I’m writing this after a couple years of going back and forth on whether or not I wanted to publicly speak about my experience with this training facility. The way that Matt Betts and his team reply to negative reviews of their business is antagonistic and dismissive, and I have felt that posting a review on Google would not be productive for this reason. Instead, I’m posting it here in the hopes that I can help other reactive/fearful dog owners find alternative training methods that will 1) address the root cause of the reactive behavior and 2) facilitate a fear-free bond between dog and owner.
I got my dog from a reputable breeder when I was 19 years old. I will not disclose his breed since it is an uncommon one and I do not wish to be identifiable. This breed is highly sensitive, prone to reactivity, and is by no means a beginner dog. Perhaps this was not the best choice of breed as a first-time dog owner, but I was young and a bit arrogant/overconfident in my ability to handle a dog like this. I quickly realized that I would need to seek the help of a professional trainer, as he had begun to show some reactivity on leash towards other dogs and was generally fearful of people. My neighbors had a pack of 5 dogs, all of whom seemed very well-trained and responsive, so I asked where they had gotten them trained- they told me that K9 Instincts had changed everything for them, so I reached out.
I quickly had an evaluation scheduled, and I immediately was a little wary of their methods. One of their trainers, Brit, took the leash from me and demonstrated leash corrections. These corrections were unfairly harsh for the behavior my dog was displaying- obvious discomfort with a stranger holding his lead, and a desire to come back to my side where he would be more comfortable. Brit jerked the lead in a way that caused him to gag, but she told me not to worry and that this was normal/part of the learning curve. Okay. I’m 19, she’s the professional, I didn’t question it too much. During this evaluation, they told me that they had experience with my dog’s breed, something I now know has to have been a flat-out lie. Anyone who works with/breeds these dogs is firmly against aversive training methods due to their sensitivity and stubbornness, as well as the simple fact that e-collars are known to cause deeper reactivity and fearfulness in sensitive breeds.
Onto the subject of e-collars- they allowed me to test the feeling of the e-collar on my own arm to prove that it isn’t painful. However, they had the collar on a low setting that was never actually used during the training. Later, I tested the level that they told me was the lowest level my dog could be corrected at, and it was genuinely painful.
During the 3-week board period, which I had paid around $2000 for (if I recall correctly), they did not check in with me beyond one call to let me know that my dog was refusing the normal kibble they give to their clients. They had not asked me to pack his regular food, which I found odd. They ended up switching him to the kibble they feed their working dogs, and he started eating again.
My dog returned to me a complete mess. He had lost a lot of weight, and I could see his ribs. His skin was dry and flaky, and his neck was pink and irritated from the use of the e-collar. His ears were perpetually pinned back, and he was very fearful and shut-down. Our bond had been shaken and I felt like I was getting a shell of a dog back instead of my goofy, loving puppy.
There was no training for me beyond a 30 minute recap upon pickup. I was not involved in the training process at all, and it felt like they handed him back to me with a fake smile and a “congrats on your trained dog, have fun!” Matt also talked about blowing air in his face while he was kenneled, which he found hilarious because of the way my dog would bark and snap at him through the kennel. Keep in mind that my dog was at their facility to address dog reactivity and fearfulness around humans in the first place.
When we took him home and started implementing the protocol outlined by K9 Instincts, we very quickly found that the level of stimulation recommended to us by Matt was far too high- my dog would scream when we would use the e-collar. His behavior was not improved in any way, and he actually had severely regressed in his reactivity. For the recommended 6 months, we followed through with the training protocol despite his worsening behavior. I stopped using the e-collar after the 6 months were up (and we should have been able to remove the collar), but since I had a year of follow-up included in the training package I had purchased, I had Matt come out to address these issues. Matt showed up with a puppy he was training and stayed for less than 30 minutes, had me walk my dog down the street past the other dog (also reactive), and just said to keep zapping my dog and that he would eventually stop. This stimulus would make my dog fly into a rage, redirecting his aggression onto me or whoever was walking him. Matt witnessed this, but told me it was fine and that I just needed to keep at it. He then went on his way with no further advice or support. When interacting with Matt, my dog’s demeanor was excessively and fearfully submissive, which is not normal in the slightest for him.
