Smart Dawg University

Nicole is wonderful! We have a black lab that went to the puppy class and then to the 6 week beginner obedience class. She was very helpful in educating us as the owners on how to train them. I learned many vital commands that I would have never been able to teach my dog with out her help. I also have used her for boarding 2 times. My dog came home dirty and stinky which made me so happy, knowing he had a good time playing with other dogs. I recommend her to anyone looking for a good trainer and I will definitely be using her again!

We sent our dog to the 6 week bootcamp. She came back to us with missing fir, scabs and scratches on the backs of her ears, black calluses on her skin, and she lost enough weight that our vet gave us a special high calorie food to help her gain weight. We took her to the vet the morning after we got her back. The vet was shocked by her appearance. They took pictures of her and took Nicole’s info.
She came back knowing that the word «bed» means to go to her bed and to stay, which she will do if she isn’t hyper. She also kind of knows the command «wait”/which means to wait before crossing a boundary (ie– a doorway). She listens to these commands about 10% of the time. I would like to add that our dog already knew the «sit» command as well as «down» and she came back not listening to those commands any better. She should have such a solid foundation with those commands from living and training with Nicole for 6 weeks, but, unfortunately, she came back not doing any better.
We got her back two days ago and we understand that we need to work with her, but we expected her to listen better after 6 weeks. We paid a lot of money and feel that she was neglected and we overpaid for our dog to learn to listen to two commands when she decides she wants to.
I really wanted this to work and we really liked Nicole when we met her. I am disappointed and sickened at what happened.
I would not recommend sending your dog here for bootcamp. It appears that she handles classes just great.
*our dog has ear problems where the tips bleed, but we have never seen her ears get like this. Not in two years of dealing with this issue. We should have been contacted so we could have gotten her the appropriate treatment as soon as the issue started.

Nicole is awesome! She came to our home this evening to work with us. I love that she explains things fully and ensures that you understand how to work with the dog to get results and consistency. Can’t wait to see the continued progress our dogs make with her assistance.
Definitely recommend.

Don’t hesitate. Nicole is great. She knows her stuff and is very easy to work with. We needed her because… let’s be honest… we were failing as pet parents. We had 2 ridiculously misbehaved little ruffs. We had a series of in-​home one-​on-​ones and it was really time well spent.
Most people are put off by my dogs. But Nicole really understood them. She appreciated what we appreciate in them and clued us in to why they behave the way they do. They aren’t bad dogs at all. They needed exposure to the outside world. They were reacting to EVERYTHING because everything was a new experience. By getting them out more and socializing them better, we were really able to curb their impulsivity.
I liked her approach a lot. Very calm, intuitive, and gentle.

Really? Why have email option if you not going to reply your customer question please take sometime to reply back if your gonna have email option
Thank you

Nicole is an awesome trainer and really knows what she’s doing. I have taken 2 of my dogs to her class and it was great. I’ve also had her board our dogs while we were on vacation, and she treats them like her own! Very pleased!

My dog LOVES sdu! Nicole is patient, kind, and flexible with her schedule! Her style of training is how every dog should be trained… positive and fun! My dog loves her smart dawg «vacations» aka boarding. I know shes not just stuck in a kennel all day; she gets exercise and has fun all day long! I highly highly recommend Nicole. The other trainers in the central valley DO NOT COMPARE! For all your dog training needs visit smart dawg university for a smarter, happier, and better mannered dog and human partnership!

My puppy just completed beginner obedience class at Smart Dawg University. The trainer Nicole Maples was great. Her directions were clear and made training easy. She is always willing to answer any questions one might have. It doesn’t matter if it is during class or outside of class. My dog begins intermediate obedience class at the end of the month.

Nicole is a wonderful trainer! So far, we have graduated Puppy Preschool and beginning obedience! Can’t wait for intermediate training to start! I have been through other training programs with previous pets, but nothing compares to Nicole’s method. She is very kind & makes it fun for the dogs! I highly recommend her!
Stacey Watson & Samantha

I’m a new dog owner as of January 2013. In that time frame, Mystic has been though 2 obedience training classes w/​a local major pet store. I have nothing but praises to say about the pet store training. However, they don’t offer training on specific issues. That’s where Smart Dawg University comes in. I LOVE the classes they offer for specific issues. Mystic just graduated from the Reactive Rover 1 class. It focused on allowing the dog to see the «problem» and responding well w/​it. I can’t tell you Mystic is «all better» after 6 weeks of one hour classes. But I can tell you we’ve both learned some new tactics to follow to continue in the future. That’s what I enjoy about taking training classes on my dog’s specific problems.
The facility is @ a farm in Manteca. Most of our class was in the barn on the property. Hot in the summer would be my only complaint. However, I really enjoy the LARGE space the dogs have to train on. It’s better than the small space the pet store has to work with.
Our trainer Nicole was very accommodating. I loved that she listened when I had comments, questions, or just wanted to vent my frustration. Mystic is my baby. When it comes to her well being, its a top priority. Nicole feels the same for her dogs & therefore understands. She gave plenty of suggestions for other issues I may have had that had nothing to do w/​the content of the class. She was thou and kind at the same time. She’s available by email or phone during the off time from class if a problem arises. At the end of class and our deep discussion, we both agreed my dog Mystic doesn’t need to continue with the Reactive Rover 2 class and we are going to constraint on focusing. I’ve never cared for school in all the 16yrs I was in it, but I can say I’m looking forward to our next class.

Hello to all present and past students. (Human and Canines)!! Kota and I have been involved with different trainers and methods. I was and still nervous, but Nichole is helping me to relearn in trusting Kota with his dog aggression. As I told her, I’ve never had any problems with any of my dogs except Kota. Oh and Rufus that is solving one day at a time. I’m so impressed with Dawg University and plan to continue to get Kota the way he needs to be to continue his training as my daughter’s service dog. Thankyou and I and Kota totally recommend them as top training facility.
Thanks and see you soon Judy and Kota

Nicole is an amazing dog trainer! We have taken 4 different classes with her and they are all great! She knows how to calm our crazy dog and get his attention. If you need help with any type of dog, she is the one to go to! I highly recommend her!