Cause & Effect Dog Training

We contacted Kathy Kear of Cause and Effect a couple of times before retaining her awesome services. She is dedicated to training people on how to raise a confident, emotionally healthy and stable being. When she sensed our dedication to bully breeds, she went out of her way to help us. We retained her services for a foster pit bull that we thought could benefit from her program. Through just the basic obedience program conducted by Elizabeth and Mahagony, we have learned and have taught our dog to be independent (no crying when we leave the house, no tearing up car seats, etc), to be housebroken, to be able to be a dog — off leash having the time of his life with other dogs, to not pull during leashed walks, to lie calmly in establishments that allow his presence — coffee shops, hair dresser, restaurants with outdoor seatings, to not chase our cats, to be accepting of other homeless dogs who may need a few nights to stay (they learn their manners as well). People who were influenced by the negative media spotlight on bully breeds soften when they see our foster, Pumpkin.
Simply put, we cannot say enough about Kathy Kear and Cause and Effect. She and her organization has literally changed our lives. You will enrich your dog’s life, you and your family’s life and every single living creature that you and your dog happen to encounter. There is no reason go elsewhere.

Kathy is such a fantastic trainer. She’s very cognizant of and kinesthetic with dogs and dog behavior. You won’t regret working with her. My dog had developed some bad behaviors (territoriality, some human aggression, etc) and she was able to work right through them. The program has you work with two trainers (my second trainer was Beth, who has a different approach then Kathy, but is also great).

I have known and worked with Kathy for over five years. I had the honor of being a client in her behavior modification program where I learned how to set boundaries with my dog, Charley, and when to praise him for good​and calm​behavior. The program truly modified his behavior, but it also​strengthened my relationship​with him.
Charley was a shy and aggressive pup several years ago. But with Kathy’s​support, I learned how to guide him into being who he really was — a more confident and playful dog. He has come so far​.​I am grateful for the​program’s​lessons​, especially​around​lean​ing​into the things we fear. I am also thankful for Kathy’s consistent encouragement, support, and friendship through out the program and for many years after having finished the program.
I was fortunate also to​have had the opportunity to work with Kathy as a dog walker for Happy Hound, her dog walking business.​As a young walker, I learn​ed how to run a business, and​received great mentorship around crisis intervention​. There are many stories to tell! Sadly, I have since moved on​to a different​line of work​ (​clinical psychology),​but I love​this work​as much as I loved my time with​Kathy.
I cannot help but look back fondly on my experience with​Happy Hound​and Cause and Effect. I can​also​see that​like Charley​I​have also come a long way.

My dog Mowgli and I finished our classes with Kathy about three years ago, but it was attending last weekend’s group class (yes, graduates can continue to attend bi-​monthly group classes, for free, for life!) which inspired me to finally write this review. For me, working with Kathy and Shannon was almost like a religious conversion: it involved a complete paradigm shift and a whole new kind of consciousness about what it means to be responsible for a dog. I had adopted Mowgli, my very sweet pit bull, when he was about one, and around a year later he began to get increasingly aggressive with other dogs. He never actually made contact with another dog, but I was afraid he would. I got more and more scared to go anywhere we might encounter other dogs, and our walks were fraught with anxiety. Mowgli is the first dog I’ve ever owned, and I’d done a basic obedience class with him, but treats, praise, and ignoring bad behavior weren’t cutting it for his aggression. I learned about Kathy and had her do an assessment of Mowgli, during which he lunged at Kathy’s dogs repeatedly. Kathy corrected him and he Unilocaled, which was hard for me to watch– and I really had to do some soul searching about whether this program would be a good fit for me. I knew that for it to be effective I needed to give it 100% and really buy into it, or it would never work. So I took a leap of faith and we embarked on our journey. It was nothing short of transformative for Mowgli and for me. I learned how to be a strong, calm leader, and Mowgli learned that my job is to take care of him (not the other way around). He is now the best dog in the world. I can take him anywhere, including places with lots of other dogs, and I’m confident that he’ll be calm and appropriate with them. He is a much, much happier dog now. It is seriously the best money I’ve spent, and I’d do it again with any future dog, because all dogs (and their owners) can benefit.

