Show Transcript
Host:
All right, welcome back to the Make Your Dog Epic Tulsa podcast. This is the Ultimate Tulsa Dog Training Service podcast. If you’re out there looking for a Tulsa dog training service that you can trust, you’re absolutely going to love today’s podcast. And the topic on today’s Tulsa Dog Training Podcast is, can I send my dog away to be house trained, or do I have to send my dog away to be house trained? And joining us to talk about it is Tulsa dog training expert, JT Lawson. Welcome back on the show. How are you, sir?
JT Lawson:
I’m doing great. Thanks for having me. Yeah. So, there’s a couple different options you can do with dog training. One is sending them away to our boarding school, and that’s where we’re taking care of all the homework for you.
So, boarding school is typically anywhere for one to four weeks, and it just depends on your goals. And then, we’re going to take care of all the homework for you, so we’re training the dog. And then after that, the dog’s coming home, and it already knows everything, and that way you don’t have any homework.
And then we’re doing a lesson with you at home where we’re covering everything on what we did, how we did it, how you stay up with the training, and then you also get a money bag guarantee. So, if you send your dog away and the training doesn’t work, then we will give you your money back, so there’s no risk to you. And then also, after that, you get group class forever. So, we want to be there for you for the rest of the dog’s life.
Host:
Now, we have locations in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Idaho and Utah, and there’s a lot of great dog trainers all over the country. How do you stack up, without naming names specifically, but how do you stack up against other Tulsa dog trainers? And also, if you could tell us a little bit about your ability to beat anyone’s price, I want to know about that, too. So again, how do you stack up versus other Tulsa dog trainers? And tell us about that, that beat any trainer’s price special that you guys are always running.
JT Lawson:
Yeah. So, there’s a couple things that set us apart from other trainers. One is that we’ll beat anyone’s price, if it’s around the same type of service. So if it’s just some $50, we’re doing treats and group class and it’s a one-time deal, we don’t offer that, so we can’t price match that. But if it’s the same type of service, we will price match, and we’ll beat anyone’s price.
And then, another thing that sets us apart is we offer a money-back guarantee. So, a lot of other dog trainers, basically, you get what you get and you don’t throw a fit. So, a lot of trainers say the training might stick. That’s their excuse to blame the owner or the dog if it doesn’t work.
Another big one is lifetime support. So, we want to be there for the rest of the dog’s life, so that’s why you get multiple classes a week of group class where you can learn new stuff, work on old stuff, get the dog around other distractions, learn new tricks if you want, but we just want to be there for you forever. Where a lot of trainers, after training, there’s no communication after. So, you can’t get a hold of them. If you do have more questions, you’ve got to pay them more to answer new questions.
The other big one is, we are qualified, not just certified. So, with the dog training world, there’s no governing body over dog training, so anyone can be a dog trainer. So, I went to the first lesson, and I’ve had people tell me that they had a dog trainer before, and this is a true story, and I was like, “Awesome, what happened?” And they’re like, “Well, they came in and they said they did attention-based training, and they had chains, and they would shake the chain.” And I was like, “Really?” And they were like, “Yeah, we can show you.”
So, they go to a closet, they grab these chains, and they’re shaking these chains, and the dog’s cowering into the corner. And I’m like, “Okay, what’s next?” And they were like, “Well, the trainer said if the dog stops looking at us, we throw the chain at it.” I was like, “Okay, so how has that been working for you?” And they’re like, “Well, it works pretty good inside, but in the back yard our aim isn’t that good because the dog’s far away, so it doesn’t really work in the back yard.” But this person is being paid thousands of dollars to teach people to throw chains at their dog, when they’re certified and they have a certification, but certifications in dog training means nothing because no governing body over it.
And then also, we don’t take months. The trained dogs, we fix 98% of issues in one to three weeks. And that’s the main things.
And then, the last thing, which is our biggest thing is, we never want obedience at the expense of personality. So, a lot of trainers, if they do get your dog to listen, it’ll be at the expense of the dog’s personality, so they’re going to crush your dog’s soul. And so, you’re going to have a dog that listens, but not a dog that’s happy. And that’s not the point of training.
The point of training is to have both. You can still have a dog that listens, that’s allowed on the bed, that can do whatever. You can feed it table food if you want, you can do all of this stuff, we just need your dog to listen. And that’s where we do… Our goal is never obedience at the expense of personality.
Host:
Walk us through what’s the typical day in the life of you as a Tulsa dog trainer. I mean, you are highly respected Tulsa dog trainer. People come to you from all over the region, all over Oklahoma, to experience what is Oklahoma’s, highest-rated and most-reviewed dog training service. Tell us about, what does a typical day look like for you in the world of dog training?
JT Lawson:
Yeah. Well, in the world of dog training, so after I go through the first part of my day, then we get into training dogs. So, we have dogs at the boarding school. We’re letting all the dogs out multiple times throughout the day, we’re training them, we’re going over their checklist, making sure we’re feeding them the same the parents are feeding them.
