Professional, positive dog training on Vancouver Island

When I was being challenged by training my large teenage Golden, I asked Aviva to help me get back on track. We had taken him to puppy socialization previously and knew Aviva would be the trainer that could help us because of her experience and the gentle but firm way she has with dogs. I learned what I needed to do in order to have Monte pay attention and listen to me. We have a much calmer dog now that he respects me as a leader. Thank you, Aviva, you gave me practical and simple things to do so I could be successful with him and consistency and practice have really paid off. Our lives have changed for the better!

Would highly recommend both the puppy socialization and basic obedience class. Our trainer Meg was with us all throughout. She is so knowledgeable, thorough, and just brought a wonderful energy to every class. Bailor and I are going to miss our Sunday afternoons with her!

Meg was great with our goldendoodle Enzo! He caught on quick thanks to Meg's clear and kind instructions during the Level 1 obedience group classes, and we're making progress between classes too. We will be joining Level 2 group classes or consider private classes in the near future for sure! Meg was also super empathetic not only with the dogs but with us, the humans, and provided great feedback and tips!

We got our German Shepherd Niro when he was 12 weeks old and since he was our first puppy, we enrolled him in group training classes right away! Mainly working with Aviva and Ruth, they have taught us everything we need to know in order to raise a happy, smart, obedient dog by using positive training methods. Their puppy socialization classes have taught him how to play with dogs of all sizes safely and he has made many puppy friends through it. We would highly recommend them if you have a new puppy!

We moved to the island in December with our 2-year-old Italian Mastiff, Reese. Due to the stress of the move Reese became reactive around all dogs and some people. Given that he’s a big boy (110 lbs of muscle), walking Reese around the dense spaces in the city of Victoria filled us (and Reese) with anxiety. Walks with Reese became a stressful chore rather than a fun, bonding activity with our pup. Thankfully we found Ruth at BabyDog! Ruth was so kind, patient and knowledgeable that by the end of our first session Reese was going belly up to get Ruth to scratch him. With Ruth’s excellent guidance, we practiced our new skills at home, parks, trails, and wherever we could go to learn and get better at managing Reese’s anxiety. The hard work paid off and Reese is now a very happy boy who’s a pleasure to walk around the city or wherever we choose to go. He’s by no means perfect, but after having worked with Ruth we know we have the tools and the skills to help Reese live his best island life. Thanks for everything Ruth! Marc and Chris (& Reese)

We had Dave over to our condo five times to help get our two dogs under control when someone comes to the door. We have a 5 year old Papillon and a 1 1/2 year old Yorkie. I immediately felt comfortable with Dave and appreciated his gentleness with Finn and Chewy. He always arrived exactly on time which made it easier for me to ready them for his arrival. They now sit quietly in their “place” while we eat as well as when someone comes to the door. I would highly recommend Dave to anyone having difficulties with their dogs.

We’re so grateful to have found Aviva at BabyDog to help with our two-year-old rescue from Mexico. She went above and beyond to tailor her training to exactly what we needed. From the start, she listened carefully to our goals and truly understood what we wanted to achieve with our dog. The transformation in our dog has been amazing, and we feel much more confident in our own training skills as well. For anyone looking to make a meaningful, lasting change in their dog’s behaviour, we can’t recommend Aviva highly enough!

We have taken both our puppies to BabyDog with fantastic results. Our training has never gone this well before. BabyDog is always focused on positive reinforcements and finding a training method the is kind and working well for our puppies.