We worked with Tom to prepare our dog for some major life changes, and the experience was beyond what we hoped for. From leash skills to preparing for a new baby, he addressed every concern with patience, expertise, and real results. Our dog had a strong prey drive and would lunge at squirrels, birds--basically anything that moved. Walks were stressful and chaotic. After working with Tom, we now enjoy calmer, controlled walks, and continue to work in high-distraction areas. Obedience was another focus--commands like "come," "place," and especially "down" have become reliable, and working still in challenging situations. Tom really emphasized consistency and practice for best results, which helped a lot! Overall, Tom gave us the tools and confidence we needed to help our dog thrive in a changing household. He clearly loves dogs, but just as importantly, he knows how to teach humans. If you're looking for help with obedience, leash manners, behavioral quirks, or preparing for a baby, Tom is absolutely worth it. read more

We have a 2 yr old pit mix from the shelter. He had several issues including separation anxiety and leash reactivity. Tom clearly shows he's a professional and cares about your relationship with your dog. Admittedly I was skeptical if our dog would really learn to calm down but with consistency and time we have found he has made significant improvements! read more

TL;DR. If you've adopted a dog, you want to have a lifelong meaningful relationship with this dog, you want to feel calm and relaxed with your dog when in public, you want your dog to feel calm and relaxed in any environment, and - this is crucial - you're willing to invest the work and effort to build your dog up to this amazing human-dog relationship - if you said YES to all - then just pick up the phone and call Tom. Tom is a professional, he is deeply passionate about what he does, and he'll get you there - albeit won't be easy. You'll see, he's to the point, he is not a gimmick, he deeply cares about the welfare of dogs, and this isn't just a job for him: he is the real deal. The slightly longer story: we adopted Hurricane at two years old. See pictures, she's super cute and a rockstar! Basically everyone who meets Hurricane thinks she's awesome. But on day one it wasn't so smooth. Hurricane, having survived some rough living on the streets, didn't really know how to walk on a leash, how to be nice to other dogs, and generally wasn't ready for dense inner-city living. So we turned to Tom for help. I won't go into the details of the process, but in a nutshell it's a combination of practice, practice, practice; educate yourself; and learn to understand your dog. But more importantly Tom hasn't merely taught our dog to SIT, DOWN, COME, etc. - and those are very important, but more broadly taught us, and Hurricane, how to communicate with and trust each other, and even how to continue learning new skills moving forward. Because learning is a lifelong process, for dogs too. Fast forward a year, Hurricane is doing great! She loves her life, enjoys her walks, and is cool as a cucumber wherever we go and whatever is happening around her. We have solid communication with her, and we confidently know that we can take her with us everywhere - restaurants, stores, hiking, the park, whatever. She's good, she's calm, she's having fun. And that's it. That's the story of Hurricane. And so yes, I very much recommend Tom. read more

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After a year of random incidents of our 6 year old dog, Jack, snapping/biting friends and family and us talking with our vet about options to train/medicate/etc to control the biting, we are so thankful she recommended Tom to help train us. Tom's training program has been very successful for us. One of the best parts of his training program is that he comes to your house and trains in your environment which is where most of our issues occurred. He also explains things in simple terms and shows you how to do the training and then has you do the training and provides instant feedback on how to improve. Since hiring Tom for training, we have learned how to be leaders for Jack and Jack has learned how to walk on a leash much better and how to be more calm. We would recommend Tom to absolutely everyone. read more

Mid-Atlantic Dog Training - Jack, hanging out on his place outside. - Pet Training Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

Excellent dog training! We learned a LOT from Tom at Mid Atlantic Dog Training. Our dog, Buster, is nearly in-trainable, but Tom took the time and effort to get him to a place we needed. The basic training blocks we learned from Tom remain the constant. We frequently re-address the lessons and methods we learned from Tom. We highly recommend Tom due to his diligence, methods, and most importantly, results! Quite frankly, we could not have kept Buster without the training and teaching we received from Tom. read more

Mid-Atlantic Dog Training - Pet Training Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

