Google reviewers rate Whole Dog Institute 4.9 out of 5 based on 166 reviews, with the owner responding to 69 percent of them. Customers frequently praise the staff for their patience, knowledge, and effective use of positive reinforcement in services like private lessons, puppy classes, agility training, and reactive dog programs. Recurring themes highlight the trainers' ability to help owners decode dog behavior and provide practical tools for home practice. However, some low-star reviews cite difficulties reaching the business by phone or email, as well as complaints regarding service discontinuation and refusal of service based on religious beliefs.
Data from Google, last updated October 26, 2026.
Reviews from Google, shown as published (original wording, unedited).
Tried to call to get information for my dog to take a class. Could not get through on the phone so I sent an email. One month later, I have still never heard back from them; however, I did get an email asking me to take a survey and I’ve never used their service! I gave a 1-star review and said in the comments that I’ve never heard back from them…and I’ve still never heard from them!! Worst customer service.
Liz was wonderful to work with. I appreciated her patience with my very reactive rescue dog.
Karen - thank you for the review. It's been a pleasure working with you. --Liz
Ive had 2 agility lessons with my 2 dogs with Diane Lewis training us. She is so friendly, extremely knowledgeable, and makes agility correct but totally fun for us humans and our dogs. Also very friendly non competitive other students. This class is not pressure for competition, but learning agility skills and bonding with our dogs through the skills we both learn.
Thanks so much for the review. Glad you are enjoying the agility lessons.
Liz is a fantastic trainer. We worked with Liz during private lessons and both Liz and Tina in class. The help and instructions provided helped Ella and us tremendously
Thank you so much for the review. You and Ella have made great progress and it's been a pleasure working with you. - Liz
We have taken several group and private training sessions with our dog Clove at Whole Dog Institute, and she has benefited from each one! Clove has complex emotions and anxiety, and the trainers have an incredible ability to help us decode her feelings and identify her triggers. During our private sessions with Liz, she took the time to get to know Clove and developed training exercises that actually work for her. Even though Clove is typically anxious around people, she absolutely loves visiting Liz. That trust means everything! We can't recommend Whole Dog Institute enough — particularly for dogs with more complex needs!
Thanks for the review. It's been fun watching Clove grow in confidence. - Liz
Great positive training class. In person classes were extremely useful and we were given very helpful tools for at home practice.
Thank you for the review.
We are presently working with Liz to train our dog out of some reactivity and she has been absolutely phenomenal! We have worked with several trainers in the area over the years and this has been our best experience yet.
Thank you so much for the review. It's been great working with you and Shadow. - Liz
My dog, Ralphie, has benefited greatly from their Reactive Dog class and now their Relationship building class. They give excellent, intuitive one on one training and also small group ( about 5-6 dogs) training with customized attention to each and many years of experience and success.
Thanks so much for the review. It's been a pleasure working with you and Ralphie. Love seeing his progress. - Liz
It's been a fantastic experience with great results in my reactive dog
Thank you for the review. It's be a please working with you and Milo, you have all been amazing in class. - Liz
Liz came to our house to assess our dog, and she was wonderful! Our dog is extremely skittish and suspicious of strangers, but Liz has such a great vibe, our dog was actually sniffing her legs before we got out of the foyer! She taught us all kinds of things during our appointment that have already been successful with our puppy. We are definitely going to keep training with Liz.
Thanks so much for the review. It was a pleasure working with you.