend and I would be able to keep our dog. And it’s not just our dog! Tara takes some of the most troubled dogs from around the Austin area and rehabilitates them. It has been very moving for me to see how many dogs and people she helps. Train with Tara!

I can basically repeat verbatim what another Unilocaler said that I was ready to enroll my dog because not only had I read all the positive reviews, but she also came highly recommended by the rescue group where I adopted my dog. I attempted to «call» several times to ask a few questions so that I could determine which of their programs might help me but always got their voice message saying I would get faster results if I emailed. Ok, did that, leaving a detailed email of my situation and again leaving my phone number asking for a return call.
I was never called back — instead I received an email asking me to fill out PAGES of paperwork to determine my dog’s «behavioral issues.» When I replied back that I ONLY wanted to ask a few questions to determine which program might be best (again leaving my phone number) I was told (by email again mind you) that I could pay $ 50 for a 30 minute phone consultation with Tara and did I want to set that up?
When I replied that I was shocked at the price and that I only had a few questions (not 30 minutes of questions/​inquires) I was told that they didn’t do these kinds of consultations for free. I never asked for a FREE CONSULATION. Again — my only request was to ask a few questions about which program might be best for my dog that is fixing to go through HW treatment next month.
I guess the simple respect and good customer service of a return phone call was out of the question. If I have to pay a consultation fee of $ 50 just for a few questions it doesn’t seem like the best interest of my pet is their priority and not a place I’d care to do business.

I am not attempting to be hyperbolic when I say Tara saved our lives… to be clear, she saved the life we wanted to have with our family.
My husband and I adopted a 1-​year old dog a few years ago who was just so sweet and obnoxiously cute named Sammy. We «trained» him with the tools we had grown up with and what we had seen by so called «experts» on TV… you know who I am referring to. NOTE: DO NOT ROLL YOUR DOG! If you are currently doing so, STOP!!! Everything you know about that «technique» is a lie and exactly how we got into this position!
Anyway, he had some minor annoying behaviors like intense barking on occasion and eating/​guarding things he shouldn’t, like trash etc. Being ignorant, we just called it normal dog behavior and accepted it as one of his quirks. Overall, he listened pretty well and was a huge lover bug.
That was, until we adopted another dog about 6 months ago. At first, they got along extremely well and were super cute together. We were able to have them eat side by side without incident. For about 3 months, at least. Then, one morning Sammy decided to go after our other dogs food, aggressively. We dismissed the first time as a fluke, but when it started happening at every meal we started researching causes and solutions. Everything we tried not only failed miserably, it seemed to exacerbate the problem. The tipping point was when he put his mouth on my husband when he tried to prevent Sam from attacking our other dog. Our «pride» didn’t matter anymore, just finding a way to make our home peaceful again.
We were referred to Tara by our other dog’s foster mom, and we began the leadership program. After seeing results almost immediately in his obedience, we made sure we stuck to the program religiously. Unfortunately, Samuel didn’t decide to display the true extent of his confidence or resource guarding behavior until we challenged his leadership. Unbeknownst to us, he had established himself as alpha and did not take our attempts at a coup d’etat kindly. Not to mention he loved to save his especially horrendous behaviors just for my husband and me at home. I really thought he might be bipolar considering his perfect angel-​like manners at Tara’s and his tyrannical behaviors at home. He even got some really good size bites on me.
No matter what new challenges Sam presented, Tara was there — she was EXTREMELY responsive and always had a next step. She would even Skype with us so we wouldn’t have to drive to her every time we had an issue. We eventually had to send him to her two week doggie boot camp — things in our house were getting so stressful and we were having a hard time keeping our composure and maintaining «alpha» body language etc. Plus, we really needed Tara to witness his «bad-​side».
I’ve already made this a novella, so to sum up, after doggie bootcamp things started to change. I now had the tools to win the game of thrones occurring in my house and she had broken his confidence, not only in his bite but in his leadership abilities. All without touching him. It wasn’t an «insta-​fix» per se, but as the weeks passed and we stuck to the program, the house became more and more peaceful and we were able to mend our relationship with Sam. Now, he is out and about most of the time and listens SO WELL! He is an extreme resource guarder, so we are still working on meal time, but he does not try to bite anymore, and as soon as we request he back up and calm down, he does.
I can honestly say, Tara acted not only as a brilliant doggie rehab specialist, she was a fantastic therapist. She was very graceful with my daily panic e-​mails and the several times I got emotional during this journey. Without her support and assurance that sticking with the program would work, we would have been forced to make a difficult decision about returning Sam to the rescue… which we really did not want to do. When you adopt, it’s for life, and we didn’t want to be those people who just gave our dog up when things got hard — but he was endangering our family’s safety with all of the biting.
THANK YOU TARA! We have our Sammy and sanity back :).
Note: To folks looking to do obedience training here, bravo for caring enough to teach your dogs manners. Just keep in mind, both Tara and Savannah are dealing with dozens of situations like the one I listed above. Without their dedication to our situation, who knows what would have happened to our dog or us. So, I would suggest you do private lessons if you are having enough behavioral issues and if you are looking to undivided attention. Not to mention, if you don’t know how to be a leader to your dog, all the obedience training in the world won’t make a difference. Case in point, Sam — he went to obedience training and it was for shit because WE weren’t trained. Food for thought.

