MEET THE TRAINER
WHO I AM
Hi, I’m Mike Pitts — owner and sole trainer at The Doggie Concierge, the go-to for Cleveland families, professionals, and athletes who want a dog that can handle real life without force, fear, or circus tricks.
Since 2017, I’ve helped households across Northeast Ohio and around the country raise dogs who are calm, confident, and easy to live with — whether it’s a brand-new puppy, a relocated athlete’s dog adjusting to a new city, or a family navigating chaos, kids, and canine energy all at once.
People come to me for one reason:
I get results without regret.
WHAT I DO DIFFERENTLY
I design training plans that fit your lifestyle — not the other way around. My work is grounded in:
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Science-based methods
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Reward-centered learning
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Fear-free, force-free, pain-free training
No prongs. No chains. No shocks.
Just ethical, transparent training built on trust, communication, and clarity.
No dominance.
No drama.
No gimmicks.
Just well-behaved dogs and families who can breathe again.
WHY CLIENTS TRUST ME
I’m often the first phone call — passed from family to family, agent to agent, and athlete to athlete. My reputation wasn’t built on ads or social media stunts. It was built on:
Discretion.
Professionalism.
Behavior change that lasts.
Whether you’re a busy parent or a pro athlete juggling relocations, schedules, and security, you get me — not an assistant. Every session is tailored, intentional, and rooted in methods that actually hold up in real life.
HOW I TEACH
Before dog training, I spent 15 years as a Youth & Family Pastor. That job required explaining complex ideas to developing brains while keeping everyone engaged — a skill that transfers perfectly to dogs and humans.
I teach the way real families learn:
clear, practical, patient, and with a little PG-13 humor.
I make behavior science simple enough that everyone — kids included — can use it every day without overwhelm or confusion.
CREDENTIALS
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ABC-DT, Animal Behavior College Graduate
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AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator
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AKC Temperament Tester
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Certified in Pet CPR & First Aid
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Fully insured and bonded
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Ongoing study in modern, humane training methods informed by leaders like Kelly Gorman Dunbar
AT HOME
I’m a Midwestern dad with a house full of rescue misfits:
Four Pugs — three from Amish puppy mills, one with a cleft palate, two on three legs — plus a Golden Retriever/Anatolian Shepherd mix rescued from the streets of Istanbul.
They remind me every day:
Training isn’t about perfection – it's about empathy and adaptability.
CORE PHILOSOPHY
No fear. No force. No fallout.
Clear communication creates confident dogs.
I train dogs and humans — because success only matters if it works outside the session.
WHERE I WORK
Based in North Ridgeville, OH, serving:
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West-side Cleveland families in-person
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Clients across the U.S. virtually
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Nationwide households via fly-out, in-home training
WHY DOG TRAINING NEEDS A NEW STANDARD.
Because what worked decades ago… doesn’t work for the modern dog, the modern family, or the modern world.
Most trainers are still recycling outdated ideas, punishing confusion, calling themselves “balanced,” and handing out a treat at the end like it somehow cancels out the pressure. That’s not balance. That’s branding.
I’m not in that crowd.
I’m the guy carrying the banner forward — building training around how dogs actually learn, not how humans wish they did.
The new standard looks different.
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Behavior rooted in understanding, not intimidation
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Skills that work in real-life chaos, not staged demos
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Calm that holds without a tool, a gimmick, or a trainer present
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Families who know why their dog listens — and how to keep it that way
Dogs deserve more than compliance. Families deserve more than confusion. Results shouldn’t depend on a collar setting or a correction threshold.
When a dog understands you, you don’t have to overpower it.
That’s the shift. That’s the banner I carry.
Not louder methods — better ones.
Not trend-chasing — trajectory-setting.
This isn’t what dog training used to be.
It’s what it should have been all along.
That’s why I’m the new standard.
What We Do Not Handle
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Dogs with a verified history of offensive human bites (non-defensive)
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Dogs with severe dog-to-dog aggression resulting in injury or hospitalization
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Dogs declared “dangerous” or “aggressive” by a city or municipality
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Court-ordered behavior modification or forensic aggression cases.
Such cases are best referred to a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist or veterinary behavior specialist. For local clients, we recommend The Animal Behavior Clinic in Olmsted Falls, OH.