I unknowingly picked out a very active and aggressive puppy. Kona had an incredible drive for food, hunting “prey”, and playing rough. His eyes had a kind of frantic glaze; it seemed he couldn’t calm down enough to connect with me.
I took him to a PetSmart puppy class on the very day he was old enough to go. He weighed about four pounds, but was in a class with big breed puppies who were quite a bit older than he was. The classes were us humans listening and watching a few examples of how to train the basics, while really everyone was watching their dogs and wondering if they were going to hurt each other. After four classes, I asked the trainer if she thought Kona was a little too aggressive. The trainer rolled her eyes and kind of grimaced at me. I didn’t go to the fifth class.
At home, Kona was jumping up on people and play-biting just as if we were puppies also. One day, he jumped up and bit a friend’s lip. Between that and my experiences at PetSmart, I was at my wit’s end. I found Steve’s website and chose his three-lesson package.
He came to my home and in one hour I had a much better picture of Kona’s true temperament. He wasn’t really aggressive or mean, just very playful and rambunctious. Steve gave me about four PetSmart lessons rolled into one for us to practice during the first week. His lessons are 100% hands-on with the dog, while the pet store classes were mostly listening and practicing at home. He demonstrated his techniques over and over, then had me try them until I understood. My intense puppy and I really needed those one-on-one demonstrations and full-lesson focus.
I also had Steve help us with Kona’s fellow housedog, who is one year older. They have different personalities, and we were concerned about their interactions. Steve observed them at play two times and his evaluations and suggestions were extremely helpful – he saw the subtle behavior signals that told him our dogs were relating to each other appropriately.
I wouldn’t have gotten through the first six months owning this puppy without Steve! He has experience and a wealth of training methods that enable him to evaluate what approach will work best with each dog. The internet is full of horror stories of dogs with strong drives being mishandled. Kona was a real challenge, and I shudder to think what might have happened if I had called a less-knowledgeable trainer.
I work out of my home, and have a lot of people coming in and out of the house. Ike is your typical puppy – always jumping on people, mouthing on things, and wanting to play all the time. Walter is three-years-old, and can be very threatening to anyone who comes to our front door. I had a pet sitter who quit because she thought Walter was too aggressive.
Steve fixed these problems really fast. He came in the front door on the first day, and Walter had no problem with him. Ike was very responsive to the training, and Steve got him walking on a leash, sitting, and obeying me within a few sessions. The best thing he did was educate me on how to train them on my own. He showed me a lot of little tricks I can use to stop Ike from jumping and biting, and to keep Walter from scaring away customers and house guests.
Steve is a great guy – so positive and friendly. He’s a wonderful person to work with. Now, I know how to keep my dogs behaving the way I want. They’re a lot easier to manage, and I can take them out in public without worrying they’ll bother anyone.
I contacted Steve before I adopted my puppy Morgan, because I knew I’d need help with her. He answered a bajillion questions I had, and prepared me so I knew what to expect when Morgan arrived. What’s so great about Steve’s training is that he comes to my home and he’s able to work around my schedule. My career keeps me very busy, so that’s really important. Morgan’s training is an ongoing process – she’s still just a puppy – but Steve has already cured her of constantly jumping on me and other people. She knows her commands, knows how to behave on a leash, and acts like a little lady.
Annie was six months old, and wasn’t listening to a word I said. When I took her outside, she’d run off on her own and wouldn’t come when I called.
Steve came for three sessions, and taught me everything I needed to know to correct Annie’s behavior. He’s a really good trainer, and definitely knows what he’s talking about. I was never intimidated by him or the training process, and he always made sure I understood the lessons and how to follow-up on my own after he left.
I keep reinforcing all the lessons Steve taught me, and Annie’s behavior is much better. She finally listens to me!
Panda is four months old, and a typical puppy. She won’t listen, jumps all over everyone and everything, and behaves like a little crazy-person. We needed to get her behavior under control, because she was making life at home tough on me and my husband.
Steve is very friendly and great with dogs. He’s extremely thorough with all his lessons, and he’ll practice with me and Panda until he’s sure we both understand. I learned a lot from him about how to make her obey me, and things are much better now.
We’ve just adopted an 8-week-old puppy, and Panda’s going to need some help adjusting to her new friend. We’ll be calling Steve for some new lessons.
Steve was all it took for my dog Major and I to have a better relationship. His training techniques really work. I could tell Major liked working with Steve, because after the first training session I had already seen a change for the better. I used to wrestle with Major all the time because he wouldn’t stop nipping and biting my hands, especially when I would try and discipline him. By the end of the month-long session I finally realized there were no more teeth-on-hands. Without Steve’s expertise in training this would never have been accomplished.
Steve truly cares about your pet and about establishing a better relationship between you and your best friend. Another thing I liked about Steve’s training is that he urges you to call him anytime, no matter how small or big the problem is. He’s on time all the time and really cares if he gets through to you and your pet. Steve is always honest with you throughout the training sessions to better help you in the long run.
Thank you Steve, for all you have done to help us with our dog Major. We’ll never forget you. We honestly have to say, we could not have chosen a better person to bring us and our dog closer and happier.