Jim, Evan, and the team at ALS are second to none. We did the boarded training program and would recommend it to ANYONE who is considering it for their dog. Our 2 yo Australian Shepherd, Sedona, is a sweet, affectionate, and smart little lady. But before her boarded training, she could be very skittish around strangers, especially kids, and was absolutely miserable to walk on a leash. When we first got her, we had dreamt of bringing her to restaurants and breweries, but as she got older, she became more nervous and unpredictable: growling, barking, and hiding behind me when we were out in public. We knew this wasn't going down a good road for her, so I did a lot of research and ended up finding ALS. Jim came over and met Sedona, observed her, and came up with a plan. We were very apprehensive about her going away for a couple months, but we knew other people who'd sent their dogs away for 2 weeks with little to show for it in the long run. Our biggest worry was that she would lose her sparkling, goofy, loving, fun personality and become a robot. Jim and Evan reassured us, and we moved forward. Throughout the process, the communication from ALS about Sedona's progress was flawless, and we felt totally comfortable - although we definitely missed our girl! We are now 6 months out from completing her boarded training course, and we couldn't be happier. Sedona is her spunky, happy, affectionate self, but she has much more confidence when meeting new people. Her recall is 100%; I walk her 3 miles every morning off leash, with my stroller and my other dog on a waist leash. She has been confronted by strangers and dogs walking on the sidewalk, dogs barking from yards with (or without) fences, children waiting for the bus eagerly hoping to pet her - and she doesn't flinch. We have had zero issues, and I never worry about her safety or wonder what she will do; I know. When we are on walks, people constantly comment on how amazing she is that she just stays with me. We are so proud of her and are eternally grateful to ALS. The people at ALS are not only dedicated to helping you and your pet have the best quality of life, but they also genuinely love animals, and I feel that that makes all the difference. We give them the highest recommendation and will pursue boarded training with them for all of our future dogs! read more

We brought Sophie, our lab, into our home at 6 weeks and through our vet recommendation heard about Jim & Evan at Animal Learning Systems. We took their training class which helped a lot but quickly realized we needed more. Jim came to the house and evaluated her in home behavior. After many questions, emails and phone calls, we trusted them to help us with Sophie. She's finishing her training and after our transition sessions we will be one big happy family! Not only have they trained Sophie, they've trained us too. The follow up house visits will be invaluable helping us keep o Jim and Evan are truly gifted and we would enthusiastically recommend their company. They are are only kennel we trust. The love, patience and attention that is showered on the dogs they work with is 2nd to none. Yes, they are a bit more than any doggie care around BUT you get what you pay for and they are worth every penny!! read more

Zero Stars. Jim came over and stayed two hours. He asked several questions about the dog. He gave a us couple of comments. When asked about his training he did not mention a certification or a degree. He did less than I expected time to work with or observe our dog. He did it only for a few minutes. He said he decided we need to give up our dog to him for eight weeks and he would do this for $5,000. He said he needed to make our dog, his dog and then he would transfer our dog back to us. He said he would train our dog and then said his staff would do most of the training of our dog. Jim left our house with a nice assessment fee for which we got nothing. read more

Lucy, our 2 year old pit bull is a sweetheart but had a lot of behavior issues. Sometimes she was animal aggressive, she tugged mercilessly on her leash, and she was too excited to listen to verbal commands. Before we ran into trouble, we got in touch with Jim and scheduled an interview. After the interview we enrolled Lucy in the 8 week boarding program. While we were sad to see her leave, when we went in to train with her on her final week, she was a new dog!! Still spunky and full of energy, but now she knew 16 verbal commands and would listen! Evan and Jim did an incredible job with Lucy!!!!!!We now enjoy our off-leash walks all over Rochester (leash when downtown) and have been complemented on her behavior almost daily!!! It is costly but seriously WORTH IT!! Make whatever sacrifice you need to to get your dog enrolled. It's better than wasting money on training that fails. read more

