Customer Testimonials

Read below to find out how Austin dogs and their owners have benefited from Steve's dog training expertise.

From Shannon Simms:

We adopted all three of our dogs from an animal rescue service. Ali, our first adoptee, came from a puppy mill environment. She used to go ballistic every time she saw another dog. She’d start foaming at the mouth and snarling, and I had trouble keeping her on a leash. She nipped the dog next door, and even threatened one of our neighbors. Then, when we adopted two more dogs, they all forgot they’d been house-trained. What a nightmare!

Not only did Steve solve the house-training issue and help the dogs accept each other in our home, he changed Ali from a maniac into a calm pet. Now, when other dogs come around, I can tell her to “sit” and she’ll obey me.

Steve knows his stuff inside-and-out. When one of our dogs started peeing in the house, he diagnosed that the problem wasn’t emotional – it was a bladder infection. He has a solution for everything. His methods are so creative, and they always emphasize positive reinforcement. His training is very gentle and loving. He helps me to think like my pets, and understands the psychological and emotional reasons for my dog’s behavior. I would recommend him to everyone who has a dog.

From Sue Lindsay:

When he was in the house and with family, Cosmo was wonderful. But there were a lot of problems the minute I walked him out the door. He wouldn’t heel, he was aggressive toward other dogs, he cut himself on his leash, and he dragged me around my neighborhood for eighteen months – Cosmo weighs 55 pounds! I just couldn’t reconcile the two halves of his split-personality.

When Steve told me he could fix Cosmo’s problem in one session, I laughed. So did my friends and neighbors. I worked as a Humane Society officer for ten years. I’d trained dogs before. I even had the equipment – but I didn’t have the technique.

Steve was very confident dealing with Cosmo. He understood what my dog was thinking, knew exactly what to do, and fixed the problem in one session. The next time I walked my dog, my neighbors thought I’d put him on sedatives. I was so impressed with Steve’s training, I hired him for two more sessions. Now, I can walk Cosmo off the leash most of the time.

From Ashley Ellison:

Rikki was donated to us by the animal shelter to serve as a friend and companion for over fifty teenagers at our drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility. She was very shy around the kids before Steve started his training program.

He worked so hard, not just with Rikki, but with all the kids and staff, to make everyone feel important and valued in the process. The patience, care, and enthusiasm he showed us was absolutely artful. I wore out before he did, and I work with these kids for a living!

Since Steve’s training, Rikki is much more sociable. The kids love her, and they can really communicate with her. Even our staff members who used to be afraid of dogs enjoy spending time with Rikki. She’s like a member of the family.

From Michelle Baker:

Before meeting with Steve, my husband and I thought we might have to do the unthinkable – find a new home for our dog Gloria. She and our older dog Dora began to fight on a regular basis. One time, my husband was bitten breaking them up. Gloria was always a sweet puppy but as she got older she wanted to stake her claim as alpha dog. She also had a hard time in public. She would become very nervous, almost frantic.

Steve came over for a visit to examine Gloria’s behavior both in and out of our home. He also examined our behavior and Dora’s. He gave us some very simple rules to follow and some new rules for the pups. Not even one week later, the change in Gloria was amazing. Four months later, my husband and I are very happy. There have been no fights, and for the first time ever we had a group of people to the house and Gloria behaved like a saint! She wasn’t uncomfortable or scared, and was quite happy with all the petting she was got.

Steve was wonderful and we have recommended him to many people, including our vet’s office. He makes it very easy for dog owners to take charge of their furry friends without upsetting the pups. Our cats even liked him!

From Laura Harding:

Steve was great with both my dogs and me. I am an extensive reader and have read more dog training theories than I can even begin to count. Steve knew all of them and more. He was gentle-yet-firm with my dogs, and left every step of their training up to me and what I wanted. After three visits, Steve left me with enough information and guidance to keep me busy training the dogs on my own.

I will definitely use Steve’s services again, and would highly recommend him to anyone who wants a trained family member. Steve is the type of trainer for someone who wants a family member, complete with all their faults and idiosyncrasies. He trains family members, not automatons.

From Ed Chaplin:

Steve’s been a real blessing to us and our Juliette. We knew we wanted to have a well-trained dog, and he has helped us to that goal. His loving gentleness and skill with both people and pets is a treasure to behold. I promote him with dog owners every chance I get. I think everyone should experience the pleasure of working with Steve and having a well-trained loving companion.

From Aja Gore:

We sought out training because our oldest dog, Lucy, was misbehaving more and more often after the arrival of her brother Linus. As Lucy’s behavior worsened, she started acting more aggressively toward us. Linus picked up on Lucy’s methods, and began to mimic her. Lucy had been through a puppy head start class from a major chain, but she ended up forgetting more than she learned! Some family members told us too late that kennel training works fine – as long as you keep the dog at the kennel.

Steve was fantastic with our dogs. His methods focused primarily on helping us re-establish our position in the relationship with Lucy and Linus. He treated them just as we did and never tried to usurp our position, as was often the case with more conventional methods.

Steve visited three times, and already our home is much calmer. Lucy especially is more responsive to our commands, and taking her out is a pleasure rather than a chore. Before Steve, Lucy and Linus would jump on our guests, and Lucy would sit on the sofa next to them and stare. Now, they sit calmly when company enters, and Lucy only sits on the sofa when she’s invited. I know for a fact that we owe these changes to Steve and Fidelio Dog Works.

