FirstBark
My wife and I thought we did our due diligence before we even called Rick Walkley of Focus Dog Training. He would not talk much about his program over the phone with my wife and said he had to come to our house to explain how it works. Long story short, he ended up taking our do…Read full reviewClose full review
My wife and I thought we did our due diligence before we even called Rick Walkley of Focus Dog Training. He would not talk much about his program over the phone with my wife and said he had to come to our house to explain how it works. Long story short, he ended up taking our dog on a very short walk and we were so impressed by our dog’s behavior while on the walk, we decided to pay Rick’s fee up front which he represented to us would be for one year of training at about one hour per session per week. The total averaged about $50 per hour. Of the seven sessions we hung in there for and used his services, only two came close to being a full hour. Most were 15 to 30 minutes in duration. He kept telling us that was all our dog needed or could handle. That is one reason we became unhappy. The other reason we became disenchanted with Mr. Walkley is that he always chose and notified us by text when the next session would be. He did not let us first check our calendar. He did not even suggest the next training date options at the end of a session before leaving. He simply left, selected a date, and notified us as to when he would be available. If the date he selected was not good for us, it was 1-3 days later before we heard from him regarding another date he had selected. My wife requested on more than one occasion that he pick a same day/same time every week so we could plan. We advised him that there was only one day of the week that typically did not work for us and he often selected that day for training our dog. So, after seven training sessions over more than a six-month period of time, we called it quits and asked for a prorated refund of our money. He then explained to us that the upfront fee we paid was a discounted amount for our single payment and if we cancelled early, his normal fee of $195 per session would apply and he could only give us a credit toward future training. This condition was never explained to us. He did eventually provide some waiver of liability forms that alluded to the discount but did not disclose the numbers. Once we convinced him that we no longer felt comfortable dealing with him and that we were prepared to file suit, he offered his original reduced refund in cash in exchange for signing a “General Release Agreement” which would prevent us from posting any negative reviews. We refused to agree with that. It seems likely that is why he has no negative reviews on the internet. Rick Walkley talks the talk but he doesn’t walk the walk. He expects to set the date and time of each session without first checking with you, he won’t set weekly appointments, and he spends only a few minutes training your dog. Beyond that, he wants you to do the training but provides very little guidance and instruction for you. Let’s face it, how much can he do in 15-20 minutes average training time for either the dog or the owner. It’s your choice but if you decide to use Focus Dog Training be sure that you get everything in writing before paying your money.