We board and trained our 9 month old lab puppy, Koa, with Deanna and it was the BEST decision. Our puppy may have only been 9 months old, but he was strong and I could barely walk him because he pulled so bad. Not only did he pull, but he lacked focus to the point that I was at a loss on how to train him. Once he came back from being with Deanna, he was a whole different dog. Well behaved and I was not only able to walk him easily but with him glued to my side and a loose leash in my hand. She also helped us understand Koa and his mind better and the why behind the training. She helped us have a better relationship in our home with him and grow to love him. I tell everyone about Hawaii Dog Training and couldn't be more thankful for Deanna and all we've learned from her!

After using two trainers before finding deanna, I am eternally grateful for Hawai’i Dog training services. Deanna shifted the entire dynamic of my house. I’m someone who was willing to rescue and rehabilitate dogs at whatever cost, and Deanna saw and admired that in me, even if I am a “glutton for punishment” lol. She taught not only my three dogs, but me so much and offered more than I could’ve ever paid her for! I had a trainer tell me my dogs genetics were going to “haunt me for the rest of my life” and Deanna (who also has mutts) didn’t care about the shape, size, or behavior. She took them for who they were and made them the best that they could be (which they’re pretty dang awesome if you ask me). We owe deanna our entire life plus some. Nalo, Eva, and Remii gained an Auntie - and the Hensons gained a friend!

The entire process with Deanna was simple and straightforward. She identified some serious boundary and behavior issues affecting my relationship with my Siberian Husky, Maggie Mae, and suggested a 3 week board and train. When Maggie Mae came back, it was like a whole new dog. She was respectful, receptive to verbal and non-verbal communication, and we have been able to practice the new skills Deanna instilled in her during the board and train. Never have I EVER thought I could let my HUSKY run off-leash and trust that I could communicate clearly and efficiently with my dog when recalling her. Deanna SIGNIFICANTLY improved both my quality of life with Maggie Mae as well as Maggie Mae's quality of life as she can now fulfill her biological needs through running and roaming freely. Thanks to the 3 follow-up sessions with Deanna, I feel extremely confident in handling Maggie Mae and planning more adventures together as a pack.

To say Deanna changed our lives through training our dog (Karl - Golden Retriever) is an absolute understatement. There have been maybe a handful of times in my life that I've been absolutely blown away by the quality of work someone provided, and Deanna is easily the top of that list. For me personally, I was, without a doubt, a skeptic when it came to dog training in general. I was constantly saying, "We can do this on our own. It can't be that hard. It's not worth the money" towards everything that we looked at. It wasn't until my wife found Deanna that we decided to take a chance...and I honestly couldn't imagine what our life would like if we hadn't. To cut to the point, in about three weeks, Karl went from an absolute velociraptor, jumping on everyone, biting everything, to a well behaved young pup sitting at a dinner table with the family like he'd been doing it his whole life. What is more remarkable is Deanna's understanding of who Karl is at a level that allowed the training to occur, but in a way that was uniquely "Karl." Case in point, Karl would return when called but instead of sitting facing you like most dogs, he would sit between your legs facing out and then look up/backwards at you, tongue out, just happy to be there. Deanna takes the training a step further and also taught us how to communicate with Karl in a way that he understood. In these sessions, we learned that a lot of preconceived notions we had towards dog training weren't entirely accurate, and the effectiveness of changing the communication methods were astounding. All this to say, when you work with Deanna, you are meeting a friend for life. Unfortunately, we had to leave Hawaii a few years ago, but she has kept in contact with us ever since, and quite frankly, I'd fly back just to have my dog trained by Deanna.

My wife and I recently traveled to Japan for 3 weeks and needed a safe and responsible option to board our Kody-Bear. We found Hawaii Dog Training Services and owner Deanna Nieves. We could not have made a better choice as we returned home to a much more confident and well behaved dog! Deanna sent us videos of the training progress and lessons for us to perpetuate his training after we return home. Deanna was very professional and we will not hesitate to choose HDTS again for our next boarding and training experience. Mahalo Deanna for taking excellent care of Kody-Bear!