Alpha K-9 Obedience

We highly recommend working with Michael. We called him as soon as we brought Jazzy, our pitbull, home at around 10 weeks and it has been worthwhile every step of the way. Before, she had boundless energy, would *inhale* her food, would greet every human and dog on walks, and also jump on people. After that first session, she would sit and wait for us to okay her to start eating. From then on, we continued building mutual respect between us and her, and she flourished. Now, at one year old, she respects boundaries, knows that she cannot jump on people (which was especially important while we were pregnant), plays / entertains herself, follows commands, and even goes on walks off-leash. We have had so many folks comment on how well trained she is and are then surprised to learn she's only a year old! Michael gave us and Jazzy the tools we needed to grow together and succeed. We now have a newborn and Jazzy is super gentle and respectful with him - we couldn't have gotten to this point without Michael. Thank you!!

When we moved to our new home in the foothills in December 2017 with a 1 year old little girl, we wanted to feel a little more security with all the wildlife and other factors that were happening around our neighborhood (at the time.). I did my due diligence and research to pick out the right breed for our family. Note: We’ve had pits, german shepherds in the past so we initially weren’t worried about the strong nature of the breed. That’s when we found Maui, a Cane Corso. Maui has been a great addition to our family, he was/is amazing with our young daughter and our young niece however, he was becoming overly protective of us against people, chasing cars, becoming dog aggressive, and has gotten into some serious fights with our other dog Degen which has resulted with a trip to VRCC that required Degen to be put under anesthesia to treat his injuries. At this moment, we realized we were in over our heads with Maui and thought about rehoming him. We looked into rescues, shelters, etc.. no one would take an aggressive dog. We realized if we rehome him- he is going to be put down. Within the following days of us figuring out what we were going to do with Maui, a driver from UPS was delivering a package noticed Maui and his behavior. Fortunately he had experience with Cane Corsos and was able to provide a quick assessment of Maui and suggested a path forward: “Get him in training NOW. And not just any training… behavior training and do your research and get the right person who knows what they are doing. It’s not too late for Maui, but do it quickly!”. This prompted us to search for highly rated behaviorists in our area and we found Michael and Alpha K9 obedience. Within minutes on day one, Michael taught us the importance of having the right attitude, and how dogs can sense if someone is agitated or nervous which affects their attitude . He taught us how dogs perceive leadership, what that means to them, and techniques to correct behavior issues while keeping a positive and healthy relationship with Maui. Michael calls it energy. For anyone who is skeptical about that: Look up: (Navy Seal Calm is Contagious). It's about leadership and having the right aura, and it works! After 3 working sessions with Michael, Maui is doing excellent. Maui is able to completely relax and not react to cars, people or dogs that pass by. Our most recent session was to a dog park (not in the fence, but outside). Maui did require some minor correction but was super responsive and relaxed immediately after dogs energetically approached him near the fence. We are well on our way for Maui to be the best family dog we know he can be. We are no longer afraid to take him on hikes, walks, camping, etc. because we are confident in our abilities to be responsible with Maui. We know with what Michael has taught us, Maui will live a full, happy life where he and the people, dogs around him can all be safe. Michael and Alpha K9 Obedience has truly been a blessing to our family and a lifesaver for Maui.

We adopted a 2-3 year old golden retriever in May. She is an extremely loving and well behaved dog, inside. But outside, she is nervous, agitated and always on guard. We were told she gets along well with children and other dogs. Well, other dogs are not her thing. She also had never been taught how to walk on leash, or the heel command. It was also apparent by the scars on her snout that she had been in a fight at some time in her short life and it scarred her in more ways than one. When she was inside our fenced yard and a person or a dog would walk on the other side, she took on an entirely different personality. She would bark ferociously, snarl, foam at the mouth and run around at top speed, defending her territory. She could not even calm down enough for us to physically grab hold of her collar and give her a command. It was clear that her actions were well ingrained in her brain and she needed to re-learn how to respond to life outside her home. I read the reviews that were posted on Alpha K-9 Obedience and thought Michael's philosophy, training and approach were just what we needed to break the cycle that was part of our pup's learned behavior. First he worked with us and gave us the tools to teach her to walk on a leash. With repeated practice, she is a pro. But the barking outside....it was clear she had to be taught and program a different response to the world beyond her four walls. We didn't want to constantly correct bad behavior, we wanted to change the behavior and her response to certain stimuli altogether. After working with Paisley one time, Michael, a behaviorist, not a trainer, gave us the tools to change Paisley's reaction to other dogs and people outside. Michael explained to us that Paisley had assumed a leadership role and was using her only known resources to defend herself. Michael taught us how to re-train her brain to give up old bad habits and let us be her leader into a new calm world. After the using these new techniques, Paisley looked up at us, calmly and literally smiled, a totally different dog. My husband was skeptical and questioned Paisley's ability to calm down and accept us as the leader, but he became a believer after he saw the results of Michael's visit. It really is amazing. I am so thankful to Michael. My pup can now relax and give up the leadership role that she didn't need to be burdened with in the first place. She and my husband are now sharing peaceful nights sitting together on the back porch.

Michael has been working with me and my mix breed rescue dog, Tula, since December. Once I saw my dog getting in the red zone around other dogs, including my dog and my cat, and not being able to control her behavior, I knew I need help. One day as i was at the park, I saw a lady with an identical looking dog. Naturally, her dog has caught my attention. The dog was, however, very obedient and I have recognized some of the techniques from Cesar Milan. We started chatting and I have learned that she has had similar issues to mine with her dog before she started working with Michael. Needless to say, I was convinced that this is a sign and that he is the person that will help me and Tula get back on track. I have called him and we talked for a long time. Michael wanted to make sure that I am aware that this is not your typical dog training and that it is all up to me how much work am I willing to put in, which will determine how fast my dog and I can progress. He was convinced that we can do it. I liked Michael from the very beginning; his knowledge, honesty, professionalism and calm energy. I knew that with his help I can fix Tula’s behavior. Working with Michael has helped me realize how much anxiety and hidden anger I was personally dealing with and how this was transferred onto Tula. He has helped me build her up, and in the process, correct my own energy that Tula was picking on. Michael is an amazing animal behaviorist and I can’t recommend him enough. I love his stories and how they relate to my own experiences. All my animals love him and get super excited when he comes. They can sense him when he is on his way. We are all connected and our dogs are here to show us what we need to work on in regards to our stuck up energy and fear. Michael’s work evolves around energy and that is why I think his method is so effective! Thank you Michael for all your help! Basia and Tula

I started working with Michael because my border collie Kodi had fear issues that led to aggression. Kodi has always been scared and it turned into her biting someone. She has also had issues with being territorial and possessive. She gets along with our other dogs but not strange dogs. When Kodi started to get upset or mad it was like she would blackout and there was no stopping her. After talking to Michael on the phone I was already super confident about him helping me. Michael came to our house and Kodi’s proved to be a challenge but Michael was able to help me correct her immediately. After just two sessions we see a huge difference in Kodi! I have been working with Kodi everyday doing the exercises that Michael taught us. She hasn’t had any aggression and has been listening much better. She also seems so much happier and Kodi and I are closer than we have ever been. I feel like I have a whole new dog. I am still working with Michael to get Kodi more and more comfortable with people. UPDATE: After working with Kodi at home we moved to walks in the park. I was expecting Kodi to try and hide like she has done before. She surprised me and never tried to run or hide from people or other dogs. She showed no aggression at all. I am so happy I called Michael. His positive energy and love for his job shows. He made this whole experience fun and I looked forward to every session. My relationship with Kodi has grown so much and I have only Michael to thank for getting us where we are.