Tri-State K9 University

I had never needed the services of a trainer before and chose to try this one due to the positive reviews. I was told almost immediately that my dog would require a prong collar and most likely a shock collar. The training methods shown to me were very aggressive and seemed harmful and negative. Also the lesson seemed very disorganized. However since I had no prior experience with a professional trainer and didn't know what else to do I did follow through with what was told to me for at least 2 weeks. Did it work? Yes. Did my dog yawn often and give me a look like he did not understand why this was happening? Yes. This trainer says the yawning is a sign of submission but it's also a sign of anxiety . Finally I decided that's not the relationship I want to have with my dog and sought training elsewhere. This trainer speaks negatively about "trick training" and Rewards but what I've seen is dogs are known for their loyalty they want to please you. Once you learn to communicate and build that Bond it's pretty much smooth sailing. I can see how the training methods used by this trainer can turn a dog aggressive. I would not recommend, there are much better ways to train your best friend.

We had a private lesson today for my 3-month-old golden doodle. Bobbi Jo was fantastic and gave me a lot of great information on the psychology of the dog and then brought it all together with hands-on training. We worked on the dog’s jumping and pulling while on the leash, and we also talked about different leashes and such to use in different situations. I left feeling more confident in my ownership and ability to deal with problem behaviors. We have signed up for the freshman k-9 class and can’t wait to attend!

My family received services from Tristate K9 university after our puppy was stealing and destroying various items in our home/attacking strangers. Their recommendation was a shock collar, which would cost us an additional 300 - but we were told it was worth the investment. This investment completely backfired on us because it caused our puppy to have severe aggression towards not only strangers, but myself and my family as well. We had to seek additional services with a behavioralist in Nashville as a result. Things are much better after seeing a professional behavioralist, but not completely back to how things were prior to using the shock collar. I’m making this review now as a source of education to the company/customers. Please research use of shock collars and aggression in dogs before advising others to use them. The behavioralist said that she has seen this many times and would never recommend using a shock collar as a punishment.