Recent Testimonials

I highly recommend.  Our 2 year old great dane, Lincoln, was in serious need of an experienced trainer to work on his aggression.  Lincoln had previously attacked both of our other dogs due to resource guarding and his behavior had my husband and I divided.  Brice has been working with Lincoln for a few months and we have a completely different dog.  Brice has helped to completely transform Lincoln and life in our home is so much more enjoyable and peaceful.  Brice has been extremely respectful in all of our communications and prompt to respond.  His approach to training based on the dogs personality and not taking a one size fits all approach is exactly what the dog training industry needs more of.  I am thoroughly pleased with the training that Total Dog has provided.

I don't generally write reviews but from my experience with Brice maybe someone else with a similar problem can also be helped. We are from California, essentially locked down for a year (pandemic) my service dog was  having a hard time with the change in activity, the isolation, etc but it was manageable, UNTIL traveling to Texas (she was perfect on the plane) and encountering ceiling fans. It was very ugly. Loud. Like PTSD from helicopters.  Walking down a hallway with 6 fans - terrible. I looked on the internet for some help, as I still had a few more days in Texas, and Texas is full of ceiling fans. I came across Total Dog, was very impressed with the credentials and affiliations, called and received a return phone call in just a few minutes.  Brice offered to help. I had little hope the problem was going to get solved and worried the noise from just walking from the car to the apartment and the row of ceiling fans would get the daughter evicted for noise violations.  Instead, Brice worked with the dog in the hallway.  After a very short time no whining, no noise, no barking at the "helicopter". Obviously problems like this may not permanently disappear over night; Brice returned the next day and worked with her again and gave me confidence if it happens again I'm going to be able to work on this, and how. Besides working on the problem with the fans, it is very clear Brice is knowledgable, has the experience to diagnose and fix, and my only regret is that I live too far away to continue with the "touch ups" most service dogs would benefit from. Anyone looking for a competent AMAZING person to work with your dog, you should call Brice. I don't recommend trainers very often but this time, at least 5 stars.

I'm not much of a review-writer, but the changes I've seen in my dogs because of Total Dog! are worth a big shout out.  I would recommend them w/out hesitation.  I was to a point of desperation trying to find someone to help train my dogs.  Not only have we struggled with the basic manners like leash pulling, but also aggression toward other dogs as well as people outside our family, separation anxiety, etc, presumably due to litter-mate syndrome (??), which made it difficult to find a trainer that was willing to work with them.  Or, at least, one that seemed to be confident they could adequately address the major problems.  Multiple trainers/behaviorists told me that I'd be better off surrendering them (or one of them) since a majority of their issues seem to stem from the unhealthy bond from being litter-mates.  That's a sad thing to hear!  But when I had my consultation with the owner, Brice, he was confident that he could help me fix all the things....Sign me up!...Here...take my money!!  Aaaand fix my dogs, please :).   Which is what is happening.  'Fur' realz.  I can actually take them on walks now, and they aren't complete jerks to everyone/animal that comes w/in eyesight.  That's a win!  They don't love-tackle my children when they walk in the door.  Win.  We haven't worked our way up to complex commands yet, but completely confident we'll get to whatever command we want given the progress I'm seeing so far.  I love that the training not only addresses the issues the dogs are having but it helps me to understand what I've been doing that might be enabling/encouraging bad behaviors (wait, whaaat?!?...) without even realizing it.  Light bulb moments.  It's such a complex dynamic with multiple dogs and multiple children that there's no way I could have 'you-tubed' my way out of the chaos...  I'm so grateful I finally found someone willing to work with my critters and who is actually able to make a difference!  And fast.  Thank you, Total Dog! Austin, for seeing the good in my dogs and helping us keep our pack together!!

We had just gotten our new puppy and were scheduled to be gone for 2 weeks when she was only 5 months old.  We had tried PetSmart for obedience 101 and just hadn't seen the results I was hoping for.  My puppy, Stormi, is a small dog (10 pounds at that time), and the other dogs in our class were all large and she was super intimidated.  It didn't make for a good set of lessons, at all!  Since I knew I would need boarding - it dawned on me to look into a board and train program.   That's when I found Total Dog!   I called and set up a consult with Brice.  Within 20 minutes of us talking, he had slipped a lead around her neck and had her sitting, in the most perfect pose (see photo)!  He immediately put any anxiety I had at ease.  Fast forward to returning from vacation - we had opted for 4 weeks of the Board & Train program.  It was the best investment I could make in our new puppy.  She got to tour local coffee shops, a City Council meeting, and came away stealing hearts and perfectly behaved!!  And, to top it off, since her Board & Train program, Brice is just a phone call away and set up a private lesson and came out to work on any "hiccups" we may have encountered along the way.  And once this pandemic is over, we are looking forward to completing her Canine Good Citizen certificate.  I cannot say enough about Brice - his patience is amazing, both with my puppy and with me!  He listened to every thing I said and never made me feel rushed, or that any question was stupid.  Not only have I referred several friends to him, but will continue to bring all future dogs to him from here on out.

Prior to attending the board and train program, my 15 pound Jack Russell/Chihuahua mix was reactive to unknown dogs, adults, and children for her entire 5 years of life. It made walking her or taking her anywhere incredibly stressful, and I was worried about her quality of life, but also a potential incident. I was amazed at the progress she had made in just 2-3 weeks after she came home from the program, and with consistently practicing what she and I have learned from Total Dog, she continues to improve every week. Shout out to Cassandra, who worked with my dog. She’s incredibly professional and knowledgeable, and really worked to ensure she had bonded with my dog and built up trust before getting into training. The additional sessions post board and train have been super helpful as well. I’m so happy with the results, and it was definitely worth the time and money invested.