Let me start by introducing myself, my name is Mike and I was born and raised in Southwest Florida where I still reside and run a dog training business out of my home. I have owned dogs my entire life. Like most people, when I was young I had no education on dogs what so ever. I was taught to give affection, treat them with respect and basically hope they don’t do anything wrong. When the dog I had growing up passed away my family soon after adopted two puppies in the same week – a lab/pit mix and a shepherd/rottweiler mix. Both were large breed males and high level energy dogs. This is where my journey as a dog trainer began. These two absolutely ran my parents home. Between the two of them there was almost every problematic behavior you can think of. After about 2 years of living with these dogs, my girlfriend and I moved in to our first apartment. I began taking one dog at a time to stay with me at our house. I soon became aware of dog training and began educating myself any way possible. As I challenged the dogs in different ways I saw dramatic changes in their behavior. Just 
by showing up to my parents house on different days practicing leadership by saying you come and you stay they were already viewing me as a leader. I began seeing them act accordingly to the two homes; at my house they were followers and in my parents house they ran the home. To much of my surprise I was totally unprepared for the mastiff/pit bull dog I adopted 3 years ago. Adoption can be tricky! This 4 month old puppy I brought home had more than likely come from being used as a bait dog. I do not believe the shelter was aware either. My dog was very destructive and aggressive; so much so that I sought help! I knew I had a working type dog – meaning the highest level of energy you can imagine. To make a long story short the trainer that I hired did not live up to what he promised. I still had a dog who was aggressive & I had no desire to surrender this dog. I realized my dog needs to know I am in control 100% of the time. My dog only feels comfortable if he knows I’m in control of the situation. I began an intense rehab with him by training in protection, agility and obedience. Everyday I had to dedicate time to my dog. I learned I had to change some things about myself to ensure my dog listens. A lot of it is building your own confidence and being aware of body language from both you and your dog. I now have a dog that needs a small amount of management to behave correctly,but is now a pleasure to be around and is obedient. Through all of this I have fallen in love with dog training. I know I can help many people out who are struggling with their dogs. It really comes down to does your dog view you as the leader or do they feel like they must take the lead because lack of calmness in situations and or lack of confidence in decision. Once I discovered dogs will do whatever you ask as long as you communicate in a manner they understand and respect, I realized the world of dog training is a tangible real thing that anyone can learn and the things you can learn about yourself and your dog are limitless. Your limitations in the dog world are your desire. What I do is help people become aware of themselves; meaning awareness of your mental thoughts and feelings as well as your physical body language and energy. At the same 
time I also teach you how to read your dogs behavior and train you to see the signs of an unstable mindset. I believe in a pack mentality. Dogs are biologically almost identical to a wolf – 99.96% of their DNA is shared. Naturally these animals communicate much differently than humans. Once you begin to communicate with your dog properly you will gain so much in your relationship – trust, loyalty, confidence and a true companion. I believe in balanced dog training. I will use any tool that will help me communicate with the dog and achieve calmness. My main tool is my body and energy; however, all dogs are different and require a tool that helps them learn best. This could be anything from daily training and exercise to e-collar training. I teach humans and dogs to be calm and confident. One of my many philosophies of dog training is “To get a certain behavior from a dog you must behave a certain way”. My goal is to teach concepts that help and educate people about dogs. A staggering number of dogs in shelters are killed on a daily basis because of unwanted behavior. With education we can affect change in ourselves and others around us. Let’s make it a better world for canines and start treating them like dogs and then you will see why they are called “man’s best friend”.