Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc
About us
We are celebrating over 20 years in business and thousands of dogs trained. We can help with puppy training, house manners, behavioral training, tricks/games, and more! We customize our in-home training programs to fit your needs and can customize programs small and large to fit every budget. We also offer live video sessions, group classes, seminars, and phone consultations. We use only humane training methods...no outdated harsh correctional training! Please visit us at www.DogGoneGoodTraining.com for more information. We look forward to hearing from you!
Business highlights
23 years of experience
Services we offer
Baby Preparation, Behavior Problems, Dog Training - Obedience, House Manners, Tricks & Games.
Amenities
Free Estimates
Yes
Accepted Payment Methods
- CreditCard
Reviews
4.838 Reviews
| Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 89% | ||
| 8% | ||
| 0% | ||
| 0% | ||
| 3% |
Showing 1-25 of 38 reviews
Mario B.
Apr 2022
We hired Michele after having a lot of trouble training our Giant Schnauzer puppy ourselves and with other options. We heard about Michele's services through word of mouth and after speaking with her felt convinced she was a good fit for us and our puppy. Michele is very engaging, hands on, and extremely knowledgeable. Her flexibility with being able to come to our home or train virtually was also great. She uses very positive training techniques followed up by downloadable email notes and articles related to what we just trained on and other training not covered during that session. She also provides many product reviews which was extremely helpful for purchasing items for our puppy. Throughout the training it became apparent to Michele that our puppy might be dealing with anxiety issues that at first was a major pain point for our family to the point of almost having to re-home our new puppy. Michele worked with us and pointed us in the right direction to have our dog evaluated with our vet. We did discover that our pup does indeed have an anxiety issue. After patience from Michele and medication for our puppy, the training literally changed for the positive within a couple of days which made us eventually change our mind about re-homing and continue to work with Michele until the end of our scheduled training. We would highly recommend Michele for any of your training needs for your new pup or mature dog ???. You will not be disappointed!
Response from Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc
"Thank you so much for your kind review. It is much appreciated. I'm so glad I was able to be of help and that you are happy with the results of the training. Kudos to you and your family too for your dedication to the training and your pup'[Member Information Removed] needs. It was a pleasure training your pup together. Just let me know if I can be of any help in the future :)"
Wendy L.
Nov 2020
Michele was great! I was concerned about doing ZOOM sessions, however Michele made me a believer, not only was doing the sessions via ZOOM functional, but it fit in so well with our schedule! We rescued a 4 year old retriever mix who knew some basic commands, however he needed a lot of work. After our sessions with Michele he is the ideal house dog! He's a pleasure to go on walks with, knows a wide range of useful commands and is an observably happier dog... this really was Dog Gone Good Training!
Response from Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc
"Thank you for posting your review and for giving the virtual sessions a chance. We can still meet in-person when necessary but as you saw, much of the training can be just as easily and effectively done through virtual sessions. I’m so glad to hear you are pleased with the results of the training. It was my pleasure training together and just let me know if you need anything in the future. Thanks again! Your review is much appreciated."
Kris T.
Nov 2019
Michelle at Dog Gone Good is great! She’s extremely knowledgeable, passionate about what she does, and truly cares about her clients (furry or otherwise). She’s helped us with various trainings over several years with three of our dogs. I would never trust anyone else with helping us with our furbabies. She will always be my recommendation to those looking for help with their dogs.
Response from Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc
"Thank you for your review and also for your continued trust with your fur-babies.... It means so much and I'm so grateful to be able to do what I love and have such great clients like you guys. I'm so glad I could help again with your new pup and I'm here whenever you need me. Thanks again for your review. It's much appreciated!"
Amy M.
Jul 2018
Our dog was 4 months old and very hyper. We were having trouble with house training and with basic commands. Michelle came in and taught us how to get our dog to respond and then how to reward her with positive reinforcements, treats, etc. It was quite effective. Michelle is highly knowledgeable and we saw immediately that she could help us improve our dog's behavior. After the "Impressive Pooch" program, our pup is much, much better. One thing I will say is that there was a lot of talking from Michelle, particularly about how we were doing things incorrectly. I would have much preferred to do more training and less talking. I get it when we aren't doing things The Right Way, but I maintain that there is more than one way to do it. And frankly, any dog with any sense is going to NEED to adapt to slight alterations in walking, commands, Being Alpha, etc. Having written this, Michelle did absolutely help out, and I would recommend her. I think she might be better suited for dogs with special needs (fearful, aggressive, prep for showing, etc.), since her knowledge is so deep and the owner's needs would be more urgent and important. In a way, it seems that our dog got better in part because she grew up a little bit.
