Dog and Handler

Marcus started out our training on a good note, except he was continually late for at least half of our sessions. On our second 6 week session he started becoming very unreliable. Leaving me waiting at home because he would not show up to sessions and then texting me later saying he had told me he couldn’t make it but the message must not have gone through. In this day and age, cell phones work and if you send a message, then it will go through! Basically, he lied and just forgot but blamed it on extenuating circumstances in multiple instances. In one instance, the excuse was «it’s cold outside» We could’ve worked inside or done some other type of training that day!
He is very unreliable and will leave you hanging often. I would be fired from my job if I pulled the act he pulled. I am only sorry I did not read the other reviews on here that also report these same comments. It’s also sad that he asks for money up front before any training has begun. He can then just do what he wants because he has your money already. It was always very difficult to get him to respond to texts and would usually take me asking him multiple times to schedule a lesson. He should be organized and set up a schedule right away, not leaving it up to you to constantly contact him to set it up.

Marcus is very personable and will ease both you and your dog through the dog training process. He allowed me to bring in multiple people to my sessions at no extra charge. The only issue was having to reschedule a few times but it was worth it to see my 95 pound shy/​aggressive doberman into a friendly playful dog who can now be introduced to other people and dogs without having a freak out!

Marcus Keyes is not dependable. He agreed to board and train our dog over a long weekend, but then stood us up. A month and a half later we still haven’t heard from him. Also, he also still owes us for a private training session we already purchased.
Marcus said 3 lessons would be enough to get us on the right track with our dog. We had 2 of the lessons before Marcus went M.I.A., but The techniques he taught us unfortunately haven’t helped – she jumped two dogs after we started lessons with him, and many of the promises he made to get our business (like taking her to a dog park to re-​socialize with other dogs under his supervision) never happened.
Overall, we lost money on services we paid for but never received from Marcus Keyes, he left us in a lurch, and our dog is worse now than when we started training with him. Back to square one, strike that, square –1.

We just adopted a puppy and have been nervous about doing things right and training him to be a well behaved dog. After one session with Marcus we feel SO much more confident. He was a wealth of information, stayed longer than our allotted time, and rolled seamlessly with the bumps and interruptions that come with having two small children in the house (which we have). We will definitely use him again and couldn’t recommend him highly enough.

After my dog Rocko was attacked by another dog, his behavior and actions when meeting new dogs became fearful and aggressive. Marcus is so knowledgeable and calm, he helped Rocko overcome his fear of other dogs by integrating new dogs into our training for him to meet. He also taught me how to react when meeting a new dog. Having the feeling of safety and control when I go out with Rocko now is so incredibly reassuring and was never something I could have achieved on my own terms. I have continued to work with Marcus on re-​call training and teaching my dogs a proper heel. They have made tremendous progress and it wouldn’t have been achievable without Marcus. Training with Dog + Handler is worth every single penny and I would recommend them to anyone even if your dog needs a lot of help or just a little. Marcus knows what he’s doing and can help you and your dog’s achieve your goals.

As the other reviews have said, Marcus is great. We got a puppy from Austin Pets Alive that they said was a Golden/​Lab mix. Having a 50+ lb dog in the house with no training would be a nightmare.
We found Marcus’s card at a local pet store and gave him a call to whip our pup into shape. We were able to schedule trainings at our house on a weekly basis. The best part about the training is that he trains you and the dog on how to use commands and when to give leash «pops». Our dog now sits, heels, goes into her crate and even runs to her «place» (dog bed), on command.
Our dog is now a year old and is no where near the projected 50 lb. Instead she is a 25 lb mix of everything under the sun. Either way, he still did a great job training her (and us) to make sure we are the pack leader, not her.

Marcus was a great teacher! He came by this evening for an hour and gave us a lot of great advice with our young pup. As others have noted, he’s a very energetic guy and very much loves what does. It also helps that he has a great deal of knowledge to help you correct your pups problems, but also help show you the best way to correct your own missteps. Overall a great experience and a great guy!

Marcus was awesome and I would highly recommend. We found a wonderful dog through Austin Pets Alive. Marcus went beyond just training my dog by showing me and my wife how to train and hold our dog accountable. I recommend all new dog owners spend the money for 6 private lessons. The cost is nothing compared to the lifetime cost of owning a dog and it will significantly increase the quality of life for both you and your dog.

