Unleashed Unlimited — Local services in Leander

This review is for the rattlesnake avoidance training, I have not experienced their other training so I cannot comment on the regular courses. I will start by saying that I fully anticipated this training to be stressful and unpleasant but I also expected a certain level of professionalism and introduction.

I expected to show up and have a conversation with a trainer who would reassure me the snakes were harmless and explain why and how. I also expected someone to explain how the process worked and walk me through it to make me more comfortable with the fact that my dog was about to be around live rattlesnakes and would have a shock collar used on her for the first time ever. I expected to have the opportunity to ask questions and get answers. I expected a knowledgeable professional who was experienced with different breeds of dogs and their specific needs. Instead I experienced a random man attaching a very tight shock collar to my brachycephalic dog and telling us to wait in the heat with no introduction. When I questioned if the collar needed to be so tight the only response I got was yes. Then I experience a different calloused man taking my dog and rushing her toward a live rattlesnake, allowing it to hit her head, and shocking her making her screech in pain and fear with no explanation prior and exclaiming excitedly that she would be dead. Then I watched him pull her fearfully with her feet planted firmly toward another rattlesnake and shock her again. She clearly already understood that the snakes were bad. After the rattle snakes he pulled out a box of a different type of snakes and had her smell the box. He shocked her four times in a row until she was so scared she climbed up my legs into my arms. After all of these extremely traumatic experiences with no prior explanation then the man finally wanted to have a conversation at which point I was furious and only wanted to leave. At this moment another client entered with their puppy and our handler said something along the lines of “watch this, this is going to be good”. By the end of the experience I got the feeling our particular handler enjoyed shocking dogs for entertainment. He had the attitude of a child who’s proud to show off a new trick. I’m not even confident this man had any training experience. I certainly did not feel as though I was working with someone who regretfully shocked the dogs out of necessity. I also feel the collar was too tight for a dog breed that already is prone to breathing issues. It made me wonder how much experience these people actually have with dogs in general. Are they qualified trainers or just people who figured out a system to scare dogs enough to keep them away from snakes?

I will acknowledge how important and necessary training dogs to avoid snakes is. I will also give credit where it is due and say that for the purpose of making my dog fearful of rattlesnakes, it seemed to work, at least in their facility, with their handler, and the shock collar on. That being said I will look for other facilities who offer this training for the yearly update unless unleashed unlimited replaces or retrains their staff and can insure I will not have an experience like this again. I did not feel safe, confident, or informed during this experience. A class with this level of stress should come with a certain amount of introduction to the process and to the trainer. The trainer should offer reassurance, and information prior to the class, especially if it is offered on its own without requiring any previous training at the facility. The trainer should be someone compassionate and caring for dogs not someone who gets his kicks from...

Paul and Tracy: I feel like I need to send you guys a note of thanks for being awesome at your job! You guys have really transformed our lives with Dyson. When we rescued Dyson a few months ago, CJ and I had big plans on all the things we were planning to do with him. A few days into it, we realized that wasn't going to happen with things the way they were. I look back on those days and I was so stressed out, terrified to take him in public and a little reluctant to actually accept him as a member of our family (I am ashamed to admit that I had second thoughts on our decision to adopt him on more than one occasion). We noticed improvements after the first week of training with you guys but if you would have told me back then that we would be where we are now, I never would have believed you. Dyson has come a long way in the month and half we have been training with you. He is a completely different dog...an absolute joy to be around. We find ourselves gearing our weekends around activities where Dyson can join us and the whole family is happy to have him tag along. Although I know our work with Dyson will never be done, I am so much more comfortable taking him out in public. For me in particular, I am gaining confidence with each outing we have together and I think it can only get better. Paul, I really appreciate your positive reinforcement and encouragement during the polishing classes. It must be so frustrating for you at times to wait for people to catch on to the things you have told them over and over to do. You have the patience of a saint Anyway, I could go on and on about how pleased we are with the results from our time with you guys but I really just want to say thank you. I hope you realize the difference you make. I will forever recommend Unleashed...

I signed up for the consultation for the board and train program due to the many positive reviews listed here. My dog has a number of things he needs to work on, hence why we were seeking help with training. We got him at the beginning of 2020, so due to Covid, we were not able to get into adequate dog training classes like I had wanted to do. Upon our arrival, the female trainer was not very welcoming. She seemed very annoyed about my dog pulling on the leash and barking with excitement. I did not like that she hit him on the nose to get him to stop barking. I know this is a training technique commonly used, but we don't know her well enough for that to be ok. These are 2 habits that I told her we were needing to work on. She had him taken out of the room so we could talk easier which I did say was ok. My dog is an 80 lb goldendoodle and they said he needed to be tested for the kennel. My dog does not sleep in a kennel. Just a personal choice I have made. The female trainer pulled out a kennel knowing it was too small for him and basically shoved him in there very forcefully. He could not stand up all the way and didn't have any room to lay down. She told me not to look at him or talk to him. Of course he started to panic. It made me very uncomfortable as a dog mom that if she would treat my dog like that in front of me, there's no telling what would happen if I were to leave him in their care. Overall, I was very disappointed in the actions I encountered and wouldn't recommend anyone trust their dog to...