We have two dogs: Randy the 7 year old mixed breed, and Hazel the cattle dog/beagle puppy. We started working with Tom a couple months after adopting Hazel, when she was about 5 months old. Randy had years of bad habits that we learned to live with: barking, leash aggression, Velcro-dog neuroses, and terrible walking habits. Introducing Hazel seemed to exacerbate these issues, and she began to develop problems of her own. Hazel became aggressive, growling & biting that was far beyond normal puppy biting, leaving us scarred and upset. She was also completely unmanageable with other behaviors like chewing, territorial actions, and had started a barking habit to rival Randy's. It was at the point where we considered returning her to the rescue or attempting to re-home, but knew that would be a death sentence - a dog with that kind of biting and aggression would surely be euthanized. We explored many different options, from behaviorists to boot camps and everything in between, endless YouTube videos, and many books and articles... to no avail. We came across Mid-Atlantic Dog Training and were intrigued by the information we read on their Facebook page. Our first appointment made clear that we needed to fundamentally change the way we interacted with our dogs, and that it would be an intense, but ultimately rewarding, process. Tom is direct and consistent in his instruction and methods. He has patience and empathy, while still being firm in his teaching. He worked with us over several months and we saw a gradual but significant transformation in our dogs. Randy and Hazel are still learning, as are we, but our life together has improved vastly. We take them for walks with pleasure, and formerly skeptical neighbors now remark on how well they're doing. Our home is calmer and more structured, Hazel and Randy seem to be more at peace knowing their boundaries and roles. No more biting or aggression, far less barking & chaos. We're really grateful to Tom, and recommend him to any out there who are about to give up on their dogs. read more

Mid-Atlantic Dog Training - Pet Training Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

We turned to Tom for help for our 2 dogs, one had reactivity issues and the other with aggressive guarding behavior. He was recommended by our veterinarian. We have had dogs all our lives and still benefit from Tom's expertise. We get comments all the time about how well behaved they are on their walks and when we have friends/family over in our home. read more

Mid-Atlantic Dog Training - Pet Training Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

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A number of weeks ago, my wife and I completed a 5-lesson training session with Tom Coaker at Mid-Atlantic Dog Training, and we could not be happier with the results. Tom's slogan is "Where dogs learn to make you proud," and I cannot think of one more fitting for his business. A little background: My wife and I have always owned dogs, and we currently have a German Shepherd named Briscoe (8) and a Plott Hound mix named McCoy (3), both of whom we adopted from the MDSPCA. Both dogs have shown high levels of anxiety, and McCoy, the hound, was highly dog aggressive and reactionary. He has bitten both my wife and me when redirecting his aggression, and he eventually bit my father-in-law, which was the event that prompted us to call Tom. From the very beginning, we were both very impressed with the professional nature of Mid-Atlantic Dog Training and with the breadth of knowledge Tom displays as a dog-trainer. It is clear that he is truly passionate about the work, and he remains abreast of the newest developments in the field. He is flexible in working with his customers' schedules, and was responsive and encouraging when we would reach out with questions. Additionally, Tom offers many of the items needed for the successful completion of the training course, and is willing to charge less than if one were to purchase these same materials from a traditional pet store or Amazon. If you are considering hiring someone to help train your dog (or dogs!), we cannot recommend Tom at Mid-Atlantic Dog Training enough! Like many long-time pet owners, my wife and I thought that we understood what needed to be done to help calm our anxious and potentially dangerous dogs. However, nothing that we did was effective, and Tom came in and immediately helped us change our own perceptions about what it means to be a good dog owner. I am not joking when I write that we both noticed a significant improvement after just the first lesson, and by the end of the course, we feel like we have two different, much happier and more secure pups! I will say that the course does require a lot of work on the part of the owner(s), and it is important that you keep up with "the homework." However, Tom's guidance and clear advice make the lessons and the practice easy, and I am sure that anyone who works with Tom will have similar positive results. Even though our official course is over, Tom has made it clear that he will remain available to help if we should ever have a question or an issue, and he has even invited us and our dogs to join him and other current and former customers on pack walks where the dogs are allowed to socialize in a productive and meaningful setting. We are very happy that we called Tom at Mid-Atlantic Dog Training, and even happier that he was able to help our dogs become ones that we can be proud of! read more