I had been waiting to write a review about Tara for a while now, but I feel like the results I’ve seen with my dog are not just a fluke.
First of all, Tara is NOT Cesar Milan. She doesn’t believe in «correcting» your dog’s behavior. Instead, you use your body language to convey to your dog that you are able to protect them, and you do this without laying a single hand on them. You allow them to make their own choices for themselves. I’ve been in two different group classes and seen these tactics work instantly with my own eyes on several different dogs.
Second, my reactive dog is nowhere near perfect, but we are at a point where I am not embarrassed by her behavior and I no longer hesitate to bring her outdoors. She used to bark relentlessly at other people and dogs; in fact, during our first consultation with Tara, I could barely hear over her barking. Now, she will still bark, but I have the tools to get her to STOP barking. Gradually she’s been reacting less and less to things that set her off in the past. I’m constantly surprised at what she is able to handle and not react to anymore. We have a long way to go still, but for the first time in years I’m actually hopeful and excited to make further progress with her.
Third, you get MORE than what you pay for. Tara has always been accessible through email and willing to stay after class to answer any questions you may have. I will probably continue to take classes with her in the near future. I also can’t stop recommending her to people I meet who are having issues with their dogs. She’s been a life changer!

I haven’t stopped yakking to all of my dog owner friends about my session with Tara this past weekend since, so it’s only right that I write it all down for the Unilocal world.
Had my first training session with Tara this past Saturday with my 1 yr 3 month old German Shepherd. Before I get into the awesomeness of Tara, I’ll just preface it with my initial thoughts, I’m thinking $ 100 a session is pretty steep, I’ll probably go for one session and learn as much as I can and try to just go from there. Wrong. After the first session I know I’ll be back for multiple sessions with Tara, she is worth every penny of the $ 100 an hour, trust me.
My main issues with my GSD have been as he’s gotten older he has become more and more protective over me and the house. Now, he loves to play with other dogs and has been socialized since he was tiny, and regularly goes to doggy day care where he romps all day with tons of other dogs and has a ball. It’s just when he is on leash, or when a dog is passing in front of our house that he sees out our front window that he’s been going ballistic, barking, hair raised, etc. which is not like my normal goofy passive playful guy. Knowing that this is something I don’t know how to appropriately react to, and that it’s his protectiveness showing more and more as he was getting older, I booked Tara for a one on one session.
When I arrived, I could tell she had read my questionnaire and was pleased to find that our first session was actually tailored to the issues I’d been having. She started by teaching me basic commands which we practiced, then she brought out one of her pack dogs, which was awesome, because it let us practice her techniques in the actual situation I was having trouble with, all within the first 20 minutes or so of our first session.
Long story short, by the end of our session I had learned more info than I could have imagined, and felt really ready to go home and practice the concepts she’d taught me.
Tara is Cesar Milan in Austin… if not better. She is all about teaching you how to communicate with your dog and how to enable them to make the right decisions. This type of training is so refreshing compared to the usual, he’s not getting enough exercise, teach him to do this that and the other and tell him NO! when he’s doing it wrong. I’ve already nearly convinced my sister to drive from Houston for an appt with Tara and her Golden.
I can’t wait to have additional sessions, and will post updated reviews as we continue to work with Tara. If you are on the fence about a trainer or about $ 100 an hour, I’m telling you, worth every penny.
Quit sitting on your couch trying to copy Cesar Milan and getting frustrated when the calm little psstt noises he makes to magically calm dogs down doesn’t work for you! Book Tara!

