Thank you Donovan & the team at Dog Wizard Columbia! Donovan is such an amazing trainer & supported me and my pup from day one. My puppy is very playful & spunky! He would chew up everything in sight & it was almost impossible to take him on walks because he would jump on me the whole time & walk way ahead of me. BUT with Donovan’s help I truly feel like I have a brand new puppy. The place command really helped him learn a calm state of mind. I am a chill person so I really wanted my puppy to be the same & thank goodness that was accomplished. The picture shows my puppy ASLEEP in the place command. I never thought that would be possible. We are also now able to go on walks where my puppy stays right beside me and doesn’t jump on me. My mind was blown when we went to Lowes & he walked throughout the store with no problems! I highly recommend using the Dog Wizard! The positive “work for food” training that they use was a life saver for me & my pup because he will do just about anything for some food ;) Thanks again Donovan for all your help!

I cannot say enough good things about the Dog Wizard. Krissy was just that, a wizard. I was feeling hopeless with my bad mannered, stubborn, aggressive 6 month old puppy and came to the dog wizard looking to get some sort of respect from my my dog Maya. I did both 1:1 on leash training and boarding off leash training. Krissy has been more than just a trainer to Maya and I. She has been supportive every step of the way. I was in awe of how maya went from a leash pulling, biting, barking, counter surfing, jumping and energetic dog to walking at my side, listening to commands, being calm in public, and overall having a much calmer state of mind. Krissy not only taught maya manners, but also built up her courage. She started with the bare basics, to get Maya to start respecting me around the house (like making her wait to walk through doorways behind me and stay off furniture), and then progressed to perfecting her off-leash commands. Krissy made me feel comfortable from our first 1:1 training session. She was always extremely patient with me and my stubborn girl and I loved how she catered my training to Maya to work through her specific behavioral issues. I especially loved how personal the dog wizard feels; from the supportive trainers, the facility, and through positive reinforcement. Thanks to the Dog Wizard, my relationship with maya has truly changed now that we respect each other and can effectively communicate.

Krissy, Bree and Donovan are top notch trainers. Positive reinforcement for both dogs and owners is their key to success. They are responsive to calls and texts in between classes, so you never feel like youre on your own. With dog trainers, you get what you pay for and this is the best money weve ever spent. I only wish we trained with them with our 2 previous St. Bernards!

Loved our time with Ms. Bri! I highly recommend Dog Wizzard’s 1:1 lessons! My pup and I feel much more confident in unfamiliar settings and we are working through distractions with more ease. I now know how to properly correct unwanted behaviors and am excited to continue group work.

We were fortunate enough to have Bri work with us during some 1:1 lessons over the past few weeks. We called Dog Wizard to help our dog Bugsby, who had become increasingly anxious and aggressive towards our other pups. We move around a lot for work and he needed professional help to keep calm in strange situations. Bri was incredible. She coached us through the basics until he was comfortable enough to test his limits at a park. I NEVER would have thought he would be capable of behaving around so much chaos. We found that he is eager to learn and work for food, and that’s all thanks to the amazing and patient Bri! He heel walks, stays in place with distractions in our home, stays in a down while his siblings are running through the house, and stays in his sit even with other dogs close outside. We still have work to do, but this on-leash 5 week training program actually gave me hope for Bugsby’s future and I know he will be successful. Thank you, Dog Wizard!!!

Sam has totally transformed my Border Collie. I did the 1:1 home training. With the help of Sam I have been able to stop bad behaviors like being pulled on walks, being jumped on and never being able to have him off leash in the yard because he would take off. Now I can walk him through my neighborhood with no leash and him right by my side. My neighbors and friends cant believe his transformation! Sam is great and has helped my pet and I bond even more. Thank you Sam! He is 1.5 years old now and behaves better than any dog I have owned.

I recommend Sam 100%. I have 2 little cavachon puppies about 10 months old that needed a lot of obedience training. Sam is excellent at what he does and the puppies loved him. We had our last training lesson today, and I can honestly say these two little puppies are well trained and obedient. The puppies are happy and I am happy!! Thank you Sam! You did an excellent job!

