Alpha Dog Training

I am so pleased with the results of my dog's training. He started out being very stubborn and with no obedience skills. Now, he is attentive, loyal and great on leash. He is now a wonderful dog and has absolutely no stress or anxiety. Of course, it's a process that we work on every day. A trained dog is a companion with so many more freedoms than one that does not know obedience. That's what I wanted for my friend. Marshall was patient and amazing. And thanks to Alpha Dog Training.

Alpha Dog Training is absolutely amazing! They have been dedicated to helping my German Shepherd puppy and me. They have been incredibly helpful in training my puppy to listen more, staying focused on me when I'm at the end of the leash, reactivity to other dogs when outside, and her separation anxiety. She has improved a lot. Marshall explained things very well regarding how he wanted to train as well as why his positive training methods were optimal for our dog. Each lesson was greater than the last one. Everything you learn can be applied to future dogs because of how detailed the training is and the knowledge we gained. Marshall is always open to any questions and I can't thank him enough for all the help he has given us.

We decided to go with Alpha Dog Training to start training our 14 week-old beagle puppy. We opted for the in-home training program where they worked one-on-one with our dog in our own home. Marshall was our trainer, and we cannot say enough good things about him. We were very impressed at what he was able to teach in such a short amount of time. “Bosco” learned sit, stay, down and come in less than two hours! We started laying the foundation for leash walking and worked on more puppy commands. Marshall guided us through the modern technology of puppy and dog training. We practiced the new commands that were actually fun. During training we also worked on socialization with other dogs. Finally, Alpha Dog Training was a wealth of knowledge for all our puppy questions such as: teething/chewing, suggestions for getting along with our senior dog, housebreaking and crating tips, what to expect in the stages of the first year, desensitizing to touch, how to deal with finicky eating, how to help get accustomed to car rides, etc.

I would recommend Alpha Dog Training to anyone looking for excellent puppy or dog training. The at-home program we chose was perfect for Bosco. We were very pleased with Marshall and his knowledge, skill, patience, and friendly demeanor. I don't think you could go wrong choosing Alpha Dog Training.

"Sally" had some issues that we needed corrected. We did everything we knew how to discourage our Mastiff from bolting out the door. She’d escape out the door when, unfortunately, the kids left it open. Then Sally would chase people down the street. She wasn’t aggressive, just wanted to say “hello.” We got tired of the bad behaviors and chatted with Alpha Dog Training on the phone. They came over and trained Sally (and me) so now Sally’s issues are gone and she’s a great member of the family. Thanks, Alpha!

*Edit: Contrary to the response to my review, this is absolutely not “fake.” I have only left a couple reviews in my life, but felt this was a necessity because of his false claims and plan of treating aggression with aggression. The fact that there is a response claiming falsehood shows his character.* Where to begin? Scheduling with Marshall was a struggle. I had set up an appointment three weeks in advance, and when the day came he did not show. I thought that maybe he was running late, so I called him to confirm that he was on his way and see if he needed further directions finding our home. My name had apparently been crossed off of his calendar (on two separate days), and my husband and I had sat at home on a Saturday for nothing. I figured that mistakes happen, and I wouldn’t be too upset about it, especially if he could help my Roxy (we’ll get to that...). He got my hopes up when he said that someone cancelled and he could fit us in the next day, so we planned for that. This time, he showed up early, and his “dog language” seemed great at the beginning. Background on my dog - Roxy has anxiety and reactivity issues. Her aggression is, for the most part, isolated to other dogs and that’s where we struggle the most with her. However, there have been circumstances where she has reacted to people, seemingly when she feels threatened in any way. These reactions have only ever lasted a split-second, until she realizes what she is doing. Until Marshall. Marshall essentially yanked Roxy around by a chain “choke” collar to “correct” her while she yelped and became more and more aggressive. Marshall’s methods seemed extreme and the absolute opposite of his website philosophy and raving reviews. To quote his website, “Alpha Dog Training uses state-of-the-art, positive reinforcement methods. We believe that praise and happiness are the only ways to train a dog.” This is absolutely not what I saw in my home, as he yanked excessively on the choke collar around my dog’s neck. After 45 minutes with Marshall, Roxy was easily ten times more aggressive than I had ever seen her or even knew she was capable of. She was extremely uncomfortable and eventually hid behind the couch. I had to take Marshall’s collar and leash off of her before he left because she was so mortified and I didn’t want him near her again. The good news is that Marshall told us that our “session” was free of charge because he could see how obviously uncomfortable and unhappy we were with his methods (and results). The bad news (for Marshall) is that on his way out the door, he asked us to not write a bad review. However, I felt like I had to because had someone else left a review like mine, I would have thought twice about working with Alpha Dog Training, and would have saved my dog a lot of grief. I researched trainers for a long time before finally deciding on asking Marshall for help, based on his positive philosophy and numerous excellent reviews. What a mistake. I do not appreciate the false advertisement, and saw nothing remotely close to positive reinforcement during our “session.” Please think twice about working with Alpha Dog Training, but if you do decide to go this route, I hope your session is far more successful than ours.