I wish I could give Tom more than 5 stars, his training saved our dog Waffles and our family. We got our dog, Waffles, when she was a puppy. She got injured at 6 months old and had to have surgery, the recovery took about four months total. After the surgery and recovery we noticed some problem behaviors that we needed to address: she pulled constantly on the leash, she would sometimes get protective of me and growl at other dogs if they approached, she barked at all our neighbors, jumped on our friends to greet them, and the worst part was she started to jump all over us and biting our clothes like we were dogs to play with (this happened everyday to the point we would wear clothes we didn't care about). We reached out to Tom because we had friends who used him in the past and had good results. We had one meeting where he explained all of his background and how he got started dog training. We were already impressed. After the first session Waffles was not barking at our neighbors, she walked very well on leash, and she would stay in her "place" instead of roaming the house. IT WAS AMAZING. I actually cried when I was sitting outside with her and my neighbor came out who she always barked at, she looked at my and sat instead. I will never forget that moment. Tom's training wasn't easy but it was effective. We are better dog owners because of him and we are so thankful. He saved our dog Waffles and our little family. I highly recommend using him if you think you and your dog could benefit from this type of training! read more

Mid-Atlantic Dog Training - Pet Training Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

Tom was a pleasure to work with throughout the process of training our corgi, Daisy. She had obedience issues and some slight aggression on walks, so we turned to Tom for help. We learned so much new information about our dog and feel we can understand her much better now. When our friends and family visit, they quickly recognize that Daisy is a completely different dog now, and praise her on how well behaved she is now! Tom helped make us better dog owners, and made Daisy a better dog in the process. read more

My husband and I are not the type of people who write reviews, whether something is exceptionally good or exceptionally bad. However, Tom's dog training has made such a big difference in our and our dog's lives that it would be wrong to not write a review. Our Havanese developed anxiety-related aggressive behavior around the age of 1.5, which began after an interstate move. This included lunging and barking at random strangers we would pass on the street making our walks extremely stressful, and even biting our dog walker and a family member. We initially tried to fix these issues ourselves with online resources, and simply hoped that he would "grow out of it." However, when the behaviors continued and worsened, we became worried that he might one day cause harm to the point where he would be taken away from us, and knew that we had to hire a trainer for him. We found a dog trainer online who had great reviews and worked with her for 1 session after which she declared him not a problem dog, and expected that his behavior would improve with purely positive reinforcement only. We tried this for several weeks, but his behavior actually worsened during that time. Then, off of the recommendation of our vet, we called Tom. Our initial meeting with Tom was eye-opening and a little tough for us, because he asked us to put limitations on our dog's behaviors which we frankly had not done before. We thought that spoiling our dog and letting him be free and allowed to do as he pleases is what makes a happy dog. We have since learned, following Tom's training and instruction, that a dog with structure, order, and leadership is actually what makes a happy dog. We have seen a tremendous difference in our dog's behavior after training. Strangers now comment on how well-behaved he is. He no longer growls at people on our walks, we can ride the elevator with other people without fear that he will try to bite them, and he no longer barks at sounds outside the door. Huge improvements were made within the first month and he has steadily improved since. We know that Tom's training is what made this possible. We are very thankful to Tom for helping our dog become calm and assertive and appreciate that he has made himself available even after completing training if we have any questions. We've recently called him after a vet visit to get his advice on a possible behavioral issue. It's great to know that we have Tom on our side! read more

