Thank you for visiting! The DeBono Dog Behavior Center is now simply debonodogs and I've relocated to Oklahoma City. 

I am available for in-person consults in Oklahoma City, and I also travel to Austin regularly. My next Austin trip is scheduled for May 16 and 17 - limited slots for the 17th are still available. Book before May 2nd and receive a free virtual consult before the trip. 

If you are a shelter/rescue looking for help, I can be booked for virtual and on-site consultations.

For more details, visit my new site: debonodogs.com

Our Peace of Mind Behavioral Treatment Programs are uniquely personalized to minimize problems relating to moderate to severe fearful or "aggressive" behavior. Learn more...

I've been working with dogs and dog behavior since 2002. I have a Masters in Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin, where I studied dog behavior as part of Dr. Sam Gosling’s Animal Personality Research Lab.

The DeBono Dog Center is my behavior recovery and training facility located in South Austin, where I offer intensive programs specifically designed to help you overcome your dog's fearful or "aggressive" behavior (my specialty and what I'm best at!).

Aggressive behavior is a response to a situation that causes an inner emotion - most often a feeling of fear, threat, or insecurity. My goal is to carefully expose dogs to these situations in a way they find fun, building their confidence and reducing the fears and associated aggressive behavior.

I don't use shock collars, prong collars, or any other tool intended to suppress behavior by inflicting pain or fear because they cause more harm than good. Self-proclaimed trainers defaulting to those tools are charlatans that don't have a clue about behavior.

I'm not interested in offering you band-aid solutions or making you pay for a bunch of services that skirt around the issue. Behavior is complicated and fluid - this isn't like fixing a car or a computer - I can't always predict exact outcomes. But what I can promise is that we are always going to work with you to directly and comprehensively overcome the problems you are having, so that you can finally achieve Peace of Mind. 

Thanks for checking out our website, and we look forward to working with you and your family!

- Steve DeBono

Social media gets on my nerves but it's great for showing some of the work we do. So add us follow us like us or whatever you're supposed to do. You will laugh, learn, and enjoy.

Questions? Contact us!

Use the form below to send us details about the problems you are having. Please note that we may not be able to give clear recommendations without meeting you and your dog, and in most cases an Initial Consult is recommended. 

We do not take phone inquiries. Scroll down to learn why!

Steve's War Against Phone Tag
I hate phone tag and I imagine so do you. So join me in waging war against this insidious time-waster!

Because I am hands on working with dogs or clients, I often cannot pick up my phone. This leaves me a backlog of voicemails to return. I set aside some time to call people back, only to reach their voicemail. They then call me back and once again I am unable to take the call. And back and forth we go. The fact is that once we finally do connect on the phone, the information I give is information I could have much more efficiently through an email. Phone tag is a huge time suck and high source of anxiety for me! So I've waged a War against Phone Tag and will only answer inquiries through email. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but I do this so that I can maximize the time I spend helping my clients and dogs. Thanks for your understanding!

We want to be the lowest yelp rated dog behavior company on earth.

Yes, we're serious.

Click to find out why.