Need Dog Trainer Recommendations

I can empathize with an out of control puppy! I adopted a lab/husky mix from the pound and by 5 months old, I was at my wits end. I didn't know if we were going to make it as a "family". Luckily, a friend recommended Mark Minnerly at Dallas Dog Trainer. He has a board & train program with life time "refresher" sessions if needed. He also "trains" the family. That was twelve years ago, and I still take Hudson to him to board and he still absolutely loves it there! You can contact him at ###-###-#### or www.dallasdogtrainer.com.

Hi M., I'm going to dissent a bit from the crowd. Labs are known to be gentle and loyal, and ultimately protective of the children in the family. Of course, there are exceptions. Every dog and dog owner benefits from good training, no matter what the household occupancy is. Speaking of that, I see you have a 5 and a 3 year old! In addition to training the dog, I also recommend training your young children for the new dog. I realize that you have an adult dog already, but in doing the math, your Golden was already "grown up" and then the babies came. Here you have a new puppy and small children that are both new to each other; hence, they both need to be trained. Puppy behaviour and socialization is different than adult dog behaviour.

I highly recommend Man's best friend in Addison

M.,

I would recommend Pet Perfect Academy. The owner is Diane Arrington. She is located in Dallas, which may be too inconvenient for you, but she still might be able to give you some guidance over the phone or know of someone to help you in the Plano/Allen area.

The reason I like Diane so much is that she uses totally cruelty-free training and utilizes the wolfpack mentality to get through to the animals she works with.

Regards,
E.

I can give a 100% recommendation for "Trained and Ready K9"

Its a mom-owned business and a trainer you will love working with! She (Michelle) is GREAT!! You can reach her at ###-###-####. I know she is in McKinney and does Frisco, Plano, Allen and McKinney.

Hello M.
I've been around dogs my whole life. I'm 43 and having a family with two girls (8+5)and two dogs. Our old one is a middle size Schnauzer mix and our young one is a almoust 3 years old black Lab (mix?). We got her from an animal shelter with 3 months and she fits perfectly in the family. Of course, she tried starting with age 7/8 months to find out, who's the boss in the family. I'm glad, she never showed up some agressiv behavior. Even my old dog (around 12 1/2) had never showing up like this. But, he knows how to tell the girls when it is to much for him. Then he growls a little bit too, but it's only a kind of breeding, he never would bite, he never tried.
My commandation for your dog: Bring her to "mens best friend". We had our Lab over there, for the normal 2 weeks training, and our doggie girl is now a great behavior dog. She is foolowing all our commandos very easely and her character is unbelievable lovely. She is friendly to all children (I take her often with me to school) and distrustful to strange people at our house door. I know, a lot of people say, do not go to "mens best friend", but we got a great education for our dog there. And all the people who I talked to, during this time and between our group lessons love this place. So like we.You gave a puppy a home because you love it. So try this great dog place, and I'm pretty sure, they can help you.
Wish you the best for your family. E.

Hi M.! I highly recommend a Dog Behaviorist to all of my pet sitting clients who are in similar circumstances. Aaron Stewart is The Educated Dog and lives in Stonebridge Ranch in McKinney - he is amazing! His link can be found on my Referrals page:

www.AllCritterSitter.com

D. Alford
All Critter Sitter Pet Sitting

I would highly recommend Christine and Hilton Butler with
K-9 Bootcamp. They are off 121 and Independence.
http://www.k-9basic.com/background.html

Hilton Butler (k-9basic.com) is amazing. He used to train police dogs and now runs a dog training business from his home. He has several programs and reasonable prices.

Don't give up your dog. There are many trainers out there that can help you with these issues. I can recommend Pamela at Pappy's Petlodge...she has an array of training options to suit your needs. go to www.pappyspetlodge.com for more info and contact information.
Even if you don't use Pamela, please try to find an experienced trainer in your are who uses 'positive' reinforcement....do not use anyone who would recommend harsh measures or shock collars.

Good luck....it will be worth it!

My sister has used Deanna Blackwell and she is wonderful (in the Plano area)! She performed miracles on their two out of control dogs - and she does it in a kind, loving manner, no mistreating or anything harsh like that. Her e-mail address is ____@____.com luck!!!

We used Julie Wheeler with Barkbusters for a very similar issue in our rescued dog. She was great. Not sure if she covers your area, but check their website for your rep. www.barkbusters.com I love that they have a lifetime guarantee. You pay once and if you ever have problems in the future they'll come back for free again and again!

Hi M.,

I recommend Alicia Ward. SHE'S EXCELLENT!! HERE'S HER SITE http://www.k-9solutions.com/

Aaron Stewart, educateddog.com. In the meantime, keep your kids away from the puppy, until you (yes, you) are properly guided to handle your new puppy and give him cues as to who's leader of your pack.

http://eurekapaws.com/home/training.html
Has some great trainers and resources as well.

YES YES!

Let me start by saying I have two dogs, a rat terrier (male) and a Jack Russell (female). The rat terrier had been showing signs of aggression for years and once the baby started getting mobile, we were looking at the possibility of finding him a new home. But another mom on this site recommended Aaron Stewart at The Educated Dog. He comes to you and works with you in your home. All it took was one session for us, basically we weren't challenging our dog enough and we werent displaying the right attitude toward the dog either. Aaron explained a lot to us about dog behaviour and gave us a plan to help our dog be a great dog. It changed our life and we got to keep our dog! And the pricing was not bad either-I was expecting it to be outrageous but it really wasn't. I HIGHGLY recommend this guy.

Good luck!

http://www.theeducateddog.com