Sam and his Puppy Preschool have done wonders for our puppy and we would HIGHLY recommend. Taking our puppy Cooper to Sams sessions has been one of the best decisions we have made for our puppy. Cooper is a small Pomeranian, we signed him up for puppy class hoping he would gain some confidence and burn off some energy. Cooper was a little shy during his first class but we kept bringing him back and he completely came out of his shell. Cooper now believes he is a German Shepard and has the confidence to interact with any dog. Not only has Cooper been able to gain confidence and have a blast while doing so, but me and Coopers mother have learned a TON from Sam on tips and tricks on how to raise a puppy. We are EXTREMELY grateful for Sam and his Puppy Preschool.

100% recommend!!! Some of the best money I have ever spent. I have 2 dogs and we did the one on one at home training sessions with Sam. Sam does a great job of not only teaching the dogs, but also the dog owners! He is very patient with the dogs when teaching them their new skills. He also makes sure that you know as a dog owner the importance of consistency and keeping up with their training.One of our dogs, Buster, is a 90 lb. lab pit mix who is very friendly but we are not able to take him many places with us because he is too excitable and easily distracted. One of the main reasons we signed up for the training was so we would be able to take the dogs with us more places. We have already seen huge improvements and we know that with continued consistency from us things are only going to get better! The last training session involved taking Buster to the pet store. Previous trips to the pet store involved being dragged down the aisle and barking at other dogs/people. But after some basic training it was a whole different situation! He still pulled a bit at the leash and was excited to see the other dogs/people, but he was also listening to me and heeling and we were able to work on his place command. He calmly sat on a dog bed in one of the aisles while I walked around. Magical.I could not be more thankful that Sam has provided us with such great information and tools to help us have the best lives possible with our dogs :)

I want to say how amazing the Dog Wizard of Columbia is. This spring, Sam (their head trainer) came to help us out with our new rescue in obedience training. Given our dog’s age and breed, we opted for the Freedom Program, which includes one-on-one lessons. I cannot express how incredible the results were. Within weeks, our little guy was sitting, staying, and heeling like a champ. Each session focuses on a different command, and by the end of it our dog knew that command back and forth. Then it was just up to us to maintain the training between sessions. What’s more, the training process has really bonded him to us—very loving, very aware, and amazing. The best part, though, is the peace of mind. With the package we chose, anytime our dog needs a brush-up lesson or we have a question, we just put a call in to the Dog Wizard. Lorrayne (their scheduling manager) works around our schedule, and then Sam meets us locally. We couldn’t ask for more.

A++++ HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!We recently added a Mini Australian Labradoodle (Winston!) to our family…and the best decision we ever made was hiring Sam at Columbia Dog Wizard to help train him! We couldn’t be happier with the results!After hearing great things about the Dog Wizard program in Columbia, we first signed up for the weekly Puppy Class Sam offers. The experience was wonderful so when it came time to take Winston’s training to the next level we eagerly signed up for the 2 week training program.After spending 2 weeks with Sam, Winston came back a completely different dog! Before the 2 week training program we couldn’t trust Winston off leash and he loved to “steal” things when you weren’t looking (among other “puppy” antics). We are now able to fully enjoy being a dog owner and enjoy taking him to all kinds of places (both on and off leash!). We also became much more comfortable letting the “new” Winston interact with other kids and dogs at the park.Sam is extremely talented with the dogs he trains, and he takes the time to get to know each one – and this helps him know the best way to interact & train them! We recommend Sam the Dog Wizard (and have already) to friends …family… and all the strangers that ask how our little guy is so well-behaved! .

