Customer Comments
“I started training my German Shepherd Zara at Full Contact K9 with Evan Dunbar shortly after she turned the age of one year. Beforehand, I went to a couple of other trainers that didn’t quite accomplish what Zara needed obedience wise and what I wanted as an owner. After extensive research and reading excellent reviews, I chose to train with Evan. Unlike other trainers in the past, Evan made sure Zara was sharp and perfected each exercise before moving to the next. A dog that was once high-strung and very stubborn is now attentive and compliant. It is amazing how many compliments I get on Zara’s demeanor and obedience thanks to Evan’s patience and knowledge. I am beyond pleased with the growth my dog has made, and I would greatly recommend Evan to dog owners interested in obedience and the development of their dog.”
Brittany Johnson
This summer an incident occurred at our house where one of our children was endangered. Evan helped us through a difficult time. We had never owned a German Shepherd. Evan walked us through the overall process and provided several dog choices based on the needs of our family. That’s how we found Derry. Within a couple of weeks, he was in our home and part of our family. Evan helped us all become more comfortable with one another with patient obedience training. Evan was always accessible and ready and willing to help with any questions (I would know – I texted him several times a day for weeks!). He continues to be an invaluable resource and we would highly recommend working with Evan. Derry is a natural fit with our family. We can’t thank you enough Evan!”
Happy Customer – Highly Recommend Evan Dunbar
“I initially contacted Evan 2 years ago, in an effort to find a German Shepard puppy for my family. We wanted a dog from a strong bloodline that could serve as a home protection dog while still being gentle and kind with children. Evan carefully considered our needs and spent about 6 month selecting the right dog for us. When Penelope (Penny) was ready, he personally delivered her to our home and coached us on how to take care of her (i.e. proper nutrition, bedding, house breaking, medical care, etc.). Having the ability to call Evan anytime day or night in those first few months was a luxury! Evan was also continuously available to ensure that that we handled Penny appropriately as a puppy so as to prevent forming bad habits.
Evan began personally training Penny on obedience at 12 weeks and followed with protection training soon thereafter. Over the last two years, he has worked with Penny twice a week. However, he also worked 1:1 with my family and I to help develop our dog handling skills. Evan even spent extra time working with our 7-year old daughter, Sydney, on how to manage Penny. We cannot say enough about Evan Dunbar and Full Contact Canine. After meeting Evan one time in person, it is obvious that he has a gift for training dogs. He is clearly the subject matter expert in the Atlanta area, and it has been a blessing to have him accessible over the last two years. Evan has been nothing short of professional and dependable. As a ex-military officer, I particularly appreciated his availability, honesty and direct style of communication and instruction. Thanks to Evan at Full Contact Canine, we now have the family dog we have always dreamed of!”
Raymond Butts, DPT PhD MS Cert. SMT Cert. DN
“I have been training my German Shepherd Leyna with Evan Dunbar at Full Contact K9 since she was a young puppy.
All I can say is that Evan is one of the top dog trainers in Georgia. I went to a few other trainers before meeting Evan and nobody comes close to the knowledge and experience he has.
We started off with puppy imprinting, obedience and how to develop a working and companion dog. We have progressed to personal protection training. I chose a working dog because I wanted one that will defend my home and family. Leyna has grown into a really solid all-around dog. She is stable and confident around large groups of people and other animals. Her obedience is crisp, clear and reliable in any setting. In protection, Leyna will bark on command and bite when I tell her to. I am very happy with Evan and the progress my dog has made.
I would highly recommend Evan to anyone who is serious about personal protection, or just wants a good all-around dog. I do not think you will find a better dog trainer in all of the Atlanta area.”
Andy Soloff
My wife, Patti, and I were introduced to Evan through a mutual acquaintance about a year ago. At that time we were searching for a German Shepard puppy after our beloved Border Collie (Sir Isaac) passed away at the age of twelve. Patti was big on how the puppy would look and wanted a long hair German Shepard and had even made a deposit on a planned liter of puppies in Utah. As fate would have it when the planed litter happened there were not enough puppies to give to everyone that made a deposit. Thus, our planned puppy became non-existent with only a future offering possible. Needless to say we were heartbroken. I had contacted Evan about training the puppy, but never asked about his own breeding programs. I called to tell Evan that our puppy was not going to arrive and he offered to help us find one.
Evan found us a long hair German Shepard puppy from a working breed that looked exactly as Patti as specified. We have now been training our German Shepard puppy (Rearden Steele) for nine months with Evan. Throughout that time we (well, Evan really) have been training Rearden in both obedience and personal protection. Since Evan’s resume is chock full of personal protection dog training background, I am going to focus on his more softer side — i.e., dog obedience. Evan has been with us every step of the way with Rearden, not only helping us with the basics (e.g., sit, down, heel, place, etc.), but he has worked with us to help integrate Rearden with our family and home environment.
For example, we have a large pool in our back yard and were worried that Rearden may accidentally fall in and drown. Not only was Evan instrumental in teaching Rearden how to swim, he showed us how to train him to swim to the steps of the pool no matter where he entered. Additionally, since I have male menopausal cars, I was reluctant to have Rearden simply jump up on the leather seats. For me this was not that much of a problem, but for Patti the thought of picking up a 100+ pound German Shepard to put him in the car seemed daunting. Thus, Evan taught Rearden how to climb up a ramp to Patti’s car on command. At my request, Evan has even taught Rearden to ‘give me four’ (i.e., shake) on command — yes, even personal protection dogs need an occasional party trick.
