Alpha K-9 Obedience

We started working with Michael when I was eight months pregnant. Our sweet but reactive pitty Henry would pull and lunge at other dogs on leash, and walks were becoming increasingly stressful. While he responded to basic commands at home, all bets were off if there were any distractions (ie. dogs, wildlife, other people). Michael first helped us understand the root of the reactivity based on Henry’s breed, past experiences, and the particular dynamics of our little family wolfpack. He then gave us the tools we needed to shift those pack dynamics, retrain Henry to respect our authority and respond to commands, and generally set him up for success. With much practice between sessions, Henry now stays by my side in a near perfect heel on our walks, and will consistently sit and “leave it” in the face of distractions. We continue to introduce new distractions, including a session with Michael at Evergreen Lake, and work on his vocabulary of commands (here, quiet, close, wait, stay, enough, etc). Being able to go for stress free walks with both dog and baby has been truly incredible. During a busy time of much change for all of us, I’m very grateful we chose to prioritize Henry’s behavior and work with Michael!

We’ve been working with Michael to help our fearful cattle dog, Fig, and the progress has been incredible. He’s really helped us understand how to take on the leadership role so Fig doesn’t feel like she has to, which was causing her so much anxiety and fear. One of the biggest improvements has been with her reactivity. Michael taught us the "leave it" command for when other dogs walk by, and it’s been a total game changer. Before, she’d lose her mind barking at every dog she saw, but now she’s so much calmer, and those moments are way less stressful. What we love about working with Michael is that he’s part dog behaviorist and part people trainer. He hasn’t just helped Fig—he’s taught us how to be better leaders for her. Moving away from food-based training has been a huge help too. Fig responds way better to other types of positive reinforcement, and it’s made her much more focused and engaged with us. Since working with Michael, Fig has become a calmer, more obedient dog, and we feel so much more confident handling her. We’re still working on a few things, but we’ve already seen such a difference. If you’re struggling with a fearful or reactive dog, we’d absolutely recommend him!

We highly recommend Alpha K9. We have 2 puppies who were attacked a few times by neighbors dogs. They have not been very comfortable around other dogs and were always unsettled, even at nearly 1.5 years old. We asked Michael for assistance and he has shown us some great techniques to take back our house. He noticed one of my boys likes heavy amounts of praise and the other only needs a little praise. we love the connection to our boys without treats and the little tips he offers even while mentioning odd issues, though we are working on their confidence. We still have more work to do but we really appreciate all of the knowledge and personal expertise he offers. If you are able to commit to your pets, then Michael can likely help with any situation you are experiencing.

My dog (Artie) has shown tremendous progress since I hired Michael. Make no mistake, though, Michael has trained me more so than Artie. As a behaviorist, Michael focuses on my own interaction with Artie, encouraging me to use a professional demeanor to build a relationship of mutual trust and respect between myself and Artie. At Michael’s urging, I’ve had to work to break a lot of bad habits and unlearn what I thought I knew about dogs. And because of it, Artie is blossoming. I highly recommend Alpha K9 to anyone wishing to maximize their dog’s potential. Thank you, Michael!

I have a 100+ pound male German shepherd who was “leash reactive.” He would bark or growl at other dogs when I walked him on a leash through town. I tried a six-week reactive dog course at a local dog school. The instructor was very good. The course helped, but my dog was still reactive. I tried a private trainer. The private trainer was very good. Working with that trainer also helped, but my dog was still reactive. It was still a problem that when my dog started barking at another dog, it was almost impossible to hold him back due to his size and strength. I would try to distract him with his favorite treats, but once he was focused on reacting, he just ignored the treats. I am totally committed to my dog. He is my best friend and I wanted to enjoy taking him places with me, but instead I was always stressed because I worried about him reacting. Then Michael came to help. Michael showed me how to communicate with my dog so that my dog knew I was his “pack” leader, and that my dog could relax, instead of react, because I was there. Michael said that I would be able to see my dog become happy and calm in situations where before he was upset and reactive, and Michael was right. Michael succeeded. Michael did not just improve how my dog and I responded to potentially reactive situations, but now my dog behaves perfectly. My dog and I can both relax have a good time when I walk him with me through town and take him with me to bars, breweries, and restaurant patios. Thank you, Michael!