Professional, positive dog training on Vancouver Island

We brought our puppy Lola to Level 1 Obedience class with Meg. She was an incredible instructor. She explained and demonstrated the training clearly and was fun and patient. She always checked in to see if we had questions and was also happy to answer questions outside the curriculum. When we had missed a class, she took the time to show us what we had missed. We learned a lot and were so impressed by how quickly our puppy learned each task. Taking the class with Meg helped build our confidence with training our puppy using positive reinforcement. We can’t wait to take her to Level 2!

It only took one lesson to see improvement in my dog. She has completely turned around in 4 lessons, and now we have the tools to keep growing on our own. The other dog owners in our neighborhood are constantly complimenting Beans on how far she’s come!

While I have owned dogs most of my life so far, I have never had a young puppy. Wanting to do right by her, I researched training and socialization classes. Baby Dog was the one that was recommended over and over again without hesitation. We've now been going to weekly sessions for three months and my dog while having mastered what they teach loves the class so much that we just keep coming. When I pull up in front of the class she knows what we're there for and her excitement is off the charts. Aviva and her team run amazing classes and they should be the go to for every new puppy owner in Victoria. I studied to be a dog trainer 17 years ago when considering a career change. That said, I have learned a ton from Aviva while having our pup trained and her approach and explanations are much more effective and in line with what dogs need, than what I was originally taught. We are very luck to have Baby Dog as a resource.

I would highly recommend BabyDog! I was a first dog owner and they were patient, informative, flexible and very helpful plus they were all so lovely :)

We feel really fortunate that BabyDog was recommended to us when we got our dog Bear. We took a Basics Class with Danika, an Intermediate Class with Ruth, and two sets of private classes with Danika. Bear is a really big puppy with lots of energy and lots of love to give. Through all of the training we have been able to channel his energy into positive interactions with him and we are so impressed with his growth. The private sessions with Danika were well worth the investment as it gave us the one on one help we needed to work with Bear. Her love of dogs and ability to teach us what we needed to know was amazing. I feel much more confident as an owner and really enjoyed these sessions and the classes with her and Ruth. Both trainers have a wealth of knowledge and very effective training techniques that have really helped us to develop an amazing relationship with the newest member of our family.

BabyDog was recommended to me by a friend and now I am in a position to recommend them to my friends and family. I contacted BabyDog for private sessions to help me improve my puppy’s impulse control. My Jack Russell Terrier had a terrible habit of picking things up and eating them - everything. Even dangerous things. I was at the point where I felt I could not keep him safe and I was considering rehoming him. The Baby Dog trainer and I worked slowly and methodically building a strong foundation of impulse control commands such as no, leave it, drop it, sit/stay, and place. We added one or two new skills every week. As my pup improved we worked on walking skills and recall. Everything finally came together and now my pup lives safely and happily, as a member of our family, and loves training every day. I am so pleased with my investment in my dog and my partnership with BabyDog. Their training methodology is science-based, gentle, kind, and it has proven itself effective for my dog. I found the trainer to be knowledgeable, skilled, patient, and kind. She was an excellent communicator for both handler and puppy. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with her, gaining confidence in my ability to teach my pup and his capacity to learn. My dog and I are now a team, training every day, and continuing to solidify the skills we have learned. I am a BabyDog customer for life.

Training with Aviva has been a game changer for helping my dog Ollie gain confidence and start to conquer his reactivity. She helped us build a solid foundation in manageable steps and most importantly made it fun for both of us! I highly recommend sessions with Aviva to learn how to deal with behaviour issues and build a solid relationship with your dog.

We are so glad we ended up doing formal dog training, and Danika was superb in giving us all the tools we needed to succeed with our pup. 90% of dog training is training the owners, and she was incredibly patient with all of us as well as our kids. Truly would not have our dog at the level he is right now without her. Especially love the focus on positive reinforcement and patience, which other places may not emphasize as clearly. Thanks for all your help Danika, we look forward to intermediate!