Client Testimonials
The journey with Dave was beyond incredible. This morning when we finished the last off leash obedience class with Dave, our eyes were filled with tears. He helped us brought our lovely but willful pitbull Dottie back to part of the family. Dottie has been through a lot when she was a puppy (both front legs were broken at 3-month old by abusers). She is sweet but always anxious. In the 6 years since we adopted her, Dottie had few snap accidents on our other dogs. But the biting behavior got out of control half year ago after Nita, a new pitbull puppy, joined our family. We didn't know what to do with Dottie's frustration and anger, so we started to separate her from the family and put her in a bathroom most of the time.
We got Dave's info from our vet. Initially when Dave came to our house to evaluate Dottie, we mistakenly thought the method was to make dogs fearful of people. We were doubtful if this training was the right thing to do as we didnt want to hurt Dottie. Worrying that Dottie might one day bite other people's dogs, we were desperate and decided to give this professional training program a try. Then the amazing journey began with Dave's guidance and encouragement!
Dave helped us understand it's not about intimidating or forcing Dottie to obey. Instead, it's about us to make Dottie understand that there is nothing to be scared about when we are around. We as the leaders are the one to have the situation in control, not her not through her biting. Dave showed us how to effectively communicate with Dottie. He guided us through transitioning ourselves into a calm and strong leader for Dottie to feel secured with. He encouraged us when things didn't go smooth and helped us to set the right expectation given Dottie's personality and history. He didn't only make us see what's possible with Dottie but also help us to achieve it by ourselves.
Now we no longer put Dottie away in a crate or in a bathroom. She can hang out with our other dogs, including the new pitbull puppy, and we all enjoy the family time together. What we learned from Dave in the training for Dottie also helped us train the other dogs in our family. We know Dottie will never be a dog park dog and we need to continue the practice with Dottie. But we are confident that Dottie is no longer a lunatic but a relaxed dog who trusts us to protect her and family!
Dave is a hero for Dottie and he is really sweet. Thank you Dave for helping our family.
Brook and Irene
Carmel Mountain
Dave changed our dog and changed our lives! Archie (our dog) was fearful, anxious, and aggressive toward people - especially in our home. It got so bad that we just stopped having guests over because we were worried Archie would hurt them. We tried other training methods, like giving him treats for good behavior, but once he got in aggressive mode NOTHING, not even the tastiest most high value treat could snap him out of it.
During our first lesson with Dave, he asked what our ideal training outcome would be and we said for Archie to be better on a leash and for us to be able to have friends over again. We opted for the 10 week on/off leash training and we noticed a difference right away. Dave taught us how to lead Archie with confidence and within a few weeks, Archie was more obedient and we were more relaxed when handling him. By the end of the 10 weeks, Archie was a pro on leash and we can now have people in the house without worrying. We can even bring him out to restaurants and keep him calm and relaxed around lots of people and even a cat (pictures attached haha)!
If you have a dog with behavior issues or are just looking for basic obedience, look no further! Dave will give you the tools you need to transform your dog for the better. We are so happy with our Archie and are so happy we invested in this solid training program.
Jessie
Claremont
I genuinely cannot say enough about Dave and what his training has done for us. He has 1000% changed our lives! My boyfriend and I got our first puppy (stars in our eyes) thinking it was going to be fun and a breeze. Then we quickly realized our German Shepherd puppy (like most pups) was a MANIAC.
Dave came to our home and did an in home evaluation and met Zola. He was informative and not at all pushy but we were very eager to start right away.
To remember Zola in the beginning of training vs now and seeing how far she's come, it has been so rewarding. Dave goes the extra mile to make sure you and your pup are happy. He gave us lifelong tools that we will be able to use forever. We're SO grateful.
NO amount of money or Petsmart puppy class would have given us the same satisfaction that we experienced with Dave. He's a person you can count on whenever you have questions. You'll notice how different your pup is compared to other dogs. ITS AWESOME!!! We get complimented constantly and the even crazier part is she's technically only finished the "On leash" portion of the program.
