Stacy’s Wag’N’Train

Stacy is a genuinely wonderful, caring trainer! Dogs absolutely love her and are eager and excited to take direction from her. Her methods are easily integrated into every day activities and they work! Her positive approach to training is the only way I would agree to have any dog trained. She’s magical!

Stacy worked with us to train our 4-​year old adopted shiba inu, Azuki. He pretty much came to us with no formal training. Our biggest wish was to be able to learn loose lease walking with him because he pulled so much that it was hard to even get around the block where we live. This was my first dog, so I was pretty frustrated.
After a few sessions with Stacy, Azuki is now on track to being a great walker! What I love most about Stacy is that she really helps you understand how dogs behave and think.
She helped us understand Azuki so much more, which helps on so many different levels in living with a dog. We’re able to communicate with Azuki much better now, so he’s more well-​behaved. She teaches you how to use their language to communicate with them.
Stacy is extremely knowledgeable about animals. She’s also the nicest person ever and you can tell that she really cares about her clients and their dogs. I highly recommend Stacy for any pet owner.

I have enjoyed and learned from many of Stacy’s articles. She is top notch in my book and really stays on top of learning more about dogs.

Wonderful trainer. Very insightful and sensitive. Great with both doggies and their humans. She can help you to learn how to train your dog, and/​or help deal with specific issues. Highly recommended.

My first experience with Stacy was ten years ago … puppy class with my Golden retriever. Many years, classes and special situations later I can recommend her without reservation. She is constantly working to update her skills and knowledge of dog (and human) behavior. Whether it was a shelter dog with biting issues or a hundred pound retriever who didn’t want to get in the car, she’s always been there to help. And when I wanted to do something with my dog that she didn’t teach (Rally O with my golden girl) she helped me find a place that taught what I needed using the methods I believe in. You just can’t do better.

I trained under Stacy, as a dog trainer, and she is amazing. Her compassion for dogs surpasses all expectations along with her compassion and empathy for her human students too. She is dedicated and honest. Her patience and kindness are inspiring and comforting.
Thank you Stacy for all you do for dogs and their humans!

We hired Stacy for 4 private lessons after doing a lot of research for a clicker based trainer. Unfortunately, given the insanely high prive we paid, it was a huge let down.
I am sure if you are just taking the group classes on general obedience she is great. But we had a set of very difficult and specific behavior issues that we needed addressed.
Stacy did not help us with any of them: never gave us clear take aways at the end of each session, sent only one «recap» letter — nearly a month after our last session and only provided three session when we paid for four, unless the «assessment» session is counted as training session (where she just sat at the table and talked to us for 30 mins). Many of her recommendations included what I would not consider to be in the «positive» training category as I have read several great books on it and feel I have a decent understanding of the methodology.
In all, it was a total rip off — go elsewhere if you need one on one training for difficult dogs. We are out a lot of money and still have all the same issues with our dog.

Just completed obedience with our Irish Setter Pup. I’ve had dogs my entire life and I know training basics but doing it all in a classroom setting with other dogs and distractions around is what «Colin» really needed. Stacy knows her stuff. She has a psychology background academically so she understands humans as well as our four legged pals. I highly recommend Stacy’s Wag’n’train services! We still have things to work on but I know we are moving in the right direction. I will return for further classes as a dog and their owner’s are really never done with learning good behavior. Thanks Stacy!

Stacy understands dogs and works with them and their owners very well. She does not perform miracles but works with you and your dog giving you the tips and hands-​on guidance. I was amazed how quickly she can make my dog listen and by watching her closely and emulating her, was able to quite successfully replicate the behavior.
A huge part is also having to constantly work with your dog. Stacy shows you what is possible and you need to fulfill your part by continously instilling the behavior onto your dog so it will be almost second nature.
Her class is never boring and Stacy has also help me understand my dog better. She is a strong advocate ot positive reinforcement and continues to help you via her web site with tips even after the class is over. She came highly recommended from the foster caretakers of my dog and now I realized why.

This was such a helpful experience! Stacey knows dogs well and offers great learning tools and exercises. New dog owners that want to train their new addition to the family would benefit by taking her course. We learned so much we are taking the next level course with her! If it hadn’t been for Stacey we would have been overwhelmed with our border collie and we’re glad we decided to keep him.

We just completed Puppy Kindergarten with Stacy and it was a great learning experience and environment for both Champ and I. Champ is easily distracted and I feel that through this course and her suggestions to go to puppy socials he has improved drastically, we still need to work on it but he is way better than the first week. My Boyfriend too has seen great improvements in Champ. We have made some great friends human and of the dog kind. We will definately be taking more courses with Stacy.

We took our dog (very excited yellow lab puppy) through 3 of Stacy’s courses. We were VERY pleased with the training, practice, parent education/​training, and the positive feedback reinforcement training. Stacy and her trainers were a delight to work with, we had 3 different trainers for the courses we choose. And we are so pleased with our dogs behaiviour now.
BUT… you get out of it, what you put into it. You have to practice. And being consistent is also very important. Stacy drove that into our memory banks. And we are very grateful for the loving relationship we have with our dog now.

