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Creating Positive Relationships Two Barks and One Meow At A Time!
343-453-1400
We reached out to Victoria when we were struggling with some behaviors with our rescue, Milo, including leash reactivity and action prompting that we just couldn't get a handle on. Victoria provided us with step by step practical strategies and clarity in our approach to support Milo learn new behaviors. We had three in person sessions and it was helpful to get feedback and be able to ask questions as she coached us working with Milo. Victoria's approach is both kind and straight foward and we continue to see improvements.
Thanks to Victoria, we transformed a terrified rescue dog into a comfortable and happy pet. It took quite a few weeks but it was so worth it. Victoria’s knowledge of behaviour, psychology and training recommendations were instrumental in the turn- around. Arva is now enjoying her best life in her forever home!
Victoria’s experience and knowledge of dog behavior is impressive. She really opened our eyes to how dogs think, which was very helpful with our leash reactive dog. I highly recommend her services for any issues you may have with your canine.
Had 3 behaviour modification sessions one on one with Victoria. My dog and I are doing so much better in our walks together when we encounter other dogs. A great combination of theory and practical steps. Highly recommend.
Fantastic experience, personable and great with my dog. Victoria has a wealth of knowledge, and patience, for both the owner and the dog. I highly recommend Victoria!
Natalie/Nymeria
We are so grateful to have found Victoria! Her patience, knowledge, and clear guidance have made such a difference for both us and our puppy!!! Training sessions were always positive, practical, and tailored to our needs. We’ve seen huge learning leaps in Tess and we feel much more confident as owners too. You can tell she truly cares about dogs and wants them (and their humans!) to succeed. Highly recommend!
Victoria was a pleasure to work with. Our rescue Buddy had some Behavior issues we needed to work through. Over the past 2 months we have made great progress and I am very grateful for the guidance, support and encouragement. Thank you Victiora!!
After just 3 sessions we have seen incredible improvements with our two dogs!! The training was focused on our chocolate lab who we could barely walk and control. Not only is she now easy to walk, basic commands are followed and both our dogs have reduced barking and reactionary behavior to almost non existent. We will continue to work on prey drive independently. My only regret was not bringing in Shaggy Dog sooner!
​Victoria took on a very challenging behavioural situation with our 5 month old Chihuahua. She took a lot of time to get to know our family and the strategies that we had tried in the past. She fully understood our goals and tailored a program that was perfect for our lifestyle and needs. Victoria was extremely gracious with her time and always provided detailed emails that must have taken hours to write and was not included in any of our payments. Victoria treated us like we were her only client and we felt connected to her immediately. She is the type of person that you would not only call an expert, but also a friend.
We could not have had a more positive experience with Victoria Blondin as our personal dog trainer. She is extremely knowledgeable, professional, patient and positive toward both her four-legged friends and their owners. Each session was tailored toward exactly what we needed and wanted to work on with our 3-year old American Cocker Spaniel, Charlie.
She was sensitive to our anxieties and never condescending. We learned so much from her during each session and then had the added benefit of receiving a follow-up email after each visit, reviewing what we worked on, step-by-step directions, as well as additional informative links to educate us.
Victoria was also accessible between sessions via email to field additional questions and/or concerns. We consider it a gift to have found Victoria to give us a solid path forward with our Charlie.
Victoria is a lifesaver. She swooped in and gave us the tools for our pup Saffron to learn to be a well behaved puppy. She helped us teach her to leave our cats alone, how to stop pulling on her leash (highly recommend her no pull harness), every basic tool you need to have a puppy you can live with. Will will definitely be booking more sessions with her as Saffron ages. If you are having troubles or just need to learn to give your dog it's best life with positive love based training Victoria is your trainer. Thank you so much.
Victoria is extremely knowledgeable about animal behaviours and psychology. She helps not only the animal but more importantly the owner understand their pets behaviours. To be honest, I feel 90% of the training is needed for the owners, not the pets! She understands both the pet and the owner and helps us to work together to help solve any behavioural or obedience issues you have. I highly recommend her services and would use her again without hesitation if I need to. Excellent trainer.
Susie K.
This lady is great person great with the dogs knows what she is doing
so glad I could train with her
We worked with Victoria over several months when we got our 3 year old hound rescue. Our dog was very anxious, frustrated, and leash reactive. Victoria immediately gave us strategies for helping with all three issues, and took a ton of time to help us understand our dog's body language and cues. She taught us to desensitize him to triggers and redirect his energy in more positive ways. We went from walks where everyone would come home frazzled to outings that are a lot of fun for all of us. We really appreciated that Victoria tailored her training program to meet our dog's individual needs. We'd highly recommend Victoria's services for anyone who's dealing with a challenging dog.
We have been working with Victoria for about 6 weeks and have been very impressed by her and her training techniques. We did all the homework to prep the house for training and have "most" of the other things - but its a marathon not a spring.
She is easy to spend time with, explains things well, and her methods are working very well. We know we aren't "done" yet - but have come further then I expected in a short amount of time.