Our dog Daisy recently completed the board and train program. My husband was skeptical at first about making such a large investment in our dog. Now he is a true believer. I knew that her inability to be calm around other dogs and be reliable off leash was impacting our quality of life, I specifically sought out a trainer that was experienced in not only helping our dog become more obedient but more social as well. We loved getting pictures and video of Daisy playing nicely with other dogs on just the second day of training! Now that she is home, our walks are more enjoyable. We can easily channel her energy when she is fearful of other dogs rather than dealing with doggy meltdowns. We have a ways to go in our work to make sure the training sticks, but Sam is always there with supportive group classes and check ins. I talk all the time about how she is turned into the dream dog I always knew she could be. I recommend Sam without reservations. Daisy loves Sam, and so do we.

Ashely is a miracle worker. I had my doubts when she said she could teach my Bostons to behave, but she did it. After 6 weeks of in home training (and plenty of practice :-), they are very much improved. They know several commands that allow them to be around people, now, and they love it. I would highly recommend The Dog Wizard.

Ashley, with Columbia Dog Wizard, is truly a miracle worker! Our puppy, Lulu, was completely out of control! Everything bad a dog could do....she did it, jumping, barking, chewing, scratching, running away, destroying everything, (wood trim, plants, shoes, toys) etc, etc. I was out of options with her until I found Columbia Dog Wizard. I met with Sam initially (while Lulu jumped all over him) and laughed as he told me they could absolutely train Lulu...I was certain she would be their first failure! Sam and I decided we would have Ashley train Lulu since Lulu would not listen to females at all. After two weeks of living and training with Ashley we have a brand new dog. Lulu is calm, pleasant, and completely obedient. It is truly unbelievable that this is the same dog. I took Lulu for a walk for the first time, EVER, and she was amazing! She walked right with us and listened anytime we needed to correct her (for walking too quickly). I have taken down the baby gates that kept Lulu in the kitchen and hearth room as she now completely obeys me when I tell her to come! Ashley has given us the dog we always hoped Lulu could be! I can not say enough good about Columbia Dog Wizard, they have truly changed our lives and more importantly, changed Lulus life!! I am so excited that now Lulu is finally a part of the family!!

WOW! WOW! WOW! It is hard to come up with words to describe how pleased we are with the Columbia Dog Wizard!!!! Sam is an absolute joy to interact with and his concern for training our dog has been amazing!! We gave Sam a dog that thought the world was her playground and was completely out of control. We got back our same fun-loving dog, but now with manners. After the training, she can come with us to cafes, farmers markets, and friends houses. Before the training, that would have never been possible. Sam did an AMAZING job of training her!!!!! I give Sam and this service the highest recommendation possible. It was worth every penny and I am so thankful that we did it.

Sadie came home a new improved dog after training with Sam! Thanks so much. I can see that he loves his work and his dogs. We felt very comfortable leaving our dog with him.Sadie not long tugs on the leash, she stays in place, sits, downs, and is a much more confident dog. She knows her place and her job!

Sam says that we did this all backwards but I think we were smart. I adopted a dog from the shelter and before I took her home, she went to live with Sam for two weeks. Best decision of my life. Lucy is an absolute joy and we have had so much fun with her. Sam was able to teach us how to handle her and we didnt have to break any bad habits. Sam has been to our house and we have attended his classes on Saturday morning. He has patiently answered my millions of questions and even came to the shelter to help me pick out our dog. I would highly recommend Columbia Dog Wizard.

We loved loved loved working with Sam! He helped us train our Lowchen, Apollo. Apollo is a smart dog, but before Sam he out smarted us and would never come and loved to play chase. Now he comes when he calls and we have better ways to play with him and know how to tire him out. We highly recommend working with the dog wizard!