I love Kathy, Mahogany and team!
My bulldog, Lex, used to be a wild, whiny, barky, and pushy dog. She has never been aggressive, nor had issues with potty training or anxiety, but she was stubborn, and ran our household. She was also TERRIBLE on the leash and didn’t really know how to greet other dogs without bulldozing them. Her overexcitable and stubborn personality made it really difficult to relax at home, or take her places with too many people or dogs.
I reached out to Kathy because I wanted to get some good, basic training in so that I could at least control her while in the home. I got a LOT MORE than I ever imagined from the training program.
Mahogany and Kathy showed me how to be a good leader with Lex (not frantic or frustrated as I would usually get). We learned very important commands that we practice and use every single day, and plan to for the rest of her life. Kathy and Mahogany did a great job of using the sessions to teach me the proper ways to guide Lex, and adjust as necessary based on her stubborn bulldog personality. My boyfriend and I took these home to practice and it’s a miracle how much it has changed our lives for the better.
Naturally — Lex would tests our limits and sees how far she can get with ignoring our commands, but with time and practice she is now a natural at listening and clearly happy to please us by obeying commands. I now take her into my work and she chills in her bed under my desk, doesn’t bark or whine, and calmly lets people greet and pet her. On the leash she’s perfect, doesn’t pull or try to run in all directions. At home she is relaxed and knows her routine/​structure that we implemented.
About the «negative» reinforcement — it’s not bad at all in my opinion. Never have I felt uncomfortable with any of the sessions or methods used. The prong collar really helped us.
Lastly, it’s great to be a part of the community that they have formed. There are so many people and dogs to lean on for advice. Lex is OBSESSED with Kathy and Mahogany… I’m offended that she doesn’t love me as much… just kidding ;).
I am more than happy with this training program. Highly highly recommend!

Cause and Effect dog training is the best. We were in desperate need of help because our two dogs were fighting in the house, and my boxer had become very dog aggressive. We trained with Mahogany and Kathy, and they were awesome! They are very knowledgeable trainers who really understand dogs. They remember what it is like to rehab a dog with lots of behavioral issues because they have applied their methods with their own dogs.
They teach you how to become a leader that your dog will respect by teaching obedience, structure, how to promote calmness and confidence. They first do a thorough assessment and evaluation of your dog to see what they need to work on for the their program because every dog is different and may require different things such as prong, e-​collar, or muzzle. They combine correction techniques with reinforcing good behavior with treats and lots of praise. They show you how to create a stronger bond and trust with your dog, as well. And the most impressive thing of all, and hard to find in trainers, is they DON’T AVOID hard situations– if your dog is dog aggressive and not socialized– they WILL give you the tools and show you how to meet and greet every dog with confidence and what to do if your dog acts out. Even after we completed the training program, the support they provide is amazing! They hold free group classes for us to attend, and if we ever have a new issue arise or question, they are just an email or text away.
It has been about 10 months since we started the program– it requires time and lots of dedication, but our dogs are much more happy, relaxed, and confident. There is still work to be done, but we now see a transformation in not just our dogs but ourselves as well.