Zola still has the "Off-Leash Program" to start. I will recommend Dave to all puppy and dog owners. Don't make the mistake of waiting until you NEED TRAINING. Do it.
Call him. YOU wont regret it....
Easton and Christina
Claremont Mesa
My husband and I found Dave through his stellar Yelp reviews. What we've gotten by engaging with Dave and following his program has been a 6/5 star experience.
At first, we struggled to find a training program that would work well for our pup because, like many others, we found that treat training wasn't sufficient. Fortunately, Dave's method is refreshingly simple, straight-forward, and grounded in classical conditioning. Through physicality and repetition, Dave helped us build a meaningful relationship and set boundaries with our pup, providing effective corrections, and building our dog's confidence both on- and off-leash.
Dave is PASSIONATE, engaging, thoughtful, hilarious, and incredibly knowledgeable. He is an incredible confidant for all things dog. Dave makes himself available for every question - often reaching out, unprovoked, between sessions with ideas he had to improve our puppy's training. I've never felt anything less than supported and encouraged while working with Dave. Truly a world class guy.
What more can I say? Dave rocks, the program rocks (if you're willing to put in the work!), and our newfound relationship with our dog was worth every. single. penny. Do yourself a favor and take the leap - you'll be happy that you did.
EDIT: Dave partners with local veterinary hospitals and clinics in the area. For new dog parents like us, he was a great resource for referring vet care. Another bonus!
Christine and Adam
Pacific Beach
Serious training for serious results couldn't be more true in our case. We hired David who has turned a hyperactive puppy, incapable of having even the simplest of walks, and uncontrollable in social situations with other people, into a happy, relaxed, and well mannered dog in five weeks. If you follow his directions and work with your dog you will achieve positive results quickly.
Want proof? Watch him work with any of the dogs he has trained, you can see for yourself.
Open your mind to serious training, we're happy we did.
Patrick and Valerie
Pacific Beach
Great experience with Dave. Understands dogs, how to manage challenging situations for your dog, and how to help you work with your pup so that everyone is happy! Highly recommend Dave and his approach.
Sandy and Steve
San Clemente
We did a 10 week on and off leash training with Dave, starting when our German Shepard was 10 weeks old. It was the best investment we could have made. Dave helped us transform Hawkeye into the most loving, well behaved and obedient dog. We get compliments everywhere we go on his behavior! This is because of the well-explained and taught methods put forth by Dave at each session that equipped us to be active in the training. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!
JD and Kristi
Coronado
My 7yr old dog started exhibiting anxiety about a year ago, maybe due to coyote attack on him, but really a lot was my own failure to communicate and make him feel secure with my leadership. Our bond, relationship, and obedience improvement has been amazing and Dave was the best balanced trainer I could have asked for. You get what you pay for and you get out of this what effort you put in. Dave was very responsive to text messages and any questions I had between our sessions. Highly recommended!!
Heather G
Rancho Penasquitos
We participated in the 10 week on and off leash program with Dave and our Aussiedoodle puppy Coal. We cannot say enough good things! Everywhere we go with Coal now people comment on how well behaved he is and HE IS! It's amazing! We would've never been able to achieve these results without Dave! Dave is also just great guy! We now have not only a wonderful pup but a great friend too!
LuLu M
La Jolla
Dave squeezed us into his schedule before we left San Diego for busy summer away in NY. We knew our dog would be around a lot of summer excitement and wanted to work on obedience and leash cooperation. We are so so so pleased with the results.
The lessons are very intuitive so your brain connects with the why behind the try. Everything is explained in a way that makes sense and is something you practice after the session ends. It's up to you and your family to do the training since there is no such thing as a "one and done" method. Kids and dogs need and learn from repetition (adults too).
We highly recommend Dave as we now have a toolkit for a balanced dog. We showed our family the commands so we can all help Woody with his lessons and reinforce the progress made thus far.
Thank you Dave!!!
