The Dog Trainer

My family adopted the sweetest little dog from the animal shelter, Maggie, and had her for a couple years. No matter what we did, though, we couldn't train Maggie so that she'd be safer when outside, or more obedient at home. As a probable whippet/pitbull mix, she is lightning fast, and very protective, but also incredibly anxious from bad experiences prior to us adopting her. There have been multiple times in which she slipped out of her collar when outside, and went running around the neighborhood; the only way she would come back and let herself be caught was by us pulling out the treats and giving them to our other dog. We were terrified that Maggie would run out in the road and be hit by a car. We brought her to Mr. DeBoard so that she wouldn't be a flight risk whenever she's outside, and easier to work with at home. We had high hopes as we prepared to drop Maggie off with Mr. DeBoard, and were in no way let down. Maggie has been home for about a month, and her behavior is stellar. Mr. DeBoard set a strong foundation for her to learn basic obedience, which helps her be more safe outside and at home, and which also helps her FEEL more safe. She knows that her human family members are there to keep her from harm and handle any problems that come her way. Maggie is more confident than ever, still as sweet as sugar and super happy to greet everyone, and also very attentive and obedient when someone commands her to sit (and stay), to come along with them, to wait before walking through the back door, and more. She gets to really confidently be herself, without being anxious about having to protect herself at all costs or be on the lookout for danger. Mr. DeBoard not only helped Maggie, but he also helped the human members of the family learn how to continue Maggie's training in the months to come. We all, humans and Maggie alike, have so deeply benefited from Mr. DeBoard's time, energy, and knowledge. He has a huge heart for the dogs that he works with, and endless patience with the dogs and their people! I can not recommend Mr. DeBoard's training program enough. A few weeks of training are going to result in a full lifetime of peace and security for Maggie. Seriously, if you want your dog to be trained well, and to still keep their own personality and grow with more confidence rather than fear, go to Mr. DeBoard!!! He will disappoint you or your dog.

My family adopted a shy, timid pitbull mix a couple of years ago. She's the sweetest thing, super lovey dovey, sometimes a couch potato and sometimes a speedster when playing around with our other dog. We were able to house train her quickly---she already seemed semi-trained when we got her---but despite our best efforts, she had a pattern of slipping out off open doors and running around the neighborhood if we weren't hyper-vigilant. We were very worried for her safety. After she stayed with Mr. DeBoard for a few weeks, we cannot believe how well behaved she is. She listens to all of the commands; we were gobsmacked when Mr. DeBoard showed us the ones that he taught her and she did them automatically. After two weeks of the post-boarding training routine he showed us, she follows the commands from all our family members. We are now able to take her outside to go potty without a leash---something we thought would never be possible. Best of all, she kept all her playfulness and waggy-tail energy! We were worried that, with how anxious she is, extended boarding would be too much for her. Mr. DeBoard was very considerate of this and ended up keeping her for a third week so that she had the time she needed to properly learn everything without being pushed too hard. It was worth it! Thank you so much, Mr. DeBoard!

Sending my high energy English lab to Chris was the hardest, but absolute best decision. Chris is extremely knowledgeable about safely training dogs to understand the simple commands of “no” and “good”. He really took his time with Sunny and kept him for 20 days. Although it was hard without him, it was the best money I’ve ever spent! The best part is my dog’s personality didn’t change, he just listens and respects my commands. Highly recommend Chris!

We reached out to Chris for help training our rescue pup, Sugar, who was full of energy and didn’t seem to think she needed to listen to everyone in our household. She returned to us a completely different dog! While still full of energy, she no longer barks at our boys, she follows commands such as sit, down, place, off, and she’s much more enjoyable on walks. We couldn’t be happier with the training Chris provided, and the sweet, well behaved puppy we now have back home with us.

Chris came highly recommended, yet we were very cautious about our expectations for the outcome. We left our almost 1 year old Corso/Dane mix with him after several failed home training "negations"; and I call them negotiations because we were at the point that we were bribing her with treats constantly and accepting "lesser" bad behaviors because we were exhausted with constantly feeling like we were correcting & fussing at her. Chris took the time that was needed to understand her and the dog that returned home to us is the dog we had dreamed for when we got her. She is more engaged with us and has a visible desire to do what is asked of her. She is respectful of our space and words, and it is the calmest our house has been with a puppy, ever. We cannot say enough great things about Chris' approach and commitment to helping dogs be the best version of the amazing animals that they are!