Response from Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc
"I'm very happy you are seeing so much improvement with your puppy. It is not likely that you would have seen that much progress in less than two months' time without the training you've been doing with her. I do work with lots of families with puppies and we do have smaller, less thorough programs to choose from. You chose one of our larger, more comprehensive programs which included proactive training to help prevent common behavioral issues such as fear, anxiety, and aggression from developing later. Some of the biggest benefits of our programs is what you will not see...the behavior problems that may have developed later had you done a less thorough approach. Therefore, it is important for people to know that taking their puppy to a less comprehensive obedience class does not equal the same results that our programs give. There are some components of our programs that need discussion but it is my goal to minimize time spent talking which is why we recommend reading your training handouts. That really helps to reduce the amount of discussion needed so we can maximize training time. I do give recommendations for what I think should be done differently but I believe in positive reinforcement for the two legged family members too; I thought I did that with you guys and I'm truly sorry if it didn't seem that way. Thank you again for your business, referrals, and feedback. They are much appreciated. It was a pleasure working with all of you and I wish you all the very best."
Marina R.
Mar 2017
great, Michelle was awesome
Response from Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc
"Thank you kindly for your review. It is much appreciated. It was a pleasure training with you and your family members, including the furry ones! Your dogs have made huge progress in just a few weeks. Keep up the great work and please let me know if I can be of further assistance in the future."
Julia M.
Nov 2016
Very well. Michele was knowledgeable and worked well with the dogs.
Response from Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc
"Thank you for submitting your review. It is much appreciated! It was a pleasure training with you and your dogs. They are so lucky to have such a great home with patient and caring parents that are so dedicated to their care and training. Keep up the great work! Thank you again for your business and please let me know if I can be of help in the future."
Kathy B.
Oct 2016
I picked up her brochure at my vet office and was so happy I did. Our dog is much better behaved.
Response from Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc
"Thank you, I really appreciate you submitting your review. I am so happy you are pleased with the results and have found our handouts useful. It was a pleasure training with you and your pup. She is such a sweet girl and I look forward to having you and her in one of our group classes when she is ready. In the meantime, please let me know if you have any questions from our in-home sessions and keep up the great work with her training :)"
Pat L.
Jul 2016
She taught us what to do to manage our 2 dogs and their behavioral problems. She was very personable, professional, courteous, knowledgeable, responsible! Excellent trainer. Her vast knowledge of dogs immediately identified the problem.
Response from Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc
"Thank you [Member Name Removed] for your kind review. I am so happy to hear that you were pleased with our services and that you were able to see quick results with your girls. I'm sorry I was a little slow to reply to this review. I did not receive notification like usual and am just seeing it now. Thank you again for posting your review. It is much appreciated!"
Dee P.
Mar 2016
The training was done in our home with myself and my husband. Michelle arrived on time and stayed the entire scheduled time of 90+ minutes. Outside, she showed us how to get Ginger to stop pulling on her leash and "walk nice." We also worked on Ginger walking always on our right side and how to keep her on our right and not cross over in front of or behind us. This keeps us from tripping over the leash or getting tangled in it. Ginger did okay with not pulling but we all need more practice to keep her from crossing over.. Michelle shared many tips with us from how to hold and use the leash to guide Ginger, to rewarding her with snacks, and using the same words for commands. After coming back inside, we worked on the command stay and how it can be used in many different situations on walks with Ginger. Michelle was friendly but professional and put us all at ease. I was very pleased with the training session and would definitely recommend her to others.
Response from Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc
"Thank you for submitting your review. I really appreciate it! It was a pleasure working with all of you. Yes, it will take a little time for everyone to get use to the new way of walking, especially Ginger since she is 4 years old and use to walking her way. However, it's never too late; so keep plugging forward with patience and persistence and you will get there. The handouts should help with remembering everything we addressed and please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you again for your very kind review and please let me know if I can be of further help in the future."
Kimberly K.
Feb 2016
unknown
Response from Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc
"Thank you for submitting your review. It is much appreciated. It was a pleasure working with you, your family, and Solomon. It was great to see your whole family committed to helping with the training. I hope all is continuing to go well. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance."