We have a dog who had behavior problems and we were running out of ideas, so we gave Jim a call. We had to pay for an initial evaluation and while the price seemed steep at first, it was well worth it. Jim stayed for about an hour and a half--a really intensive evaluation with very direct feedback. I was impressed. After some thought, we enrolled our dog in his program. Again, the price seemed like a hefty investment, but the results were incredible! We went from being in perpetual fear that our dog would bite someone or another dog to having peace of mind. She was like a different dog in attitude--she was comfortable being herself and seemed much happier while at the same time listened to us. Jim and Evan have provided wonderful support to us and our dog. We wouldn't board her anywhere else and we really appreciate the work his team has done. read more

ZERO STARS. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY/TRAINER JIM. He came to my families home to address aggression issues with our pure bread NOT EVEN 2 YEAR OLD German Shepard. He saw our pup for LESS THAN 5 minutes. Said to put him away. Talked to my family for 2 hours just asking questions about the pups upbringing. Took our $260 and said the only solution is to put our pup to sleep. He never offered to see the dog again, or offered any tips to help him allow strangers into our home. (Our dog is only aggressive to strangers coming into the home-not outside in public, at the vet, or towards family) His only solution was that he "will eventually" bite somebody and we better put him to sleep. Our vet was APPALLED at this "professionals" opinion and that she has never seen a trainer say that about a PUPPY with seeing the dog for LESS THAN 5 minutes. Waste of time and money. Unprofessional and useless. Do not trust this company. In it for the money. When he realized he would not be getting our dog to go to his four thousand dollar camp he offered this dreadful opinion and offered no other advice. Ridiculous. read more

I can not recommend Jim and ALS strongly enough. I have read the reviews and am in shock by some of the negative comments. You get what you pay for folks! Our dog was trained by Jim 6 years ago and I can tell you that every dog I have for the rest of my life will be trained by Jim. I have recommended Jim to several people and every recommendation we have given also had an outstanding experience. We also use ALS for kenneling our dog on a regular basis. Again, a bit more expensive than other kennels but you get what you pay for. Our dog is with trained professionals and he LOVES going to see Jim and his Staff. Plus, it is like he gets little training "tune ups". I read the review about Jim recommending that a dog be euthanized. When our dog was starting to show some early behavioral issues, I wanted a straight answer as to whether he could be trained and trusted. We wanted to address the issue early and properly. Personally, I do not believe that every dog can be "fixed" and I have heard stories about trainers putting dogs on "doggy Prozac" or other wild treatments. Unfortunately, some of these stories resulted in a dog bite later. Personally, had Jim told us that our dog could not be trained, I would have considered that a professional opinion and not blasted Jim in a review as a result. Luckily, we were not in that position and after meeting Jim, we opted for the full training in which Jim took our dog for several months. It was worth every penny. Every penny. Now, I have a happy, obedient dog that is fantastic with my two babies (both under 3). His outstanding training continues to get Jim business as people always ask who trained him! Finally, regarding Jim's fee for his home visit - would you go meet people and give free advice? No. He is a professional and runs a business. If you want a professional opinion, you pay for it. Again, I am not understanding why people are shocked that they have to pay for consultations. I genuinely hope this review helps someone considering Jim and ALS. I have no relation or personal relationship with Jim or any of his staff. We are simply extremely happy customers for life. read more

Jim is the best. You pay for what you get. Jim trained my GSD and 10 years later she is still good to go. Jim is not The Dog Whisper who waltzes into your house with fairy dust- he is a dog trainer and a business man who gets the job done. He has not been in business for as long as he has without doing great work. Whenever my dog sees Jim when we are out walking she remembers him and is happy to see him. read more

