American Dog School

After two weeks of boarded training at one year (we called it "boot camp") Oliver, our black lab/german shepherd came home a brand new dog!Going in with fear anxiety coming out with more confidence and tools (parents too!) to enjoy and adjust to our busy life. Still experiencing the phenomenal training twice a week! Oliver goes directly to his collar and leash and starts singing when we ask if he would like to go to class. He LOVES it! We are ADS fans/students for life!

0 stars. We did the 4 week board and train. During training we received absolutely no updates unless we texted and asked for them. When I asked if she’ll be ready for pickup at the 4 week mark I got back “the end of next week lol” I’m not sure what was funny about checking in to see if we were still on schedule. We got one picture for the whole month. It’s hard going from having a dog in the house to not having one, and updates would’ve made the time go by easier. To make things worse when we got her back she had lost all potty training (which she was fully potty trained when she went). When we took her for the “private” lessons she fought to not go in there (our dog has no problem going places, since training she has gone into random cars and houses, so that right there shows the lack of training) but our dog was absolutely terrified to go into their garage for training. We were told private lessons were included with the cost yet when we went to the private lesson there were two other dogs, so not private at all. During training the trainer yanked so hard on a fully grown dog it cried out, makes me sad to think about what they did to my 4 month old puppy. When at home we use a shock collar strictly for the beep to get her attention when she’s locked on something, yet when we went to put it on after training she would pee on the floor because she was so terrified of it, even tho we personally have never shocked her. Her separation anxiety is worse after training than before. The biggest aspect of training they brag about is leash training, except our dog only stops pulling on the leash when she is a prong or choke collar, which requires no training, yet that was their solution to stop pulling. The only thing our puppy got out of training is she goes to the bathroom on the cement and rocks, not in the grass, due to being locked in the kennel so often and having no choice but to go to the bathroom in it.

It's been a bit since I used Tami, but it was a huge waste of money for us. Had a big dog that needed help with Animal Aggression, Separation Anxiety, Territorial behaviors (to the point that he would hurt other animals), counter surfing, marking territory inside of others homes, Escaping kennels and fences, and being over protective of his human family members when there was no need. After 6 full months of taking him to classes 3-4 times a week when we lived 25 miles away, it was clear that we were not going to get any of the specific help that we had discussed in the interview, other than basic obedience training. I didn't need a show dog. He already knew how to walk on a leash and knew all the basic commands. He was a smart dog. He did OK with the other animals in group class after a bit of time, not to the point that he could be trusted off leash, but not to the point that I feared to have him there. But when he was at home, it was a different world. It was his territory and only our 4 animals (2 dog, 2 cats) were allowed to be there. He had other issues that I gave a list full list of needing help with at our interview, before I agreed to "see" Tami. And whenever we discussed tackling that list and the big hitter problems, Tami told me that dogs are descendants of wolfs and some dogs are just predators and cannot be fixed. After that comment, I knew we weren't going to be getting any help from her. And we certainly were not going to be getting our money back, even though at the time, there was a money back guarantee. Didn't ever and still would never recommend this place to anyone. Go with another company, unless your only goal is to have a show dog. Sure - his name was Koda.