Thank you Victoria for your time and attention to making our "little" guy more enjoyable to walk!
We contacted Victoria from Shaggy Dog Training regarding behaviour modification to help deal with our dog’s anxiety. Victoria was wonderful to deal with and her techniques really work. I noticed a change after the very first session and things only improved from there. We are so much more aware of our dog’s body language and that alone has made a huge difference on how we interact with our dog.
I would highly recommend Shaggy Dog Training for both behaviour modification and basic training.
Victoria is amazing! My partner and I booked her for private sessions at our place with our two dogs who have different issues involving reactivity to other dogs. She provided amazing training material and instruction for us, including 1-1 attention for the dogs, and real-world training (walking out in the world and practicing seeing other dogs and how to pass them, etc.). I can't speak to the group sessions, but highly recommend this biz/person for your dog training needs as she is extremely supportive, easy going, and knowledgeable.
Victoria has taken my severly mistreated rescue from a reactive non trusting boy to a more relaxed and less stressed guy. I highly recommend her services! You the owner have to be willing to do the homework but then we owe it to our fur buddies!!
Victoria was so helpful and provided excellent service. I’m thrilled to have been able to connect so that my dog improved tremendously. I highly recommend Shaggy Dog service!!
My husband and I have been working with Victoria since we got our sweet little cockapoo a couple of months ago, and her experience, patience and insights have been invaluable. She has helped immeasurably with everything from greetings to sleep to impulse control and beyond. She is such a pleasure to work with, has incredible expertise and we are so grateful to have found her services!
We are long time dog owners but had never had a puppy before. Our other 3 dogs were all adopted as mature dogs. A Poodle puppy was a challenge and Victoria was amazing at helping us handle the task. Her training style with our pup was wonderful and Maggie loved the training sessions. Thank you very much Victoria for a job well done! We and Maggie appreciate your caring help.
Ozzie, Val & Maggie
I didn't know that training could be so fun. Very happy with the work Victoria did with us.
Shaggy Dog Pet Services (Victoria) is a miracle worker! Not only did they help with my dog’s reactivity, but I also learned so much about how to better train my dogs and build trust with them through positive reinforcement.
I cannot believe the difference we are seeing in our pups after only a few sessions.
Thank you Victoria for having such a significant positive impact on our dogs!
I initially found Shaggy Dog because I was looking for a trainer who used positive reinforcement instead of prong collars/discipline or fear based training. Victoria was very prompt at returning communication and her consultation call was very helpful in establishing what package would work best for the goals I had in mind.
Victoria is beyond patient and kind. She has a wealth of knowledge backed by a very thorough education in her field which I believe is what really sets her above.
I could write all day about how grateful I am for her teaching and would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a thorough, patient and very educated trainer.
We had a great experience with Victoria! She was patient and taught us why Stella was reactive and showed us strategies to help understand her nervousness. They are already working and by following the program Victoria designed for us, we’ll get there soon! Victoria was very responsive when I had questions between sessions and treated both Stella and me with respect the entire time, even when I asked stupid questions!! Highly recommend for difficult dogs.
Victoria is amazing with my furry family member. She takes the time and doesn't rush. She is very intuitive and wont push the dog to far! She is amazing at what she does and if you listen to her and follow her guidance your sure to have the best version of your family!!! I cannot recommend this dog trainer enough! Rain or shine, she is always there to help with any dog training needs. She is fantastic at teaching dogs how to be less reactive and more well-behaved. My furry friend has shown incredible improvement since working with her. I am so grateful for her expertise and dedication to helping dogs and their owners. If you want a great trainer who truly cares about your pet, look no further! She even got her furry friend and her mom to come assist in this evenings lesson even with it down pouring! Again I highly highly recommend her
Victoria was so helpful in aiding me with my reactive dog. She was very calm, patient and professional in her approach. I would definitely recommend Victoria for anyone who is interested in building a better understanding of their fur baby and their behaviour.
I completed 3 training sessions and I’m extremely thrilled with our progress. I feel much more confident and relaxed walking my dog who is Dog reactive. I also have all the tools I need to have a happy and safe environment for both my dog and Toddler. I highly recommend working shaggy dog pet services !
​So because we have no common sense, we thought we'd adopt a one year old Labradoodle mix that weighs 75lbs all while we live in the downtown core of the city, in a high rise and our immediate outdoor space is public parks full of people, other dogs, geese, pigeons and squirrels that will chase you for food. Needless to say we needed help.
Victoria offered an Obedience package light, three in person sessions and she had her work cut out to train this hapless beast, oh and the dog. By far the glut of the work was to train us, the owners, to understand the dog and use correct training, corrections and rewards to get results.
We truly appreciated her knowledge and expertise and her no nonsense approach to get us on track, the dog was doing just fine, the owners have to be consistent and patient and Victoria really helped us get better.
With her techniques and guidance plus the great harness and collar options she offered, we are on the path to a well mannered pup and our stress levels are way down. Victoria's background and experience are clear and we would highly recommend her.