I was very hopeful when Jim came to my home to help with my dog's crate training and attachment issues. However, I quickly learned how unprofessional and dishonest this company truly is. Jim's visit cost $245. I had to ask him to view areas of our home as he never moved from his seat. He stated that the had ideas to help our dog but only wanted to focus on crate training as this was our biggest issue at the time. His plan consisted of a piece of notepad paper, strict water diet and typical crate training procedure, most of which we had already tried from a simple Google search. He instructed us to follow the routine for a few weeks and then to email him our dog's accident history, as he said he may find a pattern. My husband and I followed this plan, even hiring a dog walker to let our dog out midday to strengthen his puppy bladder, and I emailed Jim in hopes to receive the next steps or insight into his accident pattern. Instead, I got an email from his secretary scheduling - without even asking - another in house meeting for "only $180!" I was in absolute shock as no one had never mentioned a follow up meeting or any additional fees. I was also upset that Jim specifically withheld information at our first meeting and NEVER spoke of another meeting, only email. His lack of transparency, and withholding of such information allowed his to elongate the process of addressing our issues and put an ongoing financial burden on our family. Had this model been presented to us when we asked (numerous times) he evaded our questions with words like, "let's just focus on this one thing right now." When I called Jim's office to discuss this matter, I only spoke to Jim's secretary who said she was solely following his notes and she had no idea why I was so upset. I asked to speak to Jim and she simply said she would give him the message. Without anymore communication from the company, I called the next day asking for Jim. The secretary answered again and stated that she talked to Jim who planned to never email or call me back. She also went on to state that she did not know why I was calling as our crate training issues have been solved. Obviously they didn't even to bother reading our email since we outlined numerous occurrences of our dog messing in his crate. I ended the phone call in tears as I specifically spoke to Jim about my concerns with my dog's attachment issues as I am pregnant. This was received in a cold and obvious unprofessional manner as I was never going to receive a follow-up phone call or simple communication. My recommendation is to simply save your money or go to a behaviorist who will truly help. Hiring Jim is like paying $245 to search Google, and another $180 for each subsequent search. Jim WILL NOT help you or communicate with you without more money being sent his way, despite promises to do so. The worst part is that he will blatantly state he is withholding information from you only for you to find out you will have to pay more money to receive it. Here we are $245 later without a single issue resolved and most not even addressed. read more

Jim, Evan, and the whole staff are the best. Had my first dog trained by Jim and Evan (after hiring a couple of other "trainers"who were unable to deal with behavior issues) and was beyond thrilled with the results obtained with Jim. Got a second dog a year later and sent her through Jim's program. They did their thing and the results are just amazing. I get compliments all the time about how well mannered my dogs are. I can't say enough good things about Animal Learning Systems and Jim. Love them!! An update: Two years later and still enjoying the amazing training that ALS provided. Worth every penny. read more

Jim is just so good. A simple statement but why complicate it. I took my first chocolate lab through his class in 1995. My next dog, a big red lab, went through his two classes in 2008. I will say that we were consistent and adhered to the basic rules. We exercised our dog daily and he was amazing off leash, never once ran out a door without me successfully calling him back, stayed off the furniture without an invite, let me have his toys or food at will and many other things that just made life happy for all. Most of all he was a comfortable and calm dog because he knew what to do and expect. I attribute most of this to the lessons that Jim teaches whether in the classes or one on one. read more

If you're reading this and considering sending your pet to Animal Learning Systems, maybe you're thinking: How can I be away from my dog for SO long? Will she lose her personality? My dog is SO bad, we need a miracle worker! Let me assure you, you've come to the right place. We thought all of these things and more. Lola was nervous, scared, sensitive to noise, scared of anything new, barked at visitors and even barked at us sometimes! We attended a nearby obedience class but she just could not listen and obey if the environment was not familiar and distraction-free. After months of frustration, we called Animal Learning Systems. We were skeptical and not sure we wanted to embark on this road. Jim came to the house, evaluated Lola, knew exactly how to handle her (she was bringing him toys within minutes of his arrival!), explained their process and patiently answered all of our questions and doubts...of which there were many! During her training we received weekly updates and pictures. She came back to us with all of the personality she had before, but with much more restraint, a willingness to listen and obey and we were given the tools to navigate situations that before would set her off. The subsequent support we received after Lola's return home was beyond our expectations. Did I mention how poorly behaved Lola was before? Jim had managed our expectations from the beginning, as Lola had some very challenging issues. She required a fair amount of follow-up and observation. Jim and Evan were always available by phone or email and made many, many visits to our home to work out some kinks. They truly went above and beyond to help us get Lola to a manageable point, even attending and observing a weekly meeting we host in our home and trailing me on a walk to witness Lola's behavior and give us strategies to get her under control. Today, Lola is a joy! She is spunky, funny, playful and affectionate. She warms to new people relatively quickly. She no longer loses her mind when I use the vacuum or hairdryer. She participates in agility training, confidently navigating strange equipment and other dogs without issue. For us, the time away from her was well worth it! We now have a well-behaved, manageable dog, friend and companion. read more