Lisanne G.
Nov 2015
She came to my house on time and very professional everytime. She was the best professional I have ever used. She was wonderful with my dog, my family and she taught us all everything she promised.
Response from Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc
"Thank you for submitting your review. It is much appreciated! You and your family were a pleasure to work with and your little Stella is very cute and smart. Keep up the great work and I know you will continue to see progress with her. Please let me know if you have any questions along the way."
Patricia J.
Sep 2015
I previously took my dog to a basic training class at a local pet store. The trainer spent at at least half the class every week talking about her dogs and her experiences and I got little out of the class. Michelle's class was totally different. Michelle is a trainer; she is there to give us information on how to train our dogs, reinforce what we are and are not doing correctly and answer questions. She is a no nonsense trainer and spent 100% of the class time with our dogs. Michelle was open to answering any questions we had. One evening she called regarding a class we had to reschedule and spent quite some time giving me advice on how to get my dog to go down. I learned a lot; my dog learned a lot, and I would most definitely take another class from her.
Response from Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc
"I'm so happy to hear you were pleased with the class. Thank you for submitting your review, it is greatly appreciated! You and Betty Ann were truly a pleasure to have in class and you are doing a great job with the training. Thank you for your understanding about rescheduling class. It's something I try very hard not to do but felt it was best for the dogs with the canine flu outbreak in the area. I'm glad to see you enrolled in the Intermediate class. I look forward to seeing you and Betty Ann in a few weeks. Keep up the good work with her in the meantime :-)"
LYNN K.
Sep 2015
Too basic of training. First class with dogs was teaching the dog to sit for a half an hour! Really? When I told her that the class wasn't for me she proceeded to tell me there is NO REFUND. Or I couldn't use the money for a different class. Then she decided to give me a third of my money back saying she had expenses and this is all she can give me back! BECAREFUL signing up for the classes. If you don't like her training methods or what she is training you will not get a true refund or maybe none at all! refund. Poor business management.
Response from Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc
"I am sorry that you were not happy with our services. We work hard to provide high quality training programs and excellent customer service for our customers and we are frequently complimented on our professionalism. You enrolled in our "Basic Training and House Manners" class. As I explained on the phone, the first class is the most basic but we had much more we would be working on over the course of the class and that we would be teaching everything listed in the class description. The first 30 minutes was not just working on the sit command but also working on the dogs paying attention to their owners instead of the other dogs and people in class. Once this is accomplished, our classes move at a very good pace. As I explained on the phone, I was unable to transfer you to the next level because there were not any spots available at that time. Your dog also was not ready for our next level class yet since she was not responding to you calling her name or telling her to sit. Taking this into consideration, I felt the refund was a better option. In regards to our responsiveness and punctuality...I replied to your emails the same day and we take much pride in all of our classes starting and ending on time which is the case for the classes you attended. Regarding our cancellation policy for group classes...A no refund policy is a very common practice for dog training companies due to minimum and maximum enrollment requirements to run a group class. One's registration may either determine if the class can run or it may prevent others from enrolling when the class is full. Our cancellation policy is clearly stated in large print near the top of the agreement form at time of enrollment...However, I did agree to issue the prorated refund in my first reply to your email requesting the refund because we do strive for excellence in customer service. You agreed to the refund amount which was calculated by deducting the fee for the 2 hour seminar you attended and the 1 hour class with dogs along with a fee to cover our expenses incurred for your enrollment. This fee included the percentage of your enrollment that we have to pay to the facility we rent space from for the class and the processing fees. A cancellation fee to cover these expenses is not an uncommon practice. I was under the impression when we spoke that you were satisfied with the refund amount. I'm very sorry to hear that was not the case. I wish you the best and hope you are able to find the type of training you are looking for."
AMANDA G.
Aug 2015
unknown
Response from Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc
"Thank you, your review is much appreciated! It was a pleasure training with both of you and your puppy. Sadie is very smart and she really enjoys the training so keep up the good work! Please let me know if you have any questions from our sessions."
Cindy N.
Mar 2015
unknown
Response from Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc
"Thank you for posting your review. It is much appreciated. I hope I was able to answer all of your questions. Please let me know if I can be of further service. Best wishes!"
Nabella A.
