I called about dog bootcamp for my dog that has major aggression and separation anxiety. The trainer said every dog is different and with issues like this they would have to come evaluate him first for $250. I get that, but I just asked what the range would be so I could know what I would be facing in the future and not waste time if I couldn't afford it. I was told it was going to cost anywhere from $3000-$16000. I understood it was going to be expensive but that is way out of the price range I am able to budget. I then said I could only spend up to $2000 on it , being 24 and just recently getting a new job. The trainer told me I was going to "flush the $2000 down the drain" and that Champ would most likely not get better. He then was going to refer me to someone else and then said "you might need to REHOME" the dog. I was like "WHAT?!". I couldn't believe he told me to basically get rid of my dog because I wasn't planning on using his services. I said that the conversation was over and that was that. It was truly unprofessional and feel like I was treated horribly. In scheduling my phone call the man that was taking my name and number down was also very abrasive in the way he was speaking to me. I also looked on their website- they now have something called "Hall of Shame" that plans to humiliate dissatisfied customers who went on websites and told about their experience. To me, this is low for any business to do. I am big on constructive criticism and instead of bashing people, wouldn't it be easier to work things out with them?! This was my experience and I am taking my business elsewhere. read more

TLC K9 Academy - From the company's website. Bashing dissatisfied customers doesn't make the problem go away. - Pet Training Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

Okay, so I wanted a class for my new boy Milo. I inquired about classes and prices. This is the reply I received, and following is my reply to him, and following that was his reply to me. : "Training starts at $1750 on up. You must first fill out an application to see if you and your dog qualify to work with me. I only work with super motivated and dedicated clients who want the best for their dogs. Would you like to receive an application? Best regards," My reply: Hi, Thanks for your quick reply. Somehow I don't think we would pass your test.. Again, thank you for your time. And his reply: "Thank you. I understand everyone has a different level of love and commitment to their pets." (really??? seriously???...alrighty then!) . read more

I think this company is a bait and switch scam operation. I spoke with the owner Bill over the phone and told him I was interested in protection training for my dog. He said he could do that but it would take several years of training. And at least two sessions a week at $40 a session. He also would not see my dog until I paid a $90 consultation fee. So I go to meet this guy, and he has with him a dog that is very well mannered, and he has a wrapped mini van so he looks professional...so my hopes are high...but after a few exercises with my dog. He then goes into how it will cost me $100,000.00 to train my dog and it is to late because he would have to train him from when he is a puppy, and he has to keep him for 5 years. All stuff he failed to mention over the phone. And all information he knew in the questionnaire I filled out and returned...prior to our meeting up. If i could rate this guy 0 stars in his business practices I would, their is no doubt he can train a dog...but so can anyone...I trained my dog on my own to do all the stupid pet tricks we get them to do...but I wanted more and this guy is a joke who took my money and ran. Truly a joke. If you go to their website it says free consultation. My consultation was not free. He guarantees he can train any dog. He basically said my dog was UN-trainable. Stay away! read more

Talked to Juanita on the phone to schedule my "consultation". Sounded great! There were going to come give me a demonstration and evaluate my dogs. Juanita cautioned me to beware of training facilities that would not have a fee or charge for the consultation. Foolishly, I paid $150. Here is what I got for $150: 30 minute sales pitch and a $1750 offer for two 3 hour private sessions. Really? So if you feel like paying for a sales pitch, go ahead and book your "consultation". If you like them for free, head to your local car lot. I put a call in to Juanita to express my concern. She said someone would call me back. Still waiting. read more

It's been over two years since Sooky was trained by Bill Glatzel and she is really holding her own. People can't believe us when we talk about how Sooky was when we first adopted her. We couldn't imagine our lives without her. I gave Bill's name to a friend of mine whose dog was out of control. She is doing great now! You get what you pay for and any of those naysayers out there can complain all they want about putting down deposits, etc. Bill is an amazing trainer - that is our experience! read more

This guy sucks! Do yourself a favor and buy a shock collar on your own and use YouTube to get the training tips. The amount of money we spent compared to the amount of effort put forward by Bill Glatzel is a joke. I had better results when doing it myself, considering that is what he expects of 'his' clients. Why pay Bill? One of the biggest wastes of money ever. Please put me on your sh%t list Bill.... read more

