Joey Byas at Ohio State K-9 is indeed a Master Trainer. His focus is on the dog and human. I have an 8-month old stubborn German Shepherd. Through 7 weeks of training, we have made huge strides from not listening to unleased in a controlled environment (fenced yard). The training has been verbal and non-verbal hand commands. Repetition is key to a successful training experience. read more

First off, I can't really review Joe at Oh State K-9 because I've never been a student at his school. But its not for a lack of trying. Ive spent a couple hours on the phone with him where I've been brow-beaten his mantra. I like his mantra-no shock collars, train the person and not the dog, etc. But he talks so much and feels the need to continually sell himself and his school that you can't actually schedule the training. I have no doubt he's probably a good trainer but I'm guessing I'll never know. Don't call unless you have countless hours to spend on the phone and a stiff drink in your hand. read more

We have taken all of our German Shepherds to National k9. When our dog was being boarded Chris notified us of a health concern, they called our vet and picked up a prescription at the pharmacist. We have confidence in National K9 that our dog is being cared for. read more

I've rated Joey Byas 5 stars because he has, in a few short weeks, transformed our dog. Our dog was an 6 month old rescue pup who was wild beyond belief. In fact we tried to give her back without success. Pet store training class helped very little. However, in seven weeks Joe has trained me and our dog in the basic five commands (sit, stay,come, down, and heel) OFF leash using whisper commands or hand signals ONLY. I could have never imaged that happening. I taught university, post-graduate level courses for 40 years and I don't think some of my student caught on to basic concepts any quicker. He is a superb teacher. Joe also has the patience of the Biblical figure Job and goes beyond the extra mile to help me AND our dog perfect our training. I highly recommend him to anyone who is really serious about training their dog. I look forward to writing a more complete review when we have completed our training. read more

After twenty years of living without a dog in our home, my wife finally convinced me to purchase one. We decided on a 1 year old male Morkie named Charlie. Charlie's previous owner informed us that she felt guilty locking him up in a cage daily while going to work. Since my wife and I are retired, we felt that we wouldn't have to lock Charlie in a cage. Charlie is a great little dog and has a wonderful disposition with people. However, he would lunge to the end of his leash, barking and growling at every dog he saw, more so with large dogs. Three times while my wife was walking him, Charlie had to defend his 14 lbs self from some very large dogs that had gotten away from their owners. We knew very little about training a dog. We didn't have a clue how to fix our boy. Therefore, we decided to seek help from a professional trainer, to fix these behavioral issues. I decided to watch some YOUTUBE videos in hopes they would help me fix Charlie's problems. But all of the suggestions I accumulated from those videos didn't work for us with Charlie. This is when we decided to find a professional trainer. After countless hours of discussing Charlie's issues with our close friends and relatives, nobody could provide us with the information needed to resolve Charlie's problems. Everything we tried simply didn't work. We spent over a month on the internet, discussing our dog's behavior issues with numerous dog training schools. None had the behavior training course needed to fix our dog. We consulted all our local pet stores and discovered they only offered a basic 5 command obedience training course, the same course offered by the dog training schools we contacted online. After all our research, we finally decided that we would need a dog behavior specialist, an expert that could indeed fix all the behavior issues Charlie had developed. At this point, we also realized that we didn't want the typical pet store group class type training they all offered. We realized that it would only make Charlie worse being around so many dogs there. So, we decided to purchase ONE-ON-ONE training, which would be best for our dog. After spending days on the internet, researching all of the dog training schools we could find, we finally found the Ohio State K9 College. Their website provided all of the information we needed to be confident Charlie would be properly trained with their ONE-ON-ONE type training. In fact, their website explained things that no other trainer had even brought to our attention. Including, many things that I didn't even think to ask any trainer about. After reading their site, I completed their required ON-LINE-TEST to demonstrate that I had read and understood all the information about their school. The following day, I was contacted by the owner of the school Joey Byas and we started discussing what I wanted for training. That call lasted about 90 minutes, in which Joey explained that he does not use choke, spike, or shock collar or hurt a dog in any way, unlike other schools do with adult dogs that I contacted. I set an appointment and took Charlie in for the required 2 hours obedience training evaluation for the TOTAL CONTROL course I desired, and another hour for Joey to type up all of my dog's behavior and socialization issues he currently saw in Charlie. Joey's written estimate is very through and covered all of the courses and details that would be needed to fix all of my dog's issues correctly and permanently. While going through this evaluation, I realized that Joey was also testing my ability to follow his instructions, during the evaluation of Charlie. Joey explained that he has been training dog's and their owner's for over 40+ years, using his 100% voice control training, and that he is a "Master Trainer." Joey agreed to train Charlie and to also train me, and we started our first class, which began by Joey demonstrating (hands-on) how he fixes separation anxiety. Joey had it fixed in less than 5 minutes, and in another 10 minutes he had Charlie fixed for ME (even when we left alone in his cage) and haven't had any more separation anxiety with Charlie since. Then, we began with our first obedience training class. By the end of the class I could see a big change in how Charlie was behaving and responding to MY commands. After each of our weekly training class, Joey provided me with written instruction on how to fix my dog's behavior issues, and how to properly work with his obedience training between our weekly classes. We also discussed a lot about dog psychology, involving the proper ways to train Charlie and most importantly to train ME. Charlie has been performing the commands we teach him each class, on the very 1st command given. In fact, he is so good now that he performs every command ON and OFF leash (inside and outside) I highly recommend that you contact Joey Byas for all your dog training needs. John Ward read more

