Positive Response Dog Training

Jim worked miracles training my last two German Shepherds. The first one was untrainable and Jim managed to transform this very aggressive protective male alpha into a wonderful obedient companion and member of the family. Jim did the same with our second shepherd training him before he came to live with us so it was a breeze from the beginning. With both dogs, jim continued with training on site - as much for me as for the dogs - to make sure that everyone was on the same page. He is incredibly conscientious and responsible. Jim is simply superb at what he does with great judgment and a wonderful way about him. He is always available and once was about to hop in his car to drive 2 plus hours to our house at midnight when we could not find the dog on our grounds. I recommend him totally and unconditionally..

Looking back, I feel compelled to leave this review so others seeking behavior modification training for reactive dogs can make a more informed decision. I worked with Jim over a year ago and signed up for a four session package based on his recommendation. At the time, I didn’t realize how inadequate that would be for the level of behavioral help I needed but I now believe that should have been clear to a professional trainer from the start. From the very first session, there was no real relationship built with my dog, which is concerning for a behavior case. Instead, the trainer immediately used high pressure on the e-collar without taking the time to observe or connect with my dog first. This felt more like forcing submission than building trust. The sessions that followed didn’t address Milo’s core struggles with reactivity at all. Instead, we went on neighborhood walks without much hands on instruction. I was told to switch from a slip lead to a prong collar, but never shown how to use it correctly and later realized it had been clipped on incorrectly based on everything I’ve since learned. Only the final session slightly addressed reactivity (and was honestly the only one I felt had some value), but by then it felt like too little, too late. I had to explicitly push for that session otherwise, the last session would’ve centered around teaching my dog to wait for a ball to stop rolling before chasing it, which felt irrelevant to my goals and concerns. Ultimately, this program was not tailored to the behavioral needs I clearly communicated. If you’re looking for basic obedience work, maybe the experience would be different. But for behavior modification, especially involving reactivity, I cannot recommend this trainer.