Noble Woof Dog Training PDX, Portland OR

Verena at Noble Woof is an outstanding trainer. She is extremely knowledgeable, patient, kind and truly cares about the relationship between owner and dog. Verena was able to break things down into manageable steps and an absolute pleasure to work with. We will be sticking with her and Noble Woof for all our current and future dog training needs. She is seriously a miracle worker.

I debating writing this because my trainer was so nice and I don't want to be mean. However, I have to be honest that this was not worth the money.

You prepay and they won't let you look at the availability of schedule ahead of time. So $700+ in I could only schedule several months away and even that there was barely any time to schedule.

Part of the reason I chose this service was they came to you and I thought it would be really customized. DEFINITELY NOT. They asked the sessions be in a quiet park, which is not where we need help. Also, we were just given a ton of generic information. Sharing that things like throwing down treats on a busy street with trash is not going to work for us, but it kept being recommended and generic follow up information emailed.

I should've known when during the first session the trainer said your dog should be on medication without ever assessing her (and finally at the 3rd session for her to remark that she's not that bad) that there was not going to be growth with this company.

We enlisted Noble Woof to help us with our newly adopted dog's separation anxiety issues. We were paired with Kaia who not only helped us with learning our dog's body language and anxiety signals, but went above and beyond by sharing additional strategies and training techniques to manage our dog's especially mouthy/destructive behavior. The trainers at Noble Woof are truly dedicated to ensuring everyone is set up for success, and our dog is now much more adjusted, and everyone (especially our tasty furniture) is happy now:) I can't recommend Kaia and Noble Woof enough. The experience has been life-changing for our home.

Heidi has been amazing. I was very overwhelmed when I got my first puppy and interviewed several companies to get the best fit for both Luna and I. Noble Woof certainly had the most comprehensive program to help all of us stay on track with training. Heidi has also been very helpful in problem solving with my hectic schedule and accommodating as well. Luna is doing amazing and we have made great strides in our understanding of each other and ability to work together. All I wanted was a well behaved dog and we are well on our way!

This post is a review of Heidi and her private dog training sessions.

I have been a noble woof fan for a few years. Every time I’d meet a really well behaved dog, I’d ask who their trainer was and 90% of the time, it was someone at noble woof. I didn’t have the financial means to pay for the private sessions when I finally got my puppy so I purchased multiple on-line training modules through noble woof (these are fantastic) and did group training elsewhere. By the time they started offering classes and day boarding/classes, my dog Sugar was too old and then she went from a lover of other dogs to being reactive over night.

After seeing an escalation in Sugar’s reactivity- I decided I would find the money and go to the best. That’s when I met Heidi at Noble Woof. My only regret is not getting the private package sooner. These sessions have been worth every penny and more.

I opted for the training package that allowed me to work with Heidi and my dog simultaneously. Im convinced that approx 90% of dog training for me is teaching me how to behave with and understand my dog and hold me accountable to practicing the skills. And wow does Heidi do this well. Heidi is so knowledgeable, kind and patient with my partner and I and our dog. If I do something incorrect for the millionth time, she will kindly remind me, tell me why I should be doing it differently and makes sure I understand. She’s also funny and laughs at all of my bad jokes so that helps make it easier when I’m feeling incompetent.

Since the first training session, my partner and I agree that my dog has become progressively more well behaved. Sugar loves Heidi and gets very excited when I tell her it’s a dig training day. Heidi comes to our house and we also meet her at the park. We practice skills in real life situations and in ways that Sugar and I need. I practice them on my own and then we come back together again. Heidi lets me choose what we work on depending on what Sugar and I need. It’s amazing. Sugar has some very specific triggers that don’t show up all of the time and thanks to Heidi’s skills and patience, we have been able to learn more about them and come up with plans to work on them together. Heidi will even help us go up to strangers so we can practice my dog meeting new people. She also brings her dog sometimes so we can work on the reactivity.

We only have one more training session left with Heidi and I know Sugar is really going to miss her. I’ll miss the support but I know I’ve learned so many things about myself, my dog, my relationship and the things we all need to be happy and content!

And soon- sugar will be a secure enough to have a dog friend move in. And to do day training and that’s so exciting. All thanks to Heidi!

Heidi has been wonderful to work with. Her knowledge, experience, and patience have been transformative in, not only in training my dog, but training me in! The first few series of trainings were focused on establishing foundational skills with your companion, before taking on more real-world situations.
Noble Woof provides amazing resources and information to start training, and Heidi translates that incredibly well into a specially crafted series of sessions focused on your pup's needs.

Overall, I've felt much more confident, comfortable, and connected to my dog after working with Noble Woof!

Maude and I enjoyed our first class yesterday. Especially helpful to learn more about the importance of giving puppies breaks while they learn how to play with other dogs. Maude and my 7 year old dog Wendell have only been together a week, and were already pretty rough housey.to put it lightly.

