Heather R.
no trainer in my area....
On Sunday, July 6th I spoke with Tom with Dog Academy regarding training of my dog to break her reactiveness as soon as possible. He stated they had a trainer within 3 miles of my address who would do in-person training beginning Thursday, July 10th. He stated that before the training session took place they would need to do a Zoom training evaluation on July 8th. I submitted payment to Tom over the phone in the amount of $1,795.00. During the Zoom evaluation the "trainer" stated that I should tie my dog to a tether inside my fenced yard and the small dogs, that my dog reacts to, should be trained...even though I told her the small dogs do not belong to me. She then went on to say that she was going to send me files with training information and would do another Zoom evaluation in 2 weeks before she would send out a trainer. This is in direct conflict with what their salesperson Tom had told me. Shortly after the Zoom meeting I called their office and let Julie know of the discrepancy and unhelpful information their trainer provided. Julie told me they would expedite getting a trainer out to me by Thursday July 10th and would call me back on Wednesday July 9th to confirm. I never received a call back on Wednesday so Thursday the 10th I called their office and spoke with Julie again and requested a refund. At this point Julie said they would issue a refund of $1,630 as I was responsible for paying their Zoom meeting trainer $165.00. I told her that was not acceptable as Tom had promised a trainer by Thursday and so did she, that they did not meet expectations and the Zoom trainer gave bad advice and if they had been upfront with me that they could not provide a trainer in a timely fashion I never would have signed on with them or sent them the original $1,795.00 payment. This seems like a bait and switch operation taking money from people and promising trainers which they do not actually have.
Response from DogAcademyAug 6, 2025
Hi Heather, We’re truly sorry for the experience you had — it’s incredibly disappointing to hear, and we want to sincerely apologize for the confusion and frustration this situation has caused you. What you described is not in line with the level of service or communication we strive to provide. We understand how important it is to receive timely and effective support when dealing with behavioral concerns, and it’s clear that we fell short in multiple areas — from the miscommunication about timelines to the disconnect between expectations and what was delivered. Please know that we’re going to reach out to you directly to revisit your concerns and work toward a resolution. Your trust matters deeply to us, and we appreciate the opportunity to try and make this right. Thank you for bringing this to our attention — your feedback is heard and taken seriously. – The Dog Academy Team 🐾