Show Transcript
Speaker 1:
All right. Welcome back to the Make Your Dog Epic podcast, where we’re joined with Oklahoma’s highest rated and most reviewed dog training expert, JT Lawson. Welcome back onto the show. How are you, sir?
JT Lawson:
I’m doing phenomenal. I’m doing really good.
Speaker 1:
Well, I got to ask you this here. I want to tap into your wisdom about this idea of what makes a dog training service highly rated and heavily reviewed? What are the variables that go into making a high quality dog training experience? What are the variables that go into making a high quality dog training experience?
JT Lawson:
Yeah, I think the biggest thing is over delivering in our field. So most dog trainers, one, they never really answer the phone or they never call you back, they never get a hold of you. They don’t do a first consultation lesson, they don’t guarantee the results, you get what you get, you don’t throw a fit. So we try to be the opposite of most dog trainers because most of them don’t do a great job when it comes to the customer service part of it. So we will for sure get a hold of you, we’ll get back in touch with you. First lesson is 50 cents, that’s where we’re going over more about your dog, how the process works, and more about us and figuring out what it’ll take to get your specific dog to your specific goals and figuring out a tailored package for you.
And then we offer a money back guarantee, that’s us putting our money where our mouth is saying, “Hey, we know what we do works.” And then we also get group class forever, so no matter if you do one-on-one training where it’s half dog training and half human training, if you do boarding school where the dogs come and they’re staying with us. It doesn’t matter what you do, you’re going to get money back guarantee and lifetime help from us. So we’ll be there for the rest of your dog’s life once we’re done with the initial training process.
Speaker 1:
So again, if I do a search right now in Google, I type in Tulsa dog training, there’s so many wonderful services that come up, a lot of wonderful brands. What makes the Make Your Dog Epic dog training experience perhaps different from some of those top dog training companies coming up in the search engine results?
JT Lawson:
Yeah. Well, one of the big things is our goal is never obedience at the expense of personality. So what I mean by that is a lot of trainers, they’ll get your dog to listen, but then your dog’s going to have no soul after, it’s going to be super mopey. And most people don’t need a military trained level of dog, they just need the dog to come when called, stop jumping on everyone, stop barking at everything. They still want Fluffy to still be Fluffy, they just need Fluffy to listen. Where some of these dog training places, they feel like your dog should be military level, never looking around, never sniffing, never smelling, has to sleep outside or sleep in a kennel all the time, can’t sleep in your bed, can’t be on the furniture, can’t kiss you anymore, you have to make sure that you’re alpha in the house. We don’t do any of that, we just want Fluffy to listen, but not at the expense of his personality.
Speaker 1:
Now when people are looking online at dog trainers, I think a lot of people want to have a dog training service that will do all of the homework professionally. So you as the consumer don’t have to do a lot of work, you can just pay you guys to train the dog. And is that what you guys do or how much work is required from the customer who reaches out to your dog training service?
JT Lawson:
Yeah, well, it’s completely up to the customer. So we have options where they can be heavily involved, where they can be training the dog a bunch and us more training them to train the dog. Or that’s what the boarding school is for is where the dog comes and stays with us, it’s anywhere from one to three weeks. We fix ninety-eight percent of issues in one to three weeks. So that’s where the dog would come with us and then they have no homework, and the dog just listens at the end. And then we come home with the dog and we go over what to do, when to use the commands, make sure the whole family’s on the same page. And that’s what we do.
Speaker 1:
Now, I know you’re somebody who you grew up loving dogs and you like dogs. Tell us about your passion for dogs. Where does your passion for dog training come from?
JT Lawson:
Yeah, I’ve had dogs my whole life. I’ve never really had trained dogs until I started dog training. So I used to not think it was possible to have a dog come to you every single time. So I was the college kid where I saw a puppy and I was like, “This puppy needs to be mine.” And I told my parents, “I’ll take care of it. I’ll buy its food, I’ll buy it’s water.” And now that dog’s their dog because I got the dog and then I went back to college and they watched it for me. And then my mom was like, “Hey, the dog’s with us for three years. It’s ours now.” And I was like, “Well, that’s valid.” And that happened twice, so my parents have two dogs, both of which I brought home, and I didn’t grow up with trained dogs. But then I had a passion because I found out that most dogs get put down or euthanized because of behavioral issues. And it almost happened to our dog.
Our dog, if it got out the front door, it sprinted over and tried to attack the neighbor’s dog, and they immediately called the pound and they let us off with a warning. But if it ever happened again, the dog would get put down. And the dog’s name is Bo. Bo couldn’t be in the front yard without being on a leash because we couldn’t trust Bo. So I thought it was just impossible to have a dog come every time or place on command or walk right next to you, I thought it was just dogs in movies or military dogs that did that.
So I got a passion for it and then I did a lot of research on how to do it. I learned from a bunch of different trainers, looked up and learned all the different types of training, and then condensed it down to a way that works the best, but also is easiest to transfer to people. Because if I train your dog but you have to be a super good dog trainer for your dog to listen to you, well, it’s pointless because no one wants to put in the time and effort to be a super good dog trainer.
Speaker 1:
Now, a lot of times people, they hire a dog trainer and they feel like they’re getting a little bit of a bait and switch. Your approach is a little bit unique because your first lesson is 50 cents and you guarantee the results. So let’s talk about that for a second here. If I am out there listening today and I reach out to you guys at Make Your Dog Epic for my first lesson, walk me through the entire first initial meeting, that first initial. What does that workflow look like? What does that initial experience look like, and how can I be sure that I’m going to get what I’m paying for?