The first thing to know about the Ohio State K-9 College is that it is not for everybody. You have to be willing to actively learn to be a student at this school. This starts at the website. When I bought my puppy I couldn't see training her with a shock collar or other cruel method. I researched every single trainer in central Ohio, diligently read every website, and eventually settled on Ohio State K-9 College. Then, I found I had to apply myself to learning before I ever set foot in a class. Joey, the trainer of masters (he teaches people, not dogs) spent hours on the phone with me. He quizzed me to see if I had actually read his website. He told me how other schools trained dogs. He explained how he trained people. He asked me what I expected to get out of my purchase. He talked, and talked and talked; and he expected me to listen. I did not expect this experience. I expected to call, make an appointment and start training my dog. Initially I was a bit frustrated; however, having decided that I wanted this school I powered through. WOW! It has been worth it. Joey is amazing. My little girl is sitting and staying, laying down, coming to me, and starting to heel after just three weeks of training (and practicing). Once you employ Joey, he is with you for the long haul. You get private instruction customized to you and your dog. There are no distractions, no other animals to take the instructor's attention away from you and you truly benefit from someone with over 30 years of experience working with dogs. My adult son has autism, and Joey is working with him to teach him how to care for the dog, as well as training the dog to care for my son. It is wonderful to see that partnership growing. Joey does not take every potential student who calls. He doesn't have that kind of time. He uses his time on the phone to screen out the people who will not have the open mind and/or open ears to work with him and use his method. This can (and probably does) put many people off. My mother used to tell me that no progress comes without effort. Joey's system works very well if you are willing to put the time and effort into working with your dog. My puppy is so proud of herself when she get the commands correctly - you can see it in her posture. Oh, and to people who want a price over the phone - Joey must meet the dog and owner first. How can he know if it will take six weeks or 12 weeks to teach you until after he meets you? To summarize: Before you start with any trainer, do your due diligence; read their websites thoroughly. Call them, and see how long they will spend on the phone with you. Actively listen to what they have to say. You will undoubtedly end up at Ohio State K-9 College. read more

Went here several years ago and purchased total control course and still happy with decision. The training process is a major commitment for master and dog, as well for Joey, so he takes things seriously. Interview process seems 2-sided as he is evaluating potential students (and their dogs) as much as he is being evaluated as a trainer. He will not even meet with you until you read every section of his web site and pass the quiz. This intensity might turn off some people, but I sensed and respected his passion for his work. Biggest differences between OSK9 and several other options that I researched are: (1) It is all one-on-one training with you, your dog, and Joey (no apprentices/interns, and no group lessons). Your results are guaranteed for the life of the dog, so you can always go back for refreshers if problem behaviors arise (not needed for us). (2) Joey teaches masters first and foremost. From what I learned I feel that I could train all of my dogs on my own for the rest of my life, but I'll still probably take my next dog there to work on advanced topics. Beyond the actual training, Joey also taught us a ton about grooming nutrition, and equipment, and has even provided emergency boarding for fair price when stay-in petsitter fell through. The training strengthened my family's relationship with our working breed dog and the ongoing command practice is part of my dog's "job", which vital for its mental well being. The cost is substantial but not doing it could've cost infinitely more given the damage that the dog could have done to itself/property/people without proper training, and it's very cheap considering most large dogs are an 8-14 year commitment and the training itself involved several months of weekly personal lessons. I highly recommend Joey and OSK9 for those who can commit to the process and required practice. read more

Joey is a very knowledgeable and talented dog trainer. Joey not only works and trains your dog, he also trains you on how to use the commands on your own. So both you and your dog become trained to work together to do the things you want your pet to obey. read more

Never actually had a training session however just on the phone consultation my sister and I had with this guy we found him to be very arrogant, demeaning and he would not listen to what we had to say but only wanted to discuss other dogs he worked with and how well he did training them. From his website I was really excited about having him train my dog and I to be a great team, but after a 30 min conversation with him all he wanted to talk about was his achievements and his website. He read majority of his website to me after I had already told him I had read through the entire site, and continually asked me if I understood in a very belitling manner. He would ask a question and before I could get 2 words out he was going on about how wonderful he was and what he had done for others. I will continue my search looking for a trainer who is interested in talking to me about my dog and what I am looking for instead of this arrogant man. While I have no doubt of his experience or expertise I will not be spoken to in that tone and I do not wish to pay him $50 an hour for an evaluation and then continue to pay more for training for him to waste time lecturing me of his greatness and adding up to hundreds or thousands spent listening to his past achievements! read more