We decided to add a German Shepherd to our family. This was our first dog and we had done extensive research about this breed and what the specific needs are to successfully train a dog such as this. No matter how much reading we did beforehand did not prepare us for the day that little puppy sets his paws in our home. We took him to puppy class and to obedience class where I received in my opinion, inappropriate recommendations as to how to handle this breed which resulted in Rudy biting me to the point of stitches being required. I continued to research training methods and talking to dog owners who had used trainers. I soon realized there are thousands of different ideas as to how to train a dog. I decided on Michael's Dogs. Michael wanted an in depth background about our GSD and of course the obstacles we were having. Michael came to our home to begin to teach me, not our dog. At first I felt awkward in trying to interact and train my dog but before too long all that went away after Michael demonstrated training methods with our dog and with me. Michael was available every day via journaling and phone calls and generous with sharing his abundance of knowledge. My only regret is that I did not have Michael walk in with us the first day we brought our puppy home. The initial reason for calling Michael was resolved. Michael taught me so much about Rudy that I now have the confidence to continue training Rudy and look forward to teaching him and having Rudy be a successful part of our family. read more

Michael was recommended to us by our daycare after our dog started displaying guarding behavior, as well as the usual craziness when anyone is in our yard / at the front door. Our dog is a 50lb, 18 month old ridgeback x staffordshire with a huge amount of energy. Michael really went into detail asking about the circumstances around our dog's behavior and her background before we even met and he came to us with lots of insight and advice. He explained things we had no idea about and was in constant contact during the 4 weeks we worked with him, offering feedback and input online. We have finished our sessions with Michael and our dog is back in daycare at kennels with no issues. As with anything, you have to take advice to make a change and work at it - we train, following Michael's advice, every day. There is no magic, instant solution but Michael can advise you on how to get the best out of your dog, to communicate with them well and really promote positive behaviors, all done with kindness and understanding. We were surprised however, how quickly our dog's behavior in certain situations changed. She is a happier, calmer dog for her sessions with Michael (which she loved) and we would not hesitate in recommending him to anyone looking for a behaviorist. read more

Michael was the best! I solicited Michael's help for my father's 2 y/o male lab/boxer/pit mix that began to exhibit aggressive behavior including some attempted biting. Dollar had had some recent home changes and was back with my father in a much smaller space. In addition to aggression, he started to regress going to the bathroom inside. I was worried that the 4 visits would not be enough, but each visit was extremely productive. He taught us numerous techniques and training tools that has proven almost 100% effective. The daily online correspondence was a great way to keep in regular contact and incorporate immediate corrections. It helped us decide what to work on at each visit. We did need to make some other purchases based on Michael's recommendations, but they have all proven quite useful. Dollar seems much happier and I feel much safer. We also had been trained with a shock collar before, but we were able to learn only positive reinforcement techniques with Michael that eliminated the need for the shock collar. Michael's knowledge, patience, and calm approach was just what Dollar needed. He continues to do very well and I'm grateful for Michael's help! read more

Michael saved my relationship with our dog. We adopted a 5 month old puppy that quickly turned out to be highly reactive, aggressive and territorial. Her impulse was to bite me when I tried to redirect her. She bit the trainer we hired to come to our house and they were hard bites! According to our vet, she had a lot of anxiety and was going to need a lot of training. We have a young child and I was nervous whenever the two were in the same room. I didn't trust our dog and that made me sad. A second trainer we contacted declined to take us on because Cassie was very comfortable biting people. My husband and I started talking about returning her to the organization we adopted her from. It was very stressful for all three of us. I found Michael while I was searching online for help with aggressive dogs. Working with him made all the difference. In addition to Michael, he has a team of caring people who love and know dogs. They are serious and committed to helping dogs and their owners. My child calls our dog her "dog sister" and is now writing a book about Cassie for her school project. read more

There are not enough stars to give to Michael. He is an extremely compassionate and knowledgeable teacher. I have two girl pugs. Last summer I had additional family members and their two dogs move into my home. My dogs began fighting each other and their aggression required them to be separated all the time. Since re-homing was not at option for me, I contacted Michael. He was honest at our first visit; I have a difficult case that will not have a quick fix. He taught me how to crate train, clicker train, mat train, plus additional skills to teach my dogs how to interact nicely. My daily journal provided immediate feedback and encouragement. He suggested additional training tools and treatments to help us be successful. My experience with Michael has changed my relationships with my dogs. My dogs' problems have been emotionally devastating to me, seeing my babies fight. We still have ways to go, but I now have beautifully well-behaved dogs with wonderful manners. Michael teaches people to become better pet parents. read more

As soon as I met Michael I knew he had a special talent for connecting with animals. My dog is normally very nervous and shy around strangers, but Michael's great demeanor and the friendly ways he interacted with her soon had her treating him like one of the family. My dog is a rescue with a history of abuse, so much of the training sessions involved learning techniques that allowed us to deal with situations where she might be frightened or aggressive. Over the course of six weeks, we learned all different types of skills to turn formerly negative situations into positive ones. I was very pleased with the result. My dog is now better behaved both at home and outside, and I am much more confident in her ability to self-regulate her actions. After the training, even my extended family who lives out of state said that they noticed a marked improvement in both my dog's behavior and how she acted around new people, without me saying a word about her being in training! read more