JT Lawson:
Yeah, well, you can be sure you’re going to get what you’re paying for because we offer a money back guarantee. So if your dog doesn’t listen and training doesn’t work, well, we’re giving you your money back. So that’s a big thing that we do that no one really does because there’s no governing body over dog training so anyone can be a dog trainer. So depending on where you go, there’s a thousand different dog training methods, there’s a thousand different dog training opinions. If you go to YouTube, there’s 85 dog training channels all say the same different stuff. So with us, first lesson is 50 cents, that’s where we’re coming out, and we’re actually going to train your dog in front of you so you can see how our system works. And that way you can make sure that we’re a good fit for you instead of having you sign up and us never meeting your dog or actually figuring out your goals and then just telling you, “Hey, you get what you get and you don’t throw a fit.”
Speaker 1:
Now let’s talk about the differences between Make Your Dog Epic and other dog training businesses that are out there without mentioning the names of the other services. But if you do a search for Tulsa dog trainers, as I mentioned earlier, there’s a lot of great companies that come up in those search results. So at the end of the day, what makes Make Your Dog Epic a unique dog training service versus all the wonderful competition out there?
JT Lawson:
Yeah, so there’s a bunch of things that set us apart. One of the big ones is that first lesson, because we’re actually coming out and we’re seeing your dog, we’re training it, we’re letting you see how we actually train. Another big one is we’re not going to kill your dog’s personality to get it to listen, so there’s no point in having a trained dog if it has no personality. And then another big one for us is we get quick results. So a lot of these places you have to send your dog… I’ve had clients who have sent their dog to a different trainer at a boarding school boot camp type thing where the dog’s been gone for six months and it comes back and it still doesn’t listen and then they just blame you for not doing the homework. The other big one is we give lifetime support, so we’ll be there for the rest of the dog’s life. And then where a lot of places they train the dog and then you never hear from again, you can’t get them to pick up the phone, it feels like they’re closed for business and you’ll never hear so you don’t get any more help. Or even if you do, you have to repay them, sign up for a new package to fix what you thought was already fixed.
Speaker 1:
Now let’s talk about the aggressive dog situation for a second. There’s a lot of folks that have a quote unquote aggressive dog and they’re worried that maybe you won’t be able to train their dog. What would be your thoughts? What’s your initial reaction to the idea of training aggressive dogs?
JT Lawson:
Well, if you think it can’t be fixed, well, you might as well let us try. Because if a dog’s super aggressive and you don’t fix it, it’s going to end up biting someone and it’s going to have to get put down or euthanized. So our first lesson is 50 cents, so that’s where I’ll come out and I’m going to work with the dog in front of you and show you how we fix it. So for example, a close example is my personal dog. One of my personal dogs, Riley, I got her from the shelter, and when anyone would walk by her kennel, she would growl and bark and try to bite kids and people. And no one walks by her kennel and was like, “Oh yeah, that’s the dog I need next to my kids.” So she was there for six months because no one would adopt her.
And then when she was outside she wasn’t allowed to play with dogs because she was over-correct. And what that means is basically she would just get pissed that a dog was playing with her too rough or whatever, and then try to make them stop by being aggressive. So she was a month or two away from being put down because she was there for six months because no would adopt her. And now she’s able to be around kids, she can be around dogs, people can walk by her kennel and they can pet her, do whatever. We’ve done events with her where kids have walked up and petted her and kissed her in the face and she doesn’t care. And now she gets to have a super great life because her aggression and behavioral stuff is fixed.
Speaker 1:
Final question I have here for you, for anybody out there listening and they’re thinking about hiring Make Your Dog Epic, what would you say to anybody on the fence right now thinking about hiring Make Your Dog Epic to train their dog?
JT Lawson:
Yeah. Biggest thing I can say is just give us a chance to work with your dog because worst case it’s 50 cents, and then if you sign up and then you still don’t like it, it’s a money back guarantee. So you have nothing to lose because we’re going to either get you to your goals or we’re going to give you your money back.
Speaker 1:
JT, we really do appreciate your time and we’ll call you back here in about five minutes.
JT Lawson:
Awesome.
Carl:
Is your dog and furry friend holding you hostage?
Speaker 1:
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 it rhymes.
Speaker 1:
Wow.
Carl:
People dig it, like a dog. You get it?
Speaker 1:
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.
Speaker 1:
It’s so good.
Carl:
The dog that would never listen was now all ears.
Speaker 1:
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. To get your first lesson is always just 50 cents at makeyourdogepic.com.
Speaker 1:
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 peeing in your closet on top of your Christmas gifts. Stop the madness at makeyourdogepic.com. Experience the revolutionary focus-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 1:
Wow. Man, Carl, you are a talented vocal artist. 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.
Speaker 1:
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.
Speaker 1:
Oh, man.
Carl:
I actually didn’t invite people over to my home for months because of the new dog and I always smelled like urine.
Speaker 1:
You do still smell a little bit like dog urine. Just a little.
Carl:
That’s why I made my dog epic. I was hostage, and that’s where the passion comes from. You’ve got to believe in your product and you’ve got to project from the diaphragm.
Speaker 1:
The diaphragm.
Carl:
You’ve got to bend your knees.
Speaker 1:
Bend the knees, bend the knees.
Carl:
You’ve got to drink ginger.
Speaker 1:
Drink the ginger.
Carl:
And you’ve got to ingest apple cider vinegar.
Speaker 1:
Apple cider, I can do that.
Carl:
And with a dog bone, you want to chew on the dog bone before them.
Speaker 1:
Hard pass, not going to…
Carl:
We’re recording so you cannot emulate the dog and you should listen to Atomic Dog.
Speaker 1:
Okay, I can do that.
Carl:
But you’re not a dog. But you want to just chew on the bone, get the oversized bone, not the regular size bones. [inaudible 00:15:20].
Speaker 1:
Not going to chew on the bone.