My seven year old mini schnauzer had always been a nervous dog, and it only got worse once we moved from the city to the suburbs: he was anxiously alert, became wary of all strangers, and began nipping at and biting people, and was very overprotective of me and of the house. I contacted Michael after a recommendation from our vet, who herself had noticed the escalating change in my dog.
Michael was a god send! Not only does he really know and love dogs, but he’s a great teacher. He was great at helping me understand the way dogs think and taught me what I needed to do in order to better command my dog and give him the boundaries, direction, and leadership he needed to feel more calm and confident. Not only did my dog LOVE our sessions with Michael (he would even wait for him by the door when he knew he had “school”), but he learned very quickly and is now a LOT calmer over all. Situations that were once stressful and even sometimes dangerous for us are now calm and much better controlled, and we can resume normal life activities again. Michael taught me to understand what my dog needs from ME, so that I can get better behavior from and provide a happier and calmer life for HIM. That being said, remember that dog training involves training the owner in order to train the dog, so you also have to put in the work! Just calling Michael and not doing any of the training on your own between sessions will not solve anything!
Additionally, Michael is very professional and kind, is quick to respond to questions or problems via text, email, and phone, and is very flexible with his scheduling (we did the private in-home sessions). He takes the time to address all your concerns, and always aims to use safe and positive reinforcement training methods, rather than other trainers I had researched that use methods that include things like shock collars and consequence-based training, which I personally did not prefer to use for my dog if I could avoid it. Calling Michael was the best thing I could have ever done for my dog, and for my family as well. I can’t say enough about how great our experience was with Michael! I would highly recommend him!