NJ trainer allegedly loses control of dog as it approaches a woman. She ignores him and the dog, but he isn’t done: ‘Are you shaking your head at me?’

A dog trainer in New Jersey is facing backlash online after a video showed him confronting a woman who appeared unbothered by his dog approaching her. The clip, shared by the Instagram account “TheN8tiveDogfather,” has drawn over a million views and a wave of comments criticizing his behavior.

The video shows a woman on rollerblades in an outdoor paved area. She is wearing a pink crop top, white shorts, sunglasses, and white headphones. A black dog, identified in the video as “Archie,” approaches her while an off-screen man yells commands trying to call the dog back.

The man is later identified in the video as Ryan Costa, owner and founder of Next Level K9, a dog training business based in New Jersey.

Man asks woman if she is shaking her head at him

In the video, the man is heard shouting, “Archie, get away from her. Sorry. Get away from her, boy. He never does it. Get the f–k away from her.” A second, lighter-colored dog also appears in the background during the encounter.

After calling his dog away, the man turns to the woman and asks, “Are you scared of – are you shaking your head?” His seemingly aggressive tone continues, “Are you shaking your head at me? Huh? Are you shaking your head?” Dog-related confrontations in public spaces can escalate quickly, as when a woman was confronted after her dog defecated on a grocery store floor and she claimed it was a service animal. 

The woman, who had been adjusting her headphones, replies, “I’m listening to music.” She then waves her hand dismissively as the man walks past her. He continues speaking to his dog, saying, “No, boy. Do not do that again, boy. Do not f–king do that again. No.” Off-leash dog incidents can escalate quickly, as when a man allegedly took a dog inside a Ralphs supermarket, and a security guard pulled his firearm. 

The video’s caption reads, “Ryan Costa owner of Next level K9 in New Jersey. Such a tough guy because a woman is shaking her head at you for having no control of your dog. Do better.”

After the confrontation, the video shows a screenshot of the Next Level K9 website, featuring a photo of Costa kneeling with three dogs under text that reads, “Meet Ryan Costa Owner & Founder of Next Level K9.”

A narrator in the video says, “Well, this isn’t a very good look for you, Ryan Costa, owner and founder of Next Level K9 in New Jersey.” He adds, “Now, if you’re a good trainer like you say you are, you wouldn’t be letting your working dog run up to random strangers.”

The narrator also says, “Not everybody likes dogs, and you can’t expect everybody to like dogs. Believe it or not, a lot of people have cynophobia. They’re afraid of dogs.”

He continues, “But being disrespectful to a woman because she didn’t want to be approached by your dog, and then you telling her, are you shaking your head at me in an aggressive manner trying to be a tough guy, is not the way to go about this situation when you were in the wrong.”

The narrator adds that he does not know for certain whether Archie belongs to Costa, but says, “if Archie is your dog, your dog should be representing you better than that. That’s a testament to your off-leash training.”

He closes the video by saying, “Now, it’d be a shame if people went to Google and left you a 5-star review because, you know, you seem like a very nice guy and a good trainer and you’re very respectful to other people.”

The video has led to mixed reactions in the comments section, with some viewers defending Costa’s actions and others criticizing him.

One commenter defended Costa, writing, “He told his dog to get away from her- reprimanded his dog in case she was afraid- and when she finally took off her headphones he asked ‘were you shaking your head at me?’ And yes it was intense the way he said it but immediately he probably thought she was gonna start losing her s–t on him without knowing he called his dog away.” The same commenter added, “That guy is training his dog well though I can say that for sure.”

Another user questioned the woman’s reaction, writing, “I get it that y’all upset of this guy. but why is she shaking her head after he corrected his dog and said sorry!!? When he asked her ‘are u shaking ur head at me?’ Also dosent mean he was gonna do something to her.. just saying.”

Other comments were more critical. One of the most-liked replies read, “Bro got triggered by a slight head movement… sensitive as hell.”

Another commenter raised concerns about the dogs involved, writing, “Can someone do a welfare check on the dogs? I don’t trust that man around them.”