Let me just first say that I have no ill feelings towards Tara (who I’ve never met) and her team. It’s just that if the basic obedience course were a real school setting, our dog would have been the child who fell through the cracks of the public education system.
We decided to enroll our seven-​month-​old staffie terrier in Tara’s basic course when we noticed that she had a lot of excellent Unilocal reviews. We went through the process of enrollment which included filling out paperwork and all of the necessary payment information and all was smooth sailing at that point. Tara and Savannah were patient with us as we enrolled our dog into the course only two days before the six week course began.
We prepared everything and took time off of work in the afternoon to attend the first class, but received an e-​mail just an hour or so before the scheduled class time to inform us that class was cancelled because there weren’t enough dogs enrolled. Bummer, wish I would have known with time to rescind my work request.
When we did make it to class the next week, we were surprised that our trainer wasn’t Tara or Savannah, but someone else who had been in training with Tara and Savannah over the last few months/​years. While she was knowledgeable about teaching the 23 basic commands by the book, we had a lot of issues with getting our dog to cooperate. Our dog was especially distracted (given that her attention span is less than three seconds in a normal environment) with there being three other dogs on the opposite sides of the room, and was very frustrated that she was never able to interact with any of them. She spent the entire first class throwing a tantrum and pouting on the floor. With our dog learning no commands and refusing to cooperate, I was pretty disappointed with the first day. While we understood that our dog was in class to work and must learn to be comfortable with following commands in a high-​distraction setting, we were never given any advice as to how to break her out of her behavior cycle.
Along with this, there were several commands that just didn’t stick with our dog. On some occasions, she would not understand or would simply refuse to do the command (most stubborn dog on earth), and while we would ask for other ways to go about teaching them, the only advice we would get is «keep trying.» Long story short, we «kept trying» for six weeks, which left both us and our dog wildly frustrated. One of the behaviors we included wanting to change on our enrollment forms was our dog’s constant whining (in situations where she is well fed, comfortable, and relieved). Our trainer responded with, «some dogs are just vocal.» None of the behaviors, confidence or obedience issues we listed on our paperwork were addressed, which made me wonder why we included them in the first place. All in all, our dog left the course grasping about 11 of the commands. The rest she knew before entering the basic course or just wouldn’t do in class or with us at home.
On a positive note, the few commands our dog did learn really help us out at home. Her food and door control behaviors have improved greatly, and she seems to do a little better when walking on a leash.
I wish I would have had a better idea of the style of training/​teaching throughout the basic course because looking back, it’s hard to justify spending that amount on a class that my dog absorbed about 55% of. Further, with three other dogs in the class, the time allotted between the trainer and our dog was very limited – probably somewhere around 10 – 15 minutes a session. She would have clearly benefited more from private courses.

VERY IMPRESSED with Tara and her team!
My boyfriend and I sought her help after our two Catahoulas were attacked by two off-​leash dogs. Following the incident, they became extremely aggressive toward other dogs (growling, barking, lunging ferociously), making even a simple walk around the neighborhood terrifying for everyone involved. We had no idea what to do with our previously friendly dogs.
Based on the positive reviews, we made an appointment on-​site with Savannah for our two monsters. Much to our relief, she told us that our dogs weren’t «aggressive,» but were simply «reactive.» Basically, she explained that we needed to show our dogs that we, the humans, were able to protect them and that they didn’t need to lash out when they encountered another dog. She taught us many, many techniques to let our dogs know that we were running the show and pointed out how certain things (like allowing our dogs to sleep in the bed, allowing them to exit/​enter a door before us, allowing them to choose when they ate their food, etc) were diminishing our role as protector/​leader in their eyes.
During this session, our dogs changed before our very eyes. They were surprisingly open to us taking charge of them by not allowing them to walk or stand ahead of us and they responded very well to the exercises. When Savannah suggested that we introduce them to some of their dogs, I was nervous, but she assured me that everything would be controlled and there would be no way for either dog to get hurt. Much to my amazement, within thirty minutes of meeting Savannah, our dogs didn’t react at all to any of the dogs they met. I was SOLD.
We were eager to get them enrolled in Tara’s 6-​week Reactive Walker class, but we had to wait a month before her schedule would allow it. This actually turned out to be a good thing, because we had some time to implement these new walking techniques with the pups and really establish some authority with them. We are halfway through our course, but they have improved soooooo much! Tara and Savannah’s tips have given me the confidence to take my dog for a walk knowing that I can protect him, even if an off-​leash dog runs up to us (which happens often in our neighborhood, unfortunately). Every day we are improving.
Aside from the results, I recommend Tara because it’s obvious that she and her team truly care about your dog. The way she conducts her business is both friendly and professional, making it very easy to ask questions and express concerns. I really feel like I’m getting my money’s worth– we’ve arrived early, stayed late, picked her brain about other dog problems not related to the course and she’s encouraged all of this. You couldn’t trust your dog with a better person.

