Professional, positive dog training on Vancouver Island

We have had incredible success with Aviva and our dog Blue in the first four sessions we have done! We are looking forward to our next set of sessions and to see all of the skills our little pup can learn!

Our puppy has attended puppy socialization and obedience. We've loved all of it. We've learned so much about positive training and it has absolutely made training our pup a joyful experience.

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)

Aviva was great with our young dog Luna! She was very knowledgable and had great suggestions with everything we asked her about. Our dog deals with a variety of issues (over sensitivity, hyperactive, aggression, fear etc.) and each week we threw her something new that Luna was dealing with and she knew right away how to help us and give us the tools to help our dog. I would recommend her to anyone!

We signed our dog up for puppy socialization class and Mojo loved Tara so much we booked her for individual training sessions. We learned so much and got excellent tailored help for Mojo's needs, plus there is lots of ongoing support if we need more help later on. Highly, highly recommend individual training with Tara!

Our trainer was intelligent, skilled, and kind. Helped us understand our own dog’s behaviour better and provided us tips and tricks to help us care for her safely in all settings. While we’ve had other dogs in the past, we’ve never had a bully breed so appreciated her generalized as well as her personalized insights. Always felt supported. Worth every penny.

I came to BabyDog in desperation with my rescue dog Pheonix, who had multiple behavioral issues. I was really at my wits end, and thought I would have to rehome her because I didn't have the environment or tools to help her. We only had 4 sessions, thus far, and the impact has been incredible. Aviva (owner) has been absolutely amazing to put it mildly. She's not only incredibly perceptive and adjusts the training to your dogs needs, but she is compassionate, has a plethora of knowledge, and goes above and beyond. She offered so much support and resourcefulness, it literally saved both Pheonix and myself. She helped me understand her postures and behaviours, enabled me to communicate effectively, and most importantly empowered me to give Pheonix what she needs. She connected us to Bosley's on Burnside for their first ever Reactive Dog night which not only helped Pheonix overcome her fear of stores, but we were actually able to return and attempt bathing. I could really go on and on about how grateful I am to Aviva and her team, and so happy that there are people out there dedicated to truly making a difference in not only dogs lives, but their guardians as well. I will definitely be returning for further training and to tap into their many resources. I highly recommend them to anyone anytime. Thank you Aviva and BabyDog team!!! Sincerely, Erin and Pheonix :)

Between the fun puppy meet and greets and the training, this was a great time for our little Cairn Terrier. Emma was engaging, knowledgeable and excellent to work with and we couldn't be happier with the outcome!