I want to preface this review with the fact that we did reach a financial agreement, and TLC was willing to work with me. However I still feel inclined to write a review so that others out there know what they are getting themselves into. I have a Rottie mix who has been in and out of five homes and has some aggression issues. I had called multiple people, and was impressed by Bills experience and education. Normally I would not pay 250 with services not yet rendered, however for his time and expertise, I took a chance. He also explained to me, the 250 was for a 2-3 hour hands on session to evaluate my dog and then a small session. Bill took about 30 minutes talking to me about my dog, and then sent me a questioner. He told me my dog probably needed between 500-2000 worth of training classes, but could not know till he had a hands on evaluation. I thought, that is a lot of money, but at least 250 is hard at work to see what my dog needs. I was very excited for Bill to come to my home and start the evaluation and training. However when he got here, he came in very unprepared. He had no paper work with him. He asked me all the same questions I had already answered on the questioner and over the phone, and I felt a little put off by his lack of preparation for our session. Now, I could have let this slide, I understand people get busy, but after spending 10-15 minutes on that, he spends about 20 minutes on a sales pitch for classes my dog needs. At this point he has not spent more then 1 or 2 minutes hands on with my Dog. I do not call asking the questions you already knew an evaluation. and I could have heard about these training classes over the phone, you did not need to come to my house to sell this to me. He also told me he walked in thinking my dog was a 3000 training case. Which was not at all what he discussed with me over the phone. Just to make sure I asked Bill, Is this all your doing today? And he said yes. I mentioned to him my frustration with the session. How he did not spend time evaluating or training my dog, but instead, I paid him 250 for a sales pitch I could have heard over the phone, and he could have told me over the phone since he was not intending to work with my dog to actually see what he needed. His response was that it was non refundable, and his time was not free. Now I have read the reviews on his training, and I don't doubt that he is a good trainer. I think he does have a good education and probably knows a lot about what he is doing and how to do it. I just don't think his business practice is very professional. He is very money focused, and you have to read the small print and be careful what you sign or you could be out a lot of money. So Im not saying don't train with him, Im just saying be VERY careful where and how you spend your money and if you plan to do it with him. They don't have an F on the BBB for no reason. All I have to say is do your research. read more

I spoke to the answering service @ 3PM last week they said someone would get back to me. A guy name JJ called called at 7PM (dinner time) left me a voice-mail to call him back after 9AM. I have called this guy twice and he has not called me back yet! Which now I'm glad he hasn't called me back after reading these reviews. read more

I called for their service. They told me they were going to come and train my dog for one hour and charged me $150. When the lady came, she only gave me information and made me sign the contract for $1170. That was going to be divided in three payments. The first day that they were programmed to come at 11:30 AM, they called me 10 minutes before to cancel the appointment for personal reasons. But they had already deducted the first payment of $390. I called later to see if they could re-schedule. They told me they were going to call back but never did. I wasted $540.00 and they never showed up. I do not recommend them! read more

Literally stole about $800 from us when we purchased 2 sessions and wernt thrilled with the 1st one. We wanted to be refunded for the cost of the 2nd session (we had to pay upfront) but they refused! I went through hell with them emailing back and forth! In the end we had made some progress with the shock collars and our dogs were walking nicely but there was NO progress with the agression AT ALL!! In fact Im not sure they know how to handle real agression! Spend your money on a CD set, dont waste your time, sanity and money here for real dog issues. read more

I met with Bill recently regarding behavioral issues with my dog and baby. His assistant rattled on for 10 minutes on how much better Bill was than the Dog Whisperer Caesar Milan and did I know he was Harvard Educated?? That was mentioned at several times on the call, just to make sure. I was quoted me $250 for the consult and training packages around $500-$700, which seemed reasonable so we made the appointment for a visit. I must say Bill was very informative and thorough during the session and certainly impressive with his observations regarding our dog. However, he then quoted training fees of $1500 plus equipment & tests by his preferred vet that would amount to another $1000++. For that price, I would imagine at least he would provide some material - clickers, books, dvds. Rather than make us pay triple the price on Amazon. (2 X clickers at $8 each??). I asked for some time to process this financial expenditure and he rudely replied he was no longer interested in working with us. Very disappointing, if he had given us a week or 2, we probably would have moved forward with the training. I guess Harvard didn't educate him on good business / customer service skills and I look forward to being listed on his Hall of Shame. I work in Sales and his way of doing business is shameful. read more

