Zachary Westfall

Zach Westfall was our trainer for Oliver - Zach is truly amazing! Zach treated Oliver like his own, he was able to teach him good manners and discipline! Zach’s teaching methods of caring & compassion combined with his ability to connect with Oliver resulted in a well behaved puppy! Highly recommend Zach!

When we got our puppy, I was over whelmed to say the least. He wouldn't walk on a leash, cried in a crate and chewed ALL the people and things. I called Suburban K9 dog training and they sent us Zach, thank goodness! Zach is personable, extremely knowledgeable and so easy to work with. He answered my millions of questions without making me feel dumb (no easy feat) and went above and beyond to get us the puppy we hoped for. We are so thankful for Zach and Suburban K9 dog training. I would happily recommend this company to any dog owner.

We have worked with Zack since early 2022 (over a year) and he has helped us understand each of our 4 dogs own unique personalities. Each of our dogs has their own challenges, and Zack has helped us identify their triggers, and help set our dogs up to succeed. We have enjoyed working with Zack in the past, and will continue to look forward to work with him in the future.

We started with Zach at Suburban K9 back in Oct 2022 when we sent our puppy, Roux, to the board & train program. There was such a huge difference in Roux's behavior in just those two weeks! We are continuing to work with Zach every couple of weeks (cause hoomans need the training too!). Zach is amazing and Roux LOVES him (he loses his mind every time he sees Zach). Highly recommend!

Zach was awesome! He was so good with our Dog "Cooper"! Zach was very friendly and helpful with showing us the right and wrongs of dog training. We have seen such a difference in our dog since completing this training program. I would recommend Zach and this program to all my friends and co workers who have dogs in need of some training. Looking forward to possibly doing more training sessions with Zach because how much fun our Cooper has with him.

We loved working with Zack! First of all he was super easy to communicate with and to book sessions. Secondly he really delivered results. We got a new puppy and not only wanted extra help training her, but to make sure the transition of brining home a new dog, was well received by our existing dog. He got us started on the right page from day one! Our little pup is so well behaved and we regularly receive complements from friends and people in public that she is such a good heel walker, and very obedient. At 6 months old my puppy has an amazing heel walk, great recall, and is trustworthy off leash at the park and the beach! I definitely attribute that to Zack helping us with effective and easy to understand training. He uses training techniques and methods to reach your dog wherever they are at. He is very friendly, calm, and patient. If you are looking for results, 100% hire Zack, you will not be disappointed!! Would 10/10 hire again, and would recommend!

Utilizing the expertise of Suburban K9 Dog Training was the second best decision I made...the best decision being adopting a 5-year-old German Shepherd, Jaeger. He is a sweet dog, but we never had a Shepherd before and needed help with leash training, fence barking and socializing. Zach came to our house which was the best way for him to see Jaeger in his own environment. Zach was on time for all lessons, and we even had a lesson at stores to get Jaeger socialized in unique situations. Zach was friendly and informative, and Suburban K9 has so many options to chose the best training for all pets.

Zach Westfall is a very knowledgeable trainer. He is able to quickly translate my dog's posture and movements to give me insight into what my dog is thinking and why he (my dog) is acting the way he does. Zach is also very respectful and courteous to both me and my dog. Zach is also energetic, flexible and nice. These qualities and others make Zach a really effective trainer who is a pleasure to work with.

We sent our mini sheepadoodle after she had just turned one. Before Suburban K9, Cannoli had done basic puppy obedience class at 16 weeks and private lessons through Petco for a few weeks. She knew basic commands pretty well, then regressed after 7 months old and became EXTREMELY stubborn by the time she turned one. We started worrying about her anxiety and also were concerned what would happen if she ever got out of the house. Walking her was a complete nightmare and she desperately needed exercise as a herding breed. That's when we started researching trainers. She was with Zack for a 2 week board and train. In her time away, Zack took care of our girl and treated her as one of his own dogs. They went on many field trips together and we got pictures and videos along the way. Cannoli fit in perfectly with Zack's own dogs. I feel like in those two weeks she became part of his family. She came back to us a completely different dog: not anxious and much calmer, but yet still had her peppy and sassy side that we love. The biggest difference is that we can now take her on a walk and out in public without being embarrassed and stressed out. She doesn't pull, is much more attentive, is not lunging or barking at animals, dogs, people. She seems more confident and happy on walks too. We can now take her in public because she is such a good girl! We get so many compliments from everyone because of how calm she is in public. We also loved that the board and train program followed up with sessions in our home. He made everything seem so simple and continued to be attentive and informative even when Cannoli was back with us. Our family cannot thank Zack enough for the complete transformation we see in her. Not only is she happier... but we are SO much happier too. We would recommend Suburban K9 and Zack specifically to ANY one with a puppy or adult dog.

