Owner appeared to have great credentials, and i was initially impressed by the first consultation, where "she determined" my dog was a good fit for her program. She charged for that initial consultation, and I also paid for half of the board and train program up front. Unfortunately, after only one night there, I got a call in the morning to pick up my dog because she was barking all night, and the trainer couldn't get her to stop. I actually thought she was joking, but she was not.... After all, crate training in a room, other than my bedroom, was one of the goals. After the trainer offered to continue a training program if I would bring my dog to her daily, I decided not to as I wanted someone who could do a board and train. I was sent a refund for only a portion of what I paid. She kept the initial consultation fee, and she also charged me for the overnight, which was more than four times what my kennel charges for an overnight. I kid you not! All of the above is "fact", and needless to say I was upset that she didn't give me a full refund. So decide for yourself whether this trainer is right for you! Fortunately I found another board and train, that accomplished all goals, and could not be happier with the results. read more

I would give 10 starts if I could. Alpha Dog Training is phenomenal. I was struggling for months with my mini bernedoodle whose behavior really took a turn after she turned 1 year old. It became so stressful as my dog was demand barking, showing signs of aggression, would not behave on the leash and simply just would not listen or behave at all - she is STUBBORN. A friend of mine recommended Carrie so I reached out and we began training immediately. Since we have trained with Carrie - the stress is GONE. My dog is no longer aggressive, she is the happiest ever, she does not bark for hours for attention and she listens and behaves. I feel like I got a brand new dog after we finished at Alpha Dog Training. The training we did has changed everything and made a huge difference for my dog and myself. My dog was also a picky eater but Carrie introduced us to great new food that is healthy and that my dog LOVES. Thank you Carrie for being the amazing dog whisperer you are. You are incredible and I would be lost without you and so would Rory. read more

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Since they deleted my first review, I'll do a shorter and nicer review. Plain and simple.. don't go to her. We contacted her a couple years ago actually because our dog had a fear of going down the stairs which she fixed so that was good. However, I don't agree with her training or thought process about how to train a dog. She told us to feed our dog raw eggs with shells, take away the water at night as well as other ideas I don't consider to be good ideas for any animals. After we heard that, we cancelled any other appointments we had with her. read more

We used Carrie at Alpha Dog Training for about 5 years now. She's awesome. We have 2 pit bulls and they were crazy. They didn't listen always running around eating things in the house. After a few sessions with Carrie, it was night and day with our dogs. They don't jump on people when they come to the house, they don't eat things anymore, they sit, stay, lay down, and come all on commands or hand gestures. She has always been good to our dogs and we always call her when we need help or just have questions. She has always helped us or informed us on what to if she isn't around. She's worth every penny. read more

Before I tell others what happened to me and my family, I want to make it apparent that my review of Alpha Dog Training is the truth. I adopted a dog not too long ago from a local shelter. As can be expected, he had some separation anxiety which was exacerbated by his high strung nature and pit bull breeding, but other than that, he was a total sweetheart. We brought him home and called some trainers due to him whining constantly in his kennel at night. Sadly no other trainer in the area would call me back or touch him with separation anxiety. I should note, that we have two cats as well and he was a perfect gentleman to them, sniffing them occasionally, but otherwise leaving them alone. That's where the trainer, Carrie, at Alpha Dog Training comes in. She was the one that got in touch and told us she would help out. That she could "fix" him. She even came to meet us in our house with our pup. While there, she put his leash on (leather leash and collar) and when asking for anything from him, she yanked (not pulled) the leash. He reacted okay at first, responding to her, so we scheduled another session. She told us in the interim to go out and buy a choke chain. The kind with metal prongs that dig into his neck. She said it would help him listen better. Knowing nothing more, we did as told. Her next session consisted of her continuing to use the prong collar and yelling at him in the house. When he didn't listen from the first pull, she would yank harder, sometimes causing him to be lifted off of his front feet and coughing when he came down. She would use positive praise afterward with a treat, which we learned later just made him confused. He started getting worse in his kennel at night, so Carrie told us to withhold water at night (which we didn't do) and put a towel over the enclosure and lock him in his kennel even when we were home. We continued with a few more sessions. Nothing worked and his stress increased exponentially. He started ripping the towels that had been on top of the kennel by pulling them into the kennel and pulling them apart. He would start to bark and howl in and out of the cage. He started defecating inside the house and chasing/scaring the cats around to the point that they would hide on top of cabinets out of his reach. We stopped using Carrie at that time. He then tried to escape his kennel, causing massive wounds on his nose and paws and destroying the metal kennel in the process. There was blood everywhere. He would even growl at unknown people on his morning and evening walks, which he never did before. When we confronted Carrie about it, she became abusive and harassing. Sadly, we had to return him before he could further hurt himself, our cats or someone else, which broke our hearts. We also contacted the ASPCA and spoke with an officer for a report. read more