I agree with the one review about not getting a call back. I have called 2 times and left messages and have NOT received a call back. It's sad that people are reaching out and asking for help and are being charged WAY OVER PRICE and can't even get a call back! read more

I feel compelled to review this company because of the many bad reviews on here by what appears to be mostly people who were just uncomfortable with the cost or paying for any of Bill's time. I am the owner of 4 dogs that we lovingly walked for hours a day, fed proper diet, and provided the correct balance of discipline and affection. Unfortunately, we were having some pretty severe problems with two of our dogs fighting. It was costing us thousands of dollars in vet bills over the course of a year due to their fights, not to mention the stress it was causing my husband and I as we were hoping to add a baby to our family at the same time. We didn't have time to waste and we needed the best so we called TLC K9 Academy. Bill came to my house and had a very insightful conversation with my husband and I and immediately identified the reason my dogs were fighting. #1, my Saint Bernard's fierce loyalty to me and #2, my mixed breed's anxiety. My Saint was sensing the other dog's anxiety and when combined with my presence and some other trigger, the Saint would feel the need to put the other dog in her place and a fight to the death would ensue. With Bill's recommendation, our veterinarian agreed that the right course of action was to treat the anxiety with medication. Wait for the medication to take effect, and then start training. When you're talking about a dog with REAL problems or you are trying to re-train a dog that has developed bad habits, it's going to take a lot of training both with the trainer and on your own. This is a very significant time and financial commitment that, when applied the way Bill spells out, will result in success. If you just need your dog trained on basic commands, I'm sure you could buy your own collar and follow YouTube videos or a book. If you need REAL help with your dog, call TLC K9 Academy. He will teach you how to change your dog's behavior and how to retrain YOURSELF and the way you perceive your dog and its behavior. You even get lifetime visits to group training sessions at the academy once your one-on-one training with Bill ends. Our lives were so much more peaceful after Bill's help. He even gave us tips on how to prepare our dogs for a new baby and what dog behaviors/signals were acceptable around a baby and how to recognize red flags and avoid issues. I was so pleased when I ran into Bill at a restaurant several months after our one-on-one training had ended and told him that my husband and I were pregnant and felt 100% confident that we'd be introducing our baby into a fight-free home. Our training was about 5 years ago and we've since moved across the country and even though we don't have the group sessions to fall back on, we still have control of our dogs and a fight free home for our now 4-person, 4-dog home. Please do yourself a favor and, if you are fully committed to your dog in time, love, and money and you will consistently apply the techniques you learn, call TLC K9 Academy. The results are worth far more than what we paid in our lifetime of happiness with our dogs. My husband and I wholeheartedly recommend Bill Glatzel and TLC K9 Academy. read more

I have to say, I really, really wish I had read the bad reviews on TLC K9 prior to calling them. Paid the $90 consult fee a few weeks ago during my first telephone call with them and made an appointment. They left me a message the day of the appointment saying they were canceling with no explanation, and to call back. The return phone number was the answering service where I left a message. Did not hear anything back until two days later. I made a second appointment for today which I confirmed with them by telephone two days ago . . . . and 4 hours past the appointment time, I am still waiting. I left two phone messages with the answering service and have not heard back. I started looking at additional reviews on the internet about TLC K9 after they did not show up and from the other reviews I found, it appears this is common practice for them. I guess I should count my blessings that they did no show up after hearing about how others paid large amounts of money for very little training and a bad attitude from the owner. I am also counting my blessings that they did not get their hands on my puppy as he is just a sweetie and I would have been broken hearted if he had been put through some of the treatment alleged in the reviews I found. If they cannot be bothered to show up for the appointment I scheduled and pre-paid for, then it is certainly my opinion that they are not responsible enough to train my precious little guy. CONSUMER BEWARE!!! I would not bother unless you have the time and money to throw away on unkept appointments. I imagine they will more than likely not want to refund my $90 consultation fee, however, it is possible they will. If not, as they have failed on two occasions to provide the service I paid for IN GOOD FAITH under the contract, if necessary I will proceed to small claims court or get one of the local TV stations involved to see if they can assist. I am very disappointed as I really thought I was trying to do the best thing for my little guy! read more

