Avery Creek Retrievers

Got to witness a live demonstration at whitewater today in which I was very unimpressed and disappointed. I will say he could be decent at what he does I’ve never gone to him for training however what I saw today makes me far from interested. Whilst yes his retrievers do the job they hardly want to listen to him. In a matter of minutes I seen him repeat commands for a simple sit. Next the dogs were struggling to sit and wait for a release command.. his solution to this… a stick to whoop them. Said and I quote “before this next demonstration a little reminder” then proceeded to hit his dog on its thigh with a switch/stick. Using physical correction as a reminder before a dog has clearly disobeyed a command was concerning to watch and makes me question his ethics. For someone who’s been in the business for years I expected more. Personally I’d stay away. Reading the second most recent review along with this one should tell you all you need to know.

Sammy was a 1-1/2 year old Golden Retriever. Billy had him for 8 weeks for obedience training. The cost was $900. When we came to pick him up, he was noticeably thinner. Our vet said he was very underweight and had lost 16 lbs. The worst part is he couldn’t get the dog to do a single thing. He wouldn’t heel, or even sit for the trainer. He used a bite collar for training and still couldn’t get him to do the simplest commands. Steer clear if you care about your dog. He gets all his competition buddies to post for him so don’t let the 4-1/2 stars fool you.

I've been coming to train with Billy for almost 1.5 years as of this review. He and his family are some of the most kind and generous people I've ever known. I came to him wanting to learn how I can teach my dog hunting skills and enter into hunt tests with zero knowledge about any of it. He doesn't mind taking time to explain and talk through any questions I have.. and I have a lot of questions. He is extremely knowledgeable about training. If a dog is boarding and training with the trainer, the key to transferring those skills is the owner absolutely has to work with the dog diligently so that they are doing the same things the trainer did and in the same way. Then the dog will understand how to work for the owner in the same way they worked for the trainer. The owners always have to put in work too to keep up with the training! Billy will teach and coach you, but you have to put in the work to learn, train, and practice your own skills. Billy has a wonderful mobile vet come out every single month to check all the dogs. I have never met or know of another trainer that takes that kind of care with their dogs or their client dogs. His utmost priority is the safety, health, and well-being of the dogs. He clearly loves what he does!