Professional, positive dog training on Vancouver Island

If you’re looking for puppy training, you can stop now. You’ve found the best. My pup, Zion, a three-month-old Bernese Mountain Dog, has gained more in his training sessions with Baby Dog than I could possibly have accomplished on my own. Like any over-functioning pup parent, I read the books, listened to the podcasts, and watched the YouTube videos. None of that compared to the information, coaching, and motivation we received from our trainer, Danika. Each week, Danika presented us with new training tools, discussed them in detail, and went though the steps with Zion. Then I would make my attempts, with Danika giving helpful tips and tricks along the way. Zion absolutely loved Danika. She was lovely with him: calm energy, engaging demeanour, and just the right amount of assertiveness when he needed it. Danika was flexible with the sessions, keeping us on track, but was also happy to answer all of my random questions. Her follow up emails were very helpful. Now that we’ve completed the beginner sessions, I plan to take a few months off, then attend the intermediate classes. Danika has given us so much to work with, and I look forward to watching Zion develop his skills then show them off when we meet again!

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!

No one else does puppy socialization like Baby Dog. What does this mean? It means more staff on hand to curate the socializations, astute groupings of the dogs according to temperament (e.g. shy, boisterous), and ongoing commentary from staff describing dog behaviour in action (!). This last point is especially helpful to listen to, as you will begin to recognize the many signals/cues your puppies demonstrate for fear, aggression, modes of play, etc. Can't recommend Baby Dog highly enough. When we invite another puppy into our lives, we will return to Baby Dog. Note: to this day, when our dog sees Ruth and Aviva, she is so excited. They are some of her 'top' humans, as far as those she considers her 'pack'.

Meg was an excellent trainer. She presents very well, and is extremely passionate with people and dogs. She has a natural affinity to the dogs, and it’s obvious she loves her job. We’re looking forward to taking another class with Meg or Baby dog trainers.

Dusty, a 20 month old Coton de Tulear, was attacked by a dog at Island View. He became reactive after this and we needed help. We brought Aviva to help Dusty and ourselves and it was such a pleasure to observe Aviva's knowledge, insight and skill in helping with Dusty's problem. We all learned a lot and Dusty is well on his way to recovery because of Aviva. Thank you Aviva, it's been such a pleasure to have you involved and Dusty loved you immediately. You have special talents which are much appreciated.

I've had my rescue dog now for about five weeks...and have found the drop-in group obedience classes, and outdoor group socialization walks invaluable in learning to communicate with my loving pooch. Aviva (and her other trainers) highlight the need to reinforce positive behaviours in the training process. This is a far cry from the "NO!" and "Bad DOG!" comments that you hear from owners who are not aware of the positive behaviour modification skills that you learn through Baby Dog training. I invited a friend of mine and her dog to join Samson and I on one of the pet socialization walks. She was amazed how much you could learn on just one walk, and how it opened her eyes to the training that can yield so many positive results. Thank you Aviva and Baby Dog..!

Our training sessions have really helped us learn how to work with our high anxiety dog. The one on one sessions were really well catered to his and our specific needs. It is training with care and compassion and it has worked to change our dogs behaviour. They are so generous with their knowledge which makes the sessions really high value - definitely worth the investment, and worth the wait if they are busy.

Dave is a great trainer. My Staffordshire Terrier - Blue loves seeing Dave and does everything Dave asks of him. Dave is easy to talk to and understands what I would like to work towards being able to do with Blue. Blue and I will continue training with Dave. I highly recommend him.