About Fearless K9 LLC

Fearless K9 LLC is at 457 Violet Ave in Poughkeepsie, and it is the most narrowly specialized business in this metro. The site's own headline is "Dog Behavior & Aggression Specialist," and the opening paragraph says the business "historically concentrated on being the leading resource for owners of dogs with behavioral and aggression issues." The owner is named on the site as Josh Jacobson.

What is on offer

The published route in is an Initial Assessment. From there the training options are Private Lessons, In-Kennel/Board-And-Train, and Obedience described as running from "Puppy Foundation to Advanced Off-Leash." Aggression is not a line item but a section of its own: the site publishes a page listing thirteen distinct areas of potential aggression, on the reasoning that "many dogs will show more than one kind of aggression so it is important for owners to understand these differences in order to address them successfully." Alongside the pet work there is Family Personal Protection Training and Maintenance, and the site names Scent Work, Tracking, Defensive Safety Training and "Specific Mission Oriented Performance" among the areas it will build a plan for.

How the training is framed

Two ideas run through the writing. The first is genetics: "we have continued honing our ability to recognize and understand what an individual dog needs genetically and then creating the proper training plan." That reasoning is applied to the protection work too – "A Protection Dog should be selected first and foremost for having the appropriate genetics … a protection dog trained in this manner is safer than many untrained pets." The second is that obedience is a shared language, not compliance: "Obedience is about creating a language which two species can understand. This allows for clear and predictable communication in real time, even in chaos."

Group classes, rethought

The business publishes an explicit argument against the conventional group class, and it is worth reading before booking one anywhere. "Many Fearless K9 clients have tried traditional group classes and have been turned away, asked to leave after starting, or in a lot of cases, completed the class with no change to their dog's behavioral issues." Its answer is group events on a different schedule and premise – "learning (including group classes) is a continuous and non-linear process and must take into account individual needs to be functionally viable as a training tool."

Who it works with

The site says plans are created for "Owners, Trainers, Rescue/Shelter Organizations, and Government Agencies," which is a wider client list than any other business in this metro publishes. The owner has also spoken to national media about police dog deployment.

Worth knowing

Ask about prices; the site sells gift cards and books appointments online. The home page headline says "Dog Training in Hyde Park, NY" while the published business address is on Violet Avenue in Poughkeepsie – Violet Avenue is the road that runs from one into the other.