Christina specifically went over how "zoomies might seem cute and funny, but. " and then went on to say specifically why that is time to take a break, and ideally notice signs of needing a break earlier. Last evening when we got home, I immediately started watching more closely and decided that it was best to separate Maude and Wendell for a bit. After class, Maude was reasonably very tired, however, was doing her best to keep up and respond to Wendell's advances. Once I separated them and gave Maude the kitchen with some toys while we ate (also in the kitchen), she promptly quieted down and then fell asleep. Today I have interrupted their play several times following seeing Maude playing nicely with a toy (laying down and chewing on a toy) and Wendell trying to instigate by grabbing the toy and running. I separated them and again, because it seemed that Maude was not interested in rough housing if she was laying quietly and playing with a toy on her own. I think I was right, as she relaxed and resumed playing with her toy. Then soon after napped. She has napped MUCH MUCH more today with these interventions and just seems more calm.

Another behavior she was doing quite a bit, and has not done at all today, is biting at our pants legs and shaking as hard as she could.it hurts a lot when those tiny teeth find skin!

Christina and Jackson were great, can't wait to come again! Also, can we take another moment to cope with how effing cute Fritter is? I mean.

This has been a great experience and our puppy is making a lot of progress. I highly recommend Jackson as a trainer.
He is highly competent, very compassionate, and we feel very comfortable with him in our home. He balances skills training
and education with genuine care for our dog. Thanks from Douglas, Emily, and Colin

Kaia was great at training us to be better and more competent dog owners, setting us up with the tools to succeed.

Working with Heidi the past couple of months have been invaluable. We have been working on reactivity in my dog Iggy, and have seen a significant change in his ability to redirect his attention and calm him down in stressful situations. Not only has Iggy learned many new skills, but we have also learned what we need to do as pet parents to give Iggy a fulfilled and enriched life. We have tried other training in the past, but have not experienced this clear of a path to success until starting these sessions. Could not recommend Heidi and Noble Woof more!

We returned to Noble Woof to continue working on our dog's reactivity to strangers in and around the home. This time around we worked with Verena. She was amazing! We already can't wait to work with her again.

After a thorough consultation to share how our dog was doing and what we want to get out of training, we hit the ground running with sessions. We really appreciated how thoughtful and careful each session was. We incrementally built up to more complex situations and built our muscle memory and confidence along the way.

One of Verena's best attributes when coaching is her ability to give you space to think through how to solve problems, followed by swift guidance and tips if needed. You very much feel part of the solution rather than being told what to do. It enabled us to feel much more confident moving forward.

It's evident Verena loves what she does and it shows in her work! We loved working with her and we are now feeling more equipped than ever in situations where we previously helped hopeless.

Nobel Wolf and our trainer Verena changed our lives. We have 2 dogs a German Shepherd and a Lab/pit mix who are rescues. We moved from the Midwest to Oregon and our dogs struggled with all the changes and became extremely reactive to other dogs and then each other. We had fights in our living room, it was scary and very stressful. Verena worked with us and it took time, lots of feedback and communication but we have made so much progress. I feel confident that I have the tools when I find myself in a stressful situation with my dogs that I can act and diffuse the situation. Lots of positive reinforcement, games, confidence building, and continually reinforcing all of it. I am thankful for everything Nobel Wolf and Verena did for us and my pups. We keep working every day and are a million miles from where we were and it only gets better. I’m grateful for their support and extensive behavioral knowledge.

I cannot recommend Heidi @ Noble Woof enough. My dog Frankie and I have been working with Heidi for several months and we've seen huge improvements in Frankie's behavior and our overall relationship. Heidi really listened to me when I shared what we were struggling with and helped develop a training curriculum that was easy to follow and very effective. Frankie is a much happier and fulfilled pup and I now have the skills and knowledge to better support her needs. Plus Heidi was a real joy to get to know and spend time with! 10/10 would recommend!

We did both the puppy classes and then the Ghost Pupper package for reactivity with our husky pup, Rainier. The puppy classes provided us with a great foundation to build off of and gave Rainier good basic skills! When Rainier started to be more excitably reactive on leash and anxious around new people, we knew we wanted to do more training through Noble Woof. We worked with Verena, and she taught us so much about Rainier's behaviors and body language. When one training technique wasn't working for Rainier, Verena had so many more suggestions of things to try.

Throughout the months of training with her, we've seen so much improvement with Rainier's overall temperament. He's no longer constantly "on-edge" and can walk calmly (mostly) on leash. He started off as a not-food-motivated puppy that couldn't even handle people walking near him, just barking and huffing at anyone near us, to a VERY food motivated dog that is able to walk past people without worry and meet new people with confidence. He also was not able to even handle seeing another dog when he was on leash. If we saw another dog while he was on leash, all training was out the window and it was crisis management to keep him from barking, lunging, whining, and pulling us around on the leash. Now we are able to redirect him back to training and keep him calm using the tools Verena taught us! Even if seeing another dog is still exciting to him (which we are continuing to work on!), he is able to refocus on us and not completely flip out. Although we have finished our training package, we still have plenty more training to do with him because training is never ending! Verena talked us through next training steps and goals for Rainier at our last session and gave us tips for how to continue his training effectively once our package was completed. Truly, without the help of Verena and Noble Woof, I don't know how we would've been able to help our anxious pup become the growingly confident lil husky that he is now!

