Tactical K9

The years have blessed me with lots of experience with giant breeds, training, dog obedience trails and fun matches. Fast forward to my advancing age, military injuries and one of the strongest pups in the world, S. African Boerboel/Mastiff and I know I need help. Although my pup is perfect on our land, living up to his breeds expectations, he a giant Marmaduke in social settings, a real challenge to control him from meeting and greeting everyone. His size and strength makes him intimidating to strangers. I bring my pup to interview the owner of Tactical K9 who explained that my dog would spend the day training and only be in the crate they provide during the staffs lunch and from 6pm until 6am. There was no other staff during this visit and all dogs in his care were in crates. A few days before drop off for the 3 weeks of training in Tactical K9’s care I contacted him to secure a drop off time. He preferred I bring my dog early for him to have time to acclimate with the crate and staff. I delivered my dog at the time agreed (even sent a text an hour prior reminding him) only to find the owner in his pickup truck preparing to leave, saying he “forgot” and its fine to just put my dog in a crate that he would be back in 15 minutes. I declined as my dog has never been in a crate and said I would wait in my car w/my dog until he returns. 25 Minutes later he returns with takeout food and a small child. Again there is no other staff present and all other dogs are in crates and only addressed as “be quiet!, be quiet” as we bring in my dog and his supplies. My nagging feelings begin, but I have a plane to catch for the southern hemisphere and no other options at this late date. The owner does assure me that training videos will be sent via Whatsapp every 5 days. I look forward to the 5 training videos that never really materialized except for 2 only demonstrating things my dog could already do. Again, my dogs problem was approaching strangers for pet-athons in social settings, not walking past/playing with barn animals. After a few weeks of him not responding to my requests for the videos my daughter gets involved demanding proof of life videos at a minimum to prevent her from driving down from VA. We agree on pickup time via Whatsapp just prior to my stateside return to include my training on the E-collar. He is not there, 2 women and a small child where in the driveway and mentioned he would be returning. Again all dogs were in crates. He arrives late, tells one of the women to walk the crated dogs and explains the e-collar to me. When I ask questions for clarification his responses are curt “You need to pay attention”. Additionally he takes 2 phone calls during our appt. Finally he says he will bring out my dog approx 20 feet from me and I can approach only if my dog remains stable by him. Wrong answer for a Mastiff! Instead of allowing for a meet and greet after 3 weeks absence to allow him to calm himself at seeing me he continually beeps/raises the infliction of discomfort on my dog until he is writhing on the ground rubbing the source of his pain. The trainer was only prepared with a prong collar and e-collar to inflict discomfort. No treats for potential good behavior. I’d had enough and took my dog at which he says “take your dog, if your not going to listen to me”. Nope buddy, I am ashamed that I listened to you as long as I did! His last words to me were, “don’t forget your have 3 additional trainings, if you want”. Are you kidding me? Bottom line, I don’t believe my dog was out of the crate long enough to fulfill the training promised, and if he was then the e-collar was used as a crutch for lazy training.

I personally had a bad experience dealing with Terry i never met him in person but we talked on the phone I told him that I was looking for a finished personal protection dog and he told me it would cost $16,000 and we talked two different times a very lengthy amount one was over an hour and he said he wasn't training the dog personal he sent me a picture what she said was an AKC Belgian Malinois but it had long hair and honestly it looked like a mutt it did not look like a Belgian Malinois that I had ever seen. And he said we were going to have a meeting and talk about everything and then he sends me a bill and estimated bill for $16,500 so he added an extra $500 on it that we never even discussed in the two linksy conversations that we had. And I made it clear I wanted to know the total price for everything so I could have the money ready and it was $16,000 for a finished trained protection dog. But at that point the dog he had sent me was not a Malinois and I even Googled it and it said melon was don't come in long hair i don't know and the dog look very small at least in the picture it did and it just didn't look like it it just looked like a mutt to me i've never seen that in any police dog pictures it wasn't even a dog that looked familiar to me and dogs are my life i'm into dogs I've been into dogs since I was little i've even worked for a trainer before that's why I knew I wanted my dog trained by a professional but when he up the price $500 without even speaking to me about it made me not trust him no more also sending me a picture of a dog that had really long hair and look like some type of mix. Anyway when I call a business and ask for a trainer he said he wasn't even going to be the one training the dog so that kind of threw me off cuz it's your business you know I'm just getting somebody you hired and 16,000 is a lot of money and it was the highest price I'd heard but when he tried to add that extra $500 on top of it I just lost Trust.

We cannot recommend Tactical K9 and Terry enough! We have a loving yet strong headed and slightly anxious 3 year old dog (rescued at 5 months, American Pitbull) who would pull and was reactive towards strangers who would stop to chat while out walking as well as anyone approaching our home. After spending time with Terry and his wonderful staff, he now remains calm towards other people while out. He also has a calmer demeanor which we can tell makes him a happier dog. We are comfortable when taking him into public places and having guests in our home. Terry also provided us with the tools and knowledge necessary to continue his training at home. We believe this is very important to continue these exercises in order to achieve maximum success. Terry has been more than willing to answer any questions we have. We strongly recommend his services and really appreciate his calm, gentle demeanor.

I was initially hesitant to send my 1-year-old Dogo Argentino for basic board and train, but the results were absolutely amazing. Terry communicated thoroughly every step of the way and made sure nothing was left unknown. Having a 100+ pound mastiff in public isn’t always easy—especially with the stereotypes around large breeds—but thanks to Terry’s help, we’ve been able to challenge and change many of those perceptions. Now, I can take him to restaurants, walk him in public, and he stays completely focused on me. This review is long overdue, but I also want to mention that I reached out to Terry a year later for some information, and he responded without hesitation or delay. I’m looking forward to working with him again in the future and definitely recommend his training services!