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Michael Ellis School For Dog Trainers is a dog training business in Santa Rosa, California offering group classes and virtual training, working from a dedicated training facility. They describe their approach as balanced training (rewards and corrections) and publish pricing from $45 per course.
Santa Rosa, CA • Training facility • 4.9 ★ (75 Google reviews)
Last reviewed: Sep 5, 2026
63 / 100
Moderately transparent
How clearly this listing publishes the details owners need. See our methodology.
Based on what the business publishes about itself
Michael Ellis School For Dog Trainers is listed among dog training programs in Santa Rosa. Published program types include group classes, virtual training. Ask about staffing, methods, and follow-up support before you book.
The Michael Ellis School For Dog Trainers offers a 5-day Pet Dog Fundamentals course covering basic obedience and socialization, along with virtual training options. Online courses include Approaches to Teaching the Out and an Obedience Intensive, both with lifetime access to materials.
Price not published.
This is an in-person training event held at the school's Santa Rosa campus focused on foundational obedience skills for pet dogs.
Attendees travel to the Santa Rosa campus for a multi-day in-person course.
Best for: Pet dog owners looking for fundamentals-level training instruction.
Duration: 5 days
Focus: Basic obedience, Socialization
$45 per course
This webinar reviews different methods for teaching a dog to release an item or grip, comparing approaches used in protection sports versus reward-based play contexts, and discusses when and how to safely apply aversive corrections.
Viewers watch a pre-recorded webinar online with lifetime access after purchase.
Best for: Trainers working on protection sport or play-based out behaviors.
Focus: Advanced obedience
Includes: Lifetime support
Price not published.
Ask whether Obedience Intensive is delivered online, in person, or both.
This is a recorded video class covering intensive obedience training concepts, available for purchase with lifetime streaming access.
Buyers watch recorded video content online at their own pace rather than attending in person.
Focus: Basic obedience, Advanced obedience
Includes: Lifetime support
One virtual course, Approaches to Teaching the Out, is priced at $45. The in-person Pet Dog Fundamentals and Obedience Intensive courses don't list prices on the site.
| Program | Price | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Pet Dog Fundamentals | Not published | 5 days |
| Program | Price | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Approaches to Teaching the Out | $45 per course | Not stated |
| Obedience Intensive | Not published | Not stated |
They explicitly describe their approach as balanced training. Whether they work with aggression or bite-history cases isn't addressed.
Public materials reviewed by Barklen do not specify which training tools are used.
As described in the business's own materials
According to their site, has over forty years of experience in competitive dog sports, working dog training, and companion dog training, and spent more than 12 years traveling full-time delivering over 300 seminars across multiple continents before opening the school. He has competed in disciplines including Mondioring, French Ring, IGP/Schutzhund, AKC Obedience, and Dock Diving, worked as a decoy/helper at national-level competitions, and bred Malinois for thirty years.
Credentials listed on their site: One of the first certified Mondioring decoys in the US, Past president of the American Working Malinois Association, and Former board member of the US Mondioring Association. Barklen has not independently verified these.
Michael Ellis School For Dog Trainers operates from a dedicated training facility in Santa Rosa, CA, offering group classes and virtual sessions online.
Their site says they the school teaches a diverse range of trainers, including competitive sport trainers, police departments, US Military personnel, search and rescue groups, service dog organizations, and pet dog trainers.
The school operates from a 3-acre campus in Santa Rosa, California, about an hour from San Francisco in Sonoma County wine country, which it moved to in 2014 from a smaller facility in Fairfield, CA.
The facility sits on Stony Point Road. Parking and accessibility information aren't listed.
Barklen analysis
Barklen analysis based on 5 published Santa Rosa listings (18 with published pricing). These comparisons are computed by Barklen, not claims made by Michael Ellis School For Dog Trainers.
Price: Michael Ellis School For Dog Trainers does not publish pricing for the program types where Santa Rosa has enough published prices to compare (group classes).
Reviews: 4.9★ from 75 Google reviews, among 5 published Santa Rosa programs.
Transparency: 63 out of 100 (moderately transparent), with 33% price transparency and 72% program clarity. 1 of 5 Santa Rosa listings show certifications; this business does not list any.
| Program type | Michael Ellis School For Dog Trainers | Santa Rosa range | Barklen read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group Classes | Not published | $125–$207 across 8 Santa Rosa programs | No published price to compare |
Generated from what their public materials leave open
3641 Stony Point Rd, Santa Rosa, CA
Barklen reviewed Michael Ellis School For Dog Trainers against the business's public materials and published this listing. That is not a check of licenses, insurance, or certifications. See our methodology for what a verified listing does and does not mean.
Details the public materials do not address (aggression and reactivity cases, owner visits during programs, progress updates, overnight staffing, insurance, guarantee, and others) are turned into the questions above rather than filled in.
Last reviewed by Barklen: Sep 5, 2026
Contact Michael Ellis School For Dog Trainers directly by phone or through their website, or request a quote through Barklen and we will pass it along.
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