Champion K-9 Dog Training

Ty Whitlock

2024-04

Rick came highly recommended from a friend despite his cost. We chose a Shiba-Inu, which is not a simple breed to train and working with Rick he has become a beloved puppy by all of our friends,neighbors,and vet. If you communicate honestly and openly about your needs, Rick will work with them. His mantra of "train as you live" works well as long as you stick to it. He was happy to work in group classes for our puppy and if you follow his advice to graduate he even offers free advice for the lifetime of your puppy.Most important is Rick's understanding of your dog, which in my opinion is unmatched. He knows the ins and outs of breeds, and has a great sense of personality for the dog and how to work with that. He then works with you about understanding how you and the dog communicate and live together. He trains you as much as the dog, which was invaluable in my opinion. I can't thank him enough.

Alissa Miller

2024-04

Rick McCray from Champion K9 Dog training doesn’t openly disclose that he uses various aversive training tools & methods. He was very deceptive in what is included in his training fees. He never informed us that we would be purchasing training tools. He presented it like we would be borrowing them from him. We told him that we don’t want these aversive tools used on our dog but he downplayed the use of these tools & convinced both me & my husband that these are harmless & may or may not be introduced much later in training. Without consulting with us or warning us he showed up to our second training session with an e-collar. He didn’t provide an outline of his protocols or training plan & what will happen for the 10 lessons ahead of time. He requires all money for the 10 lessons up front and doesn’t give refunds. He doesn’t even provide a copy of the contract you sign. We could only tolerate him for 3 lessons before we cut our losses & completely cancelled the last 7 sessions even though we paid $1,850. I never write bad reviews. It takes a lot for me to even write a review at all so this is extreme for me but I have to share.Rick was unprofessional & disrespectful by using foul language in my home even when my kids were around. He would talk badly about other trainers/shelters/people in the dog training world in general, made not-so-subtle digs at my husband, crossed boundaries by confronting my neighbor about yelling at my dog when that is not his place.During the one hour training sessions he would waste my time (that I paid for) by telling too many personal stories that don’t relate to training & by constantly talking in circles. He was extremely arrogant & talked to me in a condescending manner & like he was the only authority on dog training.After our 2nd training lesson our dog had a bad reaction to the e collar & her anxiety was skyrocketing & she became fearful of us. We told him we refused to use the e collar & he got angry & hostile. When he arrived at our 3rd lesson he didn’t even work with our dog at all. She stayed in her crate the entire time. I felt like since he already had our money he was being vindictive. Presumably because he was perturbed that we didn’t want to use an e-collar & he doesn’t know how to train without one. I told him that there’s a reason e-collars are illegal in multiple countries around the world. Recent scientific studies have shown that aversive tools aren’t good for dogs and can even make them more aggressive after removing the tool.Rick even tried to trick me into giving back the $200 e-collar that I already paid for without even offering us a refund. I refused. He is dishonest & manipulative.We will be hiring a certified professional positive trainer who has good credentials, who only promotes humane, positive techniques & who doesn’t use quick fix tools like e-collars & other aversive tools in lieu of thoughtful teaching.We needed someone who utilizes the latest science, research & ethics in dog training. If you care about any of that this trainer is not for you. Really disappointed.

Meagan R Sweeney

2023-10

Working with Rick was a great investment in our family. We now can enjoy relaxing at home and having friends over, and we have the tools to communicate expectations with our dog in the future. I love that we have lifetime free access to Rick after finishing training.

Taylor Trottier

2023-09

Rick was great at teaching us how to handle our hyperactive 2 year old pibull/boxer mix. His methods and knowledge have enabled us to shape his behavior into the dog we need him to be. Couldn't recommend more!

Loralie Bertram

2021-05

Rick is an awesome trainer,so glade I found him for Beau..