Bob. This man has changed our life. I decided to get a pup when I had two young kids and a busy…read morelife. Of course as soon as we brought her home, we knew she needed training. Found Bob through our vet and ever since, our dog has been a calm, submissive, obedient dog at only 11 months old. The training that Bob and his granddaughter put her through was incredible. She listens, she knows commands, she is calm, and when times go crazy & she gets anxious, she walks away to her kennel to safe space. She is a changed man and we are a changed family. Thank you Bob Laut and company. -the Turners

My experience with Bob echoes those of other reviewers who found his training methods excessively…read moreforceful, compulsion-focused, and unresponsive to the signals my dog was sending. Not only did I find his training style personally objectionable, it set my dog's forward progress back by desensitizing him to low-force corrections (which he has always been quite responsive to) and triggering several instances of severe dog reaction while Bob was working with us. I initially got in touch with Bob to help with my 60 lb pit bull's reactivity problem. I have invested many hours and dollars training him, and he is well-behaved and obedient with minor exceptions - dogs and door knocks being the two I wanted Bob's help with. When I called Bob, he made several assumptions about my training and interactions with my dog, almost all of which were inaccurate. He spoke over me and did not show interest in what I've done so far, choosing instead to point to mistakes he thought I was making, only for me to say "no, I've been training my dog for years, we don't do that." When he arrived, as planned, he knocked on my door, and my dog started barking. I crated my dog, opened the door for Bob, and then let my dog out of the crate when he stopped barking. My dog greeted Bob curiously, and then slowly got more excited, finally jumping on Bob. Bob's reaction was (no exaggeration!) to karate chop my dog in the neck, to which my dog immediately began reacting, growling and barking at Bob. This took my dog from curious and cautious to downright protective. Bob then told me that I had to correct my dog into stopping his reaction. I got his attention and he eventually calmed down. He then took about 10 minutes to readjust and meet Bob calmly again. While I don't want my dog jumping on visitors (and he almost never does), I am confident there are methods less forceful than a karate chop to make the change. To be clear, *Bob is the only visitor my dog has ever reacted this way with.* It's clear to me that Bob triggered the reaction and it seems he wanted credit for putting out the fire that he started. Following this, we went out for the planned walk. We went in the direction of dogs, and Bob instructed me to not allow mine to look at other dogs. When we came across a German Shepherd, I told my dog "Leave it," which he ignored. We were about 50 feet away, and Bob asked if he could take the leash, which I allowed. He loudly told my dog "Leave it!", which my dog, again, ignored. Bob then issued such a forceful correction on the prong collar that the bag holder attached to the leash broke apart. This, predictably, caused my dog to go from uncomfortable and suspicious of the other dog, to a full-blown fight-or-flight reaction (growling, barking, and pulling). Bob issued several more high-force corrections on the prong and then kicked my dog twice. Only when the German Shepherd went away did my dog stop reacting. After this, Bob told me that the "solution is an e-collar." To be clear, I have found success with balanced training methods, including corrections on a prong collar. I am not opposed to e-collars, BUT Bob then suggested that the only way to get my dog to stop reacting was to issue a shock so strong "it would get all 4 of [my dog's] feet off the ground." I have no interest in using a tool solely to inflict pain on my dog. We did this exercise with a couple more dogs, and each time, the heavy corrections triggered the initial reaction and failed to get him to stop once he was going. Bob's style is almost purely compulsion-based, and while this may elicit the desired changes in some dogs, it is rooted in a theory of training that hasn't been the norm for literal decades. It causes unnecessary pain and stress to the dog, and, crucially, is less effective than many other training styles. Bob also made several off-hand comments while we were together, including that he flipped a driver off while he was walking into my building (???) and that the way to get a dog to stop barking in its crate is to bang the top of the crate with a skillet and yell at the dog. I found his behavior strange and unprofessional. I ended up cutting our 2 hour session short and paying Bob for 1 hour of his time at his hourly rate of $195/hr.

