Jim was the best around. He's effective, friendly, and courteous. He did absolute wonders for me (as well as my dog) and helped me understand that training is really intended for the human rather than the dog read more

Jim is a fantastic dog trainer! He helped our puppies and our home so much through his training advice and teaching us about dog behavior. His approach is so positive and he has a logical, step by step process to achieve your goals for your pet and your home. We have two puppies and three kids and there was WAY too much chaos before Jim came. Jim helped us set up a structure for the home where the dogs can succeed and we can all enjoy each other more. He helped restore a more peaceful environment and is a great teacher for adults and children. We learned how to interact with our dogs in a positive, constructive way and we enjoyed the learning process as well. The dogs are better behaved and happier as well! We did need to reschedule a few of the sessions and did not have any problem with that. We give Jim our highest recommendation! Professional, responsive, timely and a joy to work with. read more

My brother took his dog to Jim's for training, I observed 4 out of 5 classes. I trained my older dog with another instructor in Michigan and thought it would be similar, but it wasn't. Overall, I think Jim really does love dogs and knows a lot. But he's probably better in one on one lessons; his group lesson was bit of a downer. Each lesson went quite slowly, learning just a few things in an hour. He spends the rest of the time demonstrating with one dog, and the rest of us don't get much of a chance to practice the trick and ask him questions specific to our dog.... His lessons have around 8-9 dogs, while most other training facilities don't take more than 6 at once. This means he couldn't address most unique questions and was able to demonstrate a solution to just one or two issues, and if that issue didn't apply to your dog, you spent 20 min of a 1 hour lesson watching him demonstrate an irrelevant topic. I wish he spent more time elaborating on the general behavioral concepts, how to teach the dog a trick, why you do it that way, what the dog is thinking and what not to do when teaching this trick. The one good thing is during sessions 2 onward my brother's dog was allowed to come early and play with the other dogs beforehand. It certainly gets their energy out and allows the dogs to focus better. I didn't have that chance in Michigan so my dog was always too excited to focus. The facility is clean, quiet and his other clients seems like a bunch of decent folks. I'd recommend Jim as a trainer, but perhaps not his group lessons.... read more

Jim talks a big talk but does not deliver. Worst cancellation policy. Pay everything up front. This as a waste of $1100. Beware! Jim Burwell claims to be an animal behaviorist, but is not. He is a dog trainer, which is different. We have actually worked with a certified animal behaviorist, who has three degrees and is a vet-Dr. Haug. We have had such wonderful success with her. Do not trust this place and this guy. read more

Where to even begin with how pleased we are will Jim and the overall experience of working with him!! If I could give him 10 stars I would. He is THAT worth it. Starting from the beginning scheduling with Leila was seamless and professional. We originally called Jim right before the COVID-19 outbreak because our 2 year old 6lb cavachon, Penny, had decided that she was the queen of the house and was snapping at me. I was very concerned about this behavior and was discouraged when I thought we wouldn't be able to make any progress due to the virus. Well, Jim sent us videos and homework and critiqued our videos for the first month before he could come to the house. When we finally started meeting Jim had Penny doing a "down" in the first five minutes! After a year of working on her training elsewhere we didn't even think she could do a down! Jim shows you how to work with each dog like the individuals they are. Even though Penny was the one we had called about, Jim helped us with our other rescue poodle, Archie, on his nervousness around new people and pulling when walking. After 6 sessions with Jim in home and fantastic feedback on videos between sessions Penny has stopped snapping, walking with Archie is pleasant, and both of them have learned new tricks! Jim truly is the dog whisperer. I had been so anxious about the escalation of Penny's aggressive behavior and training with Jim took that away. I now feel like my dogs respect me and my husband, and the entire dynamic of our home has changed. Jim cares so deeply about his clients and making sure that we get what we need. He even made a video of all of our training videos to show the progress we have made. I cannot recommend Jim highly enough!!! read more

