Spot On Training

We did a private training with Andy and couldn’t recommend him enough. When we first were researching places to train our dogs, we emailed a few places and right away Andy went above and beyond, with an in-​depth email on exactly what he would cover. Of course, the personal trainings are very customized based on a survey you fill out, so you can express your immediate goals and then get his feedback on the best skills to work on first. We only had a chance to do 2 sessions because we are moving, but already have seen a lot of progress. Andy was also great about following up with a ton of helpful information so that we have continued resources even after our trainings are complete. We loved working with him and Spot on Training, our dogs miss him already! :)

Our puppy, Fenway, attended a Puppy Manners class with Andy and we were very happy with the results. Andy provided a structured environment for our puppy to learn with weekly homework assignments for us to do at home. The class also have Fenway an opportunity to socialize with other pups in a safe environment.

We first used Spot on Training for some private sessions with our retired greyhound, Winston. He was experiencing some severe separation anxiety. Gwen and Andy were so wonderful to work with. They came right to our apartment, reviewed videos of the behaviors, and jumped right in to working with us and Winston to develop some strategies to address his anxiety. Within a few weeks, he was starting to catch on, and has been wonderful ever since. We were so happy with the experience, that we enrolled him in the Family Manners class with Andy. Andy was so patient, and made the classes fun for all of the dogs. Even though we had worked on alot of the «basics» already, we all learned something new. Thank you Andy and Gwen!

We’ve taken our dog to Spot On for multiple classes – puppy training with Andy and «Come» class with Gwen – and find them effective, informative, and really fun. Our dog’s so much more polite for their efforts! Highly recommended.

In addition to the one off classes, I asked Gwen for some personal training. She has made an enormous difference in DuPont’s progression thru those teen years. She taught me some brain games which he loves. We are working during our walks with training. And while we worked on the pulling and it made a difference most of the time his drive for squirrels and to greet other dogs was undeterred from pulling or treats. I asked about a gentle leader collar. Gwen was not only open to it but explained carefully how it works and we would have to see how it fit on his Shar Pei schnoz. I believe the key to success here is Gwen. I had heard +\-stories about gentle leaders. Gwen explained how and why it works and how to get DuPont to wear it. She fit the collar. Showed me how to use treats so he saw it as a good thing. And prepared me for a fight which she handled and ended up being pretty much nothing — to both our surprises. I am less than a week in and have had no issues-​putting it on, taking it off and using it properly (key to success) during our walks. Once we got the collar on, Gwen and I took DuPont for. 45 min walk past places that were real pull issues. And to our amazement it was like night and day. Sure he pulled a LITTLE but the leader brought him back to norm. Our walks have been terrific. We are going to keep at this for another 10 days and try a walk to the Capitol also known as squirrel heaven and see how we do. I can’t recommend Gwen enough as a trainer. It is worth the $ for issues you want to handle. She has a solution and if you’re willing to work the program with your dog you will see results.

Spot On Training is great! Gwen and Andy were amazing with our dog Felix. We brought Felix to Spot On because he is reactive to other dogs. The instructors taught us valuable skills to manage his reactivity in a city environment with lots of other dogs around. They also made classes fun for both the handlers and dogs. Felix has made some real progress and we really have Gwen and Andy to thank for that. We are currently enrolled in a Nosework course with Gwen as well. All of us are having a blast. The skills learned in Nosework have increased Felix’s focus and drive and has also improved his reactivity. It is clear Gwen truly understands dogs and is great at what she does. Felix instantly loved her.
We highly recommend Spot On and will be bringing Felix back here for more classes in the near future!

We did the reactive dog class with Gwen and would definitely recommend it to anyone else who has a reactive dog! While our dog isn’t magically cured, we learned great distraction techniques to keep him focused and less prone to reactions. Gwen & Andy were great, always answering questions and staying after to talk about a specific issue. Now I just have to follow through and continue working with my dog!

