Our Friends Have Tales
“Mike's patience with her (and us) was wonderful --
he really loves animals and understands how to reach them. Highly recommend!”
-Julia, Brooklyn, NY
“When we got our 5 year-old dog Sadie, she was set in a few habits that needed work: she wasn’t responsive to name recall, had reactivity towards other dogs, and pulled during her leashed walks. If she was going to get accustomed to life in a new neighborhood with lots of other dogs, she needed help fast. Mike came to the rescue and was able to do amazing work that impacted Sadie’s life and ours forever. We saw an improvement in Sadie’s behavior right away after our first lesson. Mike’s kindness and compassion for dogs is evident throughout the entire process. He has so much information to share from his years of experience training. His enthusiasm is contagious and after a lesson, you really get to know your animal and bond in the process.”
Sadie
“He is flexible, accommodating and always follows up with videos, articles and things to practice with your dog even after every lesson. Most importantly, he gives you the confidence to implement good routines with your dog by setting an example through real-life exercises and consultation. We were so lucky to have Mike as trainer for Sadie and would recommend him to any dog parent.”
-Tristan & Abby, Brooklyn, NY
“We started using Mike to remote train our new puppy, Kona, when she was about 10 weeks old. We got her at 8 weeks and quickly learned we needed help. With COVID-19 lockdown in place, we were unsure what remote dog training would entail, but it has been a huge help and has made a world of difference! Mike was so great about taking the time to learn about our family and our new puppy and our lifestyle first. We started with a chat about us and our goals before we even got into the lesson. He gave us some very helpful and easy to absorb tips to get us through the crazy biting and scratching phase. There were so many things we didn’t know how to handle like why doesn’t she want to go for a walk and why doesn’t she have any interest in a ball?”
Kona
“He answered all our questions! He was thoughtful, thorough and patient. Then he made sure to give us a new lesson or two and wanted us to work on them to review together the following week. After each lesson, he sent a long email reviewing what we discussed and learned. He included so many resources like what toys to buy and what leash/harness to get. He sent materials on all the important topics of having a puppy. Finally, he also made sure to talk about our elder dog - her needs and how to manage their time together. We are big fans of Mike. We highly recommend him as a knowledgeable and dedicated dog trainer.”
-The MacArthur Family, Brooklyn, NY
“Mike is really awesome! When my German Shepherd mix rescue dog, Sheppie, started lunging and barking at other dogs on our walks, Mike came and met with us and we worked on things inside and then out on walks. Sheppie is always excited to see Mike and really loved the training sessions. I learned a lot too, so he is good with people training too! I highly recommend Mike, he is responsive and very skilled and easy to work with. Sheppie and I appreciate all of his help!”
-Cynthia, Brooklyn, NY
Sheppie
“Mike helped us immensely when we got our beloved rescue Staffy. Henni came to us with severe dog aggression and Mike taught us several techniques to build her trust and manage her reactions. She was so timid at first that she didn't "play" at all, and so we could not believe when he quickly taught her to fetch a ball. His methods enabled us to work with Henni to build her confidence and walk her around Fort Greene safely, and we are still using these methods years later. Mike's patience with her (and us) was wonderful-- he really loves animals and understands how to reach them. Highly recommend!”
-Julia, Brooklyn, NY
Henni
“I have a dog with anxiety and leash aggression towards both dogs and humans. I've always been afraid to trust her with a dog walker, but working with Mike was a game changer. My cranky, fearful terrier absolutely adores him, and I also know that both she and the people and animals they encounter are safe under Mike's supervision. She also learned better habits, her behavior improved over all, and Mike was able to train *me* to be a better walker as well. I highly recommend the Mike Preis experience!”
-Molly, Brooklyn, NY
Maggie
“Dog behavior can be a mystery to us humans, but luckily I had Mike to help me understand what my dog was trying to tell me. Working with Mike was one of the best decisions I’ve made for my dog, Phoebe, and for myself. He created a clear plan on what we would work on together, gave detailed “homework assignments” and resources for us to practice, and answered every single one of my questions. The best part: If you do what Mike says, it really works!”
-Liza, Brooklyn, NY
Phoebe
“Dog behavior can be a mystery to us humans, but luckily I had Mike to help me understand what my dog was trying to tell me.”
-Liza, Brooklyn NY
“We have known Mike for 12 years. He and his crew took great care of our older dog and saw her through her last full days with kindness and love. When we got a puppy we knew he was the one to train our little guy and we were so thankful to learn from him. Mike is patient, caring, uses positive reinforcement skills, and is truly wonderful with dogs. He's great with us humans, too! Mike was very flexible with our schedule and always on time to meet with us. He also taught our son (then age 8) how to train our dog which helped bond our entire family together. I can't say enough about how wonderful it was working with Mike. He truly is a gem!”
-Jennifer & Adam, Brooklyn, NY
Diggory
“Mike Preis started training our mini golden doodle, Shaggy, when he was about 6 months old after we signed up for walks with Chuck and Buddha’s. Mike explained that it was important to start training as early as possible. We started with individual training and then eventually went to walk-and-train for about a year. I credit Mike’s skills and patience with making the walk-and-train sessions so successful. Even four years later, Shaggy continues to show the manners Mike taught him – waiting to open the door, waiting at the curb, following leash and voice commands. Walk-and-train was a very worthwhile program and I’m so glad we did it. We’ve also been extremely happy with Chuck and Buddha’s – highly reliable dog-walking!”