We adopted Breeze from Pets Inc 18 months ago. She is the sweetest dog in and around our house, but became extremely aggressive towards other dogs and was impossible to take on a walk. She would pull on the leash and we had no control over her. We tried a few things we read online and some things we saw on TV. Nothing worked and we were out of options.Sam came over for the initial evaluation and within 5 minutes of talking with him we knew he was the real deal. He has a true gift of not only working with animals, but also communicating to us humans how and why the dogs behave the way they do. He reviewed his credentials with us and we agreed to enroll Breeze in the Easy Does it program where she would live w/ Sam and his dogs for 2 weeks.During the 2 week program Sam did a great job of keeping us updated with pictures of Breeze and her progress and he answered all of our questions we had during the process.Sam showed back up at our house 2 weeks later and our baby Breeze got out of his car OFF Leash and walked right up to our front door with Sam. We went over everything and then Sam patiently went through a 2 hour lesson in our front yard, with no fence and off leash. We learned the commands and drills and practiced with Breeze. Its amazing what all Sam was able to accomplish with Breeze in just two weeks. We can tell Breeze is a happier dog and our first walk with her the next day was perfect. We have already recommended Sam to all of our friends and family. Thank you, Sam for such a wonderful experience!!!

I have worked with the Columbia Dog Wizard team for a number of years. I have always been thoroughly impressed by the highest level of professionalism and sincere care that they put forth with the animals they train and care for. I could not recommend this company and service more.

Amazing experience! Our 14 month old bloodhound had some issues with basic obedience preventing us from bringing her along for walks - we also seemed to be failing at being the boss-so we were unable to effectively control her around our family and guests. She exhibited destructive boredom behavior when we left her to play unattended or in her kennel for any amount of time. Ashley came to our home for an extensive evaluation, explained the program in great detail, then made recommendations for real goals. And then the impossible happened, Lucille came home with a newly learned behavior called obedience!

I just finished my dog training program with Sam. My puppy Wrigley is 10 months old and at the beginning of training I couldnt get him to do the simplest of things, such as listen. After completing this course he is a changed pup! I would 100% recommend this company for any dog training you might need!

Im not sure how to express just how amazed and impressed my husband and I are with Sam and Columbia Dog Wizard. He took our two sweet crazy dogs and brought home two intelligent and hardworking dogs who wanted to earn our praise for good work. We paid for both girls to do the residential program with Sam and have zero regrets - it was a totally worthwhile investment in our family. From the moment we met Sam and Cash for the evaluation, we knew without hesitation that we could trust him with our most precious girls. He answered all of our questions, handled every panicky mom text :), and kept us totally informed on the girls progress. If youre even doing the most basic research and looking for options, take the time to meet Sam and his crew - you will not regret it. We recommend Sam without hesitation.

I adopted my 100+ lb bloodhound mix several months before I called the dog wizard. He was high energy and stubborn when meeting new people and dogs. I knew it was time for professional help when I invited a friend over and he charged out of the house and began jumping and barking at a woman hardly bigger than himself. I filled out my request for information form that same day and by the time I had left work I had a message from the Dog Wizard. I set up a consultation where Sam met me and Captain and explained the program options in detail. Sam, Captain and I had 6 individual lessons, including a public outing, where I learned as much as Captain about obedience, expectations and consistency. Today I brought Captain to his first group session at Soda City and I just cannot believe that we were able to walk around the crowded venue with other dogs, people and food and Captain was on heel and focused on me. I cant wait for many more group sessions. I would highly recommend Sam and the Columbia Dog Wizard.

I want to thank Ashley Campasino at the Dog Wizard program in Columbia, SC for doing a great job in training our new rescue. This dog was our 8th rescue and we have never given up on our dogs. The rescue agency was not forthcoming on some of the behavior issues and we worked hard to bring him around but knew we needed professional help. Ashley did an amazing job getting his attention and teaching him all kinds of commands. The “place” command changed our lives with this little guy and brought calmness to our home. Both of our pets are doing great together, easy to take on walks and greets other dogs calmly and listens to commands. Thanks Ashley!

I couldnt be happier with the results - A very big thank you to Columbia Dog Wizard!!! We started with puppy school with our Vizsla at 9 weeks with Ashley and it was an excellent experience all around. Basic commands and the all-important socialization really helped our puppy become well balanced. Most recently at 8 months, we had Sam train Rez for the 2 week program and we are still blown away by the results. Sam excels at what he does...our dog, without a shadow of a doubt, has evolved more than we could have ever imagined! Equally important is Sams connection that he has with the dogs in his care - he is the real deal. So happy we made this decision!!!!

