Mike is a wonderful and professional dog trainer that helped turn our strong headed Samoyed puppy into a wonderful and disciplined dog and companion. Though he is tough and firm with the dogs, it was wonderful to see how much our puppy loved to be with Mike and his well he responded to him. But perhaps most importantly, Mike didn't just train our dog, he trained US and made us - our entire family including the kids - much better dog owners. I frankly don't know where we would have been with our Samoyed had it not been for the guidance and training Mike provided. read more

(I took this down, but I decided I'm going to keep it up) Mike did a good job of assessing the root causes of issues that we were observing with our dogs. In addition to that, he did provide sound guidance on how to work with these, as well as a frank opinion. The techniques that he used with our dogs were effective, but the logic that he used to explain behaviors made me raise my eyebrows a few times. Mike subscribes to pack theory. Pack theory is outdated and was debunked by the same group of scientists that performed the study. (If you don't believe me, go to google scholar and look up some recent studies from academic papers.) Those notes aside, I do find Mike's professionalism to be highly questionable. Multiple times, Mike had directed condescending comments towards me flat out saying that women (unlike men) were more prone to making emotional (and i guess the implication was that they consequently make irrational and irresponsible) decisions. From how he talked, I was under the impression that he was coming into the consultation with this attitude, because I am female, even before meeting me. This is due in part because his phrasing indicated that he felt that my husband was the "rational" decision maker. I felt very disrespected in my own home. This behavior is very concerning, especially since he said that his daughter had made him aware that these types of comments could be perceived as sexist. I would assess other trainers first. I suspect you can get the same results, for the same/better price, but without the disrespect or outdated logic. read more

Really good dog training. Michael has a deep understanding of effective training processes and routines. He also gave me insight into my dog-reactive German Shepherd and how the relationship is both ends of the leash. Walks are no longer exhausting and my embarrassment is gone. I've had people comment that they've watch me work with Blitzen and see improvements and I realize how much the work is paying off. I will sign up for additional sessions. There is always more work to do, but my boy is coming along fine! read more

Michael was so patient, kind and honest with our whole family. He spoke to us and taught us how to deal with our 7 month cavapoo. He was able to not only read our dog but each human family member. He was clear, easy to understand and professional. I wish I had started with him from the beginning. I have wasted so much money on expensive trainers who have used and recommend harsh techniques. If you ever consider having a dog or have one now, stop your research and make your appointment with Dogbedience. read more

My husband and I were so pleased with our training session for our two dogs after recently adopting our second pup. Michael is the best! He was so great with our dogs and with helping to coach us on how to be better dog parents for our furry friends. I would highly recommend his expertise and guidance to any new dog owners! read more

Mike was really amazing with our newly adopted puppy Bumi. While his prices is a bit more expensive than other trainer it was well worth it. He taught our puppy in one what other trainers promised to teach him in four sessions. You're saving money in the long run when you get yourself a good trainer. Mike walked us through the steps of what to do and offered free post-training guidance via text. Well worth it. read more

Michael did a great job training us and our 2 year old German Shepherd Toby who tends to be reactive and protective. His training included helping us properly manage Toby in both the home and neighborhood. At the end of Michael's time with Toby we had learned effective ways to work with and manage Toby including being able to walk with Toby in crowded areas like shopping centers and the Reston Town Centet. We highly recommend Michael - he really know his stuff and is an excellent trainer! read more

Michael came to our house and helped us with our (stubborn) dog. He was very knowledgeable and personable and made an immediate impact. We're already talking about some follow up lessons with him because he was that good. read more

We have had such a wonderful, positive experience working with Mike! We contacted dOgBEDIENCE based on high recommendations from a co-worker. Our rescue pitbull was about 14 months. In addition to his obedience needs (we spoil him way too much), we had noticed he was developing some social anxiety around strangers on walking trails (barking, hair standing up, pulling). We were impressed with Mike from the beginning. At our initial meeting, mike spent two hours with us walking the trails observing our dog's behavior inside, practicing obedience, etc. Within moments of meeting Mike we could tell that he is extremely educated, experienced and talented at working with dogs- not to mention extremely kind and professional. We signed up immediately and began our sessions. Mike was creative and bold with all of our sessions, bringing our dog in retail stores, parks, trails, shopping centers, etc. He pushed our dog to his limits and showed extreme patience (Our dog is a huge knucklehead, stubborn and spoiled rotten)! Mike even provided contact and advice between sessions if needed. After 10 sessions we had seen such great improvements and we chose on our own to sign up for 10 more sessions since we were loving what we were experiencing with our dog. We just wrapped up our 20th session today and we couldn't be happier with our time spent with dOgBEDIENCE! We highly recommend Mike and his services to anyone who has a dog! read more

