Al White's Dog Training LLC

Al is helping me rehabilitate a rescue German Shepherd with a "dangerous dog" label. This isn't the first challenging dog I've worked with, but I've already learned more from Al that I expected. I've been impressed by his calm confidence and knowledge since the first time he took the dog's leash out of my hand and the dog did exactly what he was told. A word of warning: don't come to this class if you expect the trainer to fix your dog. Al's approach is to teach owners how to work with their dogs, and he expects his human students to take the process seriously - show up on time, do the homework, do the reading, pay attention. And his approach works. In just a few weeks I've seen my shepherd's entire demeanor transform as I've applied Al's advice re how to handle him.

When we adopted Sophie from a local rescue group I had asked for recommendations for dog training. We were given Al's name and decided to get started after the holidays. The first thing that caught my attention was the need for orientation prior to class, without your dog. The second thing was that there was homework before your first class as well as homework each week - accountability, setting you up for success. After reading through all the material I got a little panicked and realized I'd been a bad fur mom because my puppy wouldn't even walk on a leash (I just kept buying different leashes to try). I emailed Al concerned that Sophie will not walk on a leash, she puts the breaks on and won't budge. Al asked us if we could come in before class and he would work with us. He showed us a few things to try and literally the first week we had her walking on her leash in the neighborhood, at Petco and into class like the big dogs. The first week it was very apparent that our (my husband and I) "training" methods were inconsistent, confusing and ineffective. Al showed us techniques, gave us guidance and showed us tips and tricks all along the way. From the luring to watching body language to the power of lamb lung treats (Sophie will do anything for the lamb treat) all these little things made a huge impact on how successful she was in class and at home with her training. We prefer Al's method of training to those of others we've tried over the years - not that they were bad, just different and we didn't see the results as quickly as we did with Sophie in Al's levels training. Sophie is the smallest dog we've ever had and the smallest in a class with several large dogs. We always felt comfortable (well, I did have a few moments when I got nervous...overprotective mom - that's 100% on me) and Al is always aware of the all the dogs body language and behavior, making sure all the dogs are safe at all times. Sophie does so well in public, on walks, with other dogs of any size and has sit, down, stay, and come perfected (most of the time...she is still a puppy). Excellent experience - We'll be back when we expand our fur family this summer. Thank you!!!