Trail Dog Etiquette LLC

SAM is The Best Dog Trainer we have ever worked with! We have worked with a few in our 43 year marriage and 3rd dog “ Jackson” who is now an 8 year old Border Collie who was “outsmarting us!” Living in the mountains, we have experienced very tough moments on hikes w/ encounters involving Coyotes, Bears and other dogs and people at events … “ Recall” and proper leash behavior was not working in our favor and this put Jackson and us at risk. Sam is logical, very connected to animals and his instincts w/ every lesson while on trail and at the lake have been spot on for long term success. Every lesson we met others passing by w/happy dogs and owners with recall and awesome dog manners who all worked with Sam! It’s an entirely new relationship we have with our dog we love very much! Cannot say enough about our experience with Sam! We trust our relationship and have decided to do Advanced Training.. as our Border Collie loves to work and loves Sam too!

Sam was excellent! We read a review that said something like “Sam was worth the drive from Tahoe City.” Well, that really said a lot. Having had lessons through construction and tourist seasons, I can also attest that Sam was the best. We started with a 6-month old Australian/golden retriever/crazy mutt mix who constantly nipped at our ankles and was afraid of everything (she would scream at grass hoppers). We ended with a 1-year old, sweet, confident dog who can sit/lay calmly at outdoor settings. As adults, Carmen is our 6th dog, we thought we knew how to raise/train a puppy. Sam was able to assess how to train us so we could consistently support Carmen to navigate the world. Carmen can walk off-leash through all the various human/dog pods at a dog-friendly beach without loosing her mind, she can sit/lay quietly while we talk with people, and she can go inside a shop or family member’s house like a well-behaved, much-older dog. It is a joy to take her with us and we are SO thankful to Sam for his expertise. We started at twice weekly, then weekly, then every other week, then every four weeks. Worth the drive, worth the time, worth the money.

We started puppy (Beagle, 8 months old) training with Sam. Our goals were (1) recall and (2) simple obedience commands. Cricket is a typical Beagle puppy - energetic, curious, driven to all smells, easily distracted by other dogs, birds/squirrels, and people. Through 6 sessions, she is so much more responsive to our commands and rarely do we need to use reinforcement methods (collars); mostly still working with distractions but improving daily. I have already recommended Sam to my friends and family.