Marcus came to our home today to work with our ³¹⁄₂ month old puppy, Max! I was able to ask him lots of questions about some of the pup’s behaviors that had me flummoxed. His suggestions were easy to understand and understanding of the complexities of owner and dog. We worked for some time on leash training and my very independent pup came around pretty quickly. We also worked on entering and leaving our residence, the elevator and the apartment building. The focus was on having me (the boss) be the first one in and out — safety for the pup was the issue. I hadn’t ever thought of it that way before but it makes perfect sense. That was what Marcus brought to the session — sense and an obvious love of dogs!

Unbelievable! Our two beagles are 7 and 8 and they are stubborn and easily distracted. Marcus was very clear and to the point and taught us simple techniques to apply to their issues. We had very noticable results in our first session. He showed us some things we had always been doing wrong and we learned more than the dogs! We highly recommend Marcus. He will not disappoint!

Marcus was exceptional! My wife and I are expecting our first baby, and we were looking for a master trainer to help us ensure our Frenchie would adjust to the change. Moreover, despite taking our pup to a Petsmart training course when he was young, we found that the training worked — but only up to a certain point.
Here’s what we loved about Marcus:
— We rescheduled a few times on him — Marcus took this all in stride, no questions asked.
— Marcus trained *us* on how to train our dog — he didn’t just train our dog. This is an extremely important difference. Marcus believes in «teach a man to fish», or I should say «teach a man to teach a dog to fish». After all, what are you going to do after the trainer leaves? Which brings me to my next point.
— We paid him for 1 hour, he stayed for 2.5 hours. You could tell he just loved what he did, and how much he was excited that he was making a difference for us. We didn’t feel rushed, and we certainly felt this isn’t just a business for him, it is a passion.
— He loves dogs! Here’s what I mean — his focus wasn’t just on making our dog listen & behave, his focus was on making our dog feel happy & secure. He brought up several times that training our dog did not mean we should stop spoiling our dog (or what I like to call «aggressive snuggling»). It was about making it clear to our dog when he was doing something right vs. doing something wrong and potentially unsafe. Training was about clear communication, not «tough love».
So if you are looking for help making a happier and safer home for your family and your dog — call Marcus. Do it. I promise you won’t regret it, and your furry little guy/​gal will be the happier for it.

We just met with marcus for our one hour session through living social. i can’t believe how much we got out of just one hour! we learned so much and will have the building blocks to get our little pug salsa out in the world soon, with some great training. he was warm but firm with her and we saw improvements immediately! Hopefully we’ll do more training sessions as well, as i can see how much it’s going to help her. I would recommend dog and handler to anyone! i can really see too how private sessions can greatly improve a dog’s behavior when they’re able to start out in their own environment (especially one who tends to go a little nuts around others!). Thanks marcus!

Marcus was amazing! Overall my dog is pretty well behaved (8yr old small yorkie), but having recently moved him from Miami to Austin there were a few things he wasn’t used to, like having so many dogs around, going up and down stairs, and walking properly on a leash. In only one short session Marcus answered all of my questions, showed we how train my dog, and cleared up a lot of things I’ve been doing wrong for years (like reinforcing bad behaviour without noticing). Also, despite me having gotten a great deal through Groupon, Marcus wasn’t pushy at all trying to scare me into buying more private training sessions (like many trainers do)… and like many have commented, he definitely has an incredibly soothing presence and voice, which will have your pet at ease in no time (in fact, my boyfriend happened to be sleeping because of a long work night when Marcus came over and later commented how soothing his voice was, helping him go right back to sleep lolol)
I recommend him highly, and in fact, my friend and her new puppy will be booking him next week!

Marcus was great and my dog really liked him. I appreciated that he explained the «why» behind each action /​command so that I better understood how to follow-​thru. We initially bought a training lesson on LivingSocial, but ended up signing up for a few more. Great experience!

I was a little worried about using a Living Social deal to get an hour with Marcus. Would we be able to accomplish anything in one hour? Would it just be an opportunity for him to try to sell me on a big package of training sessions? It turns out my concerns were unfounded, because he jumped right in and got to work with us and our two dogs within two minutes of knocking on the door, and he never tried to sell us on anything. His whole focus was on teaching us how to interact with the dogs in a way that would produce the behaviors we wanted and discourage ones we didn’t want. He was very clear, enthusiastic, and effective in doing that, and I feel like we got a lot out of that hour. Now we have to do the hard work ourselves, but I’m hoping to bring him back in a couple of months for a follow up to show him what we’ve accomplished and learn how to take it further.