We went a long time without any kind of training, and I felt completely lost. Eventually, I began doing more research and realized just how damaging e-collars can be, and how they often just mask these behaviors without addressing the root cause. With the e-collar on, I could somewhat control the reactions and keep my dog in heel. As soon as it came off, all of the training went out the window. This is a common complaint from clients of K9 Instincts. They are not training dogs, they are controlling unwanted behaviors through pain-avoidant fear. I spent $2000 as a 19-year-old with my first ever dog thinking I was doing right by him- Matt is an excellent salesman with a disarming personality. However, based on his antagonistic and flippant replies to any negative reviews of his business, it is clear that he thinks he is an indisputable expert on dog training. Anyone who says otherwise is just “humanizing their dogs.” No, Matt, I am not humanizing my dog. I simply refuse to use fear-based compliance to train an already fearful animal.
My neighbor’s dogs, mentioned before, also seem to have been failed by this program. As soon as they removed the e-collars, we stopped seeing them taking walks in the neighborhood. The dogs bark incessantly in their yard, and no amount of “no” or “enough” from the neighbors stops them. Other clients report similar regressions, even in positive reviews.
One reviewer writes, “They can call it "e-collar" all they want, but this is a shock collar training facility. I've never seen a dog come out of here that is able to obey commands without the collar. This is where lazy people go to stick their dog for a few weeks under the belief they don't have to do any of their own training. The reality of shock collar training is that it only suppresses behavior based on fear of pain WHEN WEARING A SHOCK COLLAR, it doesn't actually teach your dog anything. Indeed it's been proven time and time again that the fear of pain exacerbates behavioral issues in dogs. This guy is a great salesman and will tell you "it isn't that bad," having you test it on a low setting, never letting the customer experience the power they use on animals. This place, and all shock trainers, should be shut down. "Boarding" is a sad, scary set of runs and your dog will be lucky to see outside once, maybe twice a day. Obviously, this trainer isn't educated on the science of dog behavior and is satisfied enough with sad, scared dogs that are shells of their former selves. Do your own research. What kind of dog owner do you want to be? Is your dog family, or just an accessory?”
Another, positive review states “The dependence of the collar is the only issue I have with this form of training and why I thought about going with 4 stars rather than 5.” Many reviewers also state that they feared their dog would come back as a “soldier” or would lose their personality. Why is this a fear at all? Why send a dog to a place that you are concerned will strip them of their personality?
Further, they do not allow owners to have any control or part of the training process, choosing instead to keep dogs and owners totally separate during the training period rather than training the owners alongside the dogs. One reviewer writes, “I would like to have my 10 month old puppy trained by them but didn't want to leave her alone in a kennel overnight. She didn't like being crated. I was willing to drop her off early in the morning and pick her up in the evening for 2 weeks. I understand the reason. But wish they were more flexible.” This reviewer may understand the reason they choose to keep dog and owner separate during training, but I do not. How does it serve the dog to turn them over to an uneducated owner equipped with a tool that emits an electrical stimulus that can be painful when used excessively or at too high of a level?
This place is a cruel facility that seems to have staff that get off on being mean to anxious and reactive dogs- why jerk his lead to the point that he gags when he is (understandably) uncomfortable with a stranger handling him? Why blow air in his face? Why recommend a stimulus level that makes him shriek in pain, and leaves his neck pink and raw? What purpose does any of that serve?
