Eric Letendre's Dog Training School

We’ve had multiple people recommend Eric to us, since we got our dog. So we figured we would try it out. We completed the initial four session training (for $399) and we were disappointed on a few fronts. The first issue, is more of an issue with “fit”. Our puppy is very timid, not really reactive like the other dogs in the classes. We didn’t do our due diligence and ask the right questions up front, about how they handle punishment and correction of negative behavior. We were surprised how often choke collars were recommended, and how often hand held bicycle pumps were encouraged. The woman that did the consultation, even remarked “I don’t think he even needs training”. Which probably should have been a red flag about what they see in prospective dogs. The classes ranged from upwards of 8-10 dogs each time. The space is small, but well-equipped. It was overall very stressful. The sessions were very quick. There wasn’t much time to ask any questions or ask for some parts to be repeated. This trainer might be great for highly reactive and problematic dogs. But if your dog isn’t at that extreme and doesn’t need an “instant” “five minute” complete behavior makeover, I would recommend another business that focuses on positive reinforcement. Eric may not agree with this (you can see in his responses to other negative reviews). And btw, you can tell a lot about an owner of a business and the way they respond to criticism in google reviews. We also didn’t have one class with Eric as a teacher. We had another trainer who was just fine. We never actually did personally meet him. I assume this is either because of scheduling or just that there are so many dogs being trained at once. The cost of the training, even with the online tutorials, in our opinion, was not cost effective. I have owned highly reactive dogs before, if I had one currently, this would have been my first stop. But for my current pup, it was more of a disservice, and wasn’t what we needed. EDIT: The owner’s response to this message, very much affirms our rationale for not recommending this trainer. Continuously peddling a dog training book in a negative review, is interesting to say the least. Woof. We found a different trainer who is half the price, and actually takes the time to ask questions. The results are much more affirming with better positive reinforcement.

Hi Eric, I was compelled to share my Father’s Day adventure with you. Cheryl and I went for a hike at one of our favorite trails and brought Meko, Alishka and Lilly with us; we both were hesitant but Meko and Alishka have been responding really well to the training. Let me explain why we were hesitant to bring all of them together. One at a time we could handle them but the last time I took all of them together for a walk on the road they spotted another dog and literally pulled me down to the ground injuring me, got their leashes tangled up and became so aggressive that they started to fight with each other. I enjoy spending time with my dogs all together in the yard but I wouldn't take them out together any more. After 3 lessons with you and training them a little every day we were confident enough to give this a try again as I really enjoy being with all of them together. It started off great as we took them out of the car, had them all sitting in place, transferred to their training collars and leashed them up. We started our walk with them in a "yes Mode" and was able to control them and enjoy the walk without them pulling me; actually I was holding onto Meko and Alishka's leashes with one finger and Lilly in the other hand the same way. It wasn't long before we came up on a couple of people walking their dog the opposite way. To our surprise we walked past them with a simple "leave it" and continued with our walk. We arrived at the water and let them off leash to play in the water with each other; it wasn't long before a family came to the area we were at with a dog. Our dogs all started to run towards them, however with a single command of "no" it stopped them, however they stood in place thinking about ignoring me but I yelled out "wrong" and all three of them returned to me. I have tried for years with different dogs to get them to have a good "recall" but never was able to. The amount of enjoyment that we now have is amazing and the only thing I wish I did different was to hear about you much sooner. On the way back I asked Cheryl to take a short video of them while on the walk. You can see the amazing change for yourself. We are looking forward to our next class as we are striving to get to the "invisible leash" stage with them. We are hoping that we can train both Alishka and Meko to become R. A. Service Dogs for Chery, as she is battling Rheumatoid Arthritis and we want to be ready should the time come that she will need assistance walking. We met and talked with a lady about a year and a half ago who had a Rottweiler Service Dog. We were so amazed and intrigued watching her dog assist her walking and even leaned into her to stop her from falling. Alishka may be a little small for that but Meko would be perfect. Thank you for making this happen for us, Danny & Cheryl Cunha