From Therese McHugh:

I unknowingly picked out a very active and aggressive puppy. Kona had an incredible drive for food, hunting “prey”, and playing rough. His eyes had a kind of frantic glaze; it seemed he couldn’t calm down enough to connect with me.

I took him to a PetSmart puppy class on the very day he was old enough to go. He weighed about four pounds, but was in a class with big breed puppies who were quite a bit older than he was. The classes were us humans listening and watching a few examples of how to train the basics, while really everyone was watching their dogs and wondering if they were going to hurt each other. After four classes, I asked the trainer if she thought Kona was a little too aggressive. The trainer rolled her eyes and kind of grimaced at me. I didn’t go to the fifth class.

At home, Kona was jumping up on people and play-biting just as if we were puppies also. One day, he jumped up and bit a friend’s lip. Between that and my experiences at PetSmart, I was at my wit’s end. I found Steve’s website and chose his three-lesson package.

He came to my home and in one hour I had a much better picture of Kona’s true temperament. He wasn’t really aggressive or mean, just very playful and rambunctious. Steve gave me about four PetSmart lessons rolled into one for us to practice during the first week. His lessons are 100% hands-on with the dog, while the pet store classes were mostly listening and practicing at home. He demonstrated his techniques over and over, then had me try them until I understood. My intense puppy and I really needed those one-on-one demonstrations and full-lesson focus.

I also had Steve help us with Kona’s fellow housedog, who is one year older. They have different personalities, and we were concerned about their interactions. Steve observed them at play two times and his evaluations and suggestions were extremely helpful – he saw the subtle behavior signals that told him our dogs were relating to each other appropriately.

I wouldn’t have gotten through the first six months owning this puppy without Steve! He has experience and a wealth of training methods that enable him to evaluate what approach will work best with each dog. The internet is full of horror stories of dogs with strong drives being mishandled. Kona was a real challenge, and I shudder to think what might have happened if I had called a less-knowledgeable trainer.

From Christine Wagner:

I work out of my home, and have a lot of people coming in and out of the house. Ike is your typical puppy – always jumping on people, mouthing on things, and wanting to play all the time. Walter is three-years-old, and can be very threatening to anyone who comes to our front door. I had a pet sitter who quit because she thought Walter was too aggressive.

Steve fixed these problems really fast. He came in the front door on the first day, and Walter had no problem with him. Ike was very responsive to the training, and Steve got him walking on a leash, sitting, and obeying me within a few sessions. The best thing he did was educate me on how to train them on my own. He showed me a lot of little tricks I can use to stop Ike from jumping and biting, and to keep Walter from scaring away customers and house guests.

Steve is a great guy – so positive and friendly. He’s a wonderful person to work with. Now, I know how to keep my dogs behaving the way I want. They’re a lot easier to manage, and I can take them out in public without worrying they’ll bother anyone.

From Resha Dixon:

I contacted Steve before I adopted my puppy Morgan, because I knew I’d need help with her. He answered a bajillion questions I had, and prepared me so I knew what to expect when Morgan arrived. What’s so great about Steve’s training is that he comes to my home and he’s able to work around my schedule. My career keeps me very busy, so that’s really important. Morgan’s training is an ongoing process – she’s still just a puppy – but Steve has already cured her of constantly jumping on me and other people. She knows her commands, knows how to behave on a leash, and acts like a little lady.

From Ronnie Faist:

Annie was six months old, and wasn’t listening to a word I said. When I took her outside, she’d run off on her own and wouldn’t come when I called.

Steve came for three sessions, and taught me everything I needed to know to correct Annie’s behavior. He’s a really good trainer, and definitely knows what he’s talking about. I was never intimidated by him or the training process, and he always made sure I understood the lessons and how to follow-up on my own after he left.

I keep reinforcing all the lessons Steve taught me, and Annie’s behavior is much better. She finally listens to me!

From Diana Kimbrough:

Panda is four months old, and a typical puppy. She won’t listen, jumps all over everyone and everything, and behaves like a little crazy-person. We needed to get her behavior under control, because she was making life at home tough on me and my husband.

Steve is very friendly and great with dogs. He’s extremely thorough with all his lessons, and he’ll practice with me and Panda until he’s sure we both understand. I learned a lot from him about how to make her obey me, and things are much better now.

We’ve just adopted an 8-week-old puppy, and Panda’s going to need some help adjusting to her new friend. We’ll be calling Steve for some new lessons.

From Wardelle and Gaetanne B.:

Steve was all it took for my dog Major and I to have a better relationship. His training techniques really work. I could tell Major liked working with Steve, because after the first training session I had already seen a change for the better. I used to wrestle with Major all the time because he wouldn't stop nipping and biting my hands, especially when I would try and discipline him. By the end of the month-long session I finally realized there were no more teeth-on-hands. Without Steve’s expertise in training this would never have been accomplished.

Steve truly cares about your pet and about establishing a better relationship between you and your best friend. Another thing I liked about Steve’s training is that he urges you to call him anytime, no matter how small or big the problem is. He’s on time all the time and really cares if he gets through to you and your pet. Steve is always honest with you throughout the training sessions to better help you in the long run.

Thank you Steve, for all you have done to help us with our dog Major. We’ll never forget you. We honestly have to say, we could not have chosen a better person to bring us and our dog closer and happier.