The Doghouse, LLC

We welcome all reviews at the Doghouse, even the negative ones, because they generate learning. I think Yelp removed your original review because it did not sound as though you had paid for a service. I appreciate you taking the time to repost. I believe that no ONE method works for every dog. The trainer must tailor the program to the individual dog AND the individual owner. This is the purpose of why we book the evaluations/meet and greets. I understand that correcting a loved one can be challenging. In extreme cases, such as with your dog, I have to control the dog when it displays the intent to injure/kill another dog. Once I have control, I can teach the dog the correct way to behave around other dogs. I am often the "last stop" before euthanasia for dogs that display the level of confusion and aggression as your dog. I stand behind my years of successfully managing aggressive dogs to a healthy and more balanced life as proof that there are no harmful side effects when appropriately applying a correction. As stated above, I would describe your dog as an extreme case. You even said in your review that "I had already worked with multiple trainers with Lexi and had had no luck." Your dog was extremely leash reactive. So reactive that you could not walk Lexi in public for fear of her potentially attacking another dog. My evaluation/session with her did produce positive results. After correcting your dog, the session progressed to the point that Lexi could get within a few feet of another dog without a reaction in a relatively short amount of time. Now we could have started replacing the reactivity with behaviors through obedience. Lexi would have a new job around dogs, and we would reward her for those positive behaviors. I consider your evaluation a successful one. You did everything correctly. You asked questions; you toured the kennel; you watched a session with your dog and determined you would not be able to correct Lexi when needed to inhibit her extreme reactivity. As you stated in your review, "you let me know you were not comfortable with the correction." You also stated that "I heard you and understood what you were saying." I did then, and I still do now. You want to change severe aggressive behavior without a calm, controlled correction to teach her a new desired response around dogs. That is not reality. No dog deserves to live a life of isolation from the world outside. Based on the positive reaction during the evaluation, I firmly believe that I could have helped Lexi. I also know that I could have helped you gain the freedoms you told me you wanted. The confidence to walk Lexi around the neighborhood without being fearful of her reacting to other dogs, handle her in a vet's office, and the freedom from the fear of not being able to control your dog. The only thing I regret is that we will not have that opportunity. We at the Doghouse wish you and Lexi the best of luck.

Thank you, Erika, for taking the time to leave a review. We have loved training and boarding Memphis and working alongside you guys.

Wow, thank you so much for the 5 stars! We’re thrilled you and your pup had an awesome experience at The Doghouse LLC.