The damage done to my dog during this board-to-train program has set us back so much, and his behavior is infinitely worse for having gone to their facility. I can not have guests over. Nobody can say hello to or try to pet my dog without being bitten. He can not meet other dogs, and if he sees them on walks he loses his mind. He is now on Trazodone, because without it, he would not be able to even go to the vet for his regular check-ups. I have had to muzzle train him, and he has bites on record. If e-collars were truly a miracle cure as K9 Instincts and other e-collar trainers would have you believe, why is my dog still reactive? I did everything they told me to do, I was consistent and firm and yet my dog did not succeed with their methods.
At the breeder’s recommendation, I really began digging deep into R+ training methods. Only after switching to these protocols did I start to see improvements. In a short amount of time, we have made leaps and bounds in addressing his reactivity. His threshold for reacting has decreased significantly, and he listens when I tell him to “leave it” when he barks in the house. I just have to wonder how I, as an inexperienced first-time dog owner with no professional training background, am doing a better job at fixing my dog’s reactivity than Matt, who loves to tout his credentials and experience working with police K9s and difficult/anxious dogs. E-collars are a cruel band-aid solution that do not hold up once removed. You are not training your dog, you are momentarily controlling their behavior through fear of pain.
I am not writing this out of a need to argue or change peoples minds. I am writing this as a warning to new and/or uneducated pet owners who do not fully understand what e-collar training entails. I will not be engaging in discussion on this post, but before you even comment- please read these linked studies in full and educate yourself on the scientific research done into e-collar training before blindly defending the use of these aversive tools and methods. Do not waste your money at K9 Instincts. Find another trainer who will be worth the price tag.
Read before defending the use of aversive training methods:
https://vet.osu.edu/vmc/sites/defau...mane-dog-training-position-statement-2021.pdf
https://www.sciencedirect.com/scien...jG-u-yfv7duxk_YGj_FBKMduy7G1Hb6rSUyHvAH197d8M
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/a...a1F47VPsAo3I1fFUjFx4I4dqugDzi3tjemmxpsLw9GJqA
https://www.sciencedirect.com/scien...yMSWe3dlsDfpNk0U1IDLe-GzBdNof1ajiuLKTNI1a7YrU
I got my dog from a reputable breeder when I was 19 years old. I will not disclose his breed since it is an uncommon one and I do not wish to be identifiable. This breed is highly sensitive, prone to reactivity, and is by no means a beginner dog. Perhaps this was not the best choice of breed as a first-time dog owner, but I was young and a bit arrogant/overconfident in my ability to handle a dog like this. I quickly realized that I would need to seek the help of a professional trainer, as he had begun to show some reactivity on leash towards other dogs and was generally fearful of people. My neighbors had a pack of 5 dogs, all of whom seemed very well-trained and responsive, so I asked where they had gotten them trained- they told me that K9 Instincts had changed everything for them, so I reached out.
I quickly had an evaluation scheduled, and I immediately was a little wary of their methods. One of their trainers, Brit, took the leash from me and demonstrated leash corrections. These corrections were unfairly harsh for the behavior my dog was displaying- obvious discomfort with a stranger holding his lead, and a desire to come back to my side where he would be more comfortable. Brit jerked the lead in a way that caused him to gag, but she told me not to worry and that this was normal/part of the learning curve. Okay. I’m 19, she’s the professional, I didn’t question it too much. During this evaluation, they told me that they had experience with my dog’s breed, something I now know has to have been a flat-out lie. Anyone who works with/breeds these dogs is firmly against aversive training methods due to their sensitivity and stubbornness, as well as the simple fact that e-collars are known to cause deeper reactivity and fearfulness in sensitive breeds.
Onto the subject of e-collars- they allowed me to test the feeling of the e-collar on my own arm to prove that it isn’t painful. However, they had the collar on a low setting that was never actually used during the training. Later, I tested the level that they told me was the lowest level my dog could be corrected at, and it was genuinely painful.
