Avoid Durban Dog School - Leslie O'Brien

Irresponsible handling and poor judgment—very disappointed.

I had a deeply upsetting experience with Leslie O’Brien of O’Brien’s Dog School. I attended a nosework session with my Boerboel, Bindi—who Leslie had worked with before on four occasions. Despite knowing Bindi’s temperament, she allowed an unfami**** and inexperienced apprentice to approach her without warning. This caused Bindi to react and charge at the stranger. Instead of managing the situation calmly and professionally, Leslie responded by yelling and escalating the energy in the session.

Afterward, she claimed that my dog had “charged a child.” But that “child” was her apprentice—brought to a paid session, with no proper handling experience, and placed in a vulnerable position. This felt deeply irresponsible to me, both as a client and a dog guardian. Trainers are meant to manage the environment and set both dogs and people up for success—not failure.

I also had concerns about the handling methods used. For example, I was told to throw wet chicken into the dirt for Bindi to find, even after I expressed concern about sand ingestion and parasites. My feedback was dismissed.

Another red flag was Leslie’s own admission that her personal dog is too reactive to be taken out in public. This has raised serious doubts about the effectiveness and credibility of the training I was paying for.

After I shared an honest review of my experience, I was blocked from seeing or responding to any replies. This further damaged my trust and confirmed that negative feedback is not welcomed—only filtered out.

I do not recommend O’Brien’s Dog School, especially for guardians of strong, sensitive, or reactive breeds. In my experience, the handling was reactive, the setup was unsafe, and the professionalism was lacking.