Cause and Effect dog training has helped me significantly with the two dogs I have had. I love the strong minded terriers but with that comes a dog that will make its own rules if you them. Both dogs were rescues and came with some unwanted behavior. My female needed to learn the basics and once she mastered that, the negative, rude behavior to other dogs seemed to dissipate and she became well socialized and happy.
As for the male, he is much stronger minded and very leash aggressive. He would lunge at every dog we passed on the sidewalk. He would also lunge at skateboarders and scooters. Kathy and her team worked with me and my dog to teach us how to meet and greet other dogs, people and to tolerate skateboards. Cause and Effect will first do a thorough evaluation of the dog and its behavior. The training methods used are based on behavior issue and the dog’s character. All the trainers I have worked with in the group are passionate about dogs and are dedicated to helping them be the best they can be. They are a group of trainers that specialize in correcting behavior issues — not all dog trainers are skilled at this. They make the training fun for the dog so that it stays focused and interested. In my case, my boy loves learning tricks and agility stunts. It builds his confidence and also makes it fun for him. They will teach you how to get your dog to focus on you while constructing a better relationship — with this, you will learn to better understand your dog. Treats, toys and play are the reward for him/​her and a well-​balanced, happy dog for you.
Kathy helped her own dog with this method. He was in the «red zone» with aggressive behavior and was told to «put him down.» She transformed him into a happy, well-​adjusted dog and has continued to help others to bring their dogs to peace and happiness. Their training methods work, I’ve seen it over and over again.

Cause & Effect has truly been a life changer for me and my 70 lb pittie. Cricket is a rescue and while almost everything about her was perfect, it quickly became obvious that she was very dog-​reactive. After getting into a fairly serious dog-​fight with a friend’s dog, I learned that she would have to be muzzled on walks for fear of running into any off-​leash dogs. Walks were always filled with stress and anxiety, and I knew the basic obedience and training I’d been working on wasn’t doing anything for her issue. After meeting with several different trainers, who tested her, I was told that she might just have to be a lone dog, who wears a muzzle outside. It was heartbreaking to think that this would be Cricket’s life from now on. That’s when we found Cause & Effect. Cricket’s transformation was obvious from the moment Kathy Kear met her, and I knew after the initial interview that everything was going to change. We have just completed their 8-​week training and we couldn’t be happier. Within weeks, the muzzle was off and Cricket was moving on to dog-​parks and pack walks! The program was fantastic, and included everything from home visits/​assessments to long sessions at Pt Isabel. Cricket still has a long way to go, but that is solely because we can raise the bar so much higher now. In reality, she surpassed our wildest expectations within the first two weeks of training. I worked with both Eleanor Post and Kathy Kear, and they are exceptional. I could never thank them enough for all their hard work and endless patience. If I could give a sixth star I absolutely would. Obviously, high-​quality trainers (and I mean very high, Cesar Milan quality) aren’t cheap, but I would have paid twice the cost if I’d known what kind of results I would see in Cricket. Thanks Cause & Effect! And thanks for showing Cricket how awesome she could be!!!

I inquired about my dog’s issues and was told that they are not positive reinforcement trainers — they use tools like the prong collar and the electric collar. Yikes! How the hell would I want anyone to put an electric collar on my little dog? It’s 2015 for God’s sake!!!

This review is for Mahogany and Beth! We adopted an adult Pit and had immediate difficulty integrating her into our household with our existing Aussie mix. After a biting/​snapping incident between the two dogs, we were referred to Cause and Effect by a co-​worker of mine who is also a client.
We started with Mahogany, and then finished up with Beth. Over the course of just about 6 months, we went from having one super anxious Aussie (a stage 5 clinger) and one Pit who scared us and made us very nervous (since we were clueless about reading her and training her) to having two super well adjusted friendly dogs! We did basic training sessions with both dogs and then worked on anxiety, social situations (dog-​dog) and confidence building for the dogs.
Lo and behold — The dogs are now 99% less freaky/​crazy/​scary and 100% awesome.
I have recommended these folks to many, and will continue to do so.
It wasn’t super cheap, it wasn’t super awesome to spend most of my (infrequent) weekend days off doing dog training sessions over what felt like an eternity, and sometimes it was a drag… HOWEVER, I’m forever glad we did it, and I’d do it again if we got a new dog or encountered new issues.
If you have dog problems — HIRE THESE PEOPLE, DO WHAT THEY SAY… and be SO HAPPY you have GOOD dogs. :)

I adopted a 2 year old pit mix a year ago. I needed help with impulse control, recall, anxiety, and very dominant dog-​dog interactions. Working with Eleanor and Kathy changed everything for me. From the very first lesson I saw immediate measurable improvement. I had tried other trainers and hands down Cause and Effect is the best!

