Train My Dog

My like hulk was going to pull my arm out of the socket if I didn’t get him leash training! I called Jeff via a referral from the pet store and he asked many questions, we set an apt, he gave me an initial estimate and some things to work on before he even got to my house. The training was quick but complete and my Walter was leash trained! The amount due was LESS the initial estimate because it didn’t take as long as figured, who does that, charges you less then he could have?!? This was only 2 days agi and I didn’t think I could be more pleased until this morning…
While on our 6 Am walk Walter & I encountered a coyote… I immediately used the commands Jeff gave me and held the leash how told to do if another animal approaches as Walter is people but not dog/​animal friendly… and he stopped and sat like he was suppose to, perfectly actually… so there we were, me and him frozen with a coyote starring us down…
We never used the command Speak to him as sit and paw were enough of a challenge hahaha but for some reason I said Walter SPEAK and he began barking his fool head off, but never once lunging at the animal or pulling me towards it which he would have done previously, dragged me thru the mud to get to it… the coyote slowly turned and took off but Walter sat proud and continued to SPEAK his mind for a while… and by now neighbors were coming out and lots of other dogs were barking too
Everyone asked ‘how did you keep your dog from going after the coyote”? (they all know Walter was aggressive with other critters) and I said «Jeff at Train My Dog is amazing!»

I was shopping in Vernon Hills, one day, when I saw a van advertising in-​home dog training. Given that we had recently acquired a new puppy, I was intrigued. I looked up Jeff’s website (
) and was very impressed by what I saw, so I sent him a note explaining our situation and asking for his pricing information. He immediately arranged a phone call with me, so we could discuss my needs in more detail. With our first conversation I was impressed by how he listened while I explained different situations that pertained to our pup — then asked pertinent questions to help him understand the situation better. We talked for approx 30 minutes about what he could and could not do for us. (Our dog is a ‘herder’ by nature. I was hoping to break him of this habit but Jeff was very upfront in letting me know that this habit could not be broken and anyone who said they could break it was lying to us. I found it refreshing that he was honest and told me up front. He also told me that while it can’t be broken, there are countermeasures that we can take to help control the situation.)
I thought his prices were VERY reasonable (especially given that he was going to come to our house!) and LOVED that he has a «no-​contract obligation» meaning he could come out once and we would never have to bring him back, if we didn’t like what he did in the first session. After discussing everything with him, Jeff estimated that he would need no more than 3 – 4, 1-​hour sessions with us (but again, we were not committed to anything past the first session.) We agreed!
On the day of our first session, Jeff showed up on time and began immediately getting to know our dog. We talked through some things, to start, and then the training began. Jeff had recommended a prong collar and a non-​retractable leash, when we spoke on the phone — so I had gone out and bought those things in advanced. However, he also came prepared with items would could have bought from him, had we not already purchased them (which was great!) I was nervous about using the prong collar (thought it looked more like a torture collar) so Jeff took time to explain how it works — why it’s not inhumane — and also showed us how to size it and put it on properly so we weren’t hurting our dog. Have to admit that the difference is like NIGHT and DAY when our dog is using that collar! I’m a BIG believer, now!
Jeff worked with our dog for approx 1.5 hours. He gave us tips and «homework» on things that we would need to continue working on, after he left. It has been only 6 days since Jeff was at our house and we’re already seeing several changes in the behavior of our dog! We are THRILLED with the work we did with Jeff and would highly recommend his services!