Empire State K9 Services

Look no further!!! Rick truly is a one of a kind dog trainer and animal behaviorist. If you need changes, this is who you need! What makes him stand apart is he trains the family as much as he trains the dog so you get a complete understanding of your dog's behavior and the how, why, and when to apply what you learn in the course. We, as a family, learned just as much or even more than our dogs learned! He includes the entire family in the classes which was awesome because it kept my husband and I on the same page so we didn't confuse our dogs and he taught my kids proper dog safety and proper engagement which is crucial! We found Rick about 8 years ago when we got our first dog, Scout, a shepherd/Doberman mix, who was extremely anxious, fearful and aggressive towards anyone outside our family and other animals. It was impossible, stressful, and downright embarrassing to take him anywhere due to his insistent barking, pulling, and lunging... so we sought out help. We had a hard time finding a trainer who was willing to even take on the training of Scout and actually had multiple trainers tell us just to put him down!!! As soon as we met Rick, he was not only willing to work with Scout, but was enthusiastic that he could treat Scout's individual issues and get us the results we wanted which was such a relief!! Scout entered Rick's program and he had a COMPLETE TRANSFORMATION. He gained so much confidence and control through the program and through Rick training us as the handlers, Scout was comfortable in whatever situation he was in because he could trust us as his alphas and that he was safe under our command because of the skills Rick taught us. Flash forward to 2020, my father bought a Rottweiler puppy that ended up being way to much for him to handle so he asked us to take her and my first phone call was to Rick... She was OUT OF CONTROL. We adopted Phoenix, and started her training right away. She had entirely different issues than Scout, mostly no control, no house manners, and had no social skills. Rick worked with her and almost instantly she was a different dog. She was still her happy-go-lucky self, but had manners and control. Through her growth, Rick worked with her and us to mold her into the ideal family dog! Scout & Phoenix are able to enjoy life much more as we are able to handle all settings and bring them along with us anywhere with confidence. He just has a complete understanding and nature with dogs and it's astonishing to watch him work. We are so grateful for what Rick has brought to our family and will always go to him for our dogs in the future!

We brought our extremely aggressive Cane Corso to Rick. I honestly didnt think he could train this dog to be less aggressive to other people and animals. He had her for 2 weeks and when we came to pick up Bleu she much calmer in completely in control. Before we took Bleu home Rick gave us some training to continue with Bleu. Then a few more times after, we went back for training and for Rick to see what needs to be corrected in anything. Our dog is amazing now! Walking her is such a joy as she no longer lunges at every car that passes or any other animal we see along the way. She stay right next to me, doesn't pull at all. We can have guest over now with locking her in her cage. I highly recommend Empire State. If they can train/fix my dog they can train any dog.

Working with Rick has been a life saving experience! I began to be in need of a service animal about 5 years ago and after many failed attempts with other trainers, I began to lose hope. I called and spoke with Rikki who was extremely informative and made me feel so comfortable that I traveled from Mexico just to meet with Rick and see what he offered. After our first meeting, I was so impressed with him and his dogs that I chose to stay for the week and begin our training. I continued to do phone and video calls and traveled back to Connecticut several times after. I now have the ability to travel independently using just my service animal. The world has opened back up to me. Thank you Rick