We adopted our 2 year old Doberman in August and needless to say she came with a couple issues, she wasn't socialized and would growl/bark at anyone who came into our home, or anyone walking down the street in front of our house. I had only ever worked with Petsmart training for my other dog, and knew there was no way I could take my doberman to that kind of training. After having her for a month, I started reaching out to quite a few trainers in the area. Carrie called me back very quickly and after speaking with her I decided to try the two hour consultation and WOW, what a difference! We left her home with a completely different dog! At the end of our first training session, I was able to have my doberman in a down/stay while she brought her doberman into the same room! I was amazed!!! I have now been working with Carrie for well over a month and have just started bringing my other dog to training as well. I realized that the training I had with him at the pet store was a joke. Can he sit when I wave a cookie in his face? Sure. Can he "speak" when I offer him a treat? Yeah, but I realized that will in no way help me if he were to get out of my backyard, or stop him from jumping on every visitor that comes in our home that doesn't have a treat in their hand. We have a very busy household with two dogs and a child and my life used to be chaos trying to get everyone, as well as myself, up and ready in the morning. I have seen SUCH a difference in our dynamic now that I have been working with Carrie. I can tell with each session, Carrie is passionate with her training, and her love for dogs really shows. I am so happy to have met her and dogs love her. She also checks in during the week after sessions, offering helpful tips and answering any questions you may have. I DEFINITELY recommend her! read more

Words can not express how truly grateful I am to Carrie and Alpha Dog Training. She has helped tremendously with my adorable "Alpha Dog", who had some aggression tendencies and needed to learn who the "boss" of the house was. With Carrie's knowledge, dedication and guidance, Jeter is a playful, well trained dog, and I am a more confident dog owner. My biggest regret is that I did not use Carrie from the very start, when I brought Jeter home as young puppy. Other trainers I used do not compare to her expertise, compassion and professionalism. Alpha Dog Training gets a 10+ on the 5 star rating! Carrie is amazing! DO NOT HESITATE TO CALL ALPHA DOG TRAINING!!! read more

Carrie trained my two beloved dogs years ago... and we were very satisfied with the results. Unfortuneately we lost them both last year. We recently got a rescue dog and she is now training him and though good to begin with, is responding beautifully to the commands and of course we now have a more well behaved dog. I have recommended her many times--- all my friends were pleased!! read more

My review keeps getting removed so here is something short and sweet. I wouldn't recommend Carrie, Needless to say I didn't have a good experience with Carrie. I don't believe in her training techniques and believe they are more harmful to the animal than helpful. I worked with Carrie with regards to a dog that I had and had to bring him back to the shelter due to severe anxiety issues. Carrie promised that she would be able to "solve" his problem and all that happened was we spent a lot of money on her and the anxiety got worse. She recommended crating the dog all day, even when we were home to teach the dog he was not welcome in the home, she recommended feeding raw eggs and eggshells and she insisted that we yell at the dog and raise our fist to him to teach him who was in charge. I would not recommend Carrie, ever. She keeps throwing idle threats at people for writing bad reviews. I disagreed with her training techniques and was upset when my dog began to develop a bruise and bleeding from the pronged collar that she tugged on. read more

We started using Carrie Monteleon of Alpha Dog Training, approximately 5 years ago, to help us with our high spirited dogs, one of whom thought she was indeed " the boss of me". Carrie worked with the dogs and all family members with skill, humor and firmness. She knows what she is doing and clearly, loves animals and enjoys people. We had never used a trainer before, and knew we really needed help. We received it from Carrie, and our dogs and family are all better for it. I refer to Carrie, a truly lovely human being, without reservation of any kind. read more

About 5 years ago my husband and daughter decided they wanted to add a new puppy to the family.We already had 3 Yorkies "little dogs" and a cat .I was bit by a pack of dogs when i was a child so I had a fear of big dogs That didnt stop them they decided on a boxer midsized dog they said "yeah right".One week after picking up our 22lb baby boxer puppy .We resecued another puppy we had to...she needed us too... same age with even bigger paws then the boxer.I couldnt handle them plus being fearful i so needed help.Then we found Carrie Alpha Dog Training .She was professional and sensitive to all our needs especially mine I needed training the most (lol).Since we had Carrie come to our home and help us train our big babies ,by the way they are 87 and 97 lbs now our lives have changed my girls listen and respect us they know what i mean when i signal them and i know what to do to make them understand what I am asking of them and they are the most loveable girls to everyone they meet ,Thank you again Carrie Montelone ,every day I thank you read more