Long story short, we would highly recommend Evan for providing a puppy, any type of dog training, and we are now happy to call him a friend. He really is the whole package when it comes to dogs.
Patti & Ken Irwin
“For anyone who is serious about training their dog, Evan Dunbar is clearly the best trainer In Atlanta. I have owned German Shepherds for the thirty-five years I’ve lived here and have used five different trainers, utilizing board and train, weekly group classes and private one on one lessons. However, the methods that Evan taught me are a significant cut above the rest.
Two and a half years ago I started working with Evan to train an eleven-month-old German Shepherd that I bought from a breeder out of state ( Big Mistake on my part ). Evan trained the dog to overcome social fears and obedience. She is a nice companion dog.
I decided that I wanted a real GSD. We discussed the qualities I wanted in a new dog and the environment the dog would be living in. I ended up asking for a high-drive working dog.
Evan handpicked a six-week old puppy for me who is out of Pohranicni Straze – heavy Czech bloodlines. Ziggy, now two years old, with training twice a week for the past two years, is maturing into a well-balanced family dog with the ability to switch to protection work on my command.
Being so excited about the development in Ziggy, Evan also selected a beautiful brindle Dutch Shepherd in April, 2013, who is now seven months old. Under Evan’s training she is well developed in obedience and foundation bite work. She’s a truly amazing dog to own, train with and learn from.
Evan Dunbar is the “go to person” in Atlanta for procuring exceptional dogs and experiencing world class training.
Dr. Roy and Kathy Autry
“Working with Evan at Full Contact K-9 has been such a wonderful experience for me and my six-month-old Golden Retriever. I met Evan and was so impressed at not only how well his dogs behaved, but how knowledgeable Evan was about the training process. I knew I was in good hands. Evan’s program provides confidence for both the dog and owner.
It is amazing how much of a transformation my dog and I have made so far in our training. Evan helps you build your relationship with your dog and teaches both of you how to respect and communicate with each other. Passing up an experience to train with Evan would be a mistake. Take advantage of the opportunity to make your dog obedient and even more enjoyable than before!
The entire experience was extremely helpful and worthwhile. I would recommend Full Contact K-9 to everyone, especially for new puppy owners. Stella is a great companion already, but with Evan’s help, she became an even better dog on and off the leash.”
Kristie Nugent
“I’ve had my German Shepherd, Maverick, since he was about 5 1/2 weeks old. I am a first-time dog owner who had a great fear of dogs. Evan selected the perfect dog for me and has been a valuable asset since day one. Even before training began, he encouraged me to contact him with any questions or concerns I had which I did and still do quite often. Maverick is a very smart but stubborn dog. Evan has worked to increase the confidence in both Maverick and me and make him a more obedient dog. Evan is very knowledgeable in the individual behavior of dogs and applies it to his training. I am very pleased with the results I have seen so far and look forward to watching Maverick grow as we continue to work with Evan.”
Megan Tinnin
“Thanks to Evan, life with my Boxer, Reacher, is much more enjoyable. From the beginning, Reacher refused to acknowledge the word “no.” But once we started training that changed. In just a few months, Reacher has become a different dog. He’s still full of personality, but is now eager to follow commands and is willing to accept corrections. Reacher is proof that Evan’s philosophy of positive reinforcement, repetition, consistency, leadership and clear communication gets results.
Recently, I added Vega, a German Shepherd, to the family. While she came to me with basic obedience training, Vega and I are now working on protection training as well. As always, Evan is working with us to meet our individual needs.
In addition, Evan has taught me that managing two large dogs isn’t as hard as it might seem. I now work Reacher and Vega together, walk them together and more importantly, handle them with confidence.
Whatever your training goals, I highly recommend Full Contact K9. Evan clearly has a passion for his work. You won’t find another trainer with the unique combination of professional experience, a proven track record, knowledge, commitment and integrity than Evan Dunbar has to offer.”
Liz Schuetz – Two Dogs Plus A Lady
“When we were searching for dog trainers for our 3-month old german shepherd, we found most trainers used the same methods for all dogs, no matter the temperament or type of dog. We knew that German Shepherd’s were unique and required specific training for their temperament and abilities and wanted to find a trainer who could teach both us and our dog to maximize his potential. This is how we found Evan. Evan invited us, along with our new puppy, to a training session with a protection dog. We were immediately impressed with the mutual respect we saw between Evan and the dogs he works with. It was very apparent that he approaches each dog differently and with different methods based on the dog. He is an expert in understanding the dogs behavior and how to modify those behaviors to suit the needs of the client.
We’ve been training with Evan for almost 5 months now and are extremely happy with Siler’s progress. This was my wife’s first experience in dog ownership and Evan has done a great job at building her confidence, as well as educating the both of us. We have also enjoyed having Evan for advice and direction outside of the training session. Evan is always quick to respond to any concerns or issues that arise throughout the week.
We highly recommend Evan and Full Contact K9 for his consistency, honesty and straightforward training approach ”