Mid-Atlantic Dog Training

I started looking for a dog trainer when my dog Ralphie's leash reactivity seemed to be getting worse. I know that dogs feed off of their owners and that I had to change my behavior on the other end of the leash to start helping him. I did the best I could on my own, but in the end I realized that I needed help. I found the Mid-Atlantic Dog Training Facebook page and saw all of the success stories about dogs that had had issues very similar to Ralphie's. The before and after videos really gave me hope. My vet also recommend Tom without me having mentioned him, so I knew it wasn't a coincidence! From the very first meeting with Tom, I was very impressed with his professionalism, experience, and depth of knowledge about dogs, dog training, and teaching people. We talked about my goals with Ralphie and my other dog Oliver (while Oliver didn't have issues like Ralphie's, he did have a high prey drive and tendency to ignore me). Tom explained how important structure and routine were for dogs and how I could best establish that leadership role with them both inside the house and outside on the leash. He also made me realize how important consistency is because dogs will pick up on inconsistency and they really will take a mile if you give them an inch! I won't give away his techniques, but I will say that while we did have to make some changes to our routine and it took some time to adjust, it's been a lifestyle change that I don't want to give up now! My dogs are still works in progress and training is never something that should just stop, but I can that they are both much more relaxed and confident dogs. Ralphie used to always sleep with me and never wanted me to leave his sight. I get an actual good night's rest now and he is no longer glued to me. I can also say that two days ago we went to a busy, city park and were able to calmly sit and simply observe for a while right next to a duck pond and then next to a dog park. It was a very proud day! I highly recommend Tom and Mid-Atlantic Dog Training if you're a motivated dog owner and are committed to your training goals!

We contacted Tom for help training our 5 year old rescue mix. What we didn't realize was that he would wind up training us rather than her - and the result is that we now know how to communicate clearly with her about what behaviors we do or don't want, and how to get her to actually change those behaviors. Just a few months ago, our dog had zero boundaries, barked at everything, pulled at her leash, and didn't respond to verbal commands. After working with Tom and implementing his methods, and a lot of practice, our dog knows her place in our house, goes there on command, goes on walks calmly without starting fights with every squirrel or other dog we may pass, and in general looks to us for instruction on what she should be doing. Even better, we now know how to instruct her further ourselves! Long story short, it was our experience that if you are willing to put in the work with Tom and Mid-Atlantic, you will get results, and change your relationship with your dog for the better. And it doesn't hurt that Tom is a really nice guy and truly fun to work with.

Tom was excellent, he definitely gave us the tough love we needed in order to get our boy Duke trained. Duke is a rescue, who has a mysterious past we don’t know much about. But soon after we got him we realized he had anxiety. Being first time dog owners we did not know how to help with this and ultimately weren’t giving him the leadership he needed. His anxiety lead to aggression to guests who would come over our apartment. Tom taught us how to become leaders to Duke. It was a slow start but with perseverance and Tom’s help, Duke had done a complete 180. I am very proud of Dukes progress and very thankful for Mid-Atlantic Dog Training.

This review of Tom is long overdue. We rescued Joey a lab retriever mix at 3 months old. We started noticing unwanted behaviors such as; pulling on the leash, getting over excited when seeing dogs, and becoming reactive when people would knock and come into our apartment. Tom provided us with the tools, basic commands, and information to provide a structured life for Joey. He taught us basic commands and gave us a different perspective of how dogs think. Tom was professional, knowledgeable, helpful and understanding of our dog Joey. We continue to reinforce the good habits we instilled in Joey with all of Tom’s advice and tools. We also continue to partipcate in Tom’s Pack Walk, which we believe is an amazing way to continue to enforce those good habits while socializing with other dogs that have completed Tom’s training Thank you Tom so much for helping Joey and providing us with life long tools and teaching us how to be better owners and how to train Joey. Joey is a completely different dog from where we started to where he is now. Joey is now a Calm, well-behaved and more confident dog. We cannot thank you enough.

Tom is a wonderful dog trainer-- but in reality he is more of a human trainer! He not only helped our dog (then puppy) Cali to gain confidence and blossom into the well-behaved, awesome dog she is today, but he also gave Nick and I the confidence we needed to be great leaders for our pup. Cali is our first dog as a couple, and Nick's very first dog, and without Tom we truly would have been lost. The best part of Mid-Atlantic Dog Training is that once you train with Tom he becomes a friend and resource for life. We are looking forward to staying in touch with him for years to come! :)