Pawsitively K9 Services - East Peoria, Illinois

Stephanie Mitchell

I contacted Jack to help with my highly reactive 3 y/o pitbull mix. He is a rescue with some trauma. I was at my breaking point and didn’t know how to help him on my own. Walking him was a nightmare. He would pull, lunge, bark, whine, yelp, growl, etc. towards strangers, other dogs, and small animals like squirrels and rabbits. Eventually, I had to start muzzling him on walks because he was unpredictable.

Thankfully, I came across Jack’s website earlier this year. After reaching out, he contacted me immediately and scheduled a time to meet my boy, Fudge. After meeting Jack, we decided to train together for 9 weeks to work on Fudge’s behavior. I could already tell a difference after the first session. Throughout those 9 weeks, I learned how to correct his pulling, teach him automatic sit, down, leave it, u-turn, reverse turn, circle turns, spiral turns. We are able to go in pet friendly stores with people and animals- no issues or muzzle. I get compliments on how well behaved he is now! I never thought we could get to this point. It truly has been life changing. We have just started training with Jack again to work more on recall and behavior modification. But, we really only need a couple weeks to perfect some things.

However, I won’t lie; you have to be committed to working with your dog consistently, every single day. Even after you complete training, you still need to train with your dog. Jack trains YOU to handle your dog and manage their behaviors. He’s been so helpful and quickly responds when I have had questions. I highly recommend him to anyone that has a dog with behavioral issues.

Brent Rassi

We had nothing but an excellent experience utilizing the services of Jack at Pawsitively K9. I had approached Jack prior to finding a pup as I knew what I wanted out of a dog, but wanted Jack's experience to help guide me to the best fit for our family.
Jack kept in constant contact giving me pointers and tips of things to look for in puppies both pros and cons. Once finding the right pup for us. Jack implemented a training not to correct our pup on negative habits but to instill a positive attitude and mindset so that she gets a jump on being the Best Girl Ever!
Jack is extremely knowledgeable on the breeds, traits and characteristics which helps to modify the training experience to better suit your needs.
We initially completed a 7 week puppy training experience. Jack did not train my puppy. Jack trained ME to live with my puppy and show her what I want and expect from her. Sure this is "training" but rather than pointing at the dog and saying "sit". Jack took his time to walk me through each measure and correct my form so that I was not confusing the puppy with inadequate signals or commands. Jack is persistent and cares about the people and the pups that he works with.
We intend to utilize Jack for future work with Cheyenne as we progress through her growing up. Jack is highly recommended from our family!
Photos were taken at 17 weeks old working in a public outdoor shopping mall with Jack's gorgous Mal, ENZO.

Sue Sommer

Jack is very kind and is a wonderful dog trainer. He helped my timid beagle "Puff" to have more confidence. And when she wants to do what she has been trained to do, she does very well. We really enjoyed the lessons. Jack is very personable and made me feel like I was learning from a "friend". He really takes the time to teach you and your dog what you need to know. I really can't say enough good things about him, I would highly recommend him!!!!!!!!!!

Davis Roy

Beau is a one year old Jack Russell. He is smart but strong willed. After just a few lessons Jack had him walking on a leash and obeying basic commands (sit, down, stay, come). Jack is patient with dogs and their owners. I recommend him.

Leigh Hess

Jack is an amazing trainer! He doesn't train tricks, he addresses the behavior and communication between human and beastie. He is straight forward, honest and helped me be realistic with my expectations. Louie was having issues with anxiety, fear, and reactivity after my female (his bestie) passed. Wow! In a very short time Louie's confidence greatly improved, he doesn't want to kill the UPS truck, is happy to go for a ride, and we both love our daily walks! Yes, Jack help us with loose lead walking...thank you Jack! Louie is not treat motivated, so Jack taught me a different way to train; Louie and I now have a good relationship and have tons of fun going to different places. Just look at his focus! Now I can start building on that foundation.

We still have some homework, but I plan on continuing with Jack on more advanced skills.

Subrat Kamat

I approached Jack earlier this year to help me train my highly intelligent 2 year old but also stubborn Indian Pariah family dog. My girl had walking on leash issues, dog reactivity and also being intelligent carried the level of stubbornness that such breeds especially one that once lived on the streets had so training on my own was tough.
I noticed significant positive difference with her behavior on day one of training her with Jack. Jack primarily trained me more than the dog and that really helped me improve my bonding with my pup. There are so many things that go into training that includes how relaxed the owner is but equally aware and how to behave with the dog. What kind of relationship do you develop with your dog and what techniques help you build a good obedient and happy dog. Including using a no treat approach to train your dog. All of these great but important techniques were taught by Jack.
Today my girl is great on the leash, significantly improved on dog reactivity and is always eager to learn new commands. Thank you Jack for guiding me and Rani to have a better bond than we had several months back and helping make her a well behaved pup.
I have attached a picture of Rani (the one with the black fur and pink harness) next to another dog in a relaxed state which would never have been possible a few months back!
Thank you, Jack!

I would recommend anyone who is serious to train their dog to get Jack as their dog trainer. Trust me it will be worth the investment.

Gary Seibold

I took my dog to an 8 week group puppy class. She did not pass because she was fearful and would not let the trainer hold her leash. I read reviews about Jack and called him to see if he could work with her one on one. He responded promptly and within a few days came to meet Lulu. Lulu barked for the first 20 minutes of Jack’s visit. He explained to my family and I that she was fearful and that he thought he could help her. After 7 sessions with Jack, Lulu is not barking at everyone anymore. My family and I have learned techniques to help her be less fearful. She learned more in her time with Jack than in the puppy class. Jack trained us as well as Lulu so we have the tools to work with her and help her to be a better dog and us to be better dog owners. We can not thank him enough. If you have any qualms about doing one on one training with Jack, let me tell you that he explains his training technique thoroughly and he listens to your concerns and addresses them. From our family and Lulu, thank you Jack

Jennifer Gonzalez

Jack was great in helping us with our two dogs! They both walk on a leash well now and are becoming such great boys! He gave us a lot of strategies and things to work on now that we are backing off on sessions.