Leadership Based Dog Training

Michael is amazing, our dog was super reactive on leash and he was able to correct this in one session. Truly unbelievable. Highly recommend working with him!

Michael did an amazing job with our dog. He has such a confidence-inspiring and assertive - yet kind - approach. Michael was super patient with our recently-adopted dog (and us!), who pulled on the leash way too much and was a little too enthusiastic when people came to the door. Walking our dog is such a joy now and our dog is much calmer in the house. Thank you, Michael!

Found Michael Wilkes through a simple Google search. His reviews were excellent, so we decided to give him a try. Walking our little dogs Chip and Eddie was no fun whenever other dogs entered the picture. Our dogs are absolutely great; friendly, gentle, and kind. Only problem is that they turn into absolute little devils whenever we run into other dogs. Leash reactivity and aggressive behaviour towards other four-legged friends was becoming embarrassing and unpleasant. I tried various techniques on my own (youtube videos, reading articles and such), with no success. I contacted a well-known local training centre; unbelievably, they required that I get the dogs checked by a vet who specializes in canine behaviour, and I told that they might need to be medicated (yes, medicated!) before they would consider working with us at all. Another trainer wanted us to leave our dogs with him for a month, costing thousands of dollars. Not really a feasible option for us...Anyhow, Michael got in touch with me promptly, and explained the process, as well as the techniques he used. We signed up for a 6 hour training package at a very reasonable price. He told us that we could expect to see improvement within the first 2-hour session. (In all honesty, I didn't really believe this was possible to correct in 6 weeks, never mind 6 hours.) Well, this is exactly what he did with a no-nonsense approach; (no bribing with treats) just simple, logical, and effective strategies that work. A HUGE improvement did take place within the first 2 hours (I couldn't believe it). By the fourth hour, the furry boys were walking calmly on their leashes, no lunging, growling, barking, no more nutty behaviour. I really did not think this was even possible. Today, my daughter and I tool Eddie and Chip to a local dog park and we were actually complimented on our dog's polite behavior on the leash. Thanks, Michael, I cannot believe my luck at having found you!

Our dog was super reactive. We did 3 classes of 6 sessions each with a well-known dog training school. No positive results. We were about to give up when we found Michael on the web. I contacted him, and we had our first session within a week. After explaining his method, we went outside and the results were immediate. We were not believing it. If your dog runs and barks after everything (people, dogs, cars, bikes, etc.), give Michael a call!

In just a short matter of time, Michael helped us find and understand the missing tools to complete the training of our 2 year old german shepherd. Our experience with Michael has been extremely empowering. Thank you for everything!

I cannot recommend Michael highly enough. We’ve tried other trainers in the past and all their new age, positive reinforcement only approaches were a waste of money. Michael’s love of dogs really comes through and he truly cares about the well being of your dog. He provides dog owners with the tools and teaches us the techniques needed to be the pack leader for our dog so she can feel happy, safe and confident while being a well adjusted member of the pack. Margo, our 18 month old Golden, had a couple of issues that needed addressing. She is a kind and gentle dog for the most part but would turn agressive at times, earning the nickname Cujo. She also had issues with resource guarding and counter surfing. Michael taught us how to deal with all these issues and showed us that Margo didn’t need the training, we did.

I have nothing but good words for Michael! His training approach WORKS! My dog was very leash reactive and in only 2 sessions he was able to correct his behaviour, truly amazing. I highly recommend you contact Michael if you want FAST AND EFFECTIVE training for your dog.

We had a great training experience with Michael. Our 2 year old dog was was fearful of strangers and had become very reactive. We were always nervous as we never knew how he would react around new people. After just one session with Michael we already saw a huge change in Cooper’s behaviour, and after the third session it was like we had a new dog. He now walks on leash without pulling, doesn’t try to lunge and bark at strangers and we now can enjoy our time with our dog without be stressed about how he might react. We very highly recommend Michael’s training services. He is very patient and professional. We had tried trainers in the past that would give us an hour’s worth of advise without ever interacting or handling the dog and then left it up to us to remember and try to apply everything they told us, which of course did not work. It was different with Michael, he takes the time to actually work with the dog and then demonstrates to us what we have to do and then works with us as we go through the exercises with the dog ensuring that we are doing it right. I would recommend Michael’s training to anyone.

Thank you Michael for not letting me give up on my sweet 5 year old schnauzer. My dog Daisy barked at everyone and everything, even after having 2 previous trainers. It was very embarrassing and difficult to take her out for walks. After a couple of sessions with Michael, he has taught me how to correct her barking and for her to walk by my side. Michael is an amazing trainer who is very professional, kind and dedicated. I give him 6/5 stars !