You will not find a better trainer for your dog, no matter what your dog's issue is. My dog, Katy, was barking and snapping at people. From the moment Michael met her she got better. He not only trained Katy, he trained me! I needed to do a better job managing the dog and he taught me how to do it. He is wonderful to work with and shares tips and tricks for managing all sorts of behavior in dogs. Katy is a different dog now that her training with Michael is over--I couldn't have done it without him. He is the best! read more

My husband and I have been truly grateful for the behavior modification training and support we have received from dOgBEDIENCE since we originally reached out seeking help in June of 2018. This is a fairly lengthy review regarding our specific experience, so for anyone who may not want to read through to the end, I want to start by saying we 110% recommend dOgBEDIENCE. An online review will not do Michael Peer justice and if we could give more than 5 stars, we absolutely would. Mr. Peer took a very difficult situation we were experiencing with our dog (reactivity) and turned it into a manageable one and, for that, we cannot thank him enough! We have a young male Great Dane named Kygo who struggles with pretty severe reactivity to other dogs. Due to Kygo's size, his reactions are more impactful than the average dog. My husband and I got to a point where we just did not know how to handle the situation, so we decided to turn towards dOgBEDIENCE before we found ourselves in a dangerous situation with Kygo, and we are so glad we did. Due to his experiences and career as a K9 Officer, Mr. Peer came in with a perspective we had not yet seen in other trainers. He immediately presented himself as a leader and demanded Kygo's respect (something Kygo desperately needed, but my husband and I struggled to do). One of our favorite traits about Mr. Peer is that he believes each dog is a unique individual and that there is no one way to train every dog. With Mr. Peer's guidance, we have implemented several methods of training with Kygo. When one technique did not prove to be successful, we would try another technique until we found what worked for Kygo and for us as his owners. We have appreciated Mr. Peer's creativity in thinking outside the box in terms of techniques to implement (as Kygo has truly been a challenging student), as well as his openness to try suggestions from my husband and me. Mr. Peer even purchased a Gentle Leader specifically for the purpose of trying it with Kygo during a session - we thought that was an incredibly thoughtful gesture. Not only has Mr. Peer trained Kygo, but he has trained us as Kygo's owners/leaders as well! We were at a loss before working with Mr. Peer, but now he has equipped us with the knowledge we needed to feel confident in our abilities to handle Kygo ourselves. For anyone out there who has a troublesome canine and is not sure where to turn next, do yourself a favor and give dOgBEDIENCE a call. You will not regret it. There is no question that my husband and I will continue to call on Mr. Peer for support with Kygo and for any other dogs we may have in the future. One last thing, not only do we recommend Mr. Peer, but we also recommend the dOgBEDIENCE leash - we LOVE it and probably will never use another type of leash again. Thank you, Mr. Peer!! -Sarah, Mike & Kygo read more

Our dog had extensive training before we adopted her, but we have been a little lax with her and she hasn't been behaving as well as we know she can. We had a 2-hour consultation with Mike and she immediately started behaving the way we knew she could. Mike gave us tons of tips and advice for changing OUR behavior in order for our pup to behave the way we expect. Mike helped guide us to make small changes in the way we act toward and around our dog to get the results we want. Mike was also extremely friendly, down-to-earth, and fun to work with. We definitely recommend dOgBEDIENCE!! read more

Hire Mike for training your K-9. Mike trained my puppy Chewie for the past several months. The commands he taught to communicate with Chewie are easy and Chewie understands each command we learned from Mike. Never owned a dog before Chewie, and Mike effectively communicated reasonable & unreasonable expectations for a puppy. Mike was extremely understanding when I canceled due to my dog being sick. He did not want Chewie to be trained when not healthy or possibly expose other dogs. He was also understanding when I was sick. Mike bent over backwards to work us into the schedule. It was important to Mike that Chewie and I learned to work together. Mike has an outrageous sense of humor and it's obvious Mike loves training dogs. He is amazing. Thank you Mike for your dedication and hard work. Liz read more