We had a horrible experience with Bill Glatzel and TLC K9. He basically stole $4,585.50 from me and my husband. I have a judgment against him for that amount in Maricopa County Justice Court CC2012-193831 RC. We paid him after an extremely aggressive sales visit from his employee. I started to regret it the minute she left our house. I called them the next day to cancel, but they had already cashed my check, which they promised not to do until three days later. I tried everything to get him to return our money as he never provided any services. He avoided our lawsuit and now I can have an arrest warrant issued if I get his date of birth, his height and weight. It has been two years and enough is engough. Bill Gatzel needs to return our money, which he did nothing to earn. read more

I wouldn't know if they are any good. Can't get past their answering service. Won't do business with someone who can't be available to answer their own phones or answer the questions of potential customers. Directing all calls to an answering service and requiring they wait an undetermined time for a return call is unacceptable. read more

This is the best buyer beware lesson I've very learned. My story is the same as all the others....bought into the professional look and the well behaved dog he brought to my house as an example then jumped at the "great deal discount" that would only be offered if the deposit was made that day...long story short, he's a con artist plain and simple. Please watch the video below to see for yourself. Also I find it incredibly interesting that all the positive comments on here all occur right in a row within the same timeframe and all reference 1. The negative reviews either discounting those comments or defending Bill. 2. The weight and size of their now perfectly behaved dog (do you typically reference your dogs weight when you're talking about their behavior?) and 3. The cost of the program and how it's somehow worth the thousands of dollars. I guarantee every single one of those positive reviews was written by the TLC Staff as there are clear marketing tactics included in each and every one of them. Anyway.... Buyer beware. There's something wrong with this guy and eventually karma will catch up to him. Don't become another victim of his scams! https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1q7gPfsyVrw&index=2&list=PLTiJBnbmQJm39Inx9DpBB-jETTrATzytz read more

My name is Anne Yeager and I did an investigative report on this business. I just received a facebook message that if I didn't take down my report, he would bring his lawyers involved. Keep in mind, my report was viewed by all my former news stations' attorneys. I demand to have his lawyer's number and I call Bill's number and it's out of business. I don't respond to threats. read more

Total waste of money! Not only was Bill rude and condescending during the training sessions but my dog got no where with the training lesson. I paid 500$ for an evaluation session and ONE private training session at home. They told me that the lessons are guaranteed and you can reschedule another session as needed, but I honestly didn't want to deal with the trainer again. Along the lines of the training session, he spent about 30 minutes with my dog and the information wasn't very helpful. All the things he told me I had already read about online, and then I was just given a bunch of articles to read about training my dog. Frankly, I was pretty irritated with the whole situation because I paid a lot of money to have my dog receive some adequate training, not to catch up on current reading material. I'm sure there's lots of dog trainers out there so definitely do your research and I would suggest not using this company or Bill if you want to get anywhere with your new pet, and if you don't want to throw away money! I hope you find this helpful and good luck! read more

Like all the other star reviewers here, I felt this was totally a scam! I am a busy professional and asked how much to have the dog be trained at his boot camp. $4000. I said how much for just potty training. He said $1000 and that he would keep her for a least 2 weeks. He shows up at my house, which is nice but no mansion, and says that it will be $1500 "because its a big house" (!) I was an idiot not to stop there, but I was desperate to get the puppy trained! He brought her back after 2 weeks and the first thing she did when the 2 of them walked in was to pee on the floor! We did not have a peeing problem prior to this. She subsequently went on to pee in her crate and other places! Anyway, we all sat down for our "post training routine" which was a joke! The first week, we were to crate the dog for 3 hours at a time, have her out for one hour (attached to us by a leash) and repeat until bedtime when she was to be crated. It went on to tell us about the next 8 weeks, gradually increasing her time out of the crate. This to me is NOT a post-training routine; it IS training! If I had the time to do this, I wouldn't have paid $1500 to him! She was no better on her return than when she left. Bill has been incredibly unhelpful, asking me to "put all my complaints in writing". I have. Multiple times. He has not responded so I am taking him to small claims court. I asked for my money back, perhaps minus money for 2 weeks boarding. I wish I had read the Yelp reviews first. Don't make the same mistake. DO NOT HIRE HIM. read more

Bill helped us work with our baby German Shepherd a year and a half ago. He was great. We now have a 90 pound dog that we can take anywhere and we do. He is great with people and other dogs. We initially tried other "trainers" but realized that they didn't understand why dogs do what they do; Bill does. I can't recommend him more highly. DeeDee H. read more