I first met Kathy 10 years ago through her amazing work at the Berkeley Animal Shelter where I volunteer. We have worked together with my shelter foster dogs ever since. She has taught me many things — and isn’t that what dog training is really all about?! The most important lesson that I learned was, «Don’t be attached to the outcome.» If I do that, I can stay centered, calm, and peaceful. The dogs sense it right away. Kathy and her team are my go-​to recommendations for friends and others with challenging dog issues. Besides her expertise, her generous spirit infuses all the work she does. She gladly helps me with my shelter fosters and cares ongoingly about all the animals who come her way. Amazing! Thanks, Kathy!!!

It’s been over two years since I first reviewed Cause & Effect, so I wanted to add this update. Benny’s dog aggression is now dormant. It took about six months of intense behavior modification training, plus another six months of socialization training. And we continue to do ongoing «maintenance.» Don’t get me wrong: training is not a chore or something we check off our to-​do list, but rather something that is integrated into our lives in a convenient and enjoyable way. (Read: once you have a dog that waits at the door, you’ll never go back!)
We are still active members of the Cause & Effect community. Over the years, we have had the pleasure of working with various members of the team and we’ve absorbed different lessons from each of them. Kathy taught us the training tools. From Beth, we learned about the importance of structure and consistency. Shannon taught us about how to make training fun. Denise helped us to understand balance as it relates to our work with Benny. And Eleanor taught us about how to integrate training into our lives. Finally, the community of Cause & Effect clients are a constant reminder that we’re never alone. We just attended a group class last weekend. The weather was dreary with rain coming down on us, off and on, throughout the entire hour. Nothing is more inspiring than seeing 15+ dog owners withstanding the rain in service to their dogs. That’s commitment. And commitment is what it takes.
Thanks to all that we learned from the Cause & Effect team, we were able to adopt a second dog last month. Benny welcomed our newest pack member with respect and patience. It’s so gratifying to watch the student becoming the teacher…

It’s been nine months since our initial meeting with Kathy & Shannon and it’s remarkable how much our lives have changed! At our first meeting, our then three-​year old bulldog was exhibiting significant aggression towards other dogs, and I was simultaneously overwhelmed and terrified. Walks were my worst nightmare, and I’d do anything necessary to avoid seeing another dog while we were out and about.
After an especially challenging weekend, we decided to look for trainers once again. At this point, we’d already tried a number of trainers and programs without success and was skeptical that anything would «work». THANK GOODNESS I WAS WRONG.
Our initial meeting with Kathy & Shannon was a bit of a wake up call. We were going to need to make changes, and they needed to be effective immediately. The first two weeks created a huge shift in the ways in which I responded to my dog (and him to me) and it was during this time that I began to see some change.
We continued on over a few months — working with Kathy, Eleanor and Shannon — and have seen such remarkable change in ourselves and our pup. We are now free to enjoy dog parks, our dog responds to our commands, and we feel that we get to experience the very best parts of being a dog owner. I’m no longer overcome with fear when we go on walks, and I even occasionally get to be the very proud dog owner whose dog listens impeccably well!
We are so grateful to the Cause & Effect team for coaching us to be better dog owners and for creating an environment for our dog to life a happy, full life!