I attended Stacy’s Preparing your dog for baby class. It was fun and informative. She’s a great trainer with practical positive applications for how to train my dog. She’s great at reading dogs.
I recently had the privilege of working with her one on one with my dog. She totally understands my German Short Hair Pointer (difficult to say the least). We’ve had some great results and would use her again for any behavior issues that might come up in the future.
I’ve got to admit you must do your homework and really train the dog yourself but she’s a great leader and quickly recognizes where we or our dog were to blame for miscommunications.

We came to Stacy excited about the positive reviews and referrals. She certainly gave us some resources and tools to better communicate with our pet, but it is nothing we could not have done on our own at home. Most of each class was spent walking around on a leash. For this, we consider it a waste of time and money. We specifically needed direction on skills such as ‘Leave it’, ‘Sit/​stay’, or ‘off’ — none of which were addressed with much discussion or practice time.
When we questioned specific behavioral problems, she gave us impractical responses. I tended to leave the class disappointed that she didn’t introduce a new skill or upset over an unnecessary and/​or critical remark to or about our dog. While our dog did make progress, I unfortunately do not attribute it to the class.

I first met Stacey in 1996 when I took my newly adopted 6 mo old mixed breed dog Piper to her Companion Dog I class.. . then to Companion Dog II and a third course called Fun Tricks. She is an awesome trainer and I’ve used what I learned in her courses in my own volunteer work at the Humane Society and San Jose Animal Control. Piper learned some manners and some great tricks.. . though it took a while to get her to walk on a loose leash but that’s more my fault than hers and I loved Stacey’s enthusiasm and the way she teaches.
So, when I adopted a new dog this past June (a 7 month old Pit/​Lab/​Border Collie mix) who needed some socialization with people and the public I knew exactly who to call! Mack & I just completed a 6 week Companion Animal I class and I have to say Stacey’s classes are better than ever.
Her positive reinforcement methods and the use of the clicker to lure and capture behaivours is easy to use and highly effective. In six short weeks Mack is a better adjusted boy who will sit quietly at the door before being told he can go out and knows sit & down and is quickly learning roll over (using capturing). He is, of course, not completely trained as training is a life long venture.. . just ask Piper who’s now 11 ½.…she recognized the clicker right away and has enjoyed refreshing her old tricks.
thank you Stacey! I highly recommend any of her classes and can’t wait to take another.

Stacy and her training classes are great!!! Aside from being extremely personable and funny, Stacy truly understands dogs. She doesn’t judge you if you’re not doing as well as you should be with your training but instead works with you to find ways to improve your strategy. My boyfriend and I learned a LOT from this class.
Stacy’s Wag’N’Train really is the best choice. Follow her instructions and you WILL see results in your dog. I highly recommend it her classes!

Although Ruby made tons of fabulous progress in her group classes, I really needed some serious help with recall. Ruby is not nearly as food-​motivated as most dogs, so training her to come when called was no easy feat!
I found Stacy by recommendation of a family friend, and she was just what the doctor (vet?) ordered. She has a great website which made it easy to request interest in working with her. I explained exactly what I was looking for and she got back to me quickly. We set up our initial appointment (in my home) and Stacy confirmed it via google calendar, which was great!
We arranged for 2 sessions. Stacy provided tons of great information and Ruby absolutely loved her. She was very interested in knowing what resources I’d used in learning about dog training, what types of classes I’d taken, and what I had tried that hadn’t been successful.
One of my favorite things about working with Stacy is that she made it a point to acknowledge and commend all of the work that I’ve done training my dog. Some trainers I’ve worked with have made me feel like I must be doing it all wrong if I’ve had trouble training my dog on certain things. Stacy, on the other hand, is much more understanding and empathetic about tricky training issues due to each dog’s own idiosyncrasies. She also did not pass any judgment on other trainers I’d worked with — I’ve noticed many trainers are very quick to say why other trainers or other methods aren’t as good as their own. Stacy is extremely professional and only wants to help you expand your knowledge and resource library.
We found some good solutions that are working well, and Ruby has made great progress. A few days after your session, Stacy emails you a full, detailed report summarizing your session with tons of tips and resources to help you continue to benefit from your session together.
Stacy is fabulous — highly, highly recommended!