I am not one who usually writes a review on a company or organizations performance but when I read a couple of the negative reviews online I felt that I had to share our experience with Bill Glatzel and his K9 Academy. Frist thing I would like to say is that over my professional career I have met and worked with thousands of people from the boardroom to the associates working on the plant floor. I found Bill Glatzel to be one of the most professional, competent, honest, and caring individuals I have ever worked with. I would recommend him and his company without hesitation to anyone who has a problem dog. Be forewarned his service are expensive, but when you look at the results he can and does obtain, and the follow up training that is included in the price, he supplies a great value for the money. In fact Walter is going to visit Bill in a couple of weeks for some follow up training. About four years ago our son and daughter-in-law fell in love with a puppy. They purchased him and brought him home without thinking their situation through. Walter, named after Walter Payton, is a Labradoodle, with more Lab than Doodle. My son and I are both Bear fans. He tried for "Ditka" or "Butkus" first but his wife shot those names down. They were newly married professional working 10 hour days plus commuting time. They soon realized they were being unfair to the dog. My wife who helped with house breaking Walter also fell in love with him, and soon we had an addition to our family. Our last Lab had passed a couple of years earlier. As Walter grew to about 75 pound, he became a problem. He was very active, high strung, slightly aggressive, and had a very bad habit of jumping on my wife all of the time. She had a previous spinal cord injury and surgery and lives with constant pain in her back. We were very concerned that Walter was going to cause further injury to her by knocking her down. It was so bad that we had talked of giving him up. That's when we searched the web for a good dog trainer. After an exhaustive search we called K9 Academy and Bill Glatzel. One of his staff came to our home and met with us to lay out his program. We were impressed, but thought the price quoted was steep for dog training. After looking at our options, and deciding we could not pass a "problem" dog to someone else, we bit the bullet and spent the money for the 4 week boot camp. The dog we got back after boot camp looked the same but the change in behavior was remarkable! We now had a dog that listen to commands, was no longer jumping on people, and all around was very well behaved. We were very, very pleased with the results. Today, four years later, he is still a well behaved, loving and a joy. As I said previously, expensive but effective training. My wife and I would recommend Bill's services without hesitation. read more

I contracted with this company and in two months did not see the trainer I had specified in the contract. He had two appointments and did not show up for either one. The contract says no money back for any reason. They do not return calls or show up for appointments as committed. Stay away from this place if you want any results. I am out the money and have received no services! read more

I grabbed the first ad that popped up without reviewing first.MY BAD...Bill and his assistant showed up and we hastilly paid in advance but only got four sessions out of the deal. And the third session was cut short with an excuse that his truck broke down just a few miles from our house.Then,he never called back for a reschedule! He's the most condescending person I've run across in a while.You should pass on his services... read more

The reviews that I have read about tlck-9 training are absolutely false. The owner Bill is a wonderful, caring, and excellent in his field of training. We used Bill first in 2010 for our 8 month Australian shepherd Fancy we took his 5 two hour in our home sessions we liked the in home training because he worked with the dogs. Environment She was great after only 3 sessions, unfortunately for her she got sick from something that the vets couldn't find and she stopped eating after 8 days of not eating the vet said that her organs would start to fail so we made the sad decision to put her down. I waited another year before getting another Australian shepherd she was 8 weeks old and was raised with my two young grandchildren, she had a ton of energy but always gentle with them, because we didn't have the time to work with her the way that we should I called Bill and we put her in boot camp they had her for 4 weeks and when she came home she was as Bill called a work in progress. Again because of the grandchildren living with us we just didn't follow through by working with her, Bill came over a couple times for a refresher and took his time working with her. Currently we are on vacation for two weeks in WI and charm is with Bill he sends me videos of her all the time of her playing with other dogs she is having the time of her life having a blast and a lot more fun then she would have staying at Petsmart. Bill is the best trainer and he really cares for the dogs he's training Charm hasn't seen him for a couple of months before this trip and she just went crazy when she saw him she really loves him. All I can say to all the negative people is you get what you pay for, if he didn't return your calls right away he was most likely busy with another dog. The person who said it would cost $100,000. Is full of dog poop, Bill's prices seem high at the beginning but the time and energy that is put in are well worth the price. If any one wants to see my puppy in action or here anymore about the training program they can email me at kwadina@cox.net only serious questions please. read more