During the 3-week board period, which I had paid around $2000 for (if I recall correctly), they did not check in with me beyond one call to let me know that my dog was refusing the normal kibble they give to their clients. They had not asked me to pack his regular food, which I found odd. They ended up switching him to the kibble they feed their working dogs, and he started eating again.
My dog returned to me a complete mess. He had lost a lot of weight, and I could see his ribs. His skin was dry and flaky, and his neck was pink and irritated from the use of the e-collar. His ears were perpetually pinned back, and he was very fearful and shut-down. Our bond had been shaken and I felt like I was getting a shell of a dog back instead of my goofy, loving puppy.
There was no training for me beyond a 30 minute recap upon pickup. I was not involved in the training process at all, and it felt like they handed him back to me with a fake smile and a “congrats on your trained dog, have fun!” Matt also talked about blowing air in his face while he was kenneled, which he found hilarious because of the way my dog would bark and snap at him through the kennel. Keep in mind that my dog was at their facility to address dog reactivity and fearfulness around humans in the first place.
When we took him home and started implementing the protocol outlined by K9 Instincts, we very quickly found that the level of stimulation recommended to us by Matt was far too high- my dog would scream when we would use the e-collar. His behavior was not improved in any way, and he actually had severely regressed in his reactivity. For the recommended 6 months, we followed through with the training protocol despite his worsening behavior. I stopped using the e-collar after the 6 months were up (and we should have been able to remove the collar), but since I had a year of follow-up included in the training package I had purchased, I had Matt come out to address these issues. Matt showed up with a puppy he was training and stayed for less than 30 minutes, had me walk my dog down the street past the other dog (also reactive), and just said to keep zapping my dog and that he would eventually stop. This stimulus would make my dog fly into a rage, redirecting his aggression onto me or whoever was walking him. Matt witnessed this, but told me it was fine and that I just needed to keep at it. He then went on his way with no further advice or support. When interacting with Matt, my dog’s demeanor was excessively and fearfully submissive, which is not normal in the slightest for him.
We went a long time without any kind of training, and I felt completely lost. Eventually, I began doing more research and realized just how damaging e-collars can be, and how they often just mask these behaviors without addressing the root cause. With the e-collar on, I could somewhat control the reactions and keep my dog in heel. As soon as it came off, all of the training went out the window. This is a common complaint from clients of K9 Instincts. They are not training dogs, they are controlling unwanted behaviors through pain-avoidant fear. I spent $2000 as a 19-year-old with my first ever dog thinking I was doing right by him- Matt is an excellent salesman with a disarming personality. However, based on his antagonistic and flippant replies to any negative reviews of his business, it is clear that he thinks he is an indisputable expert on dog training. Anyone who says otherwise is just “humanizing their dogs.” No, Matt, I am not humanizing my dog. I simply refuse to use fear-based compliance to train an already fearful animal.
My neighbor’s dogs, mentioned before, also seem to have been failed by this program. As soon as they removed the e-collars, we stopped seeing them taking walks in the neighborhood. The dogs bark incessantly in their yard, and no amount of “no” or “enough” from the neighbors stops them. Other clients report similar regressions, even in positive reviews.
One reviewer writes, “They can call it "e-collar" all they want, but this is a shock collar training facility. I've never seen a dog come out of here that is able to obey commands without the collar. This is where lazy people go to stick their dog for a few weeks under the belief they don't have to do any of their own training. The reality of shock collar training is that it only suppresses behavior based on fear of pain WHEN WEARING A SHOCK COLLAR, it doesn't actually teach your dog anything. Indeed it's been proven time and time again that the fear of pain exacerbates behavioral issues in dogs. This guy is a great salesman and will tell you "it isn't that bad," having you test it on a low setting, never letting the customer experience the power they use on animals. This place, and all shock trainers, should be shut down. "Boarding" is a sad, scary set of runs and your dog will be lucky to see outside once, maybe twice a day. Obviously, this trainer isn't educated on the science of dog behavior and is satisfied enough with sad, scared dogs that are shells of their former selves. Do your own research. What kind of dog owner do you want to be? Is your dog family, or just an accessory?”