An update to the underserved 1 star rating earlier. Kathy reached out to me and apologized for missing my message. (Sometimes these things just happen)
But I’m really grateful to Kathy for giving me a free phone consultation and a lot of detailed useful advise for my newly adopted dog for separation anxiety. I believe she spent a good 45 minutes talking to me on the phone and giving me advise on some of the things I can implement at home.
Kathy was very knowledgeable, professional, friendly, and approachable. She gave me some great tips and I am in the process of implementing them into my dog’s routine. I will give another update/​edit this review a little later on after I have seen changes in my dog’s behavior.
Although, Kathy is not accepting new clients at the moment. I would definitely recommend her services for your dog. Whether it’s to ask for some advise or maybe setting up something for the future.
If your message happens to slip through her fingers, I wouldn’t hesitated to give her another call! I got the sense that Kathy is a very hard-​working honest person that doesn’t just ignore your calls if she doesn’t want your business.
Overall:
I would give Kathy a email or call first to see if she’s available for your doggy needs!

Kathy Kear and Eleanor Post, the two personal trainers who worked with my dog Enzo and me, exhibited exceptional professionalism, expertise, and commitment. As it turned out, I was in greater need of training than Enzo (I’m not good at giving firm and consistent discipline), but Kathy and Eleanor always yanked on my chain just enough to get my attention and make their case. Enzo and I are both happier because of our training.

Ditto… ditto…ditto.
You can read the multitude of glowing reviews for Kathy Kear and Cause and Effect all over this page. And all the accolades and positive feedback are not only well earned, but deeply deserved. Kathy and her team know their stuff, ESPECIALLY with troubled dogs and their troubled owners. Whether you have a rescue dog that is fearful after being bounced around before finding you, or a biter or a leash aggressive pup (like ours was) or one with separation anxiety, Kathy and her trainers can truly help resolve your issues and will have you loving every minute with your fur baby, instead of being fearful of what s/​he might do out in the world (or in your own home).
As many others have pointed out, the universal truth of dog training is that it truly is OWNER training. Provided that you possess the pack leader pole position, your dog will follow your lead, doing as you indicate should be done. If that direction is unclear, you’ll have a dog that acts out simply because it doesn’t know how to act appropriately and doesn’t know where to look for direction (yet).
Our dog loves other dogs, but would get agro when she was leashed and another dog came near. Clearly not an appropriate response. So we found Kathy and marched Duchess off to 8 weeks of training. In just 8 lessons (which were lovely and enjoyable opportunities to bond with our dog in the various parks of Berkeley, BTW), we had a girl who was happy and docile on leash and no longer felt the need to protect us or herself with snarls and growling (she was a big «talker»).
Is it an investment? Absolutely. It takes time, lots of energy, and money. But I have taken other dogs of mine to other (less expensive) trainers in the area and have never had as successful of a behavior modification as I had with Kathy. Quite simply, I would no longer trust anyone to train a dog of mine with the same skill and heart and understanding. So in my estimation, it is worth every minute and every penny to have a dog you can trust and who can trust you. You and your relationship with the companion you have hitched your wagon to for the next several years will be forever altered for the better!

I really cannot speak highly enough of Cause & Effect. Kathy, Shannon, and Eleanor are absolutely fantastic with their patience, guidance, and leadership. They are always response and helpful with any question or concern.
I found my little Larry in the road and after a short while realized he had a number of socialization and aggressive behaviour issues. I tried some standard training classes and was told to just keep him away from other people and dogs. I didn’t think this was an appropriate solution and reached out to Cause & Effect after finding them on Unilocal and reading some their reviews.
Their program is not just about training your dog but also educating you as the pack leader on what you need to do in order to help your dog succeed. It takes work and dedication but is worth every second you put into it and you have support every step of the way. As no dog is the same and each of their issues/​needs are different, the team tailors the program to meet the needs of your dog and you.
Although we still have some work to do, every day I see progress. I really could never have imagined Larry would come this far and am gratefull to Cause & Effect for all the tools and guidance they have provided. After completing the training program I’m now able to take Larry to dog parks, on pack walks and have people over to my house.

