Testimonials

• Julie S- THIS TRAINING WORKS. On July 12th I took my 4yr old lab to Mike's rattlesnake alert class and on July 28th he got tested for real. My husband took Ruger and our 7 month old pup out for a hike above Bountiful to a trail we are on a lot. Ruger just happened to be in the lead (typically the young pup wants to be in front) and he stopped dead in his tracks and turned and looked at my husband who thought that was weird. But as Ruger wouldn't budge, Russ looked around him and about 5 ft in front of him was a very large (4-5ft long) rattlesnake coiled just on the edge of the trail. It then started rattling and Ruger and the pup (who will get trained next yr) just stayed put. Ruger likely saved one of them getting bit. My husband praised him extensively and he said that Ruger actually walked with his tail held high the rest of the hike like he knew he had done a great job! When they got home he even came to me like he wanted to share his story. Needless to say he got some extra bacon treats!! Thanks Mike, your class has already proved priceless.

• Lacey S- Hey! I want to let you know that Libi's rattlesnake training was successful. About a week ago we were on an evening walk in Red Butte and we encountered a Great Basin rattlesnake. It was a beauty and quite large. The other dog we were with went to check it out. It was upwind of us. Once that dog caught a whiff as I grabbed her she backed off. I turned around to look for Libi and she was 20 feet away back down the trail!! She knew thanks to you!! I thought you would appreciate a success!! Have a lovely day and thanks for being the snake handler!!

• Laura E- I thought I'd give you a quick update on the results of your training. Today around noon, I was hiking in Rock canyon with my dog, Coco, on a real skinny trail when Coco suddenly went stiff and then hurried up ahead about 20 feet before turning around to look at me nervously. Based on her body language, I knew something was weird but I couldn't tell what. I saw something that on first glance looked like a snake, but it turned out to just be an s-shaped stick, so I thought maybe that's what spooked her, since we'd encountered a gopher snake a couple days ago that actually hissed and struck out at her that left her all shaken, so I thought she might just be jittery. But then I noticed a soft whirring noise, kind of like an old fan. And that's when I saw the tiny rattlesnake coiled up just past the stick, right in the middle of the narrow path. All bundled up like it was, it didn't take up a bigger footprint than a softball. The vegetation around the path was so thick that it took me a minute to figure out how to safely get past the little guy and meanwhile, he just kept his head oriented in my direction with his little rattle buzzing all the while. When I finally got up to Coco, she whined with delight and clung to my leg with her forepaws for a full minute. It was pretty disturbing how well that tiny snake blended in with the path. Even just six feet from it, it took me probably a solid 5-10 seconds of staring in that direction before I was able to make it out. It made me think that if I was hiking alone, there'd be a fairly high chance that I would have accidentally stepped on it. So I just wanted to thank you for not only helping Coco avoid a snakebite, but possibly myself as well.

• Bill W- Today my wife and I were hiking the desolation/thanes canyon loop trail in Mill Creek Canyon with our three dogs. You might remember Rocky, the Klee Kai and Ruby and Disco the Huskies. Ruby was in front of us all and the first to hear the rattle and smell the snake. She ran past me and stopped and sat directly behind Misty. Disco and Rocky turned around and did the same. I went a little closer after hearing the rattle just in time to see the snake slither off the trail and head down and into the bushes. Total success!! All dogs stayed behind Misty about 30 feet back on the trail. I made sure the area was clear for us to proceed so we passed the area with Ruby giving the area a lot of space! Thanks again!

• Liz L- This September, we had absolutely stellar blue, ruffed, and sage grouse numbers. We started hunting birds harder much earlier than usual and rotated dogs when it got hot. My husband took a day off work to chase birds and I sent Indiana with him since I couldn't go. He and a friend went to a place known to have very few snakes... but not quite *no* snakes. Not long after leaving the truck, Indiana started working down some sunny rimrock. Out of nowhere, she (unprompted) slammed back to Jared's heel; he remembered what I told him about Indiana's behavior at your training just a month and a half prior, and he recognized she had likely smelled a snake. Jared directed his setter, and our friend and his dog away from the area. So, your training helped keep 3 dogs and 2 people safe!

• Alisa T- You trained our other pup Canoe in a group class two summers ago, and he had his first snake encounter last year in Millcreek canyon. He stopped on the trail and wouldn’t go further, and then my husband saw a rattlesnake cross the trail about 20 feet in front of them. We were so proud of him!

• Matt B- Mike, wanted to let you know your training likely saved Raider from a bite yesterday. He was ahead of me in Thaynes canyon, around a blind corner when I heard the rattle. Looked up and Raider was calmly backing up, about 15 feet short of a coiled rattler on the trail. Him hesitating and backing up gave me enough time to get him on leash and out of harm's way. The snake refused to move & I had to use a stick to guide it off trail so we could pass.One of the more dangerous encounters I've had because the snake was on the trail in a narrow spot, intent on defending his ground. It's good fortune you ended up holding the last class this year!