Natalie M
Ocean Beach
Dave was so personable from Day 1, and really made us feel comfortable every step of the way. We have a 9 month old husky named Rogue so you can imagine the handful he is sometimes! We reached out because our upstairs neighbor had such great success with their dog after working with Dave so we knew we had to give it a shot. 5 weeks later and Rogue is much more well-behaved and we can definitely see progress from week 1! As long as you stick to practicing during the week and committing to the process, you're sure to see results. Thanks so much Dave! You really made such a great impression! 🙂
Leah O
North Park
Dave is a phenomenal teacher! He really encouraged and kept us motivated! My dog is phenomenal now will all that she learned is the short period of time, while still keeping her amazing personality. I highly recommend this training to anyone who wants to give their dog a healthy balance (like in the name) of discipline and spirit. Dave gave us all the tools to help my doggo learn and for my family and I to be able to teach her new things moving on from here.
Denali M
College Area
I rescued a 5 month old German Shepherd x Belgian Malinois who was seriously damaged. She shook with fear 24 hours a day and wouldn't leave her crate for the first week we had her. I had serious concerns about fear biting as she would show us she wasn't to be messed with. She finally warmed up enough to me and my girlfriend to come out of her crate. Over course of a few weeks, I had her walking on a leash and going to the dog park.
She still had serious, serious, issues like pulling, intense anxiety, aggressive behavior towards other dogs, wanting to run away whenever a skateboarder came by
- that was until we met David from Balance Dog Training SD.
I asked my vet for a recommendation for a trainer and they recommended David.
I couldn't be more grateful. David is intense and no-nonsense but his logic is good and HIS METHODS WORK. We started with the on-leash training and though it was tough for me to understand that being stricter and firmer on my already scared little princess would make her happier and more confident but that is exactly what happened so, we ended up doing the off-leash training as well. I was always against shock collars and was reluctant to use one when he recommended we do but I am glad we did. I had to shock my poor baby for training purposes to associate her with the importance of certain things. Now, we don't need the collar. We hardly even use it unless we are going somewhere where a little insurance gives me piece of mind - that said, I haven't shocked her in over a month.
My dog not only listens to me and has my full trust to the point where we can walk down busy roads with no leash but she is more confident, playful, and less stressed knowing that I am her leader and that she doesn't have to worry about anything other than my words!
He takes safety commands like: "COME!" and "STAY!" very seriously as any good dog owner should.
David will not make your dog into a robotic trick performing robot but, that isn't necessarily, in my opinion, how most dogs should live their lives anyways.
David reset my relationship with my dog and did it in a boot camp style fashion - a hard and intense but, relatively, short training program that has lasting impacts.
Now, virtually, every time we go anywhere, someone complements me on how well-behaved my doggo is!
David changed our lives for the better and we could not be more thankful!
Thank you again, David!!!
5 Stars... Well worth the money.... would recommend to anyone willing to put in the work proper training requires!
Max J
Pacific Beach
It's not the "dog" that needs training, it's the "owners"!
Skip those fancy boot camps at posh-style doggie resorts. With a boot camp, the dog comes back trained by a someone else. Then, you end up spending weeks afterwards learning what to do.
This past August, my wife "Tory" and I picked up our new puppy "Owen" from a breeder in Utah that specializes in therapy and service dogs. Tory plans to be a therapy team with Owen at our local hospitals. Our vet told us about Dave Sherako who comes to one’s home and trains the owners.
When we first got Owen, he would go down on all fours and refused to walk. At the end of my initial consultation meeting with Dave, he had Owen walking within seconds! In less than a minute, Dave showed me how to hold the leash and apply the proper correction to get Owen walking. I had to repeat that 2 more times that day--Owen has never reverted to dropping on all fours since!
Dave's program taught "us" how to teach “Owen” to heel, walk, sit, lay down, and much more in "our" very own home setting. The benefit is that our dog learned to listen and to engage with "us". Even more amazing is that Dave showed us how to do all this without using a single "doggie" treat!
Dave teaches you how a dog thinks so that when your dog doesn't follow your command, you can apply the proper correction and get your dog back in sync. We found the more time we invested in teaching Owen, the easier it became the next time.