In January 2012, my husband and I adopted a rescued pit bull/​lab mix puppy whom we promptly named Hippo for his cute pink belly and googly eyes. Hippo was as cute as a button but quickly revealed a serious nervous streak that took us by surprise. As long-​time dog guardians, we thought we were pretty savvy about dog training and could handle whatever situation presented itself. When Hippo started growling and charging people (including children), we realized that we had a problem on our hands and needed help. To make matters more serious, three months after adopting Hippo, I got pregnant. We needed to make sure that Hippo got the training he needed to be a solid dog around all kinds of people, especially children. Giving him up was not an option for us — we made a commitment to Hippo.
Kathy Kear had generously offered a free training session to Hippo’s adopters (Kathy is very dedicated to rescue and adoption) and we quickly took her up on the offer. We knew from the very first training session with Kathy that she was precisely the person we needed to help us help Hippo overcome his anxiety. Kathy assessed Hippo and gave us a few ideas on how to work with Hippo while we considered doing a longer program with her. We took our time figuring out what we could manage financially and in the meantime, Kathy provided invaluable, expert advice all for free simply because she wanted to help. She is truly one of the most generous people we’ve ever met.
We ended up doing an eight-​session program for Hippo. The first three sessions were with Kathy’s associate, Beth, followed by Kathy once we had learned the basics. Beth and Kathy both showed tremendous flexibility and professionalism, observing us as we worked with our dog and listening to our concerns as they arose. Their techniques have worked miracles on Hippo, who remains a nervous dog but has made enormous strides in becoming a more confident, reliable dog. We have gone back to Kathy for additional training several times when new issues have arisen with Hippo. Thanks to Cause & Effect, we can safely have Hippo around children, which is critically important with an infant in our house. In addition, we have Hippo join Kathy twice a week for her pack walks, which allows Hippo time to play with other dogs and to be with one of his favorite people in the world — Kathy. We cannot recommend Kathy and her team highly enough.
I’m coming back to this review to add one more important aspect of Kathy’s training. You have to be ready for change and to change. A lot of people think that training a dog is about the dog but ultimately, it is about the dog’s person — YOU. The training is for YOU. Dogs will do what we ask of them if we know how to ask it in a language they understand. That’s the thing about Kathy — she speaks the language and will teach you if you are open to learning. Being open is not always easy. You have to let go of thinking about your dog like it’s a human being, providing it with what you think a human child might need. This is very hard. It means limiting affection and providing strong canine-​style leadership. Kathy will teach you and help you but you have to be ready to change.

I use Cause & Effect for both training and for their off leash dog walking and have been for years. I have a pit bull mix and a Boston Terrier. The Boston is the one in training with Kathy Kear and Beth who are amazing. We started training when she was about 8 months old and I finally have the kind of relationship with my dog that I have always wanted. Cause & Effect is well known for their work with «problem» cases and training around aggressiveness or other issues but I have heard little of their work with training puppies into great dogs. I am here to tell you that they are fantastic! My little girl is astonishing and I have grown so much in the process.
Both Kathy ad Beth are centered, present, intuitive, compassionate and committed.
I’ve read the attacks on some of the methods that Kathy uses. I think it is hysterical. When I am at the dog park and there is someone who has gone through intense positive reinforcement training who is calling their dog’s name to come– repeatedly with no response… meanwhile I say, «Lulu» one time and she is at my side. Why? I corrected her a couple of times during training and it was strong enough for her to understand and respond. Better to correct a few times than have to nag your dog forever. And the truth is, my dogs are secure and happy, not neurotic like I often see with other dogs. I’ve established leadership and as a result I can take them anywhere and do anything without a hassle.
Both my dogs also go on the pack walks twice a week and love it. I feel so good about it because I know they have a great time and I know that Kathy will keep them safe. I trust her explicitly and have been working with her for over five years now.
If you have a puppy or just adopted a dog and you want to establish a great relationship with your companion or you have a dog that has issues you want to work on then Cause & Effect is perfect. Be prepared to learn about how your behavior has an impact ad get ready for positive change!