Starr Dog Behavior

We came to Joseph for boarding training with two dogs with very different eccentricities and needs and were incredibly pleased with his approach and results with both. Joseph showed genuine interest in training our dogs and provided my wife and I the tools necessary to sustain the results. We’ve seen a huge change in the way the dogs interact with us and with others, our walks are more enjoyable, and most importantly the dogs seem to be calmer and happier. Joseph was incredibly communicative throughout the process and still checks in with us to see how the dogs are doing. I would highly recommend Joseph and Starr Dog Behavior to any dog owner - you will not regret it!

My husband and I are in our 70’s and have had dogs together for over 50 years. We love them and the daily activities and enrichment they bring to our lives. After losing a precious Australian labradoodle a year ago, we decided it was time to get a new Australian labradoodle puppy. All dogs, especially puppies, bring challenges. Our cute boy Jaxon is no exception. While we progressed quickly with our basic knowledge and experience in dog training, we are both at a phase in our lives that has us at home much more often than we were with our previous dogs. The constant contact created new issues for us with Jaxon. We both decided that outside expertise from a qualified trainer would enhance our control over his behavior, thereby making life easier for him and for us. We contacted Joseph Starr after researching many Dallas area trainers. After the first in-home training visit, we were very impressed by Joseph’s gentle but firm command of Jaxon. We have homed in on a couple of key concepts we had not known to do during our many decades of having dogs. The first involves protecting our personal space from the dog and training him to realize he can enter that space only upon invitation. This helps with many issues we were having, such as jumping up on us and other people and being demanding of attention when we were busy and couldn’t or didn’t want to provide it. The second key concept focuses on how to help Jaxon control his arousal level, so he is calm when in the house and we are not in deliberate play mode with him. Guided by Joseph, our work with Jaxon started paying off immediately. He is just shy of eight months old, so some days are better than others. And, we of course realize that to make this work, we need to be always communicating with him in a clear and consistent manner. It has been extremely helpful to have Joseph come to our home at spaced out intervals so we can practice in between, and Joseph can then fine tune the things we are attempting to do. Joseph has a dog-whisperer level of command with Jaxon, but he is also very kind and loving with him. He communicates clearly and consistently with us, and in doing so he is helping us communicate clearly and consistently with Jaxon. His advice has produced visible results at each meeting, and our work in carrying that forward has made our Jaxon a true joy for us and our friends. This will be an ongoing process, for sure, but it is very capably guided in Joseph’s hands.

We had a great experience with Joseph! We have a very energetic 1 y/o King Charles Cavalier who has a hard time following commands. We were amazed at how quickly Joseph was able to transform our dog to be calm and obedient. He was also super patient with us giving us lots of tips and advice that we could immediately put into practice. You can tell that Joseph knows dogs and is an expert at teaching them good behavior. I was amazed that he was able to seamlessly teach our dog to stay away from the cat food in a very short period of time which is something we had been struggling with for a while. He’s the real deal! I told him he’s like the dog whisperer and I truly meant it! Thanks Joseph!