Unleashed Unlimited

This review is specifically regarding the SNAKE AVOIDANCE TRAINING offered at Unleashed Unlimited. I cannot recommend this clinic highly enough. I also want to properly credit Wayne Lain of Snake Breaker, the specialist who personally conducted the training. Unleashed Unlimited hosted and organized the clinic, and they deserve tremendous credit for making this specialized training available. I believe some reviews of this clinic lose sight of what this was actually intended to accomplish. This was not an obedience class, recreational activity, or herpetology seminar. It was safety training intended to give a dog the opportunity to recognize and avoid a potentially deadly animal. Participants were informed about Mr. Lain and the process. Owners could observe, ask questions, and were told that an e-collar would be used. Participation was a CHOICE. My experience was organized, smooth and extremely professional by BOTH parties involved. My dog is family, I took that choice seriously. I researched Mr. Lain, who has professionally trained dogs since 2004 and specializes in snake avoidance. I listened to his Gundog Nation interview explaining his methodology, real-world snake encounters and emergency preparation. I wanted to understand exactly who was handling my dog, what he was doing and why. All of this info is easy to find. This was disclosed aversion training using an e-collar. Regretting a method you knowingly agreed to does not give you license to attack a trainer’s character, competence, and qualifications without even researching them. Being offended after the fact does not magically turn disclosure into deception, training into cruelty, or a professional into someone irresponsible. Also, I personally observed Mr. Lain paying attention to the welfare of the snakes. In the Texas heat, he checked their condition and made clear that breaks were necessary. From what I witnessed, they were treated as living animals requiring appropriate care, not disposable training props. But respecting a venomous snake does not require pretending that the danger it presents to a curious dog is any less real. My question was far more serious: What happens when my dog sees the snake before I do? A recall command requires me to recognize the danger first. A concealed snake may be smelled, heard or seen by my dog before I ever know it is there. I wanted my dog to have another layer of protection—to recognize that danger independently and choose distance rather than investigation. No responsible dog training makes a dog infallible. Paying for professional obedience training does not guarantee a dog will execute every command perfectly forever, and snake-avoidance training cannot guarantee a dog will never be bitten. Training provides another layer of protection, not a force field. Approximately one week after this clinic, the issue stopped being theoretical for me. My dog alerted me to a copperhead snake concealed in bushes/vegetation only steps from our apartment’s front door. My dog noticed the snake before I did. We live in a developed apartment community not on a remote ranch. That experience destroyed ANY false sense of security I might have had that snake encounters are only a concern for hunting dogs or people living in rural areas. I cannot guarantee that I will always see the danger first, be able to intervene, or issue a command. That is why I can't reduce something this serious to whether every moment of the training was comfortable to watch. A real encounter will not concern itself with what was comfortable for me. Nobody should blindly accept any training method. Understand what is being done and why. Then make an informed decision for your own dog. I did. And only days later, I experienced exactly why I wanted my dog to have this additional layer of protection. He alerted me to what I didn't see. For me, this training wasn’t merely worth the money. It was priceless. Thank you, Unleashed Unlimited, for making this specialized clinic available, and Wayne Lain/Snake Breaker for conducting it.

I've had a five-star experience at Unleashed Unlimited for the last two years. I rescued a puppy in 2024, and the first tool I used from Unleashed Unlimited was The Puppy Manual. Penelope, my pup, has a decent training foundation from that PDF guide. Then, I went to a training consult. There are three different tiers of training and we chose Train and Play (middle tier). My husband and I attended 1-1 sessions with Avery and it was so productive. We learned that Penny is very smart and agile, and highly motivated by string cheese! She responds well to the e-collar and we use it to re-train some commands. Since she has completed her training, we've sent her to Doggie Daycare as well as boarding for when we are on vacation. She always comes back happy. I think my dog is truly an extrovert and she's really found her place! I am so happy to bring Penelope here for boarding or daycare; I know she will come home happy and tired. I also know she will always be safe there. The staff has done a great job and it's really the people who've made our experience five stars. The facility itself is gorgeous and clean, as well! Thank you Paul and Tracey!

I cannot say enough positive things about this place! Every worker that I have encountered has been pleasant, patient, and knowledgeable. They all seem truly dedicated to the job and role they play. Paul is a timely and professional communicator. Avery is amazing with both of my dogs who have wildly different temperaments and personalities. Also timely and professional with her communication. I have used them for training and boarding and will not take my dogs anywhere else. I know they are taken care of and loved on appropriately. I decided on training for both dogs (aged 6 and 3) due to physical conflicts that I was experiencing creating a lot of anxiety for myself and family. Care and attention was appropriately given while my dogs were in training and both dogs learned A LOT! If you are looking for a safe and caring place to train your dogs, this is the place!

This review is about additional services they sub out. Short version, it’s completely inept. Performative theater. Zero effective training techniques observed. Go elsewhere. TL;DR If their dog training services are as decent as some of the reviews imply, the snake wranglers clearly know nothing about dog training, and why they would allow their brand to be impacted by these subs, I’m not sure what the rationale is. I scheduled two of my dogs for snake training the same day. Neither session was productive. They tried to introduce the dogs to 4 different snake settings in the corral. The first one they approached the snake and shocked the dog. After putting the dog into an excited and unteachable state, they proceeded to drag the dog around the property instead of letting it re-enter a submissive, teachable state. They dragged her around so much so that they yanked the collar off of her neck. Then she proceeded to run around the property. I contained her and brought her back. Then coming back, the snake wranglers were just interested in moving onto the next station they had set up and not concerned about the dog, the dog inputs, or assessing the feedback from the dog. Zero dog skills were demonstrated. My other dog didn’t want to follow their leash commands because the snake wranglers weren’t skilled with a leash. So they drug my second dog out to the first snake with paws firmly planted on the ground. No training occurred. Just people perfunctorily going through the motions Shock. Repeat dragging the dog. Then when they tired of dragging her, they brought the snake to the dog. She was not even aware. She learned to associate the shock with the wrangler’s poor leash skills and perhaps his scent, if anything at all because she was so focused on him and not even aware of the snakes. And she’s the hunter we find every night shredding and pulling apart frogs or small field mice (rabbits still too quick for her). She loves to rip apart small prey. We thought she would be the one to bolt and attack once seeing the snakes. Only thing more oblivious to the task at hand were the snake wranglers who didn’t know how to focus a dog’s attention. If looking for snake aversion training, go elsewhere. The training was perfunctory and pure performance. There was no training. About as effective as them selling you snake oil for your dog’s ailments. A better name for this offering would be snake aversion Theater.