Another, positive review states “The dependence of the collar is the only issue I have with this form of training and why I thought about going with 4 stars rather than 5.” Many reviewers also state that they feared their dog would come back as a “soldier” or would lose their personality. Why is this a fear at all? Why send a dog to a place that you are concerned will strip them of their personality?
Further, they do not allow owners to have any control or part of the training process, choosing instead to keep dogs and owners totally separate during the training period rather than training the owners alongside the dogs. One reviewer writes, “I would like to have my 10 month old puppy trained by them but didn't want to leave her alone in a kennel overnight. She didn't like being crated. I was willing to drop her off early in the morning and pick her up in the evening for 2 weeks. I understand the reason. But wish they were more flexible.” This reviewer may understand the reason they choose to keep dog and owner separate during training, but I do not. How does it serve the dog to turn them over to an uneducated owner equipped with a tool that emits an electrical stimulus that can be painful when used excessively or at too high of a level?
This place is a cruel facility that seems to have staff that get off on being mean to anxious and reactive dogs- why jerk his lead to the point that he gags when he is (understandably) uncomfortable with a stranger handling him? Why blow air in his face? Why recommend a stimulus level that makes him shriek in pain, and leaves his neck pink and raw? What purpose does any of that serve?
The damage done to my dog during this board-to-train program has set us back so much, and his behavior is infinitely worse for having gone to their facility. I can not have guests over. Nobody can say hello to or try to pet my dog without being bitten. He can not meet other dogs, and if he sees them on walks he loses his mind. He is now on Trazodone, because without it, he would not be able to even go to the vet for his regular check-ups. I have had to muzzle train him, and he has bites on record. If e-collars were truly a miracle cure as K9 Instincts and other e-collar trainers would have you believe, why is my dog still reactive? I did everything they told me to do, I was consistent and firm and yet my dog did not succeed with their methods.
At the breeder’s recommendation, I really began digging deep into R+ training methods. Only after switching to these protocols did I start to see improvements. In a short amount of time, we have made leaps and bounds in addressing his reactivity. His threshold for reacting has decreased significantly, and he listens when I tell him to “leave it” when he barks in the house. I just have to wonder how I, as an inexperienced first-time dog owner with no professional training background, am doing a better job at fixing my dog’s reactivity than Matt, who loves to tout his credentials and experience working with police K9s and difficult/anxious dogs. E-collars are a cruel band-aid solution that do not hold up once removed. You are not training your dog, you are momentarily controlling their behavior through fear of pain.
I am not writing this out of a need to argue or change peoples minds. I am writing this as a warning to new and/or uneducated pet owners who do not fully understand what e-collar training entails. I will not be engaging in discussion on this post, but before you even comment- please read these linked studies in full and educate yourself on the scientific research done into e-collar training before blindly defending the use of these aversive tools and methods. Do not waste your money at K9 Instincts. Find another trainer who will be worth the price tag.
Read before defending the use of aversive training methods:
https://vet.osu.edu/vmc/sites/defau...mane-dog-training-position-statement-2021.pdf
https://www.sciencedirect.com/scien...jG-u-yfv7duxk_YGj_FBKMduy7G1Hb6rSUyHvAH197d8M
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/a...a1F47VPsAo3I1fFUjFx4I4dqugDzi3tjemmxpsLw9GJqA
https://www.sciencedirect.com/scien...yMSWe3dlsDfpNk0U1IDLe-GzBdNof1ajiuLKTNI1a7YrU
the one we sent our pup to used both prong and ecollars. These trainers are so manipulative and make it seem like they can “fix” any dog. And a lot of reactive dog owners are desperate so we fall for it. It’s just a recipe for disaster. I can’t even begin to tell you how guilty I feel for putting my poor pup through that