Feb 2015
Michelle was wonderful. She helped my new rescue dog feel comfortable going into her crate. She came to our apt and spent 2 hours with us. She even went outside with us to help with potty training while it was freezing out! Michelle is very experienced and she is just so good with animals. My dog really responded well to her. Michelle followed up with us a few days later to see how or dog was doing. She offered more tips over the phone. I've been practicing everything she taught me and our dog has shown a lot of improvement. I probably will not need any further sessions bc she was that good. but if any other problems occur, I will definitely use her services again. Oh and she also gives a 10% discount to shelter/rescue dogs.
Response from Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc
"Thank you, your review is greatly appreciated! I'm so happy to hear that you were pleased with our services and that training is going well. Patience will go a long way with Rosey since she had such a rough start in life. She's such a sweet girl and deserves a great home like yours! Keep up the good work and let me know if you have any questions along the way. Thank you again for your business and review. It was a pleasure working with you and Rosey!"
John C.
Oct 2014
Buddy had developed some issues with barking, jumping up on anyone who came in the door and other bad habits(would not release ball when fetching). It took 6-7 weeks of 1 on 1 training in the home but the results were pretty amazing.
Buddy can sit and stay when someone comes in the door. I can tell buddy to go to his place(a dog bed) and tell him to stay when a stranger enters the house and he will not bark. He will also stay in his place.
Can fetch and drop ball now.
General behavior issues solved and the dog seems happier. I know the neighbors are.
Cannot say enough about Michelle and her way with Buddy. Nice suggestions for food and toys.
Buddy can sit and stay when someone comes in the door. I can tell buddy to go to his place(a dog bed) and tell him to stay when a stranger enters the house and he will not bark. He will also stay in his place.
Can fetch and drop ball now.
General behavior issues solved and the dog seems happier. I know the neighbors are.
Cannot say enough about Michelle and her way with Buddy. Nice suggestions for food and toys.
Response from Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc
"Buddy is proof that you CAN teach and old dog new tricks! Although one would never know his age by how much energy he has. The longer a dog practices a behavior, the more reinforced it is. So it can take a little longer to modify some behaviors with an older dog. Hats off to you for your commitment and sticking with it! Buddy is a great dog and it was a pleasure training with all of you. Please let me know if you need any assistance in the future and thank you for submitting your review. It is much appreciated!"
Sharlene T.
Sep 2014
Michelle is great! First, she is very responsive responding to my e-mails and text in a timely manner. She was always on time and was very patient with us. We had 10 lessons all together (2- 5 lesson packages) and it was worth every penny; especially considering she came to us. We have two adult small dogs (a Papillion and a Chihuahua) that love to bark a lot and are afraid of other animals. I thought our Chihuahua was aggressive and now I understand its fear. Michelle talked us through step by step what to do, and helped us understand the "why". While our pups are not perfect yet, we are making good progress and now we know what we need to do - practice, practice, and practice. I highly recommend her.
Response from Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc
"Thank you for submitting your review. It is much appreciated. You were all so fun to work with and I looked forward to every session. I think it is wonderful how committed you and your husband are to training. Sometimes work and life get in the way of training but even with a few bumps in the road, you never gave up. Zoe and Sophia are much improved and I'm confident you will continue to see progress. Please let me know if you have any questions along the way."
Pat L.
Aug 2014
unknown
Response from Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc
"I am so happy to hear you are pleased with your dogs' progress. I am really enjoying working with all of you and your dogs. Keep up the great work and you will continue to see progress. Thank you kindly for your review. It is much appreciated!"
Julie F.
Jun 2014
Michele was professional and spent our session time very efficiently. We made a lot of progress in a short amount of time. She really knows her profession and I am glad we hired her. Great results with her training! Much improved behavior with our dogs.
Response from Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc
"Your review is much appreciated! I'm so happy to hear everything is going well. Hats off to you for making the time for training every day when you also work and have a big family with young children and two dogs!!! It was such a joy to meet with you and your dogs each week and see the progress you made. Keep up the good work and you should see continued success!"
LIZ S.
Apr 2014
Michelle was great...communicated very well on the phone and I felt comfortable from our very first conversation. She did not over-promise anything, but was willing to discuss all of my concerns. Sometimes people can promise a lot of things before they even meet the dogs, and I appreciate that she didn't do that.
We have two large dogs (Paulie and Moose), and our main concern was how they greeted people (excited, jumping, barking). This can obviously scare adults and children so we wanted to find ways to alleviate this. The jumping, which I thought was aggression, could actually be attributed to overexcitement.