Michael Baugh is a wonderful trainer and he has such insight into a dogs behavior! He was able to look at the smallest movements my dog made and he could tell me that it was his cue that he did or didn't like something. He basically taught me how to speak to my dog, how to show him what I wanted him to do all with positive feedback. I normally use choke collars and shock collars if needed, but Michael showed me how to use positive reinforcement with very successful results. My dog Cody is an 80 lb very sweet retriever mix, but meeting new people is very tough for him. He becomes anxious, fearful, and sometimes aggressive. Michael taught me how to make Cody feel more comfortable when meeting new people and how to listen to Cody when he is not ready. Within only a few sessions, he was already responding to the training and doing really well! I give Michael 5 stars! read more

All that needs to be said is these guys KNOW what they're doing. They build a relationship with your animal, and it goes beyond just training sessions. They are available at all hours the day to guide you. Your dog isn't just their paycheck, it's their passion. If you want your dog in good hands, if you want to know the key to your dogs happiness; these guys have it. All that's between you and a better relationship with your dog is a phone call. I finally had to come to the realization without dog training I was going to have to give up my aggressive dog, Buddha. He has bitten people, growled at many and scared many. But what stopped me from giving up was the fact that Buddha is family. Your pets are family as weird as it is. And if family was sick you wouldn't throw them away, you'd do whatever it takes. Michael's Dogs is WHAT IT TAKES. read more

Unfortuntately, my dog Riley is a bit of a terror. He is now seven years old, and I have taken him to a number of different dog trainers and dog classes over the years. I had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that Riley would never improve. However, Michael is the first dog trainer that I have worked with where I have actually followed the training exercises and regimen. Michael is extremely calm and patient.....and explains his rationale for employing different training exercises. I immediately noticed a difference in Riley. Even my friends and family have noticed an improvement in Riley. While Riley is far from perfect, I am extremely encouraged by his improvement and look forward to continuing to work with Michael. read more

Do you know when the door bell rings and the dog goes crazy? You're trying to answer the door and hold back the dog.....I thought that was just to be expected until I met Michael!!! I am so thrilled with the results! I just wrote this note to Michael..... "Michael - I had to tell you!!!! Today the UPS guy came to the door to deliver some packages. He rang the bell and just left the boxes. Kaylee was going a little crazy...I threw out the matt. She got right on it and stayed there. I was able to open the door, retrieve the boxes, bring them into the house, set them down and then cued her to come to me! It was a beautiful thing!!!!! Thank you, Michael!!!!! read more

I can't say enough good things about Michael and Michael's Dogs! I am SO glad I chose to work with Michael with my aggressive and reactive Black Lab mix. Michael befriended my dog very quickly and developed a wonderful relationship with her. Our sessions were always incredibly productive and we made very fast progress. Michael offers an on-line training journal to track progress and ask questions, which he very diligently read and responded to quickly, and it was a wonderful additional resource. Michael is very knowledgeable and passionate about dog training and was always punctual and professional. I am so grateful I found Michael and I highly recommend him! read more

I have used Michael Bough as a dog trainer several times. I found him when my own dog developed issues and then I called him back for a rescue dog in our program who was also having difficulty. Michael not only uses positive training methods, clicker training being at the foundation of all training, but he develops a plan for the owner(s) that is interactive not only with the dog, but with Michael as well. This IS "not a send the dog off" to train it place (which does not work for long) but a you learn to train your dog and maintain that training situation. I like Michael's insights into the problem behavior as much as I like his training methods. read more

Michael impressed us from the very first visit with his in-depth knowledge of the latest research on training and dog behavior. He introduced us to clicker training and we were amazed at the amount of progress we saw in such a short time frame. We also appreciated the daily diary, which gave us the chance to share progress and setbacks between visits and receive pep talks and guidance. Michael is extremely dedicated and we appreciate all he's done. We would definitely use him again and highly recommend him. read more

i had almost given up on my rescue dog, harley. she'd already been returned by her first family when i got her. she was an extreme guarder and i had no clue how to deal with that, and she had several other issues. michael helped me understand the reasons for her behavior and showed me how to control her environment and manage her guarding. the change in her has been dramatic. she's a happy, cuddly dog with just a FEW bad habits that we continue to work on. i couldn't have done it without michael! read more

Michael was professional to work with. We were pleased with his thorough and prompt communication regarding expectations and appointments. Michael gave specific advice during the week between visits based on our journal reports and videos. The business model of timely visits to keep us moving forward and daily updates is effective in keeping us on track. Because, it is as much as training the trainer as it is training the dog! read more

Our dog Baloo was 1 bite away from being put down. Michael came in and taught me the tools needed to help him relax when people come over. We now have people over all the time and are working on getting him not to jump on them when greeting them. The tools taught have helped Baloo be a calm and happy dog. I couldn't recommend him more highly - he truly saved Baloo's life read more

Michael's training methods are stellar. He changed my difficult dog into a not perfect dog, but an obedient dog that is much easier to live with. Mat & crate training was invaluable to our success. I highly recommend Michael to turn your problem dog into a family pet. read more