Get the Best Dog Aggression Training in Chicago
All programs are tailored to your needs. The descriptions are to give you an idea of what can be accomplished and in what time frame. In-person lessons are now held at Oz Park (the busiest park in Chicago) for real results in a real environment or at our facility (don’t worry, our training carries over in all environments). All consultations, training sessions, and Zooms are also filmed and uploaded to our YouTube for reference.
Many people and dog trainers believe that an aggressive dog cannot be rehabilitated and that the only options are to euthanize them or keep them shut out from the rest of the world. That is true if you do not have the knowledge and insight into dog behavior required to rehabilitate aggressive dogs.
Those are the very same people that will blame your dog’s breed for their behavior. But the breed has nothing to do with the aggression; any dog of any breed can be aggressive in any type of context. I’ve worked with everything from aggressive Goldendoodles to Chihuahuas to Cane Corsos to Pitbulls to Labradors and everything in-between.
Dog training is simple because it’s completely superficial. Any dog can be taught to sit and lay down using a variety of methods. But to rewire a dog to overcome its fear of people, or to build confidence in an anxious dog, or to take a dog that’s highly aggressive toward humans or dogs and bring them to a place where you can trust they won’t go into attack mode is a whole different realm that only a small percentage of canine professionals in the world occupy.
Jesse developing his protection training skills with Blitz the German Shepherd during his time studying with “The Miami Dog Whisperer,” Richard Heinz.
Footage of Jesse working with Blitz and his owner on his protection training. Part of developing insight into aggression is learning how to also develop and control aggression when needed.
I’m an Expert Dog Aggression Trainer
I’ve met with countless households where they were told to euthanize their dog by every single trainer they met because the trainers thought there was no way to address the behavior. I rehabilitated those dogs.
I’ve helped families with dogs that were labeled as human- or dog-aggressive, acquired “a taste for blood” after a bite, and could no longer be trusted. I rehabilitated those dogs too.
I’ve assessed several aggressive dogs that were on anxiety medication for years that did nothing to help curb their behavior. With my training, they were removed from the medication and rehabilitated.
Training Aggressive Dogs Requires a Very Special Skillset
Aggression training is incredibly difficult because there are more variables to consider than just the dog. There’s the family, the individual personalities of each family member, the dog’s environment, the amount of time you can commit to training and whether or not you are mentally, emotionally and physically able to do the training. The list goes on.
That is why behavior training experts of my level are costly. My program now starts at $4,250 for 12 classes. My mentor Richard Heinz’s programs are in the several thousands range and every other professional of our caliber will be just as expensive. Granted, there may be a few trainers out there that do have the ability to provide aggression training and are just starting out (my rate used to be $25 a session!), but they are underpricing their talent, and sooner or later they’ll be in the higher-price bracket as well.
Length of time and price depends upon the severity of the behavior, the risk to myself, the length of time I believe will be required to complete the rehab and travel time. Most cases are done within 12 – 16 classes. I’ve had a few that took longer than anticipated, but they are rare.
Owners Must Help Their Dogs Overcome Aggression
Can your dog learn to stop biting people? Yes.
Can your dog be trusted again? Yes.
Can your dog be social? Yes.
However, we also want to be realistic with our expectations.
For example, if I am working with a very confident dog who has a passive owner, I don’t want to tell the owner what they want to hear and make promises that may be difficult to follow through on. Can I stop the dog from actively seeking out people to bite? Yes. But since the owner lacks confidence, I will draw the line there and say I would not invite people to pet the dog without a muzzle because I am not confident in the owner’s capability to follow through on the amount of discipline needed.
The more work you are willing to do and are capable of doing, the more I can push the dog. It’s all about getting the dog into the right state of mind and empowering the owner with the confidence and knowledge required to address any situation that may come up because we can’t account for things that just happen up and out of the blue.
There are responsibilities that come with these cases though. The training never stops and it is a lifestyle. It is your responsibility to hold your dog to the standard that I bring them to once training is completed. Not only are you educated on your dog’s behavior, but, you get hands-on experience during the rehabilitation process to give you the confidence you need to keep your dog in check.