Tara is AMAZING! I agonized over even calling a trainer for my dogs because the one dog is (was!) so temperamental. His first response to anyone or anything he doesn’t know was to try to bite it. And he can do serious damage when he bites (luckily I’m the only one he’s ever actually bitten, but he was trying to bite someone else). When I called my vet to ask for a referral for a trainer, she flat out told me she would strongly consider NOT hiring a trainer because I would probably get sued if my dog bit them.
After reading Tara’s bio on her website though, I figured if anyone could handle my dog, it would be Tara. Well, after two one-​hour private sessions with Tara at our home, he takes treats out of HER hand on command (he used to be reluctant to take treats even from people he knows/​likes), he’s walking on a leash like it ain’t no thing (granted, it’s only in our yard so far, but it’s only been a few days… we’re getting there!), and I’m not worried about him biting guests (and he DID try to bite Tara her first time at our house… but she didn’t run the other direction like I expected a trainer to!). And even though I really only hired Tara to work with my more challenging dog, she gave me tons of great advice and training to apply to my other dog as well.
The thing I really like about Tara is that she doesn’t try to make your dog into a dog that is just perfectly behaved around everyone all the time. I know that sounds weird! But what I mean is, I like knowing that my dogs can still protect me if they need to and bark when there is something going on that I need to know about. She totally respects that, and all the training we did was to have them well behaved around guests that I want them well behaved around, not just have them sitting quietly and politely if there’s a stranger at my door.
Tara also doesn’t nickle and dime you or try to sell you sessions or classes you don’t need. Like I said, even though I only hired her for my one dog, she worked with both of them and didn’t charge me double. And, with as many issues as my dog had, she could have told me I needed 5 private sessions and I would have paid for them, but she addressed almost all his issues in just 2. Even if we’d stopped at one session, it would have been a drastic improvement, but I am very glad we did the second one.
We still have some work to do, mostly around getting him less reactive. I’m definitely considering taking one of Tara’s 6 week classes at her facility with him (because most of his remaining issues have to do with being in new places around new people, which is hard to train at home), but even if we never took another class with Tara, it would be some of the best money I’ve ever spent.
They’re also very quick to respond to emails for scheduling appointments and they send email reminders, which is helpful! And she sends handouts after the training sessions that has the training you covered so you can go back and reference it (which is super helpful, because she covers A LOT in an hour!).
If Tara can help my dog, I KNOW she can help yours!!!

Tara is incredible. I haven’t even finished all the training I want to do with my Staffie mix, Anderson, but he’s already 90% better and I am completely confident he will be 100% amazing soon.
Tara specifies that she specializes in misunderstood dogs, and that couldn’t be more true. Anderson was definitely misunderstood, and I needed to learn how to understand him.
Here’s a breakdown/​timeline of Anderson and his issues, and how Tara was the only one to help him:
+ Adopted Anderson from APA! knowing he had «separation anxiety» and was an «escape artist» but having no idea what this really meant. Destruction ensued. Including (but not limited to): eating a wooden Ikea chair to bits, eating a hole into our front door, ripping apart a wooden balcony, pulling a dozen posts right out of the railing. Friends’ comments included: «It looks like you had a beaver trapped on your porch.» Yep.
+ We tried to help Anderson with: Rescue Remedy, calming treats, leaving him with bones/​toys, DAP diffuser, Thunder coat, doggy Prozac (prescribed by a vet), doggy Xanax (prescribed by a vet), other trainers (that didn’t understand the extent of his psychosis). Some of these worked at first, but none gave us long-​term progress.
(Months go by. We nearly have to rehome him. Crying, sadness, then someone recommends Tara.)
+ Tara comes into our lives. She recommends we purchase a heavy-​duty crate that Anderson will not be able to break out of. It was an investment, but thankfully it was totally worth it. Anderson attempted to break out of the crate for about 5 days, finally realized he was never going to budge the bars, then gave up. One last problem: peeing. He peed in his crate (and laid in it) every. single. time. we left him alone. This meant coming home after a long day of work and having to throw him in the bath tub, every day! Ugh. Our last hurdle to jump.
+ Upon our second (yes, we are only on visit #2, and she’s already solved one major issue) visit with Tara, she gave us great training techniques to do with Anderson to stimulate his mind and increase obedience. We got him a stuffed toy to help let out some frustration. After months of him constantly peeing in the crate, he stopped from one day to the next! He has gone a few days in a row of not peeing, and this is nothing short of miraculous.
+ Tara seriously will psychoanalyze your dog in moments. My favorite things:
No medication!
I can understand Anderson better and give him ways to express himself.
Obedience training that instills pride and confidence in my dog.
I can say without doubt that if I did not find Tara, I would not have my dog right now. He is so incredible, and I am so grateful to her and her training abilities.

