Very bad experience with SWK-9. I should have not taken Facebook reviews as the gospel. This trainer has good reviews but You can't believe everything you see on fb. After leaving my dog with them for their board and train program, (3 week program) I ended up Picking him up after a week.
Trainer would not communicate with us, except a text every so often with no details. After telling them we would like to know what was happening, trainer would text back, if I sent her a text,..most times the response was limited to one line. They were rude when we tried asking them to give us daily updates, saying they don't have time. They use the 'work for food' way where the dog doesn't eat unless he's training. My dog lost weight while there as he was only fed 3 lbs from a 12lb bag of food. They cut his neck mane so that they could use a shock collar on him (without permission) The trainer also bad mouthed our dog to our breeder (very professional) calling him names. The day we picked him up, Brad Hardin demonstrated walking on leash with him, when my dog didn't do as told, he jerked by a choke collar so hard he yelped.
Vet said marks on neck was from a pinch or shock collar, and also underweight from lack of food. We pulled him out of the program after a week, paid $1250.00 (contract said we would be pro-rated in that case but trainer refused to give refund)
I was literally scared for my dogs safety and would try to be extra nice while communicating.
We were told that At least 2 other dogs in the program at the same time suffered way worse than our dog. Infections, hip injuries, broken teeth!
This was my experience with this company. The only thing I hope is that no other dog is harmed. Despite the few good reviews on their fb page,..don't believe what you read. Don't take a chance,...use a different trainer! read more