Alpha K-9 Obedience

Thank heavens that myself, my husband, and our four year old German Shepherd found our way to Michael and his incredible gift! Griffin came into our lives a few years ago and it did not take long to notice that this beautiful red and black plush coated shepherd did everything to avoid eye contact, would demonstrate necrotic behaviors and a restless pacing soul with bouts of what seemed like aggressive behavior towards other dogs and my horse. Griffin particularly took a disliking to men and would lunge with a focus on the hands of people. I couldn't feel a connection with this dog, something I have never even had to work or earn with previous fosters or family members. I hired a dog trainer and spent a year meeting weekly for "training" sessions. Although we learned some neat tricks and honed our basics, I never ever got to truly understand what made Griffin tick! I was left feeling very unsatisfied. I desperately wanted to find that magical connection with Griff but I felt no closer to bonding or earning his trust after a year of training than the day we brought him home. Then one morning working on fence my new neighbor came down to the fence-line to visit me and catch up, rather an impromptu visit but all the dogs were enjoying the sunshine by the tractor and I thought nothing of a quick visit. Griff was unmoved at the time. As my lovely neighbor walked towards me Griff suddenly triggered, hackled, and charged her and ran a tight loop around the back of her legs! That was the worst experience I could have ever imagined and absolutely unexpected and unacceptable behavior. I knew I needed someone special, someone gifted, firm but kind, someone who could teach me and help me understand what it was that was going on in Griffin's head, and most importantly how on earth I could learn to help my dog. Seeing all the same statements and promises from trainers during my Google search I was feeling completely dejected. Then later that day my husband came out to the barn with iPad in hand and sat me down to read the website of Alpha K-9 Obedience, "I've found someone" my husband said with conviction!! I spent the next few hours captivated and feeling a renewed sense of hope as I poured through Michael's website and all the incredible testimonials so many wonderful families had taken the time to share. I contacted Michael and he spent hours with me over the phone before our first session. He was responsive, set expectations clearly, and seemed to somehow have Griffin figured out within the first 5 minutes of our chat, which was remarkable! Michael came to the house with his assured, calm, kind, and no nonsense leadership abilities leading the way. After our first session Griffin was calmer and after a month of hard work and all the homework Michael had left us with that day, Griffin was a different dog! I stuck to the homework religiously, that is important to note. Michael told me that it was all up to us, myself, my husband, and Griff, and that if we did not put in the work we would be wasting everyone's time and my money. Michael is the most talented reader of energies and instinctively reads how to unlock that leadership role of human with their dog and therefore provide the tools to unlock a mutual state of respect and reverence between dog and human, myself and Griffin! It has now been 3 months, no longer does Griff avoid true connection and contact, no longer does he charge at my horse, or pace relentlessly. He has a new sense of peace and calm. He seems confident and rather than figuring it out himself, he looks to me in moments of uncertainty. That newly found and earned reverence and respect between us is the most warming, rewarding, and hopeful feeling, something that would have never been experienced or harnessed but left undiscovered by the both of us without Michael. I cannot recommend Michael enough. Thank you so much Alpha K9 Obedience and Michael for sharing your gift with us!

We have been working with Alpha K-9 Obedience for our dog Toby who we adopted about a year ago. Toby is a very energetic dog that sometimes displays anxiety for reasons we didn't understand. Our biggest issue was that Toby barked insistently and loudly whenever he wanted something (mostly surrounding going outside), and we were unable to control these behaviors. We wanted to partner with a behaviorist and trainer that could give us the tools we needed to ease Toby's anxiety and direct his energy appropriately. We worried that working with a trainer that had aggressive compulsion tactics could worsen Toby's anxiety (he's a sensitive guy). Our experience with Alpha K-9 Obedience has been phenomenal. This program is not food based, so you aren't just bribing your dog. This program is about building respect through leadership. We noticed a change in Toby after the very first session. Toby is now more relaxed and happily listens to various commands. We've been able to utilize tools that allow us to tap into Toby's intelligence (and we found that he is INCREDIBLY smart and eager to please). He is now learning many new things, is excited to learn, and happy to have the appropriate leadership in the house. He can now sit, wait, stay, stand, back up, heel, go to bed, leave it etc. We've continued to work with Alpha K-9 Obedience because we're interested to see what else Toby can learn! We're no longer frustrated with Toby or confused by his behaviors. I would recommend Alpha K-9 Obedience to anyone who is having difficulty understanding their dog. Please consider giving Alpha K-9 Obedience a chance prior to rehoming or giving up on your dog. You'll be amazed at what your dog is capable of.

Michael is amazing! I love my girls more than almost anything in this world. They are both female bull terriers from the same amazing breeder, 1 year apart. Desi (brown) is 2 and Wink (white) is not quite 1. So when they started to act possessive over me and aggressive towards each other a few months ago I was a mess! They got into a huge fight causing Desi to get stitches and Winks face getting pretty mangled. After calling many "trainers" and time and time again told that it would be $1000's upon $1000's and shock collars, boot camps and non stop kenneling and being told you can never train aggression out of a dog, I had lost hope. I then called Michael and he took the time to listen to me, (and calm me down because I was a hot mess thinking the worst) he assured there was hope! It was refreshing to hear that he took a different approach and had a huge success rate with aggression, charged reasonable pricing per appointment and would come to my home because that is where the problem was. He also told me to read his reviews first so I knew what we were getting into before making the appointment. I knew then and there he was not just about taking my money and not truly helping my dogs. He came to my home and and quickly became a hero to me and my girls! What I thought was aggression, actually turned out to be a very insecure and stressed Wink and awful leadership or lack of leadership skills on my part causing her stress. The girls also have drastically different personalities. Desi is extremely stubborn and only cares about pleasing herself and Wink is very insecure and only wants to please you so the training was very different for both. Michael was with us every step of the way and tailored the training to each dog. I am happy to say that both of my girls are happier than ever, listening to me not even a grumble at each other after my sessions with Michael. He saved my family and gave me a lifelong skill set that I could never thank him enough for. If you need help with your pooch, please look no further! You cannot find a better person than Michael for your furry loved one!!! (And the dogs absolutely love him!)

Our experience with Michael Mandell has been fantastic. We started working with Michael when our puppy was around 10 weeks old and the results have been phenomenal. Michael is an animal behaviorist, not simply a trainer. His approach focuses on what our dog is telling us through her behaviors and what we need to do to bring out the best in our dog. People are amazed at how well behaved and obedient our dog is at such a young age. I highly recommend working with Michael.

Michael is incredible. We started working with him when our puppy was 10 weeks old. Whenever we’re out we get comments on how well behaved she is - people can’t believe she’s as young as she is. The best thing about Michael is that he is an animal behaviorist, not a trainer. He reads our dog so well & we’re able to work on exactly what SHE needs to work on, not whatever a training schedule says we need to do. The appointments are done at our house (so the environment is familiar to our dog) and we do the majority of the work with our dog (so she learns to see us as the leader). I can’t imagine not working with Michael - besides adopting our sweet pup, the best decision we’ve made!