Alpha K-9 Obedience

I have two, now three year old miniature schnauzers, litter mates. Anyone having schnauzers knows that they are very intelligent and stubborn. Mine are no exception. Since they need plenty of exercise, we had taken daily walks of 3-5 miles a day. That ended when I became ill. My boy, Sisu, started acting out with inappropriate behavior from reverting on his house breaking and aggression towards men. I suspected it was because he took over as pack leader because I was vulnerable from hospitalizations and surgeries. Michael came to the rescue! With his expertise and guidance, Sisu has returned to his sweet self. With additional surgery to come, Michael and I will continue to work with him so he doesn't feel he has to return to pack leader. Michael takes a team approach. You need to invest time and effort, as well as be consistent. If you follow Michael's instructions, you and your dog will be successful. It's well worth it when you see the dramatic change in you pets behavior. Michael is Colorado's "dog whisperer."

Michael has done a great job training my husband and I how to train our young Lab mix, Otter. Otter was starting to cross the line being aggressive playing with other dogs. I'm a dog sitter. That's not good.There were days that if Otter had been my client? I would have fired him. Michael seemed to have Otter's "number" in minutes. His personalized attention, experience and skills working with dogs and people made for a great experience. Otter is doing great. Michael has also worked with some of my clients who had similar issues. All are welcome back as guests in our home.

Michael, I wanted to let you know how happy we are with the results! Tibbers, as you know, is our 90-pound German Shepherd mix rescue pup who came with a strange name and a bit of an attitude. He obviously had some previous training as he responded to his name (which was the only reason we didn’t change it) but would not obey commands or perform consistently. He pretty much obeyed when he felt like it. Sure, if I had a pocket full of treats, I could get him to sit or shake, but even that wasn’t on a consistent basis. The biggest issue was he was a bit aggressive, not toward us, but toward other animals. While at doggie vacay, he would “bully the smaller dogs and had to be the first through the door every time and then would “run down” the smaller dogs. He was playing too rough and exerting his dominance to the point we were worried that he might not be allowed back in the future. We had completed both beginner and intermediate level dog training elsewhere and I always felt, while Tibbs knew what to do, I wasn’t able to get him to behave consistently, and his aggressiveness began to worry me and my wife, who was once literally pulled off her feet when he decided to chase a rabbit on one of our walks. Our sessions with you changed all of that and both of us were surprised how quickly and how well Tibbers responded to your methods. Within two sessions, he was obeying basic commands consistently and we were learning as much as he was. One of the most valuable lessons was that Tibbers generally wanted to obey, but we had to learn how to communicate with him and let him know what we wanted him to do. I must admit that I didn’t know the difference between a dog trainer and a dog behaviorist before we started with you, but I know the difference now. Trainers rely on performance and rewards while you teach and emphasize how to communicate with a dog to get the desired response. I no longer need a pocket full of treats to get him to obey or perform. He can look at me and I can immediately tell I have his full attention and he is going to do what I want him to do. What a difference! I know it will sound strange to anyone reading this, but you taught us how to communicate with our dog and now the confidence and trust level has grown with us and with him. It is hard to believe, but he and I have become much closer as a result of our sessions with you. It seems like a brand-new relationship with a man’s best friend. Now Tibbers has learned to sit and wait at the door before going out and no longer must be first through the door. The walks are pleasant and less stressful, and he is no longer the bully he once was. He even stopped mid-chase and sat down on command when chasing a rabbit! Something I simply could not believe! Please feel free to list us as a reference for your services and I will be more than happy to speak with anyone interested in our experience working with you. We are not only pleased with the results; we are believers in your methods. Thank you again for helping our dog reach his full potential and for teaching us how to achieve this result. Sincerely, Mike S.

In late 2016 we contacted Michael Mandell looking for someone to teach us (husband, wife and 5 kids) the things we need to do to have a happy, loving, obedient German Shepherd puppy. After browsing his website and reading the testimonials our brief phone conversation led us to believe that we had the right man. After that first conversation with Michael, he made it clear that it was going to be myself and my families actions that would determine how our puppy adjusted to life. He explained what an enormous responsibility we had in front of us and he told us he would help us every step of the way. Little did we know that making that first appointment for a private lesson that we would end up with our pup Muphy being such a wonderful part of our family. For the first appt. we had a list of questions for Michael as soon as he walked through the door. But he wanted to watch our puppy Murphy. He watched how she interacted with the family and himself. He was so impressive to watch. He most definitely knows his way around dogs. We were in awe at his ability to read Murphy (our puppy) and bond with her in such a short time. After watching him for 5 minutes with her we knew that we made a great decision having Michael help us with Murphy. During that first session, Michael made numerous suggestions after watching my family work with Murphy. He also suggested some "homework" for us to do in order to start us on the road to having a loved and well-behaved dog. I have to say it was overwhelming to feel so helpless at times. Michael made the training with Murphy looks so easy. When I tried I seemed to be back in grade school, nervous at the chalkboard. But I think that is why, in our case, he helped us so much in the first lesson. He showed us it was going to be our actions that dictated how well Murphy progressed through her training. We went on to have 4 other sessions over the past year and I can say that without a shadow of a doubt Michael is amazing. We are so happy with our Murphy's performance. She is wonderful to have around. With Michaels help, we have bonded with Murphy and in the short time we have had her she can learn so very quickly. She is in and out of her crate on command, waits to enter and exit homes, doors or vehicles. Downs on command almost anywhere. Waits to eat, the list just goes on. With almost ZERO experience training dogs we now have a German Shepherd that is the most loving obedient creature I could ever imagine. I believe this would not have been possible without help from Michael. I know that anytime I have a problem all I have to do is call Michael. Any question involving training we have had with Murphy was quickly taken care of after following Michaels advice. I am not kidding when I say after applying Michael's ideas it worked like MAGIC. To summarize I will tell you that I would most highly recommend Michael to anyone who was ready to take on the responsibility of training a dog. It takes a lot of work. I feel that Michael can show anyone the road to having a wonderful dog if they can just commit to following Michaels instructions consistently.

I have known Michael for many years. I have a dog that became dog aggressive after being attacked by 2 dogs. Within a very short period of time( we're talking a couple of months) she is able to go anywhere & be around every type of dog. I have also worked with Michael professionally. I am an animal communicator. He is the only animal behaviorist I will recommend. Do yourself and your dog a favor, and give him a call. He is worth every penny.