Marcus was right to the point with easy to understand training. It makes so much sense and easy to follow.
I highly recommend him.

I have two dogs, a Frenchie and a Boston Terrier, and he did a wonderful job teaching me how to train them to sit, lay down, heel and come. He is very knowledgeable and you can tell that he genuinely loves dogs and what he does. I bought 3 more classes from him after the Living Social deal and I can’t wait to see how much my dogs improve after it.

Marcus Keyes lost my dog. We had two training sessions with him and felt comfortable boarding our Great Dane with him over the holidays. He lost her in a neighborhood where she had never been, stopped looking when it got dark that first day, then saw clients the next day, even though it meant my dog was still missing on New Year’s Eve. Yeah. That happened. I hope you never have to search for your dog in the midst of drunk drivers, loud parties, and a six-​hour barrage of fireworks that sounds like a war. Because Marcus Keyes is unfit to care for animals, I now know what that feels like.
According to Marcus, Willa was nervous when left alone at his home, so he brought her on an errand in a neighborhood where she had never been before. This nervousness was news to us, he hadn’t mentioned it at any time during our trip. So supposedly she threw up on her leash, and he took her out of the car and unleashed her. He says she snapped at him so he let go of her harness and she ran away. He lost sight of her within a couple blocks. Many dogs find their way home in this situation, but since Marcus drove Willa to a place she had never been, he pretty much set her up to be lost for awhile. I would laugh at the thought of losing sight of a 92 pound dog after two blocks, but I can’t because that is exactly what set off a heartbreaking four days of constant and sorrowful searching.
We have left Willa with dogless friends before, and when we returned she loved them like they’re family. If people who don’t really know much about dogs can get along with my Dane, why did this alleged professional find it impossible after nearly two weeks?
When I confronted Marcus about seeing clients instead of helping us find Willa on NYE, he gave me attitude. I got angry, and he seemed to feel like he had a right to say he wouldn’t talk to me if I was going to be upset. IMHO, if you lose someone’s dog and then spend any part of the next day not looking for this dog, you fucking sit there and be contrite, even if they yell at you. Then you get out there and find that animal, goddammit.
We spearheaded all the efforts to find her. We barely slept or ate. We cried and laid in bed holding hands, trying not to think about icy temps and the horrible things that people do to dogs. Marcus barely did what was asked of him. Even after we found her and sent him an itemized receipt of all that we had spent looking for her, it took him a long time to pay us back. I finally insisted that he cancel the check that was supposedly «in the mail» and bring us one that day.
We are so lucky that we did find Willa. On NYE she ran across Lamar, across Braker, across 183 and Kramer before ending up in an open garage where she found a couch. The owner of that couch made friend with her and tried to figure out what to do with her (her tags had come off) when he saw one of our signs and called us. Did you catch the part where I said a stranger who is not a professional dog trainer befriended Willa? Just making sure.
So there’s a happy ending in that we found her, and we couldn’t feel more lucky. But this is about how Marcus Keyes fucked things up for us, so I have to instead focus on the fact that Willa is far worse than she was before we worked with Marcus. She is jumpier and more fearful. She’s very afraid of cars, even far away ones. She gets more nervous than ever before if we leave her alone. Not to mention the injuries – we count ourselves lucky that it wasn’t worse, but she still came home with one big scrape covering her entire chest, scrapes all over her body, and two spots, one the size of a silver dollar, where the skin had been completely sheared off.
Please do not trust Marcus Keyes with your animal. I would not wish this experience on anyone. If there were a way to have a dog trainer’s license revoked, I would be doing that. He is so negligent, inconsiderate and incompetent, and he doesn’t deserve your business.

Marcus (of Dog and Handler) is great: easy to talk to, hones right in on the issues, and teaches the «handler» how to actually handle. I very much appreciated his understanding of my nervous dog, and I really can’t believe I waited so long to call him in the first place. I now love walking my sweet dog (rather than it being a bit of a chore), and she really is much less nervous. I can’t recommend Marcus highly enough!

I really enjoyed being taught by Marcus. He’s very easy to talk to and awesome at picking up what it is your dog needs to work on. My dog has hip dysplasia and I was having a hard time figuring out how to train him without hurting him and keeping him focused. I really feel like I know what I’m doing training wise and I like that he’s just a phone call away if I need a refresher.