We were having aggression issues with our puppy, who was scared of absolutely everything. After an incident at the vet, they recommended Jim. I hesitated to undergo the full boarding/training program because of the cost. After much deliberation and several stressful incidents, we sent her away with him for 7-8 weeks. After her returned, Jim met with us several times and helped us with all of our follow up issues. Now, our dog is still her quirky self but also happy, curious and even good with children. We could not be happier with the outcome. read more

I called this place to find out about their classes and dog training schedule. Instead, I was recommended for a one time in-house session with an academical behavior specialist. I was asking for the price, but the receptionist would try to avoid the topic and move on with the conversation. Finally, at the end of the phone call she dropped a bomb on me - an hour to two hours in home session for behavior evaluation at $245.... What....????? For someone to come out and look at my dog was going to cost me $245 and it doesn't even include training? Unless your dog is completely out of control, I don't know why would anyone agree to pay so much money. read more

Let me preface this by saying, I am not a dog lover. I like them, but they are a lot of work. After our sweet, 9 year old lab died of cancer in November, I told my husband and kids that I was done--no more dogs!. Two months later, I was informed by my selfish family that a perfect, blonde, female, lab was ready and waiting to be picked up. Of course, I protested, but was assured that I would have to do very little in the way of training, feeding etc. My kids and husband would do it all! I know, I didn't believe them either; however, under signed contracts and a solemn oath that they would take her to dog training classes, adorable Roxy arrived. My sister suggested that we take her to Jim's Birmingham group class, as she had been there before and just loved him and the class. I looked into other classes, but chose Jim's because he encouraged all family members to attend. Other places could not take multiple family members due to space and some classes did not limit the number of dogs. Jim limits his classes and there is plenty of room for all. Surprise, my kids and husband were unable to attend the first class,. I went, leash in hand and skeptical. We had never had a dog professionally trained. I was so impressed with the first class and what she had learned. I loved the fact that the methods Jim uses are only positive reinforcements. He is very helpful, answers all questions and really has a special way with dogs. After six classes, I have a very well behaved dog and can not wait for session II. Now my kids claim that she only likes me...that's what they get for only attending one class. Yes, she's now mine and I wouldn't want it any other way. PS. All of my sisters, at one time or another, have used Animal Learning Systems in training their dogs, in home, away or group classes. Whatever route they chose, they were totally happy with the results! read more

I have used ANimal Learning for 20 years to help with my rambunctious Golden Retrievers. The group classes are excellent and fun. When 1 on 1 is required my dogs have received excellent and effective training. I have used their services also for installation and training of dog fencing, my first is still up and running perfectly 7 years later! I am excited to see that they are beginning doggie day care and expect the same excellent of service when I leave my babies there for a day. read more

Jim and his staff are by far, the most professional trainers I have come across in my 3 decades of owning dogs. We had a troublesome lab, who even as a puppy had some aggressive tendencies. At the time we had purchased the puppy my daughter was mauled in the face by an aquaintance's own lab. After this trauma I decided to send my dog Bogie off to Jim's bootcamp. I didn't want my daughter to be afraid of her, or other dog's for that matter after this horrible incident. After 7 weeks Bogie was returned to our home transformed into an incredible obeying, yet still playful addition to our family. Jim offers many other services also, including group classes. If you are looking to train your pooch, this is the place to go! Don't waste your money on the franchises, Jim will make every dollar spent worth your while. read more