I am very thankful to Tom for teaching me how to provide a better life for Moonlight, a 6-year old dog I adopted in July 2018. Her extreme discomfort towards people, dogs, sudden movements, loud noises, and being touched was immediately apparent from the moment I brought her home. I first met with another trainer in September 2018 who felt Moonlight was generally fine and just needed more socialization. While her reactivity and aggression towards people and dogs were acknowledged, she was considered a decent loose-leash walker, and her reactive barking to the doorbell ringing or to movement/sounds outside my window was considered normal and only needed to be addressed if I felt they were bothersome. She required just one private session during which I was given a list of potential calming aids and prescribed methods to help her adjust using an all-positive only approach; which is to expect misbehavior so I will not get flustered when it happens and thus be able to ignore it and then, to reward her after she has calmed down or if she happened to choose an acceptable reaction in the first place. Using this approach, Moonlight did gain confidence in some ways but, I struggled to effectively address her reactivity and aggression. Instead, they worsened. Tom's keen eye for dog and human behavior is supplemented by his ability to communicate effectively. At the initial consultation itself, he noticed other behaviors that reflected her insecurities and anxiety which I had suppressed and even learned to accept over time. His approach was refreshing in that he did not fixate on and compartmentalize each negative behavior by prescribing specific commands or tricks to remedy them individually. Instead, he temporarily altered her living environment so she had a better chance of learning new habits successfully and then, he methodically introduced structure into our daily routine. Whereas Moonlight started lesson one being skittish and attempted to bite Tom, she was rolling over for a belly rub by the start of the second lesson whenever he called her to come to him. He truly cares for the dog's well-being and every action and reaction he implements exemplifies what's fair for the dog in the long run, something I saw Moonlight take to right away. Moonlight enjoyed practicing her lessons very much and she began receiving compliments on how well behaved she is in and outside our home within a month of starting training. People who walk pass us now comment on what a happy dog she is. She by no means desires to engage with every dog or person she meets, but she has learned that can respectfully deny (ignore and avoid) rather than aggressively deny interaction, which is exactly what I wished for her to learn. Tom will ask for a commitment to complete several sessions, compared to others who charge by the session or the hour. He ended up spending ample time training us over multiple lessons. He also spent additional time thoughtfully responding to every question I asked via email during and after completing training. Additionally, he organizes monthly pack walks for those who have completed his program so we can continue practicing what we learned in a group setting. Choosing to work with Tom turned out to be a wise decision for Moonlight and me. I only wish I found him a lot sooner for Moonlight's sake. Tom is a gifted trainer. I cannot recommend him highly enough. read more

My adorable Lab, Bentley never had any problems until we were faced with a paw injury, getting altered, a cold winter and a job change. I started to notice my dog's behaviors becoming increasingly aggressive to the point, I felt like I could no longer walk him safely. He was only 7 months old. I thought finding a new home to help him have the life he deserved was the best option. But I realized no home would be good for him, when his aggression was so severe. My initial plan was to rehab him until another home would be a good fit. I learned very quickly that I had more options to help my sweet boy. And in essence, help me too. My home was where my buddy belonged. And my home is where he stayed. I started working with Tom in June of 2014. This program is designed to do some major rehabilitation with the relationship between you and your dog. I worked hard with the tools I was taught to provide positive reinforcement and recognizing when my dog had no leadership from me. In the course of the day much of my focus was devoted to help correct my buddy's misunderstandings and help him understand his purpose. We practiced our new skills together often. We were bonding and that had been something lacking as well. The tools that have been strategically sought out and used to helped shape this program our spectacular. Each session that is provided in your home environment prepares you for the next step. As long as you do the work you will see the results. By September 1, Bentley graduated the program and was a completely different dog. In just a few months I went from seeking a new home for my dog, to seeking new activities we could do together. Tom helped save me, so that I could save my dog. I will be forever grateful for his services. read more

We rescued our dog in October 2017. He was about 1.5 years old, had been through a couple homes and was possibly a stray at some point, and had aggression issues. We worked with a trainer on some basics, but we weren't able to make much progress on his aggression and other behavioral issues. When he bit me one evening while trying to groom him, we knew we had to get some concentrated help. We contacted Tom and began a new "Boot Camp" policy, and within a couple weeks, we started to see vast improvement (not perfection by any means, but definite improvement!). He became a different dog after we implemented the changes that Tom recommended, which really involved a lot of self-control and discipline. Dog training is people training, and Tom made this training easy to learn and accessible. Contacting Tom was the best decision we ever made not only for our boy, but also for ourselves as dog owners and dog lovers. Our dog is still learning, and we are still learning, and we all still have a ways to go, but Tom stresses that he is there to help whenever questions arise, and he often invites his clients to join him for pack walks that involve training refreshers. Overall, Tom is a fantastic trainer, and I highly recommend him! Training with him is an investment that is worth every penny. read more

As a dog owner of 2 dogs, and one being a reactive dog, Tom has done a phenomenal job of teaching me leadership and structure, and I can say I feel confident in moving forward! A goal that I had was to acclimate my corgi (reactive) to my sister's puppy. My corgi is now able to interact with my sister's puppy and live with him over weekends. Additionally, Tom has taught my older dog structure and discipline, they now both listen when a stranger or new individual comes to our house. We are very grateful for the pack walk and additional trainings Tom has provided as they keep us on track. Tom has changed my life and the life of my dogs. I am forever grateful and I recommend him if you need assistance with your dog or dogs. read more