Mid-Atlantic Dog Training

We owned two dogs when we started working with Tom, a seven year old medium sized mixed breed named Randy and a 5 month old cattle dog/beagle mix puppy named Hazel. Randy had years of bad habits that we just put up with: barking, leash aggression, velcro dog neuroses, and really bad on walks. Introducing Hazel seemed to exacerbate these problems, and she began to develop issues of her own. Hazel became aggressive, escalating to growling & biting that was far beyond normal puppy biting, leaving us scarred and upset. She was also completely unmanageable with other behaviors like chewing, being territorial, and had started a barking habit to rival Randy's. It was at the point where we considered returning her to the rescue, but knew we couldn't because that would be a death sentence - a dog with that kind of biting and aggression would surely be euthanized. We explored many different options, from behaviorists to boot camps and everything in between, watched endless YouTube videos, and read so many books and articles... to no avail. I stumbled upon Mid-Atlantic Dog Training on Yelp and was intrigued by the information I read on Tom's Facebook page as well. Our first appointment made clear that we needed to fundamentally change the way we interacted with our dogs, and that it would be an intense, but ultimately rewarding, process. Tom is very direct and consistent in his instruction and methods. He has patience and empathy, while still being firm in his teaching. He worked with us over the course of several months and we saw a slow but significant transformation in our dogs. Randy and Hazel are still learning, and so are we, but our life together has improved so much. We can take them for walks with pleasure, and neighbors remark on how well they're doing now. Our home is calmer and more structured, and the dogs seem to be more at peace knowing their boundaries and roles. No more biting or aggression, far less barking & chaos. We're really grateful to Tom, and recommend him to any out there who are about to give up on their dogs.

After a year of random incidents of our 6 year old dog, Jack, snapping/biting friends and family and us talking with our vet about options to train/medicate/etc to control the biting, we are so thankful she recommended Tom to help train us. Tom's training program has been very successful for us. One of the best parts of his training program is that he comes to your house and trains in your environment which is where most of our issues occurred. He also explains things in simple terms and shows you how to do the training and then has you do the training and provides instant feedback on how to improve. Since hiring Tom for training, we have learned how to be leaders for Jack and Jack has learned how to walk on a leash much better and how to be more calm. We would recommend Tom to absolutely everyone.

As first-time dog owners, we had no clue how to train our 4month old puppy Cava. We’ve been down the youtube rabbit hole of training techniques, but our pup always jumped when excited, ran towards our company, ran all over our furniture, and only listened if we had food in our hands. That got very old quickly. After our first training, we started seeing a change in our pup's behavior for the better! That’s when we were all in and applied the techniques Tom showed us. Cava just needed leaders, and we weren’t that for her. Tom showed us how to provide structure and prevent the behaviors we didn’t want with calm leadership, and it indeed increased our bond. Now our 6 month old dog is more relaxed, knows when it’s playtime, and is truly a joy! We still have a ways to go, but that’s alright because Tom taught us training our dog is a lifestyle. Thanks so much Tom! Looking forward to our first pack walk!

I found about Tom’s training services on Facebook after a couple of unpleasant dog training attempts and I’m so glad I decided to go with his program! My mini Schnauzer puppy was very vocal and reactive to people and moving things on walks and I was stressed every time I have to take him to a public area. I tried addressing the issue by bringing him to puppy play sessions and training programs at pet stores but he would be on full alert and bark the whole time he’s there - it didn’t take more than two sessions before the trainer there gave up on him. I attempted with another local trainer and the effectiveness of their approach was just lukewarm as all of my dog’s issues remained after the session and I was still stressed out. I eventually found Tom and scrolled through his cases of clients and realized his training approach will be a great solution to my dog’s issues. His program is all private and tailored to the client’s needs and the program is a process that can take months. This made a lot of sense to me as i felt like none of the trainers i had talked to previously has fully understood the root cause of my dog’s issues, so I signed up for a consulting session where Tom came to observe my dog’s behaviors and chat about his training approaches. Tom made every effort to fully assess my dog’s issues which made me really confident that our training will actually make a difference. He is always super professional and knowledgeable during the training sessions and provides timely follow up and support on the my dog’s progress. I really appreciated the fact that the training is based on building a trusting & healthy relationship between the owner and the dog. As the training went on, not only did I feel more and more in control instead of stressing out when I bring my dog to pubic, I also feel that I understand my dog’s behavior better and know how to react to it. I now truly believe that dog training should be a process instead of a one-session-solves-all and I’m so glad I went through it with Tom’s guidance and helpful support. It’s really enjoyable now that my dog is much calmer on walks and in public with strangers and other dogs, and we can both chill in the sun even with joggers, scooters and flailing birds around!

I adopted Moonlight, my 6 year old dog, in July 2018 and immediately noticed her discomfort towards people, dogs, sudden movements, loud noises, toys and being touched. She was constantly nervous, and when overwhelmed, she would growl, bark, lunge and may even nip a dog or a person who approached her. I consulted another trainer in September 2018 and had implemented what I learned over several months. While Moonlight did gain some confidence in a few areas, her hypervigilance, reactivity and aggression unfortunately worsened. I reached out to Tom in May 2019 when I was at my wits end trying to help Moonlight calmly enjoy her walks and life in general. It was immediately apparent from the moment Tom came to meet us that he was committed to seeing us through to a better place. Tom has a keen eye for dog and human behavior and was able to effectively communicate his findings, recommendations and rationale in a direct and professional manner. His approach was refreshing in that he did not prescribe tricks and commands to remedy one problem behavior at a time. Instead, Tom used a wholesome approach which involved temporarily altering her environment so she had a better chance of learning new habits successfully and then, he methodically introduced structure and discipline into our daily routine. Every action and reaction Tom implemented and taught me to follow through with exemplified what's fair and beneficial for Moonlight's wellbeing in the long run, something I saw her take to right away. Moonlight enjoyed practicing her lessons and I began receiving compliments on how well behaved she is in and outside our home within a month of starting training. As we continue implementing this new way of life, Tom is also teaching me the importance of advocating for Moonlight in various settings. Moonlight has already evolved into a much calmer, relaxed and happier dog and I can't be more pleased for her as we continue to make further progress along this path. Tom is very dedicated and thorough in his approach. He is also an extremely effective educator. He ended up spending ample time patiently educating me and training us over multiple lessons. He also spent additional time thoughtfully responding to every question I emailed in between lessons and even after completing the training program. He also offers free monthly pack walks for those of us who have completed his training program so we can continue practicing what we learned in a group setting and most of all, to receive immediate feedback from him on our technique or timing so we and our dogs can continue to thrive. Choosing to work with Tom turned out to be a wise decision. Tom is a gifted trainer. I cannot recommend him highly enough.