I had the pleasure of working with Jim when we were having issues with our foster dog, DJ., who was aggressive toward large dogs and strangers. Even though I live in Houston I opted for video coaching. It's live, face to face, and works great with a busy schedule. Jim was very insightful on DJ's triggers. Each session was an hour long going over issues and ways to correct the unwanted behavior. Each session ended with our homework plan until the next session. Our whole family worked together and saw improvement in DJ quickly, The times I had negative reactions, in between sessions, Jim was available via email and able to coach me. In every case, I was the one that needed a lesson how to read DJ's boundaries and not put him in a situation he wasn't quite ready for. With Jim's guidance and our consistency DJ is now with his forever family - he is doing great when he meets strangers and (besides his fur-brothers) his best friend is a large dog. Without hesitation I have referred several friends and neighbors to Jim. The key to your dog succeeding is YOU MUST do your homework and always be consistent. Thanks so much, Jim! read more

Our experience with Jim was wonderful! My wife and I really needed some guidance with our 1 year old MinPin. We tried the group classes but since my dog has problems with other dogs/people, it became an issue very quickly. Going into the sessions, our main goal was for our dog to behave around strangers and when they come into the house. After Jim arrived for our session (at least 15 minutes early each time), we talked outside about what behaviors to expect and what we wanted. As expected, within moments of Jim walking in our dog went nuts. As discouraging as this was to see, it provided Jim the opportunity to see the exact behavior we were trying to correct. Using some interesting techniques, he was able to calm our dog down enough for Jim to sit down and begin his explanation of the program. Jim laid out a 6 week program for us to work through and made it clear that this will only work if we are diligent. I'm not going to say he's a miracle worker because after the fact, his changes he recommended were so simple, but I am going to say that having someone observe your dog and then give your tips is worth every penny. One size does not fit every dog and spending the extra money for a personalized program has paid off greatly. We saw an improvement in our dog almost immediately and continue to use the techniques he's taught us to further improve the structure of the relationship we have with our dog. You could read 1000 articles and watch 1000 videos of what people think is good for a dog but not necessarily YOUR dog. We would recommend Jim's service to anyone and plan to use him in the future if we run into more issues with our dog! Regarding scheduling, as a client of Jim's, you must sign a contract to be available with your dog on the dates you paid. If you can't make that commitment or feel uncomfortable, then don't sign up. It's as simple as that. read more

Jim Burwell is an excellent dog trainer who has helped me on several occasions. Two of our older dogs attended his training classes at Rover Oaks years ago. We couldn't have been happier with the results and our dogs were genuinely happy with the classes as well! He also helped me deal with a very scared feral dog we rescued who is now a well-adjusted, happy, healthy member of our family. Finally, Jim has been extremely generous with his time and money in assisting local animal rescue groups. He's truly a good guy!!! read more

Petiquette has the worst customer service policy of any business I have ever dealt with. I'm not one to write a negative review, but as a loving dog owner, this situation needs to be put out there as a fair warning to all Houston dog owners looking for dog lessons. I called Petiquette as a returning customer. I used them for puppy lessons initially and wanted to have personal training classes for my dog. First things first... do not use this business if you are working and have a very busy schedule. They are not flexible AT ALL with rescheduling. You can reschedule your lessons once, and after that they keep your money. Plain and simple, they keep all of it. No questions asked. First sign of this being the wrong people to work with - you have to pay in full up front before any of the lessons take place. Uh-oh. Not a deposit for one lesson, but the whole charge up front of $555. This is not a small amount for three dog training lessons. Really, what makes this business so special where that sort of policy is allowed? The only other thing I can think of that you have to pay in full would be an airplane ticket, and if you have to unfortunately change your ticket, at least you can still get the service out of it even if you have to pay a change fee. Anyways, back to our story... I had to reschedule my lessons once because of my job. Then I found out a week ahead of time of the rescheduled first lesson that I would be out of the country for work unexpectedly. I asked if they could make an exception to reschedule my lessons for a second time. My fiancé and I really wanted be able to work with Jim and our dog together, but his assistant (Leila) would not make any sort of exception. After several emails and finding out just how inflexible they were, I told them that even though I couldn't make the first lesson, my fiancé would do it so we wouldn't lose our money. We preferred to do it together to get the most out of the $185-a-pop lessons, but at minimum due to their inflexible rescheduling policy, we'd agree to just one of us there in attendance. Jim then emailed me back and said that they had canceled all of my lessons and that my dates/times were no longer on their books! My fiancé called Jim directly to try and reason with him and that we were not wanting to cancel all three lessons. Jim's response was that he was sorry, but you are no longer on the books and someone else has filled your time. This was only an hour after he had emailed to say he removed us from the books. There is no way he could have filled in our appointment slots in that time. In addition, I checked their Facebook page that day, and the Petiquette status was "Spring break has started here - it's gonna be a quiet week. Time to catch up on cleaning up my office!"... Are you serious?!?!?! You just got finished telling me how busy your schedule was for this week and how you couldn't accommodate me, but your social media account tells me the exact opposite? Great... Jim Burwell is a liar, too. Jim Burwell was downright mean about this situation. Yes, we did not follow the policy to the word, but we were just asking them to work with us. My work schedule is not something I have control over. Even though we wanted to keep the other two lessons; they wouldn't allow it. Have a last-minute work conflict come up? Too bad. Family emergency? Think again. Too sick to get out of bed? Nice try. To Jim Burwell's rescheduling policy, if you cannot accurately predict your schedule two months in advance, you're screwed. Jim takes your $555 and runs, laughing all the way to the bank. Our money was practically stolen from us. Buyer beware of Leila and Jim Burwell's Petiquette. Find another dog trainer. read more