Love Spot On! I recently adopted a pit bull mix from the humane society and enrolled in the Bully Breed Class. The class is fabulous for anyone with a bully breed! Jackie does an amazing job communicating the various quirks of the breed and how to prevent would-​be bad situations from happening. I have learned so much and Lucy has become such a confident dog as a result of the classes. Thank you!

My two-​yr-​old rescue hound, Harper and my husband and I attended «Family Manners» about 10 months after we rescued her. All I can say is I wish we’d gone months ago! Gwen was amazing– patient, incredibly knowledgable, and she made class fun! She gave us actionable ways to communicate with our pup, and as a result we’ve been enjoying her (and her us) even more than before. Thank you so much, Spot On and Gwen! We will definitely be back. Highly recommend this facility and class!

We’ve been taking our dog to Spot On since she was 4 months old. There isn’t enough room in the review section to give Gwen and Heather the full measure of praise they deserve. Spot On is truly a unique place run by people who truly love animals, are incredibly good at motivating animals and even more importantly training owners. It is such a joy to attend class we keep signing up for more classes. How you start your relationship with you dog or puppy is so important and Spot On is the best way to ensure it starts on the right foot.
Note for anyone with a difficult dog. My dog isn’t a reactive or especially difficult dog but I have observed both Gwen and Heather turn a troubled dog into a happy dog.

We have had a great experience with Jackie at Spot On Training! She came to our house for 5 one-​on-​one sessions over about a 6 month period to help with our sweet, but very reactive dog. We were dealing with multiple issues– aggressive behavior with other dogs, children, and with people entering the house. Jackie gave us very practical and valuable training methods and tools with each session. She is very understanding of not only dog behavior, but human behavior too. If you are willing to put in the work with your dog, Spot On is totally worth the time and money. Yes, our dog has shown a great deal of progress, and just as valuable, I am confident I have the tools to help our pup succeed.

My husband I have done 3 training classes for our energetic dog, and have always been very impressed with the quality of the instructors and the benefit we’ve received from the classes. I highly recommend 1:1 private training with a new dog, as well as both Family Manners and Reactive Dog classes. Thanks, Spot On, for helping us learn the basics of being good dog owners!

We have taken 3 classes at Spot On with our 3-​year old rescue lab/​pittie mix — Family Dog Manners, Reactive Dog 1 and Reactive Dog 2. Family Dog Manners was great and set us up for success learning how to communicate more clearly with our high energy dog. After he started developing leash reactivity on walks, we reached out to Spot On for help and are SO glad we were able to take the Reactive Dog classes. It has completely changed our day-​to-​day life by giving us a range of tools to help our dog stay calmer on the busy streets of our neighborhood. With each class, we had great instructors — including Gwen and Jackie for reactive dog, both of whom were fantastic. I recommend Spot On to all my DC friends with dogs!

My two-​year-​old rescue dog, Khotso, and I attended Family Dog Manners at Spot On a few weeks after I rescued him. He is a herding mix and very smart, and I had already taught him a few things before we got there. But the most valuable part of Spot On is not what your dog learns (although that is excellent), it is how YOU learn to handle your dog. Heather taught us about communicating with our dogs and about how they communicate with us. She taught us how to «set our dogs up for success» in myriad ways so that we would continue teaching and they would continue learning. The classes are small, so there is time for individual attention for each dog and his or her owner. Each dog in my class had different needs, and Heather was attentive to us all. Some dogs needed to slow down and take smaller steps on a command. Others were faster to learn and she gave more challenges to try. I came away with the tools for a happy and well-​behaved dog. It was also a wonderful time each week for my new dog and me to get to know each other and learn about each other. We are looking forward to another class – maybe Treiball!
As a special bonus, our class was right after the Puppy Manners class, and we got to see adorable puppies coming out of the class each week. Definitely make that happen if you can.