Strongly suggest looking elsewhere... This "trainer" more than willingly beat my dog by flinging him around violently using the leash, throwing his hat at him for moving or barking unexpectedly, and showing my dog anger for not liking his treat selection... Seriously?? We were forced to pay for 2 hour lesson up front - it ended after roughly one hour and he spent the last hour trying to sell future lessons as well as his "amazing" leather leash he used for the training. Maybe some training lessons require a little force but this was way over the top. I would rate with less than one star if that was an option. read more

Michael is amazing. He trains dog owners in a gentle but firm manner. I called after my 3 dogs were displaying pack behavior in a bad way when they were adjusting to living in a condo with many more people and dogs around. He gave us great direction and interventions that I continue to use with good success. I do not understand the feed back that some have put in that Michael "beats" dogs. Never in my life can I imagine that! Yes, he's thrown a hat before to get the attention of my very stubborn dog. If you are sensitive and let your dogs run over you - yeah, it may appear as angry. But it's firm, not anger. He's trained military and police dogs. He speaks their language and sometimes its hard to hear! Anyway, my husband and I worked with him for 10 additional sessions that completely got us to a place where I was no longer afraid to be kicked out of the complex. If the dogs start misbehaving it's because I'm not doing my job. Did I agree with everything Michael taught, no, but I did recognize the wisdom and experience he had and incorporated all I could into my treatment of the animals. And Michael, if you are reading this, Kira does still get up on the couch uninvited, but she's only barking a 1 dog these days! read more

Soon after we moved in, we received several serious complaints from our new apartment neighbors- including the management - about our rescue dog - in spite of both of us, and our dog having attended multiple canine behavior classes, her leash reactivity was very threatening, she was fearful and this combination made other dog owners nervous, and relaxing dog walks impossible. We were upset about the complaints and called dOgBedience. Officer Peer came over to meet with us in our home and during that first evaluation identified several primary issues and their probable causes. He laid out a clear and practical training schedule which included 6 intense sessions. Each session was packed with useful information, observations and recommendations. His techniques are packed with gentle, positive reinforcements - not a harsh, domineering approach. Our beloved dog is so much better today - signs of improvement started immediately and we continue to use the tools which we learned from working with Michael, his son, Brett and their terrific companion dog, Rogue. read more

Mike is an incredible trainer! He came to work with us when our puppy was younger than his usual clientele because we were having issues. He has patiently instructed us throughout the past few months. He uses a good mix of positive reinforcements and negative reinforcements when necessary. He has experience working as a police dog leader and they use all negative reinforcement and so he realized that positive works better. So he has done everything and really developed what worked. He taught me that I need to remember my dog is just a dog and that its ok to do what's necessary to train him even if it seems harsh. But he was always right. I still need to work with my pup more but in working with Mike we have really made incredible progress. He is great as well because even after your sessions are over he is available by phone or text to help you with any problems that may arise through the life of the dog! I highly recommend him! Couldn't have found anyone better! read more

On New Years Eve we brought home a five year old female dachshund from a shelter. She had a host of medical problems that luckily were solved, but the bigger challenge was the baggage she brought with her from a history that included neglect. She was extremely skittish and very reactive to dogs and humans. Walking with her was not a pleasure, and a dog coming the other way was a cause for dread. I searched for help. Then it was Michael to the rescue. Even after the two hour initial evaluation I could see a difference in Miss Daisy, but the most important part was how much I learned during those two hours that would help me help her. I signed up for several sessions and over the course of those weeks, I learned more and more about how my attitude, actions and reactions affected my dog. These days it is a pleasure to walk with Daisy. She still gets a little reactive now and again, but the big difference is that I know how to handle her a whole lot better and how to defuse the situation through positive reinforcement and letting Daisy take her cues and assessment of the situation from me. Michael was great to work with--he is an expert, both assertive and kind, intelligent and with a great sense of humor. I am so glad I chose Dogbedience. I know if we have setbacks I can get in touch with Michael and he will be able to help. read more