And then, we always have somebody at the facility. And then, depending on what you do, if you do boarding school or if you’re a boarding school trainer, or you go out and you do private lessons, then you’re leaving and you’re going to do these private lessons, or you can be doing the 50-cent first lessons.
And then dogs are getting taken out multiple times a day at boarding school, and we’re training them, we’re running around and playing with them at the end of the night, making sure that they’re happy and having a good time at boarding school. And that’s the typical day in the dog training world.
Host:
So, when you meet people for the first time, when they show up for that first lesson, how does that work, the first lesson? Did you meet the customer for the first time at a park? Do you meet them at their home? Where does that first 50-cent dog training lesson occur?
JT Lawson:
Yeah, so either. Just depends on what the customer’s wanting. So, some people don’t want to meet us in their house, some people want us to meet them in their house, but that’s where we’re meeting them. We’re coming to you, that way you don’t have to drive to us. And the first lesson is 50 cents, so we can go over all of the different issues you have, and then you can make sure we’re a good fit for you, and we’re going to show you how we’re going to fix them. And then we’re going to take you through how our focus-based positive reinforcement training and methodology works, because it’s much different than how most trainers train.
Host:
And again, folks, that first lesson is 50 cents. You just go to makeyourdogepic.com to schedule that first lesson. It’s Make Your Dog Epic Tulsa. Makeyourdogepic.com, makeyourdogepic.com, that’s the website to go to to find the highest-rated, most-reviewed Tulsa dog trainer.
I’ve got one final question for you here. As far as dog breeds, and for anybody out there that maybe hasn’t purchased a dog yet, but they’re thinking about it, what are the most easily trainable dog training breeds?
JT Lawson:
Yeah. Probably easiest trainable dogs are your golden retrievers. Doodles are pretty great. Labs. Those would be the main ones. But really the big thing when looking for getting the dog is, you want to see… and we can cover this more in depth in another podcast, but you want to see where the dog comes from.
So, if you get a dog from a shelter, awesome. You’re not going to know it’s background, but you’ll still be trainable. But if you’re getting a dog from a breeder, you want to see both parents. Because if one of the parents is a monster, and it’s just super aggressive, genetics is a hard thing to fix. And if mom and dad are super aggressive, chances are the puppy is going to be super aggressive, because that’s instilled in them.
But, that’s the main dog breeds that are typically the easiest is golden retrievers, labs, goldendoodles. Typically, German shepherds are so-so. Huskies and chihuahuas are super hard. So, if you want a super hard dog to train, you can get a chihuahua mixed with a husky, and it’ll be super hard. And if you want us to have a bad time, get it specifically for us to train it. I’m just kidding. But we’ll train it no matter what, but those are the main dog breeds that are easier.
Host:
Have you ever seen a husky and chihuahua mix? That sounds gross.
JT Lawson:
It is gross. I haven’t had to yet. I’ve seen it online. I haven’t seen one in person. I’ve had many different chihuahua variations, and I don’t know how they make that work, but we’ve had chihuahua-pit bulls, chihuahua-doodles, it’s just gross. They just choose chihuahua and mix it with anything. They take this little devil of the dog world, this chihuahua, which is always aggressive, always, and has Napoleon syndrome because it’s the smallest dog but it thinks it’s the biggest, and then they just mix it with whatever, and then you have that.
Host:
Wow.
JT Lawson:
Oh, yeah.
Host:
We learn something from you on each and every broadcast. JT Lawson, thank you for carving out time in your schedule. And as we like to say, we’ll call you back in five minutes.
JT Lawson:
Awesome.
Carl:
Is your dog and furry friend holding you hostage?
Promo voice 2:
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-
Promo voice 2:
Wow.
Carl:
… it rhymes. People dig it, like a dog. You get it?
Promo voice 2:
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.
Promo voice 2:
It’s so good.
Carl:
The dog that would never listen was now all ears.
Promo voice 2:
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.
Promo voice 2:
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 speedwalk 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, 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.
Promo voice 2:
Wow. Man, Carl. You are a talented vocal artist.
Carl:
Well…
Promo voice 2:
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.
Promo voice 2:
Really?
Carl:
My wife’s wedding dress got eaten, and my neighbor Pam was bitten by my dog, and-
Promo voice 2:
Oh, man.
Carl:
… my quality of life was at 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.
Promo voice 2:
You do still smell a little bit like dog urine. Just a little.
Carl:
Well, 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.
Promo voice 2:
The diaphragm.
Carl:
To bend your knee.
Promo voice 2:
Bend the knees, bend the knees.
Carl:
Drink ginger.
Promo voice 2:
Drink the ginger.
Carl:
You’ve got to ingest apple cider vinegar.
Promo voice 2:
Apple cider. I can do that.
Carl:
With a dog bone. You want to chew on the dog bone before the-
Promo voice 2:
Hard pass. Not going to-
Carl:
Recording so that you can emulate the dog. And you should listen to Atomic Dog.
Promo voice 2:
I can do that.
Carl:
But you’re not a dog.
Promo voice 2:
Right.
Carl:
But you want to just chew on the bone. The oversized bone, not the regular-size bone.
Promo voice 2:
Hard pass. Not going to chew on the bone.