I can’t say enough good things about Spot on Training! When my husband and I adopted our puppy last year, we started attending the free puppy play sessions, which are a total blast — I mean, honestly, is there anything cuter than a room of playful puppies? I don’t think so! We took the Puppy Manners class with Gwen and had a great time and taught our little angel all the basic commands, plus she LOVED the puppy play time at the end of the classes :) Gwen also came to our house to help with some resource guarding our puppy had been displaying and was super helpful and great with scheduling/​support when we were dealing with some unpleasant puppy behavior.
Nearly a year later we did a «Come when called» workshop with Jackie to learn tips and training for recall and then just finished «Dog Tricks I» with Gwen, which was a BLAST! We especially loved having the class on cold winter evenings after work — what a great way to get some puppy energy out when the thought of long, cold walk was unbearable.
Highly recommend to anyone in the area!

I’ve never owned a dog before, so I knew I wanted to take some classes with the new boxer puppy I was planning to adopt.
There’s a PetCo near my house, so, figuring one place would be as good as another, I went there and signed up for someone to call me. When they never called me back, I decided to look elsewhere. I am so glad I did!
We heard about Spot On from our friends who had taken puppy classes with their rescue puppy. Spot On costs a bit more than PetCo but you get what you pay for. The classes are small, so you get plenty of one-​on-​one help, and when you email with questions the trainers email you back with genuinely good advice! I am also very impressed with the experience levels of the trainers.
I was very nervous about doing everything «right» with our new dog. Knowing that I have Spot On as a resource and that I can keep signing up for other classes as he grows gives me so much more confidence. That confidence alone has already improved my relationship with our puppy.

Spot On trainers have come to my rescue twice when I was so frustrated with my dog’s behavior that I was actually wondering whether I could keep him. His issues at various times have included excessive barking, guarding, cat-​chasing, fearfulness of other dogs, reactivity, and nipping. Most recently we did a series of private sessions with Jackie, and I really can’t say enough good things about her! She was very insightful in her initial evaluation of my dog, laid out a clear program for me to follow with him, and was always quick to respond to my many follow-​up questions. My dog has made amazing progress, and I have learned a great deal about dog behavior. I will undoubtedly call Spot On again whenever my dog and I need a refresher session!

We took our dog Manny to puppy school with Gwen. He loved it, and loved Gwen –although the hot dogs may have had something to do with it :). For me, as a first time dog owner, was really great to get the foundation of training and some basic interpretations of dog behavior. Would definitely recommend for anyone with a puppy in the area!

We adopted Chase, a 3 year old chihuahua and rat terrier mix, who had been at the NY ave human society for a year and not surprisingly had quite a few behavior issues. We took the family manners class with Jackie to get Chase back on track. And boy did we! Jackie was amazing — patient, upbeat and clear in her instructions. Even though we were in a class of 5 we still felt like we got one on one attention to help us work through any issues we may have had. After the class Chase had a basic foundation of good manners; he could sit, lay down, touch, come on command and in general seemed to be a happier and more confident dog.
Shortly after we finished the class, Chase began to get aggressive with strangers and other dogs. We were very troubled by this and immediately contacted Jackie. We set up some private training sessions with her to evaluate Chase and develop a solution.
Jackie’s ability to help us understand Chase and to teach him positive association was phenomenal. It blew us away! With Jackie’s help Chase has been transformed and we have been transformed. We know that this is a journey but now we are off on the right foot! I am so thankful that we met Jackie and have her in our life. I can’t imagine anyone better to help you with your dog. She is an incredible person and we highly recommend her!!!

GWEN IS AWESOME. Period.
I adopted an 8-​week-​old Samoyed puppy, and called Spot On about a week after my DIY Training plan failed miserably. We had 3 private sessions with Gwen and she was simply amazing. By the end of the hour, I was dealing with a completely different dog.
Private training is definitely a luxury, but Gwen is worth every penny. I now have a well-​behaved, house trained puppy that enters and exits his crate with ease.
I would recommend Spot On to anyone!