And if you have a reactive pup and you're wondering if the Ghost Pupper package is worth the money, my personal experience is YES 100%. Having so many training sessions and the one-on-one attention from Verena for multiple months was a game-changer for Rainier's training.

Kaia helped me and my dog cope with her reactivity issues. Kaia was so patient and knowledgeable; they made sure that I understood what we were working on every step of the way. Would HIGHLY recommend them to anyone in search of an encouraging and insightful trainer!

I really hesitated to share this because with 100% five star reviews, maybe i'm the problem.but after thinking on it, i do believe some feedback is in order.i adopted an adult dog from a family and haven't owned a dog as an adult, so i enrolled in the adult dog group training sessions.the information i learned in these classes was somewhat helpful, but was inconsistent and sometimes contradictory, and was given to us at such a rapid fire pace that if your dog had ANY reactivity whatsoever, you spent the entire class managing them and fell further and further behind.they said that two minutes of training at a time, a few times a day, is sufficient, but gave so much homework that if your dog struggled with anything at all - which mine did - you'd come to the next class without any of the foundations from before.by the third class, the other two people with reactive dogs stopped coming, and i stopped coming after i had a panic attack at the 4th class.during one of our classes, there were only two of us, and my dog and my husband were really struggling, but at the end of the class, both of the trainers focused on this woman whose dog was not having any trouble picking up the lessons, and we ended up having to leave before we could ask questions because my husband had to get to work.additionally, the website they use is difficult to navigate, had different information than we were given in class, we weren't given the correct link for it until like week two or three, and we were only given a summary of what we went over in the first lesson and then nothing afterward.so i would suggest some changes:

1.have lessons every other week to give people time to practice and master lessons
2.get SUPER focused and specific on what lessons are being presented in classes with the expectation that more basic lessons will be learned through the website
3.please audit the website and the information on it to make sure it's consistent
4.record the classes and send them to people after so we can review information, with a summary outline

Heidi was the best private trainer we could ask for!

When we brought home our northern breed samoyed Kuma we new we had our work cut out for us. Kuma was a very spunky and sassy girl who would become ecstatic when meeting new people and hated not being the center of attention. Heidi helped us understand her body language and gave us numerous skills for dealing with our drama queen.

Before meeting with Heidi Kuma would get overwhelmed in public spaces begging to say hi to everyone in sight. After training with Heidi we can now take her to cafes and cross pups and people with a calm collective pup. Of course she still gets excited to see her favorite people but continuing practicing the skills Heidi taught us has proven to be vital.

I highly recommend Heidi if you are dealing with a vocal moody pup or if you just want to learn more about the array of creative outlets there are for growing dogs.

Heidi intentionally had my dog bolt on a long line leash I was holding even after I'd told her I didn't want to use it. I'd told her I have bad neck injuries and told her my dog and I had both been hurt on long lines before. She also had suggested a step by step training plan which she violated by doing exactly the way we'd agreed to NOT do, skipping all the steps she'd promised with her dog. She also didn't mention that one of her dogs is way worse at the issue I'd come to her for help with for my dog. For basic commands she's good if physical safety and agreements don't matter.

My dog Margot and I have been working with Heidi at Noble Woof over the course of several months, and I have only one thing to say: HEIDI IS INCREDIBLE! Okay, actually I have a lot to say, but that is the overarching theme.

Margot is a Malinois mix — extremely smart, driven, and active. Perhaps a bit too smart and active than I ever could have imagined and certainly more than I was prepared for when adopting a puppy.: mild-panic: She had been through multiple group puppy classes, but I noticed such a significant changes in her behavior and skills since working independently with Heidi. She tailored every session to meet Margot where she was at, and build upon skills in a way that obviously clicked for Margot. More importantly, she was able to provide additional resources and readings, and understood where I was at as person, so that the information and trainings made sense to me. This helped me be more consistent and engaged with Margot and our training together outside of our scheduled sessions, which we all know is SO IMPORTANT!

Our time with Heidi not only helped Margot become a better dog, but it help me become a better dog parent. Additionally, Heidi is an all around pleasant person to work with. She is smart and funny and compassionate and obviously very very passionate her craft. I cannot recommend her enough! So much so that I've booked additional trainings with her for some more focused skill training for Margot, and some for her brother Nigel too!

Thank you Heidi and Noble Woof team!:)

Great help, Heidi really knew what she was doing and went out of her way to not only help us train our dog but explain the process as we went.