Chris Alcontin’s Practice Makes Perfect Dog Training

I have an 9 month old very curious german shepherd puppy. When he was about 7 months old we decided he needed to go to a board and train school as we had done with all of our previous german shepherds. He was very curious, liked to do things on his own and enjoyed chewing furniture a little more than we had liked. We found Chris through a friend of ours who had also trained her german shepherd puppy with him just before our Rexie. It was amazing to see the difference when he came home after about 3 weeks of training with Chris. He was a lot more obedient, but most importantly was the way he was able to handle the environment outside his home — amazing. I can take him for walks and drape the leash over my neck without him leaving my side or walking ahead and he is able to ignore all distractions and stay on command. Very pleased with Rexie’s school experience. Thank you Chris!

My dog has problems with overly reacting to certain pitbulls and cats. My mother happened to find Chris online and we met up to talk and evaluate my dog. Chris is very friendly and professional. He spent approximately two hours walking with my mom, my dog and I. He taught us some basic commands and how to implement them correctly, which was very valuable. He was very patient and polite, and most importantly he knows what he is talking about. After that one non-​formal session my mom and I followed Chris’s instructions for one week straight and we instantly saw an improvement with our dog’s demeanor. He became more obedient and less reactive to pitbulls. We are going to continue the training and will meet with Chris again. I highly recommend Chris.

Chris is strongly recommended! Champ, my one year old pit bull and german shepherd mix is a big dog that was very explosive in certain situations and therefore almost impossible to control. Over the past couple of months, I have done three sessions with Chris, and also boarded Champ for a weekend while I was away. Both experiences were great.
When initially contacting Chris, he listened very carefully to the issues I explained I was experiencing with Champ and to what my wants were. He then evaluated Champ and prepared a unique plan to build up his confidence in order to conquer the issues we had. Session 1 began with breaking Champ’s fear of the stairs. I have had Champ for almost a full year during which he was terrified to even be near stairs. Chris was able to break that fear with positive reinforcement so simply within five minutes. Stairs are all Champ and I now use! We next began to focus on proper walking techniques outside. Chris was both very informative and inspirational, pushing us to always aim for better as he built on each progressive session.
Each week Chris was prepared with activities and exercises to assure sessions ran smoothly and were utilized to the max, but still capable of ending on a positive note. After the drastic improvement in Champ’s behavior and my ability to correct him in a way I never knew I could, I have decided to board and train Champ to help overcome other issues that Champ is struggling with.
Chris has really mapped out the timeframe, leaving plenty of time for me to master techniques taught by him, and is still actively helping me to prepare Champ as best I can for boarding. I am very excited for Champ’s return. My experience has been phenomenal and I am therefore able to say that I am extremely confident that Chris will be able to help meet you and your dog’s needs. He is very dedicated, honest, and most knowledgeable. Consistency and practice make perfect! Good luck fellow puppy parents!

Session #2: Working on additional commands, playing, how to control Augustus and his crate training/​schedule.
Do you remember that Looney Tunes character, Michigan J Frog? Sure you do. He’s the signing and dancing frog that performed when no one was around, when in front of a crowd he was quiet. Well… that’s what it’s like having your dog trainer around your dog! Haha Augustus was an ANGEL! He sat, walked, followed, stayed, went in and out of his cage with no problem, etc. It was unbelievable. My husband and I looked at each other in awe, as we tried to tell Chris that Augustus doesn’t do that! haha You try telling your dog trainer the bad things about your dog, when he’s being perfect… you just can’t make your case believable. Hysterical!
Well, that should be a testament enough to show you that his temperament is so even and commanding for dogs that they follow.
Chris is focused on you learning, he reviews, recaps, recites the lesson topics over and over. It is so important. My husband and I even took notes. Today is the first day of this set of training… it will be a rough start of the few days BUT Chris assured us that we will get through it. The more work we put in now, the more we can relax with our puppy later… that’s what he said. Practice Makes Perfect. :)
PS — Last week after the lesson was a little rough with the pup to start but the last three days of the week were angelic. Seriously, practicing the same things with your puppy and staying dedicated you will yield results. They learn quickly, it’s us adults that don’t…haha

I didnt want to spend money training my dog, but my wife insisted. And he was a friend of hers. To my surprise the program was very thorough and enjoyable. Chris was able to sit with us and answer all our questions and concerns regarding our little pomeranian. Together we developed an approach that complimented and worked with our lifestyle. It truly was a great experience! Highly recommended!