In December of 2019, I adopted an abandoned puppy. Not knowing anything about this dog's breed we…read morenoticed she was timid, had anxiety and was unaware of how to act on a leash. When people would come to my house she would bark constantly and would not settle. I research many dog trainers in the St. Louis area. I liked the fact that Matty B's Dog Training had a personal approach to dog training and years of experience. After the very first lesson my dog was responsive and attentive to what we were teaching her. Matty B took time to study how my dog responded to the training and gave us tools to help her cope with her anxiety. It has been amazing the difference! When people come over now she knows she goes to her bed and is comforted knowing that she is safe there. When we go on walks she stays by my side. My dog is happier and we are enjoying our sweet unique dog. I highly recommend Matty B's Dog Training!!

I am SO happy I chose Matty B's Dog Training. I have an 80 lb German Shepherd who didn't do well on…read moreleash and was terrible around other dogs. It would be close to impossible to control him if there was another dog around. I would avoid taking him on walks in fear of seeing another dog. I knew this wasn't the life I wanted for my dog so I finally decided to get help. I chose the 15 day bootcamp- I was terrified to send my dog away for that long but I am so happy I did. I was regularly updated and sent pictures which was great. You can tell Matt really cares about the dogs he works with. When we picked our boy up, Matt gave us a lesson about everything he had learned the last 2 weeks. We were amazed! Walks are now enjoyable- he is a completely different dog on leash. We now have the confidence of taking our dog in public. We just finished our 2 week followup where Matt came to our house to check on our progress. I highly recommend Matty B's Dog Training, and plan to utilize his services again in the future.

Very good trainer! She gave alot of good information & tips to work at home with. Very patient with…read moremy dog. Would highly recommend!

I suddenly had a dog aggression problem between two of my dogs. I called other trainers in the…read morearea and I was told there was nothing I could do and that I would need to rehome one of them. I had a behaviorist come in who recommended Pawsitive Principles. They have been working with my dogs and we have made tremendous progress. Thanks to them both of my dogs are doing so much better. They only use positive reinforcement so the dogs even enjoy the skills that they are learning. I have been so impressed with this company that I now have another dog working with them to become a therapy dog. I would recommend Ashley and Suzanne to anyone who has dogs with behavioral issues or who just wants basic skills, therapy dog or service dog training. They are so easy to work with on training times and even payment options.

Suzanne's love for animals is obvious when she works with our 1 year old lab Sammy. I like the…read morepositive reinforcement method she uses and our dog has responded very well to it. She has helped a lot with our Sammy's undesirable "puppy" behaviors. We will certainly keep working with her as long as needed and refer her to ALL our family and friends. Thanks Suzanne!

From the owner: It's time to unleash your dog's potential! At Pawsitive Concepts, we embrace the most up-to-date,…read morescientifically proven methods of positive reinforcement training. In each session, you and your dog will learn new skills, say goodbye to problem behaviors, and create a stronger connection in an upbeat, stress-free environment. Plus, you'll never have to worry about getting lost in a crowd. With only six dog-human teams per class, you always get the individualized encouragement and instruction you need for both you and your dog to succeed. Your dog will be motivated and excited to learn, and you'll enjoy creating that lasting, loving bond necessary to form a winning team.

We have had various issues with some of our dogs ranging from basic training to fence aggression to…read morefull out "he wants to eat me!". These guys have helped us tackle each one completely to our satisfaction. We have tried various trainers and were so much more comfortable with Have Mercy. They have a deep, instinctive knowledge and caring for dogs that truly shines in their training. I would highly recommend them for any kind of training that you might need.

Allison was able to schedule to see us right away as our older dog was aggressive to the new puppy…read more This was over Christmas. Her special insight honed in on a special treat making the older dog jealous. We removed that problem and she guided us having them interact unrestrained. It went super well and within a day they were sharing the back yard for #2 simultaneously. She explained dog behavior and helped us to not overreact to appropriate dog manners. We're going to have her come back and help us with training of the older dog and the new puppy moving forward. We plan to do it right this time. Highly recommend.

