He's a Dog's Best Friend

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Now 53, Kilcommons lives with his wife Sarah Wilson, who is also a trainer and the co-author of their books, on a 124-acre farm in Gardiner, N.Y. The couple has five dogs--two German shepherds, a beagle and two mixed breeds. Referrals from satisfied customers have led to a six-month wait for the group classes ($95 to $150 an hour) that they teach out of a converted barn next to their home. Private consultations are even harder to get and, starting at $200 an hour, costlier--but there's a queue for them too.

Richard Divenuto, a financial analyst in Balmville, N.Y., snagged two home visits earlier this year when his black-and-white boxer, Jackson, kept sitting on the furniture and barreling out the front door. He says the sessions were like psychotherapy for the whole family. Instead of working with Jackson right away or asking Divenuto what he saw as the problems, Kilcommons first watched the family's regular interactions with the dog, then suggested corrective measures based on the bad habits he had observed.

During the process, Divenuto says he learned that "my biggest mistake was allowing the dog to dominate in the house." Now Jackson stays off the couch (because he gets attention only when he's on the floor) and calmly waits for the command to go outside before running out the door (thanks to some basic training with the command sit). And although Divenuto's son Marc, 5, is just a few inches taller than the family dog, Jackson even follows the youngster's commands to sit and stay. "There's no democracy in dogdom," says Kilcommons, who preaches that people--not their pets--should always be top dog.