Zack of Suburban K9 took our out of control 7-month old puppy from our home and to his home for 2 weeks of training in mid-January 2021. I counted the days from when I booked until he arrived. Everything involved with the booking and the pick-up occurred exactly as described in the e-mails and by the folks I spoke to on the phone. Zack was terrific throughout! He spent time with me during the pick-up appointment and learned about my goals for the training. While our pup was with Zack, he sent photos, videos and updates. We were amazed from the first video at the results! Zack is a miracle worker! When our pup returned two weeks later, I had no words for the transformation! Zack took us through what he taught our pup during the most important lesson, the owner training! We did the homework Zack assigned and took advantage of the final two package lessons over the next six weeks. Both us and our dog have remained very well trained! It's difficult to say what I appreciate the most! Our dog was full of so much random and destructive energy before he left with Zack. When he came home, that was gone and has not returned. We have tools to use for whatever he is doing. His attitude, behavior and disposition are what I would have hoped for when he was 3 years old. And, because of Zack and Suburban K9's fantastic training methodology, we have it at 10 months old and it's completely sustainable. I cannot say enough about Zack and Suburban K9. I have recommended multiple dog owners to Suburban K9 and will continue to do so! Suburban K9 is worth every penny! Actually, with these sustainable results, I would have paid more! We have the best 4-legged family member and a new friend in Zack! Thank you again Suburban K9 and Zack. We love you!

I cannot recommend Suburban K9 ENOUGH! Zach trained our pup Winnie, and Winnie simply ADORED him. Not only was Zach an amazing trainer, but he really walked us through everything in a way that made sense. He was our biggest supporter and was always there when we had questions about Winnie's behavior or the training basics. Winnie came home happier, calmer and best of all, BEHAVED! 🙂 Suburban K9 was our saving grace. Simply wonderful!

Zach had an immediate connection with our 2 year old rescue dog with no previous skills or manners, and used that connection to rapidly build a base for training her (and us)! Our dog went from a puller to a heeler on the very first lesson and from there, Zach logically increased her learning of the basic commands in short order to transform our dog into the good mannered dog she is today, 6 weeks later. We regularly receive many compliments about her calmness and good manners when she’s around other people or dogs. We would not hesitate to recommend Zach for the expert training for your dog.

Zach was great to work with. Patient with both owner and puppy. Very knowledgeable. Highly recommended.

Zach is the absolute best and I don’t know what I would do without him! He is very professional, personable, easy to learn from, and became our dog’s best friend! My husband and I just bought our first dog together, Hobbes. She is a 9 month miniature labradoodle, fun, loving, and a bundle of energetic love! My husband and I needed help with basic command training, leash training, decreasing specific identified behaviors, as well as teaching us on how to properly communicate with her/have her listen to us (because obviously what we were doing before wasn’t working). Hobbes completed the 2 week board and train with Zach, and when returning home to us the results were amazing, it was everything we could have asked for and more! She was a whole new puppy, well trained, listening, still loving and controlled energetic puppy! Zach was able to tailor the training to met our specific goals on each individual behavior I initially identified to him! It was amazing! In the beginning we were a little hesitant about boarding her for two weeks, especially during Covid, and knowing that she still needed more socialization we weren’t sure how she would do without us. It was very sad saying goodbye to her but Zach made the whole experience for us as stress free as possible. He was always there to answer any question I had without hesitation! Everyday I was excited to receive our daily updates, videos, and pictures, it made us feel a part of the whole process. We could see how she was interacting with other dogs as well as seeing her training progress. The information we learned from Zach was amazing! It is knowledge that My husband and I will take with us forever. Even when completing the 2 follow up sessions, Zach was able to tailor training within our home environment and help us understand how to properly continue training! He always made us feel comfortable and confident, even when letting us know what we were doing wrong, so we could continue growing our bond with our girl. The most important thing is that now after a month of her being home, the results of her training are still present and she hasn’t fallen back into any bad behaviors!

Zach from Suburban K-9 was amazing with our beagle, Brooklyn. Prior to the 2 week camp, we were asked to provide what we would say were the top things that needed work. For us, we were having trouble getting Brooklyn to walk, she would stop all the time to sniff objects or would stop altogether when seeing people or dogs walking on the other side of the street. As Brooklyn was about 4 months old, she was teething a lot, often chewing furniture and even drywall. She was really stubborn too, so trying to train her with the 7 basic commands was not working very well. Zach came to pickup Brooklyn and spent a good deal of time understanding what our goals would be for Brooklyn and also to get a feel for some of the problems in the home. During the time that Brooklyn was with Zach, he sent daily updates with videos to show some of the things they were working on and the progress they were making. The videos helped make the time away from Brooklyn easier knowing that she was well cared for and making a lot of progress with her training. After the 2 week camp, Zach brought Brooklyn back and we went over what was accomplished during training and what to do to continue the progress they had made. Brooklyn made significant progress and we have no problems walking her now, she heel walks and continues walking even though she passes other people or dogs even on the same side of the street now. She could now do long stays even with distractions around. Zach had sent us videos of Brooklyn at Home Depot and at a pet store practicing stays. The constant chewing of furniture and other things that are not permitted also almost completely stopped. There were 2 more additional home visits from Zach to check in on the training and to ensure that we kept up with the consistency of the training. He worked on specific problems like initially, Brooklyn wasn’t really responding to the come command, but Zach worked with us on different tactics to work through some of the obstacles. By the last visit, Brooklyn’s response to the come command was almost 100%. He gave us some tips to work with Brooklyn to help her stay in a room while we work from home and to help with her anxiety as we will be going back to work in the office at some point. It was well worth the investment for Brooklyn to get the much needed training to set her on the right path so that we will have many years of enjoyable companionship.

Our trainer Zac was awesome and helped our cockapoo Mali become better at many commands and our walks are a lot more stressful. He was patient and a great resource for information, especially since we were first time dog owners. Thank you Suburban K9!