Starting at the most basic point, we worked throughout the next four sessions on ways that we could familiarize the dogs with people at the door so that every time someone arrived it wasn't a big ordeal to them. During the sessions, Michelle would demonstrate how the training was supposed to go, and then would have each of us practice so she could see our technique. This is invaluable as it is easy to be rewarding the wrong behavior without realizing it.
At the end of each session she provided us with reading materials and scheduled the next visit. Very organized, very thorough. It is still key that training is practiced every day, but Michelle gives you every tool you need to be able to train your dog the right way.
She loves dogs, and our dogs loved her. Can't say enough positive things!
We have two large dogs (Paulie and Moose), and our main concern was how they greeted people (excited, jumping, barking). This can obviously scare adults and children so we wanted to find ways to alleviate this. The jumping, which I thought was aggression, could actually be attributed to overexcitement.
Starting at the most basic point, we worked throughout the next four sessions on ways that we could familiarize the dogs with people at the door so that every time someone arrived it wasn't a big ordeal to them. During the sessions, Michelle would demonstrate how the training was supposed to go, and then would have each of us practice so she could see our technique. This is invaluable as it is easy to be rewarding the wrong behavior without realizing it.
At the end of each session she provided us with reading materials and scheduled the next visit. Very organized, very thorough. It is still key that training is practiced every day, but Michelle gives you every tool you need to be able to train your dog the right way.
She loves dogs, and our dogs loved her. Can't say enough positive things!
Response from Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc
"I am so happy that you were pleased with our services. Client satisfaction is of the utmost importance and I strive to provide the type of service that I would want when hiring someone. It is so rewarding when I get a review like this that let's me know I am meeting those goals. Thank you so very much for posting your review and such detailed feedback. I loved working with all of you! Paulie and Moose have lots of personality and were so fun to work with. It was easy to remember I have the greatest job in the world when training them :-)"
SANDY S.
Mar 2014
We recently adopted a dog that had very little training and were a bit overwhelmed. Michele did a wonderful job of training both us and our dog! The training is based on positive reinforcement. It was optimal to have her come to the house and focus on the issues that we were having - she could evaluate our dog and us in our environment. But I think attending one of her dog training classes would be great too (our schedules did not allow us to sign up for the one offered in Lombard). We still have a ways to go but with Michele's help, we now have the tools to have a well trained dog!
Response from Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc
"Thank you for posting your review. It is much appreciated! It was a joy working with all of you! Sonny is very smart and you and your husband's dedication, consistency, and commitment to his training are a big part of your success. Keep up the great work and please let me know if you have any questions along the way."
Randall C.
Feb 2014
Michele provided us with the tools to manage the behavior of our dog so that he will be less of a threat around people who visit our house.
Response from Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc
"Thank you for posting your review. It was a pleasure working with all of you and I hope training is going well. Please let me know if you have any questions moving forward."
Philip K.
Oct 2013
Michelle was professional, kind, and above all else effective in her training. We had two sessions with her and both paid immediate dividends with our pup. She doesn't just train you and your pup and leave you high and dry - she also leaves you with all the material you've gone over on some very nicely put together handouts that help you keep the lessons fresh in your mind. She was flexible with our schedule and handled our need to reschedule without even the smallest hiccup. Our dog is doing great and we're so thankful for Michelle's help!
Response from Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc
"Thank you for such wonderful and detailed feedback. I am very grateful for the time you took submitting your review and that you were pleased with our training program. You and your wife do a wonderful job with Buehrle. It was a joy working with all of you. Keep up the good work! And I LOVE that quote! SO TRUE!!!"
Sharon G.
Sep 2013
We were very impressed with the amount of information we were provided with, felt like Michelle had our best interests at heart and wanted to help as much as possible.
Response from Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc
"Thank you, your review is much appreciated. I am very pleased to hear you were happy with the training session. I hope all is going well. Please let me know if you have any questions. Best wishes!"
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FAQ
Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc is currently rated 4.8 overall out of 5.
Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc accepts the following forms of payment: CreditCard
Yes, Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc offers free project estimates.
No, Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc does not offer eco-friendly accreditations.
No, Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc does not offer a senior discount.
No, Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc does not offer emergency services.
No, Dog Gone Good Dog Training Inc does not offer warranties.