If you missed it, back in 2022 I wrote this piece exposing “dog trainer” Eric Ita for the liar that he is: The Danger of Social Media Trainers.
The too long; didn’t read: he lied about the behavior of client dog he was working with, he allowed his dog to get attacked by this dog, he also lied to me about adopting this dog.
Sometime later I get an email from Gracie, allegedly a special education teacher at The Howard School in Atlanta Georgia.
Atlanta, even though the IP address that submitted the form originated from Nevada, where Eric is located.
As you can see for yourself by the linked email (specifically requested by insta user @ayojimbo_) that this all turned out to be bullshit. Notice how he hypes himself up a few emails in.
Click here for the email thread with Erica Ita pretending to be Grace Arit
Recently trainer/behaviorist Gia Savocchi posted a similar story where Eric did the same thing trying to lure her into an allegedly dangerous area.
Look I’ll be totally honest I don’t agree with a Gia a lot of the time. I wouldn’t have gone to any appointment without some type of payment or signed forms. But the shit she is getting because of calling out what this maniac did is like watching MAGA dumb-fucks support Donald Trump.
Eric doesn’t have his business setup for you to leave Google reviews, but internet searches will bring up some like this: “I did a private session with a dog training TikToker”
“This was with Eric Ita (and his dog Capri.)
It was $200 for a group session. Unfortunately not enough people signed up so I got put into a private. I have a smooth collie puppy that struggles with general excitement around people and dogs. She doesn’t react too poorly other than trying to steer towards them while walking to sniff and staring if we’re stationary. Overall her obedience is pretty good at home, in our neighborhood, and our usual park but bring her to a new environment she gets a little excited (trying to sniff everything and walking at a fast pace.) He told me not to feed her and to bring either a slip/prong collar for the session.
Anyways, we met at a park that we’ve never been to before. There was a dog park and some people/dogs around. He watched us walk (she wasn’t trained to heel, just to maintain a loose leash) and wanted to immediately fix her being in front of me. First he had me tucker her out by having her jump on and off a bench for a few minutes. This mellowed her out. Then he took over and worked on her heel. He’d pop her anytime she walked past him or tried to sniff the ground and did tight outside turns. She learned pretty quick with this. He then did inside turns and drove a knee towards her anytime she didn’t turn which kind of agitated me. She yelped a few times but learned quickly. After a few reps she started to shut down and tried to lag way behind (or just sit or lay-down) in which he’d pop a few more times.
We worked on maintaining a sit/down and not releasing if I walk away, until I give her a release command. We also worked on her fixating on dogs/people. Essentially take a step back as she’s fixated and call her. If she doesn’t listen pop her and keep moving backwards.
He said there doesn’t need to be much positive reinforcement for behavior modifications which I didn’t agree with. The session was a hour and a half long and by the end she was basically shutdown. Her tail was tucked and she wasn’t trying to move anywhere or do anything. She hadn’t received any positive reinforcement or food/treats so I don’t really blame her.”
It’s clear this guy has no idea what he’s doing. Go look at some of Eric’s videos and see how he treats dogs. Dropping them, hitting them, and from this review kneeing them hard enough to yelp.
I’m constantly told to seek mental help due to my advocating for respectful treatment of dogs, and these sick fucks are trying to lure people into dangerous situations and their behavior is defended.
If you’ve had similar experiences: SHARE. Get the word out If you are worried about some type of retaliation reach out and I’ll help you get the word out anonymously.
That poor family that endured that behavior. I am glad they realized it was not a good training session or by a real, educated, professional, trainer. I hope they have all healed.
Sounds like this “man” has the time and petty behavior of a 5 year old (sorry 5 yr olds) to bait other trainers. Especially Gia, who does have her own issues, to bait a big platform and then have these crazy people call her thr problem. One video of this guy is proof enough that he shouldn’t be allowed near animals. It is easy to see, and I hope those people open their eyes. But as with augusto, Lee Asher, and many, many others, it will take time for them to see how bad these people are.