Trainers and owner wont wear a mask and after the owner had a maskless COVID close encounter, owner…read morerefused to close for more than a single day or wait until testing could produce reliable results. Instead she refused to refund any of our money even though we felt unsafe after this incident. She refused to allow us to use it for private lessons or merchandise. She proceeded to hang up on us, cancel the rest of our lessons without our consent and just kept our money. Horrible person to deal with.

Absolutely love Jax and the gang here at STL Dog Training! They did wonders for my great dane!…read moreHighly recommend!!

Our dog loves it here but you can never get in for daycare or boarding. It is clean and the…read morepeople are pleasant. We have failed getting in even calling a week or two in advance for daycare.

We had to find boarding for our 3 dogs in short order as we had a family emergency out of town…read more None of the dogs had ever been boarded before so we were a little nervous on how they would do. We checked out Kritter Kare's Howliday Inn and a few other places near us on a Tuesday and the dogs had to be boarded starting Wednesday. We choose to use the Howliday Inn and I'm glad we did. The facility is clean, modern and welcoming. The 3 staff members we interacted with with were friendly, knowledgeable and professional. There is a large inside common area for the doggy day care and at least 3 outside play yards. I was shown two boarding areas and we were able to keep our 3 dogs together in one area which really seemed to help with any anxiousness they had about the new and unexpected situation. They were super accommodating to our needs of a very early drop off and a very late pick up due to the last-minute out of town travel. They communicated with me after the drop-off, providing updates and even pics on how the dogs were doing. The rates were fair/comparable and communicated up-front . The short story is the dogs were well taken care of and seemed to have a good time. I certainly recommend this business and will use it again if we need to board any or all of our dogs again. BTW - they also offer day sitting/playtime and additional services that can be performed while your dog is boarded such as grooming and nail care. Thanks to Jen and her staff for helping out in a hectic time and we're so happy that everything worked out great for the dogs.

Adorable antique shop with a kind of tea room. Food was amazing and DO NOT FORGET TO HAVE A SLICE…read moreOF HOMEMADE PIE!!!

I was referred to them because my dog needed group training. He was rescued and had not had any…read moresocialization. i Had 8 weeks of private training and was told he was ready for group! I enrolled him in the teenager course but they said no because he was fearful and offered me private lessons for 900.00 Which he had already completed so they were useless for me! Probably should've lied on the app since my friends aggressive dog that had no training got in!! Seriously though that would not be the kind of trainers I would be Interested in trusting my dog with!

I am taking my 7 month old standard poodle to Rosie's for daycare and grooming. I am so happy with…read morethe results. She is getting great socialization in the supervised daycare and comes home tired. Rosie's puts the dogs in the area best suited to their size and energy level. Ashton, the new manager is doing a wonderful job with Chloe Marie. My girl gets bored easily when she is home with me, on weekends, but is very happy when she knows she's going to go play with friends. As a result some of her problems at home has stopped. She's walking better on a leash when she sees another dog. The grooming is also excellent, and that's hard to find for a Standard Poodle. All and all I've really been very satisfied with Rosie's. 5 stars! Love my girl, and I trust the people when she is in their care.

Originally picked this place because it was close to us and I loved that they took pictures of the…read moredogs. On our first visit they immediately took my dog back dragging her by her leash. Looking at the photos posted I could tell it was a small yard and way too many dogs in just a small space and it looked like my pup was scared in all of the photos. One of my friends told me that she used to work there and they abuse the dogs in their care by putting pressure on the dogs back legs. I never took my dog there again.

My friend recommended Bev to me and I have never regretted taking my shihtsu there. I know they…read moretreat her right because she goes straight to them and doesn't shake like shes nervous. She always comes out happy. Bev and her son Dan are very good at grooming and also very good at creating a non stressful atmosphere for the dogs. No knicks or cuts either.

We have used Bev for years for our dog. She has always done a wonderful job. If you are in need of…read morea groomer give her a try.