We've now completed Dave's "On-Leash Training" program. Today, Owen is a pleasure to walk. I can walk fast, slow, turn around, turn right/left, make him sit/lay down—all this with Owen rarely pulling and always by my side!
We've realized that teaching Owen will be a continuing life-long process. The great thing is that my wife and I learned "how" to teach--thanks to Dave!!
Larry and Torri
La Jolla
Our 100 lb. German Shepherd / yellow lab mix, Stella, was the self-appointed hall monitor of the household, roaming around the house and backyard, listening for, and then barking at anyone who came close to "her house". Walks were difficult due to her pulling and steadily increasingly hostile behavior towards other people and dogs. The tipping point came when we stopped even wanting to take her on walks because of her barking, growling and sometimes lunging at other dogs, soliciting stares and glares from passersby.
Our vet specifically recommended we work with Dave since he would be able to handle a large, seemingly aggressive dog. He quickly identified that she was not inherently aggressive, but she was a fearful dog, scared of the unknown and she felt like she needed to control all these unfamiliar situations. Dave helped us give her (and us) structure, with some very simple and specific obedience practices. It was a lot of work to establish our leadership over Stella and it continues to be an ongoing battle to have her look to us as the leaders of the house, so as Dave says "she can just chill and be a dog". But all the hard work pays off since she no longer barks at the fence, sits calmly where we tell her to stay and best of all, we are now able to take her on walks, even when other dogs are nearby! It came as a complete shock the first time we took her on a walk using Dave's training methods and she received at least 4 compliments from strangers about how well behaved she was! That was inconceivable considering how she previously behaved on walks.
Dave was wonderful to work with, taught us how to see Stella differently, and gave us the tools to manage her. I would recommend Dave to anyone if they want to change their relationship with their dog for the better, but be prepared to put in the work! Dave gives you the tools, but it is up to the humans to do their homework with their dog.
We completed the on-leash training portion and continue to work on these basics. One day we may level up to the off-leash program if we want to even consider being able to take her anywhere off leash. When that day comes, we won't think about going anywhere else other than Balance Dog Training with Dave.
Thank you, Dave, for helping us make Stella a more balanced, manageable dog!
Caroline & Randy
Caroline and Randy
Pacific Beach
We hired Dave to help us train our 7 month old puppy. In the past we've had no issues training our labs but we decided to get a German Shorthair and we were in over our heads with this puppy. We used Dave for 5 sessions and we learned so much. Our family of four was present for all trainings so we could all be on the same page and train consistently. Dave gives you the tools. What you choose to do with that is up to you! Consistency takes time and commitment and we still have a ways to go with our pup but that's on us. He is so much more manageable than before. Bottom line is, we can walk our pup without getting our arms pulled out of their sockets! That was our biggest goal. We do use a sprenger collar on walks as well as an e-collar when we go on wide open hikes. We highly recommend Dave, he's very good at what he does and a truly nice guy who wants you to have a great relationship with your pup.
Vanessa L.
Pacific Beach
Dave is an awesome person and dog trainer! My boyfriend and I get so many compliments on how well behaved our dog Doc is and it's all owed to him. He was so patient with us and was great at explaining. If we ever had any questions he was quick to respond and lend a little advice. He's even watched Doc a few times when we go out of town and was cool enough to send updates. I appreciate everything he's done for us and would recommend him to any dog owner!
Nani and Chili
Mission Hills
We really enjoyed our time working with Dave. With his help we were able to to provide our dog Harbor (Labrador/Heeler mix) with the confidence she deserves to enjoy walks. Before working with Dave, Harbor was reactive and would bark and lunge toward any dog we encountered. Following trainings provided by Dave we were even able to take Harbor to see Santa at PetSmart- which was definitely not a possibility prior.
Dave is very knowledgeable, funny and easily approachable. Ryan, Harbor and I really enjoyed working with Dave and Max. Do not hesitate to hire Dave. It was honestly one of the best investments we’ve ever made!
Cayden and Ryan
Pacific Beach
David Sherako
Owner