Columbia Dog Wizard took excellent, loving care of my dog, Max. He learned an awful lot and he is happy and great. They kept in touch with me and eased my fears!

Five stars for Sam – no question about it.My wife and I have two dogs, one of which is a 6 years old lab mix named Boston weighing 50 lbs. I adopted Boston when he was about 12 weeks old and he immediately took to me but I soon realized that new strangers terrified him. He would run and hide behind the couch when anyone new would be around. Over the years his fear only seemed to get worse and he became somewhat aggressive—to the point where he would run up behind people and nip at their heels and legs when visitors were in our house. Our solution (admittedly probably making it worse by not socializing him) was to put him away in the bedroom whenever guests were in the house. We didn’t feel that we could trust him to be around anyone for fear that he would become more aggressive and bite someone causing more serious damage. The lack of socialization made it hard to go on walks in public because seeing other dogs brought on a ton of excitement, barking, leash pulling, etc.With my wife and I now expecting a child, we know visitors will be more and more frequent and had to face the realization that we may not be able to keep Boston. Having read reviews and success stories from other dog owners with dogs that had similar issues as Boston, we decided that we had to give it a shot because we knew he had the potential but that he (and we) needed help to get him over some of his issues. Sam came to our home for a consultation and we agreed to sign Boston up for the 2 week boot camp. A few months later (Sam is very popular) Boston’s time came and away he went, albeit reluctantly, with Sam.The two weeks flew by, and the Facebook pictures definitely helped as we could see Boston practicing the things he was learning. As Sam explained during the consultation, it is important that we stimulate Boston’s mind in addition to physical exercise to help relieve some of the fear he has. Additionally, continuously putting Boston in situations where he was fearful to help show him new people are OK would help his progress. These are the things Sam would be working on with Boston and helping us to continue with once Boston came home.Boston came home on a Thursday evening and we were immediately impressed with the progress Boston had made. We practiced the commands in front of our house in the presence of a neighbor’s dog that Boston would have typically gone nuts over - but now didn’t seem to care at all about it. I was very impressed with the progress he had made, but we knew the biggest test would be just two days later when a large gathering was planned at our home. We were reluctant to put Boston in that stressful of a situation so fast but Sam walked us through how we should handle it and how to prepare the guests with what we were trying to accomplish, etc. Simply put, the results were amazing. Boston was like a new dog, sitting quietly most of the night and even seeking out attention from strangers on his own. Those who had met Boston before were stunned at the difference in his demeanor. There is no question that he still has some apprehensions, but Sam was able to improve his confidence and reduce his fears to a manageable level and now we feel comfortable to continue exposing him to these situations, which can only help make him a happier dog.If you are having issues with your dog, whether it is just the troublesome puppy or a dog like Boston that has bigger issues, I can assure you that the investment in training with Sam is well worth it. As an extra bonus, I love the weekly group classes that follow the formal training to bring Boston to and keep exposing him to new people and dogs! Thank you Sam!Justin & Megan

Dog Wizard provides fantastic services! We took our rottweiler, Hank, to the puppy preschool with Sam and it was a great experience. He was socialized with many different types of dogs, large and small. Hank also learned some basic commands during puppy preschool. During the weekly puppy preschool sessions, Sam answered any questions we had about our puppy. His advice was invaluable.Because of our terrific experience with puppy preschool, we decided to enroll in the private lessons. Ashley was our trainer and we cannot say enough great things about her. She has a wealth of knowledge including everything from dog nutrition to obedience training. Ashley provided us with the tools we needed to make Hank an obedient and well-balanced dog. Hank just turned 9 months today and I am amazed at how much he has learned in such a short time. Moreover, we, as owners, have learned so much about training our dog and ensuring his happiness.In conclusion, I highly recommend the services of the Dog Wizard. A+++++++++++++++++Thank you Ashley and Sam!Vito and Katie

