Show Transcript
Clay:
All right, folks, welcome back to the Make Your Dog Epic Tulsa Dog Training podcast. And we’re focused on today on this question that we get asked all the time, is it ever too late to start training your Tulsa dog? We get asked this question all the time. I mean, is your dog… Is it past the point of hope? Is your dog too old to be trained? And here to talk about it is Tulsa dog training expert, JT Lawson. Welcome back onto the show. How are you, sir?
JT Lawson:
I’m doing phenomenal, Clay.
Clay:
So answer the question for us. People want to know, is it too late to start training your dog?
JT Lawson:
No, not at all. I’ve trained multiple 13-year-old dogs. I trained a 13-year-old puggle, so it was 13, and it was a pug/beagle mix, so it’s hard, because it’s a pug, so it has the short snout, so after 10 minutes of training, he was like, “Dude, I’m going to die. I can’t breathe.” So that’s every pug ever. And then also it’s beagle, and beagles are notoriously very vocal dogs, so he’s howling the whole time. And he’s 13, but now he comes when called. He places on command. He does all of this stuff, and now he listens, and he gets more freedom for the rest of his life. So definitely not a too-old to train dogs.
Clay:
So what is the average person that reaches out to you for Tulsa dog training lessons? What’s the average age of the dog? What’s the average breed? What are some common commonalities or common denominators that you see from those wonderful customers that go to Make Your Dog Epic and they request that first dog training lesson for 50 cents?
JT Lawson:
Most of the time we get younger dogs, because that’s when people have the most issues, is anywhere between three months to about three years is on average where most dogs are when they come to us. But we’ve had many older dogs. I’ve trained tons of 6-year-old and 8-year-old dogs, 13-year-old dogs. But that would be the most common. We can’t start a dog until they’re at least four months old. Our personal dogs, we like to start anywhere between five and seven months is where we typically like to start them, but there’s not… And that’s the common ages. Common breeds, we train everything. So there’s not really any dog we can’t train. I train part wolves. We train huskies, German Shepherds, Belgium Malinoises, pit bulls, chihuahuas. I’ve trained five-pound chihuahuas. I’ve also trained 160-pound Tibetan mastiffs, so anything in between… And part wolves. So there’s no dog breed we won’t work on, and not a dog too old. Just has to be at least three to four months.
Clay:
Now, I’m going to be asking you this on future podcasts, but just top-of-mind right now, when you think about the craziest dog training experience you’ve had so far, where you go, “Whoa,” because there’s somebody out there who is… You’ve got a pretty wild dog, and you’re wanting to see if we can train that dog at makeyourdogepic.com. What’s the craziest dog training experience that you’ve actually had so far?
JT Lawson:
Yeah, one of them was in the notes, and this is why we offer our first lesson for 50 cents, because that way we can come over, and you can make sure we’re good for you, and same vice versa. That way I can actually see the dog. So in the notes it said that this dog was a German Shepherd/husky/Great Pyrenees mix. And then I got there, and I’m looking at the dog and I’m like, “Is that a part wolf?” And they’re like, “Yeah, it’s like 20 or 30%.” I was like, “Okay.”
And then in the notes it said it had mild aggression, but when I got there, this lady was in bandages on her whole arm. And come to find out, the dog had actually already attacked three people. So what happened with that lady was… And this was at a groomer. I won’t say which groomer, but they have this wolf hybrid thing in the back, and she went to chain the dog back up in the back, and when she did that, it bit her on the stomach, and then she turned and it grabbed her by the arm, and then it tackled her and it grabbed her by the clavicle area, like the shoulder area, and started thrashing her.
And now, after training that dog… We did eight lessons with that dog, and now that dog is flying on private jets. It’s living his best life. And that’s not an exaggeration. The dad got a deal with MTV to host some guitar contest thing, like rockstar contest thing, and now he’s flying back and forth on a private jet, and that dog gets to go. So that dog will always be in a muzzle, because it’s too sketchy, ’cause it’s part wolf and it’s already attacked three people. However, now the dog will walk right next to him. It’s not trying to murder everyone. And it will place on command. It comes with a call. And now that dog, instead of getting euthanized or put down, now the dog gets to enjoy the rest of its life with its owner, and we saved the dog’s life.
Clay:
Do you ever get scared when you train a dog? I mean, do you ever look at a dog and go, “Oh man, this thing is like a wooly mammoth resurrected. This thing is like a dinosaur. This thing is like a pterodactyl that wants to eat my soul.” You ever had a dog you’ve trained that’s kind of freaked you out a little bit?
JT Lawson:
Oh yeah, yeah. I had a Cane Corso. The parents had it tied on this tree. It was a chain. It was tied up with a chain. And this thing is like 140-pound Cane Corso, and it’s just eyeballing me, just staring at me. And then I have a bite sleeve, and basically what I’m doing with the bite sleeve is I’m seeing if it will bite it or if it’s bluffing, what kind of bite, if it’s serious, if it’s biting and backing off, just those things. And this dog, I start walking up to it, and it just turns and thrashes its neck to the left and just completely snaps its collar, and then it just is staring at me. And I was like, “Well, I guess it’s my time to go.” And then that dog just calmly walked up to the front porch, turned and sat. And I was like, “Yep, that dog wants to murder me.” So I was a little scared there, because that’s a big old dog, and it just snapped that collar like it was nothing, and I’ve never had that happen before until then.
