Top Dog Obedience

Loved it! My dog and myself improved tremendously on walks and she learned who the boss was! In the past my dog would pull me so bad and practically drag me down the road. Now she is all voice command and stays right beside me with no pulling. She learned manners as well as many other things! I really encourage you to take your dog here! Especially if you are having a hard time controlling your animal! The instructors are great and very knowledgable!

I can’t imagine living with a dog that hasn’t been trained by the techniques used at Top Dog Obedience! I’ve been going there for a couple of years, and it really is amazing to see how quickly the dogs (and their owners) learn. The satisfaction of only having to say «sit» to your dog just once is fantastic.
The obedience classes might come across as too serious/​intense for some people, but that’s the whole point: the dogs, and their owners, are there TO WORK. Dogs like to have a job and a «boss». If you take that position and give them a job, everyone will be much happier (and a «job» can be as simple as sitting, heeling, staying, etc.)
For lighter-​hearted sessions, they offer agility courses (after you complete a basic obedience course). These give the dogs a chance to have a «job» that is more physical (running, jumping, etc), and the dogs love this as well. JoAnn’s property is large and well manicured, so dogs also get a chance to just run and play from time to time.
I tried other training methods/​classes in the Nevada County area, and they’re just awful. Feeding your dog endless snacks and making clicking noises at them? Seriously? Do you think that’s how wild dogs keep each other in line? Give Top Dog a good try first, and after just a few weeks in JoAnn’s classes you will see marked improvements.

Hated this place. If you’ve got a large, stubborn or blockheaded dog, this place might be o.k. If you’ve got a dog that weighs less than 20 lbs., find another place. Teaching method involves jerking the dog’s neck and pulling the neck into an uncomfortable position in order to force the animal to do what is wanted. Because of rainy weather, our classes were held in a garage that was slightly larger than an average 2-​car garage. Dogs of all sizes were walked in concentric circles to practice heeling but the instructors don’t pay attention to how the circle keeps getting smaller, leaving the smallest dogs in the inner circle getting squeezed in by the larger-​dog outer circle. Intimidates the smaller dogs and makes for a bad training environment for them. After the third class, my husband and I couldn’t stand to put our dogs through training we felt was cold and coercive. We also both felt JoAnn seemed to take our questions and comments as, in some way, threatening her leadership. So we dropped out.
A few months later we tried, «Green Dogs and Pam.» This was advertised as «clicker training.» We were able to go to 1 or 2 classes for free to test it out. The trainer provided clickers and treats. This class was based on rewarding the dog with a click and then a tiny treat when the dog did the little step toward the ultimate behavior, i.e., sitting for a few seconds when working on the command, «stay.» Then lots of praise also. No negative actions toward the dog whatsoever. And it worked beautifully.
For those of you who don’t know how clicker training works, after the dog has learned the behavior you want, you fade off giving treats every time and eventually aren’t rewarding with treats except for doing a little bit of refresher training, when needed.

Looking for a great trainer who works with dogs of all ages JoAnn Fine is it.
No nonsence approach to making your dog a well trained, happy, member of your household.
Fenced property allows for off leash training. Check it out at
My dog loves going to class and she has taken Basic, Intermediate and Advanced classes plus Agility .
Can’t say enough good things.