(Jay, Pam & Chief) "Ed Fields brought two dogs with him and he did a demonstration with both of them to show us the skills that had been instilled in the dogs. One was a 16 month old German Shepherd named Dutchess, the other was a 9 month old Belgian Malinois named Chief. The protection skills which both dogs displayed were amazing.
We had no intention of purchasing a dog that day, but we did want to see what kind of service a personal protection dog would be able to provide. If we did get a dog, we were set on a German Shepherd, but it was Chief, the Malinois, who actually stole our hearts. As we discussed it with Ed, we all agreed that what was best for us was Chief because of his age and the time we would have to bond with him over the next few months. It's important to point out that we included Ed in this conversation because we needed an honest third party input to help us make this decision. Ed's advice turned out to be right on.
What was also refreshing was the honesty that was completely evident in the transaction. In fact, Ed put as much trust in us as we did him. He felt that we were the right people for his dog and he offered to let us pay him over whatever period of time we needed to.
The other impressive and comforting concept with Pittsburgh K9 Training is that once we bought the dog our transaction didn’t end. Chief still has some additional training that is necessary, and Ed informed us that the training would be completed; no hidden costs or add-ons beyond what we had given him for the dog. We work together with Ed to complete Chief’s training. Ed gave us all his telephone numbers and email addresses and assured us that if we had any questions or concerns that we should call regardless of the time of day or night; he would be there for us if we needed him, and he has.
Since then, we have had two additional dog training sessions with us, Ed and Chief. Ed's word is as good as anyone we know and doing business on a handshake with him has proven to be a great experience. It turns out my husband and I needed more training than Chief! Our follow-up training sessions have been very valuable. The second session was actually the most eye opening. We and another couple worked with Ed and our dogs at a local training field. For the first hour, we worked with just us and the two dogs. However, Ed had also set up other scenarios that included five additional people and several additional dogs. I'm not sure many trainers would go to the trouble of having people and dogs come out to a training session where they weren't the focus. Four and a half hours later, we had learned a lot about training our dog and have been able to continue to re-enforce it with Chief. And, we have another training session on the horizon. Now, we tell everyone we know that Pittsburgh K9 Training should be the only call they make."
Pam and Jay | 
"Please allow this letter to serve as testimonial to the abilities and training methods of Pittsburgh K-9 Training. My wife & I met Carl Osterholm in a non-dog training environment, but with each of us being dog lovers it wasn’t long before our conversation “went to the dogs” no pun intended. At that time we weren’t in the market for a dog trainer but Carl’s passion and knowledge of dogs had left a mark on us.
A year or so later we decided to expand our family and selected a Doberman Pincher who we named Blaze to serve as family pet and protector. While I am familiar with the breed and have personally trained my past dogs in formal obedience classes, I didn’t have the time to devote to this endeavor; Carl was of course on our short list of trainers we felt qualified to handle the task of training our new family member. In the end we choose Pittsburgh K-9 Training based on Carl’s dedication to dog training, his compassion towards animals and his outstanding knowledge of humane training methods and techniques.
Carl picked Blaze up at our home and transported him to his training facility a somewhat difficult process for my wife and I since we had grown enormously attached to Blaze but we have never regretted it since. Once Blaze became acquainted with Carl, his team and his new surroundings the training begun, we received video updates via email showing us what Blaze was up to and how the training was progressing. These videos were very welcomed and helped to ease the separation anxiety we were experiencing.
When Blaze’s training was complete roughly six weeks later Carl returned Blaze to our home and spent two days training my wife and I on how we were to handle Blaze i.e. new commands, leash techniques, correction and discipline etc. In my opinion this is a particularly important phase of training that is often overlooked, Carl spent three sessions with us placing Blaze in various situations that we were going to encounter and taught us how to handle him and work him through them.
When Carl was leaving our home after returning Blaze he said “once a client always a client” the meaning of what he said that day didn’t sink in right away. In the time since Blaze has returned we have had many questions ranging from behavioral questions to advanced training questions and Carl has welcomed them and assisted us each and every time. We now consider him a friend and he’s always an email or phone call away (another important fact since Blaze lives in Philadelphia, PA) roughly 5 hours from Carl.
Inclosing, we would recommend Carl and his team to anyone considering a trainer for their pet. Blaze returned in excellent physical condition, he had clearly been well cared for during his training. He was also eager to demonstrate his new found knowledge and skills. Thanks Carl….."
Ken & Dara Pagurek
Philadelphia, PA
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