Student Testimonials

Even though Marnie was completely trained in protection when she came to me, I deeply appreciate your time and attention in caring for her when I am away. She is basically a 'one person dog', but when she is with you, I am fully confident that there will be no problems if I am not around. The extra training she receives when she is with you in invaluable! I hope you are encouraging your clients to have their dogs professionally photographed; with your help, I now have some awesome shots of Marnie, such as the one of her with Stitch in front of the cannon. Thanks for spending the day with us and making the photo shoot such a success!

Sue Powers
Woodstock, Illinois

 

March 23, 2007
Jon,
I wanted to thank you for all the years of training and friendship you have provided me. I remember when I first met you and didn’t even know what an "American Bulldog" was. You quickly offered to let me come to your home and play with some dogs to see if it was the breed for me.
Now almost 8 yrs later, I am still a satisfied customer. You are one of the only people I trust to work my dogs and feel I have learned a great deal from you. I went from thinking a "trained dog" was one that would just walk on a leash or sit when you told them to. To working dogs in obedience, obstacles, and personal protection work.
It’s because of you that I feel many people who have come in contact with my dogs change their mind about the breed. I’ll never forget when my new neighbor freaked out because he saw his 7yr old boy playing with my "Pit Bull" in his yard. After he realized there was no danger, he quickly admitted that he was afraid for his son due to all the things he saw on TV. After that day, his son would play with my dog on a regular basis and there was never a single moment when he felt his son was in danger. Even more impressive to me, was this was after she had been doing bitework. I feel that with your training I was able to own a dog that would protect me when needed, but not just bite anyone for no reason.
I look forward to many more years of friendship and training. It’s just a shame I can’t find someone with your talent in my area now that I moved. I’ve enclosed a few pics from our training sessions, as well as some play pics. Feel free to use them on your website.

Respectfully,
Ed Tiedje

January 8, 2007

Jon,

I wanted to send you this letter to say that we miss you and to say thank you.

As you know, before meeting you, our APBT, Riggs, was abut 4-1/2 years old, trained well in obedience and we were working on Personal Protection training. I’ll never forget our first meeting and evaluation, I believe your words were along the lines of ‘his obedience is very good, but this dog will never bite anyone.., but we can try and fix that’. After the years invested in his protection work, I was, to say the least, hurt.

My husband and I met with you on a regular schedule and saw a transformation taking place. I began to believe in my dog to be there for me, for my family, if the need should ever arise. I also know that by following your direction that my dog can be trusted in any situation and especially with my young children. They definitely put him to the test. I know we didn’t follow everything to a tee. Especially from the social aspect, we still allowed him to approach and seek out attention from people and we still took him to the dog park (no-no’s in true street dog work), but you were flexible and worked with us tirelessly to achieve the goals we wanted. As Riggs matured and improved in all his training, we ventured on to obstacle course work where he also thrived. He loves the thinking part of this training.

Since you have moved to Flat Rock, we have not been able to find a trainer that meets our needs the way you did and we appreciate you accommodating us when you are in town. You have always been just a phone call away, no matter what the question. For that we are grateful. I truly hope that all your dreams for Fala Woods exceeds your expectations and that the people there embrace your skills and knowledge. You are the gem among the rocks of Flat Rock.

Fondly,

Jenn Ott and family (and Riggs)