-Lisa, Brooklyn, NY
Shaggy
“We began working with Mike a few years ago. The first time Mike visited he spoke to us about some ways we could work with Buddha to alleviate his anxiety. By the end of that visit, Buddha had calmed down considerably. Over the next few visits, Mike coached us on how we could lower Buddha's stress levels. He carefully observed Buddha's behavior and pointed out signals Buddha sent that we hadn't noticed. Mike took enormous time and care with us; our sessions would far exceed our scheduled times. Almost immediately, it was evident Mike wasn't interested in getting the job done quickly; he wanted it done well.
Since then, Mike has been our go-to person when we have questions about Buddha's behavior. During the week, he walks Buddha every day and lets us know how each walk goes.
Trustworthy, patient, smart, reliable, consistent, and kind, Mike has a profound understanding and knowledge of dogs and their behavior. We are very grateful for all the support he's given us—and Buddha—over the years.”
-Curtis & Jenna, Brooklyn, NY
Buddha
“At the beginning of 2017 my wife and I adopted a young pit mix from the Animal Control Center in Brooklyn, a high-energy rescue dog whose craziness level was a challenge for us to manage. We hired Mike and he immediately began to help us all work together (me, my wife, our dog) to better understand one another. With Mike's help it did not take long for us to collectively figure out how to manage things - walking behaviors, etc. I want to emphasize the "collective" aspect of what Mike brings to his work. He helps you observe your dog closely and to work together in a partnership with the dog toward behavioral goals.”
Mavis
“I found that I enjoyed this approach so much that even after we had addressed the major high-energy behavior issues, I continued with Mike for the fun stuff. We work on playtime activities for Mavis: ways to engage her brain and her senses. for example finding items with a particular smell that I hide around the house. This is like canine search & rescue training, but it's just for fun and we're doing it mostly inside. Most recently, we've been doing video sessions with Mike. Right now, together we are learning the "shell game". Great activities for being locked inside due to the pandemic. Mavis is a really attentive student and enjoys the brain exercise (she loves it!). This type of work --- the fun stuff we do together after figuring out things like how to walk properly on a leash, etc. --- has been the most rewarding aspect about being a dog parent. It's a fun and challenging way to work with Mavis, and I believe that (thanks to Mike) it has helped make our relationship with our dog much richer.”
-David & Patricia, Brooklyn, NY
“When we adopted our dog Zombie, he had extreme anxiety, separation anxiety, and was just an all around nervous dog. Mike was recommend to us and we are so happy we found him! We did training sessions with Mike and he helped us to problem solve SO many issues we were having so that Zombie felt more secure and less nervous. After a few months of training we had a need for daily walks and so Mike also started doing that for us. Zombie LOVES Mike and would often drag us down the block because he saw Mike a street or two over. Mike is a TRUE animal lover and he really just wants to give your animals the tools they need to thrive. We could not recommend him highly enough he is smart, gentle, kind, a problem solver, and just an all around great guy!”
-Eve & Adam, Brooklyn, NY
Zombie & Twinkie
“We have an incredibly anxious rescue mix from Ohio and when we adopted her she was so afraid of cars/trucks/buses that we couldn’t walk her in the city — she would shake and cower intensely, refuse to walk or sometimes would try and run away out of fear. Fortunately we had a backyard to exercise her, but we hired Michael to help us help her get adjusted to city life. Our doggo isn’t particularly food-motivated, but what stood out with Michael’s approach was how creative and bespoke his training was based on the motivations of our dog. He is not into blanket solutions, and he gave us the skills and information we needed to carry on the training on our own. Michael was a pleasure to work with and he cares so much about dogs. Mabel can now walk around the city and she actually enjoys it. We can’t recommend Michael enough.”
-Brouck & Jeff, Brooklyn, NY
mabel
“When my husband, Justin, and I were looking for a dog trainer for our first dog, Coal, we searched high-and-low throughout Brooklyn. We had just adopted Coal, who was a 4-month old black lab mix, and everyone was urging us that the window to properly train Coal was closing soon. We met with several dog trainers - one who didn't even talk or look at Coal - but no one felt right. Then Mike walked in the door to interview, and he had a spark that even Coal could notice. From the first few minutes with Mike, we noticed, "Wow this guy isn't even looking at us, he's all about Coal!" and we knew we found the right dog trainer. In the interview, he had Coal doing sit and down within minutes, and from that point on we were all in training for the next 10 weeks. Mike would conduct hour-long sessions in Fort Greene Park with the 3 of us, teaching Coal the basics and then stepping it up to recall and other tricks. Throughout the whole process, Mike was more than a trainer. He was our canine guide, teaching us how to connect with Coal's natural behavior and using that to hone his manners. Mike is a kind, compassionate, patient, dog-loving human who I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a dog trainer - no matter the size, age or breed of dog.”
-Bjoern & Justin, Brooklyn, NY
Coal
Get started today.
He answered all our questions! He was thoughtful, thorough and patient.
-The MacArthur Family, Brooklyn NY