Stacy is awesome.
We had brought Boba, our PWD, home at 8 weeks and by the time he was 10 weeks and was ready to start the training class we signed him up for at a big box store, he knew the very basics: sit, down, and stay. After the 2^nd session at the big box store, we knew that training class was not a good fit becasue the trainer spent the first day (an entire hour) talking about potty training and how to teach your dogs to sit. The second class (again, an entire hour) was speant learning down. By this time, Boba has excelled past the class and was almost done learning the commands that were going to be taught for the rest of the 8 session.
Not knowing what do to, my fiancé and I taught Boba the best we could through Youtube videos and other internet sources. Eventually, we were stuck between basic training and advanced classes, so we called Stacy and had her come to our apartment in Santa Clara for 2 one-​hour sessions. She calls it her «Puppy Package» and we paid $ 160.
In those 2 hours, Boba learned just as much, if not more, than he had leared in his previous 2 months home with us. Stacy gave us the information about how to work with Boba on each individual skill and then demonstrated it with Boba a few times, so we got a lot accomplished each session. Some of the things Boba learned are «roll over», «boing» (where he stands up on his legs– it sort of resembles a spring,) «go to your crate», and «leave it.»
Boba is now in his high school training class at another training center– we tried to enroll in Stacy’s levels class, but the schedule conflicted with both mine and my fiances– and he is doing great. Once he graduates we are going to do rally training, and maybe water and agility training when he is older. Working with Stacy has made all of these options possible and I would highly reccomend anyone who is considering private dog training to use her.

I enrolled my dog (Brea, a pitbull mix) in Stacy’s Jump Start program. I adopted Brea at 10 months old, and (while the sweetest thing in the world) she had absolutely NO training or manners. The program included an initial consultation, a 6-​week basic obedience group class, and then 2 private lessons for @ $ 300 (a bargain, in my opinion).
First and foremost, Stacy is clearly a dog-​lover who enjoys what she does… and doggies seem to greatly enjoy her (and her treats). She’s exceedingly patient, and her experience with all kinds of dogs is apparent. She gives each dog the special consideration it needs in the group classes. Her lessons are peppered with personal anecdotes and humor to keep the tone light and fun. She imparts the fundamentals of doggie behavior and positive training methods (demystifying the techniques, as it were), empowering the owners to take a very active role. She celebrates successes, and helps owners take training hiccups in stride. In addition to very effective homework assignments (we did ours, and they made a huge difference), she gives lots of helpful pointers to other training resources. Last but not least, she makes herself available outside of class for questions and concerns.
For the private lessons, she comes to your home and chats with you about your dog. She also observes how your doggie behaves in his/​her home environment. Each private session is followed by a thorough and thoughtful write-​up of everything discussed.
Brea completed the group class and 1 private session, I’ve been thrilled with the results. I’m constantly getting compliments on my dog and how well-​mannered and obedient she is. I’m able to take her to work and other crowded places with no issues. I’m sure some of it is down to Brea’s winning personality, but Stacy’s guidance and training methods get credit for all the rest. :-)

We took our dog to Stacy’s when he was just a puppy. It was a great experience and we learned a lot about working with/​training our dog. Shortly after we finished her course, we also took him to a Sirius course in Fremont and just didn’t have the same results. The Sirius method came highly recommended so we though we’d try it out… but it was just disappointing. I think he really learned a lot more from Stacy’s class where the whole Pet Food Express catered to the lesson. If you can teach your dog to ignore all of the fun toys and delicious treats surrounding him, then that says something. We’ll probably take him back to Stacy’s when he’s a little older to try some of the other classes she offers.

Stacy is a wonderful trainer! When we first got our dog as a puppy, it was a few months before our wedding so with all the planning, the wedding itself, our post-​wedding getaway, and our honeymoon two months later we couldn’t commit to a weekly dog training course without missing multiple classes.
When we starting having issues with him barking at neighbors, we needed to get help. So we contacted Stacy, who for a really reasonable rate did one-​on-​one training sessions at our home. It was very convenient and our dog benefited a lot from the personal, customized training. We loved working with Stacy and learned so much, too. She can provide a lot of great resources and referrals to help dog owners beyond training as well.

Stacy works training puppies and adult dogs in both group and private settings. Bella and I took one of her puppy classes at a pet-​food express with about 10 other dogs. The thing I liked about the class was that Stacy really focused on training us (the owners) how to train our dogs which in my opinion is much more valuable than simply training the dog and hoping that they can keep it up themselves.
She uses the clicker method (a reward based method) that the dogs really respond to quickly. This also makes them really enjoy doing their «homework» that Stacy gives so it’s never a chore and ends up being an enjoyable bonding experience with your puppy.
There are quite a few different classes that she offers, including the private sessions for if your dog is really shy, or has other problems, all the way to group sessions for learning fun tricks to teach them. And the price is very reasonable for the knowledge that you are getting. Classes seem to run from $ 125 – 170 for 4 – 6 week sessions. And there are also one time seminars and workshops that talk about everything from walking on a loose leash to aggression to getting your dog to come when you call them and everything in between. Great stuff to be found. Check out her website.

Stacy is great! And so was her puppy class for my Shiba Inu. Her class was very well structured with plenty of time for the puppies to socialize under a controlled environment. My daughters even learned to train our dog.
Thanks to Stacy, our dog (now 4 years old) is a social, obedient and well-​mannered dog. (BTW Shibas are known for their stubbornness and independence.) I recommend Stacy’s Wag’N Train to any new puppy owner! Letting your puppy socialize with other dogs at a young age is so important! I think I enjoyed the play time as much as my dog did!
At the «graduation» all the puppies got to wear cap & gowns, and received a «diploma» and a treat. It was really cute!