Clay:
So if I’m out there listening today and I’m thinking about hiring you guys to train my dog, walk us through the process of scheduling that first 50-cent lesson. What do I have to do? What are the steps I need to take to schedule that first 50-cent Tulsa dog training lesson?
JT Lawson:
So you can either go to makeyourdogepic.com and fill out the contact us form, and we’ll give you a call, or you can call us. And we’ll go over where your goals are and what you’re struggling with. And then we’re going to go to your house or to the park, whichever one you want, for that first 50-cent lesson. And then we’re going to come up with a plan tailored to you and your dog, ’cause every person’s different, every dog’s different, so we don’t just want to give one package fits all. We want to get your specific dog to your specific goals, and at that first 50-cent lesson, we’re going to tell you how we’re going to do that, and we’re going to go over everything with you
Clay:
And it’s 50 cents. How long does the first lesson take there, sir?
JT Lawson:
It typically takes about 45 minutes to an hour. Never really takes longer than that. Goal is just to give you an overall view, let you make sure that we’re a good fit for you, so you can see how we train, because most people don’t know what focus-based positive reinforcement training and methodology is, because it’s not one of the normal ways people train. So most people stick to negative training or just positive reinforcement training, and we actually don’t do either. And we’ll come there, and we’ll show you how we do it and how we can get your dog to your goals. And then after that, we’ll tell you… We either have the one-on-one lessons or the boarding school where you send your dog to us. No matter what, it’s a money-back guarantee, and you get group class forever. So we’re going to be there for the rest of the dog’s life.
Clay:
Well, I know you’re a busy man out there training dogs. We greatly appreciate you carving out time for us today. And like we like to say on the show here, we’re going to call you back in five minutes.
JT Lawson:
Awesome. Sounds good.
Carl:
Is your dog and furry friend holding you hostage?
Clay:
Will your dog not stop pulling on its leash and eating your sausage? Who wrote that?
Carl:
Well, I don’t mean to brag, but I actually wrote it, and wow, it rhymes. People dig it, like a dog. You get it?
Clay:
Okay, so I’m just going to keep reading. Will your dog not stop jumping on you or pooping in your house like you’re on the set of Jumanji or living in a zoo?
Carl:
It only took me two weeks to write that line while sitting at the base of a waterfall while gazing upon my epic dog. The dog that once held me hostage was now my best friend.
Clay:
It’s so good.
Carl:
The dog that would never listen was now all ears.
Clay:
It’s so good. I just want to cry.
Carl:
Pull yourself together, man. And if you too want to transform your dog from a furry terrorist into your best friend, what you need to do is schedule your first lesson at makeyourdogepic.com, where your first lesson is always just 50 cents. And with the savings, you can use that to pay the rent. Again, your first lesson is always just 50 cents at makeyourdogepic.com.
Clay:
Wow.
Carl:
Stop the endless barking. Reduce the aggressive behaviors. Prevent dog jumping. Stop your dog from chasing the elderly UPS driver as he attempts to deliver a package. Stop your dog from biting Pam, your yoga-pants-wearing neighbor, as she just attempts to speed walk in peace. Stop your dog from eating your wife’s wedding dress and being in your closet on top of your Christmas gifts. Stop the madness at makeyourdogepic.com. Experience the revolutionary focused-based positive reinforcement training and methodology. Our goal is dog obedience, but never at the expense of dog personality. It’s the same dog, but now it’s all ears.
Speaker 4:
Wow.
Clay:
Man, Carl, you are a talented vocal artists.
Carl:
Well…
Clay:
I can feel the passion. It’s contagious.
Carl:
Well, my friend, I am passionate about the product. I once went 60 days without sleeping.
Clay:
Really?
Carl:
My wife’s wedding dress got eaten, and my neighbor Pam was bitten by my dog, and my quality of life was at an all-time low. I didn’t invite people over to my home for months because of the new dog, and I always smelled like urine.
Clay:
You do still smell a little bit like dog urine. Just a little.
Carl:
I made my dog epic. I was hostage. That’s where the passion comes from. You’ve got to believe in the product, and you’ve got to project from the diaphragm.
Clay:
The diaphragm.
Carl:
To bend your knees.
Clay:
Bend the knees. Bend the knees.
Carl:
Drink ginger.
Clay:
Drink the ginger.
Carl:
You’ve got to ingest apple cider vinegar.
Clay:
Apple cider. I can do that.
Carl:
With a dog bone. You want to chew on the dog bone before the-
Clay:
Hard pass. I’m not going to-
Carl:
… recording so that you can emulate the dog. And you should listen to Atomic Dog.
Clay:
I can do that.
Carl:
But you’re not a dog. You want to just chew on the bone, the oversized bone, not the regular-sized bone.
Clay:
Hard pass. Not going to chew on the bone.