I love this place. Cannot say enough good things. My dog and I just completed the basic obedience course, and let me tell you, it is definitely worth it! It is a 6 week class where they go through all the basics, then add modifications to make all the commands more complicated and in different situations.
We had Savannah for our trainer, and she is great! She is great with my little puppy and all the other dogs. My dog is a little angel, so he doesn’t have any behavioral issues, but if he did, I would without a doubt, enroll him in the behavioral classes that they offer, as one of the dogs enrolled in my class was very people scared and shy and wouldn’t leave her mom’s side, but by the end of the simple obedience class, she was much less anxious. Because they specialize in behavioral issue dogs, they seem to be very patient and understanding about the dogs’ different levels of ability and comfort. I plan to enroll my dog in all the classes that are applicable to him, starting intermediate obedience classes asap, then continuing on to the rest!

I’m owned by a rapidly growing 8-​month-​old Great Dane with a big attitude. She’s not a huge troublemaker, no crazy freakish problems going on, but she’s huge and knows it and was becoming increasingly difficult to control. Yippy Chihuahua? No big deal. 120lb monster? Big deal! So, obedience classes were in order.
I did months of shopping around the different trainers in Austin, relying heavily on Unilocal reviews and Facebook posts, but even there I found it was a mixed bag. Tara’s program swayed me for a few reasons:
1. PAPERWORK — I’m honestly shocked that someone would be put off by filling out detailed histories. To me this is indicates responsibility and genuine concern. I’d be way more disturbed if a trainer wanted to take on a new dog no questions asked.
2. COMMUNICATION — I also don’t know what anyone was sniffing when they claimed that Tara or her staff are horrible communicators. I exchanged several long, detailed e-​mails with Tara and Savannah before committing to classes. All my questions were answered and I was even given some extra latitude in terms of advice/​tips before ever sending in a payment.
3. PRICE — While I wouldn’t say pricing from one trainer to the next is extremely competitive, Tara’s rates are lower than most.
We are mid-​way through the Basic Obedience classes with Savannah and I’m just blown away by the progress we’ve made. Within 10 minutes my headstrong bull of a dog was walking on a leash with perfect manners. The classes are intimate with only 4 dogs and a great spread of group training and one-​on-​one.
I’ve talked with Tara a few times as well and find her to be extremely friendly, open and humble. I was really tense to begin with as some previous reviews described her as some holier-​than-​thou domineering queen, a description I have found to be about as far from the truth as possible. Savannah is charming, clear, and seems like a pissed off mountain lion wouldn’t phase her. Everyone here seems to love what they’re doing.
So seriously, if you’re looking for some no-​nonsense training that really works, please give these guys a call.

My son and I waited anxiously for the day Tara Stermer, Rock Star Dog Trainer, would arrive at our home. Tara M., Unilocaler and advocate for pitties and all dogs of the world, had recommended her so I was pretty sure she was the best of the best. The kid’s new mixed breed pup, Arya, was lacking certain dog manners and, apparently, we needed to be trained as well.
Tara, a diminutive but forceful being, walked right in, sized up the problems and got down to business. Within 15 minutes, she had corrected several behavoir issues with the new pup that had us previously stumped. In one hour, Arya learned to wait, sit, walk on a leash plus numerous other very useful corrections. We learned how to control feeding, body block a jump (trust me, this is an important one) and why you should crate your dog for sleeping. At the end of the lesson, we were given a list of items necessary to continue her training program. All this for $ 100 plus a $ 10 travel fee to our home.
Arya has gone from an annoying puppy who chewed up my husband’s work papers, ate a leather key holder, took my shoe to bed with her and terrorized the cat, to an obedient happy dog. What a wonderful and amazing transformation. And more importantly, we learned how to work with her. With proper training, man, woman and child can be dog’s best friend! Rock on, Tara!