I worked with Ashley for both of my dogs Kiiya and Mowglii. Mowglii being is a high energy Dalmatian, and Kiiya was a stray dog I found a couple months ago. Neither one was not well behaved, but I needed to do the training for the safety of both of them. I was nervous with the training that they would turn into robots or lose their personality. This was wrong, if anything the training has given both of them confidence. This has allowed them to have more freedom and has allowed for all of us to trust one another. The mental stimulation of the training and commands tires out Mowglii. Also, both of them are working dog breeds, so the commands have given them jobs to do. Ashley was wonderful and worked great with both Kiiya and Mowglii who are two very different dogs. She was so sweet, understanding, and flexible, and had great solutions and advice to give me each week. I live in an apartment complex that has a lot of dogs, and since I started with training, I hear people keep saying that I have the most well behaved dogs here. To me the training was worth every penny. I now have two well behaved dogs that I can trust. And now both of them understand what I need and want from them. I truly am so grateful too Ashley and the dog wizard, and would recommend them to everyone, and I look forward to working with them in the future for future training.

We adopted a husky/shepherd mix from Pawmetto lifeline a few months ago. Lucy seemed as if she was going to be a wonderful dog to start with. She quickly became comfortable with us, and then she just became wild. She was running off, eating through the walls, constantly play biting, shredding her numerous beds, and not listening at all! I googled dog trainers in Columbia, the place with the best reviews was Columbia Dog Wizard. So I contacted them, told them all my concerns, and expectations. Sam was here the following week to meet with Lucy. I spent the afternoon with Sam, and learned all about him. He was so friendly and outgoing that I automatically felt that I would trust him with Lucy. We signed up the the two week easy does it program. Sam constantly sent pictures of Lucy and her progress. He also called me throughout the two weeks. Well, Lucy came home yesterday. We were so excited to see her. Sam brought her to the front door off the leash! I was blown away! See Lucy has bolted out the door a few times on me, and it would be a 45 minute chase through the woods with me wondering if I was going to get her back! Sam spent nearly two hours teaching me the commands Lucy had learned. He also left me with a folder on how to properly upkeep all of Lucys new manners! She did everything perfectly! My 3 littles girls are no longer scared to play with Lucy. She would get over excited and herd my two year old, chase and knock down my 4 and 7 year olds, and constantly nip at their hands. We are so happy with Lucy now! This is how a dog should be! I have been taking her out all day off leash, doing constant heel and place commands with her, and guess what? Not even one slip up! I feel that Lucy is much happier, as are we! She has total freedom of the house now, without worry of her eating shoes or toys. I literally can not stop grinning, I am just floored at the new changes in her. Sam, I cant thank you enough! You really are wonderful, and I can just see how much you care for animals! If anyone ever needs any help with a stubborn hard to train pup this is the way to go. Thank you, thank you Sam from Jimmy, Terra, the girls, and most of all Lucy!

Our young Golden Retriever, Dewey, is a smart and loving dog. However, he had enough misdirected energy to fuel a trip to Mars. He was impossible to control when visitors came to our home and was wild at the end of a leash. He pulled one adult off her feet and seriously injured her. The last straw was when he began having episodes of nervous urination in the house. We loved Dewey, but began to wonder what our future with him was going to be.Cranston met with us and Dewy at our home and explained their two-weeks “camp”. We were skeptical, but Cranston’s professionalism and confidence convinced us to give it a try. It worked beyond our wildest expectations. He was a changed dog; he had confidence and had learned to reliably come, sit, lie down, heel, and go to his “place” and stay. Now we and he have much more fun together and we’re able to confidently take him into crowds, meet other dogs, and have company over.Cranston was knowledgeable, prompt, and professional. He was on time for follow-up visits and his Saturday morning classes at Finley Park continue to boost Dewey’s confidence. We can say, without reservation, that everything promised was delivered. Cranston has been available and a pleasure to work with.