My dog, Meelo, means the world to me. I found him roaming my neighborhood a little over two years ago. Having realized he was abandoned, I adopted him. For the first year he was great with all people and dogs. Within a year of adopting him, he began to become increasingly territorial over my home, family, and me (especially.) He became more aggressive on his leash, pulling me along for the ride. After a recent incident, in which he snapped at my sister, without any warning, I knew it was time to seriously consider training. Unsure how effective behavioral training would be on Meelo, who is between 4 and 5 years old, I was a bit hesitant. After much research, and many over-the-phone questions, I felt confident in Jim's ability to help me and Meelo. Jim delivered all that I hoped for...and then some. Today was our last of 3 in-home sessions with Jim, and the results are undeniably obvious, in Meelo's temperament, listening skills, and over-all demeanor. He was very quick to take on the commands, thanks to Jim's techniques and patience while teaching myself and Meelo how to interact with one another. Jim has such a great and calm energy that really resonated with Meelo. His training methods are super simple and practical. Jim takes the time to understand what you, as the owner, are looking to achieve with your pet through these sessions, and works with you during, and in-between (via e-mail) to best achieve those goals. I think it's safe to say that I would refer Jim to anyone who is looking for a great dog-trainer. read more

Very expensive for what you get. His customer service, his wife, is horrible. After paying him for private lessons that failed, I went to Rover Oaks and was much more satisfied. I would recommend anyone but him read more

Jim has changed our miniature poodle's life and OUR life for the better! Our dog started having some serious behavioral issues after our grandchildren became frequent visitors to our home. We tried to work with him to no avail. Family and friends said that our dog would not change. A friend used Jim Burwell to train their puppy and raved about him. We scheduled 3 sessions in the home with Jim and our dog was transformed. We followed Jim's training methods and it worked beautifully. He encouraged us to email him daily to let him know about the progress/and or problems we may have encountered throughout the process. Jim always responded promptly and had a viable solution. We then scheduled 3 sessions outside the home at a park with Jim to reenergize our dog, teach him some tricks. We also worked on how to interact with other dogs. Our dog is now happy, secure and calm. Leila, who scheduled our sessions was very helpful and always tried to work with our schedule. Thank you, Jim! read more

Jim came to my boyfriend and I not a moment too soon. Sydney, my boyfriend's 10 year-old chocolate lab, would bark incessantly at the front door at the slightest noise, wedge between my boyfriend and I when we hugged, and would cry and cry at the door when my boyfriend left and would never leave his side when he was home. I grew up with cats and had no clue how to correct her behavior, but it was all-consuming and frustrating. In comes Jim to the rescue. He was punctual with home visits, made every minute count, gave us specific training cues, lots of demonstrations, and worked with us as we integrated these changes into our daily routine with Sydney. There were three one-hour sessions scheduled one week apart, and Jim encouraged e-mails with questions and updates so that we could tweak our training as needed in between visits. Jim does not fix dogs. He equips dog owners with tools that change your relationship and interactions with your dog. It is up to you to spend time with your dog on a daily basis implementing these tools and creating a routine for your dog that makes her feel comfortable and understand how she fits in with the family. Sydney is by no means perfect now, but then who is? We continue to work with her and see constant improvements. She has calmed down DRAMATICALLY and I would recommend Jim to ANYONE with a dog with behavior issues. It is a life-changing investment! read more