Victoria has been a lifesaver when it comes to my reactive dog. Not only does she provide wonderful in-person training, the resources she provides online explaining all things covered in person are so helpful for continuing training. It has been wonderful having her in our corner as we navigate all the different things that come with having a reactive dog.
I didn't know that training could be so fun. Very happy with the work Victoria did with us.
Victoria at Shaggy Dog was nothing short of amazing with my reactive dog. Now my girl and I can actually walk in peace and we have been able to completely her emotional response to seeing other dogs. We made all this progress thanks to Victoria.
Working with Victoria has been a fabulous education. I love her approach: positive vs. negative reinforcement, nothing punitive. She does tons of research and knows so much about animals. She also has a great way with people. She never made me feel stupid about all the things I should have known about my dog(!) Most important, of course, through Victoria's interventions, my juvenile delinquent husky Lucca has vastly moderated his rambunctiousness without sacrificing his essential dogginess.
Victoria has been amazing in helping us cope and train our reactive dog! She gave us practical advice and exercises and one-on-one training for our boy--we were honestly at our witts end with his behavior and did not know where to start. She was great at explaining exercises to my kids and emphasizing that we have TO DO THE WORK and be consistent, something I cannot stress enough. If you don't follow through with her instructions you won't get anything from the sessions--but, committing to a dog is for life and requires hard work. I highly recommend her approach and teachings, she's been a life saver!!!
My partner and I worked with Victoria back in the Fall since we just moved to town and our dog became reactive to other dogs ever since. He would freeze the second he noticed them, bark his head off, and at times, there was no calming him down. We contacted Victoria to help us understand what was going on with his behaviour and what we could change in our approach to get our little one back to his happy self.
We attended her hybrid group class with online and in-person training and you could tell right away how knowledgeable Victoria is, how dog-centered her focus is, and how careful and considerate her training is when approaching reactive situations. It was so helpful to better understand our dog's body language and be able to tell when he was showing signs of discomfort that we didn't even notice in the past. Learning about what can be triggers for his behaviour was so immediately rewarding in helping us take our dog out of situations that could lead to escalations. It's been months now since our training and our little dog has had such a change in behaviour in that other dogs can pass by him without any overt reaction, sometimes with him just sitting at attention, and he's even made a few dog friends as well. There are still ups and downs in his behaviour, but after Victoria's training, we've learned to keep our focus on his overall trend, and we're so thankful that Victoria was able to give us the skills to keep this moving upwards! Would recommend her services 1000 times over!
I got a puppy who ended up being deaf, having pretty severe separation anxiety and anxiety and reactivity to other dogs, people any stimuli really, enable to go for walks as he becomes distressed ect. I worked with Victoria for separation anxiety for 2 months and 1 session for puppy nipping. My dog has made huge strides over the two months, from completely unmanageable for me to manageable. Not only was she a wealth of knowledge for the purposes she was hired for, she shared much more information regarding reactivity and anxiety, health, socialization. She always had my dog's best interest at heart. She was also an amazing sounding board for me to vent, and she validated the difficulty and provided coaching when I was feeling very frustrated, anxious and trapped with the situation, my puppy and myself. Which, if you had a dog with as much anxiety as I do, is as important of skills as the training is, for both yourself and the dog.
Thank you Victoria :)
Victoria is very knowledgeable with lots of experience. She is friendly and easy to work with. Highly recommend!
Lenny my Airedale Terrier, had separation anxiety. He was very destructive, destroyed a fortune in items, he even knew how to open the fridge and freezer and ate plenty of expensive groceries. A few vet visits, medication and me at my wits end, but not wanting to give up. My vet suggested I see Victoria. Victoria has been well worth the time. She has showed me how to do things correctly with Lenny and I can now go out and not come home to destruction and missing groceries.
She has also given me help, with my other Airedale, Ziggy, with his leash pulling.
I highly recommend Victoria, she is incredibly knowledgeable in all aspects of dog behaviour and training. And has helped tremendously.
Jane, Ziggy and Lenny
Victoria has been a lifesaver when it comes to my reactive dog. Not only does she provide wonderful in-person training, the resources she provides online explaining all things covered in person are so helpful for continuing training. It has been wonderful having her in our corner as we navigate all the different things that come with having a reactive dog.
​My partner and I discovered Victoria from a recommendation and started with our first dog who has separation anxiety. Her training platform worked amazingly over time! He went from not being able to be left at home alone at all to being left for 6 hours comfortably.Then we got our second dog that has anxieties, reactivity, and stranger danger, but with the in-person training sessions she made incredible strides with her reactivity and stranger danger on walks. We continue to work on close quarter introductions with people and dogs, but it's amazing the things we've learnt about our dogs as well as ourselves throughout the last year with Victoria. We really want to thank Victoria for all her help with our dogs because we couldn't have gotten through it without her. Her positive training reinforcement is definitely the way to go regardless of the breed and size of the dog. We 100% recommend her for any of the services she provides!
Victoria has been instrumental in supporting our family and Koda through our journey to understand her reactivity and resource guarding. Victoria has been patient with clear instructions to work on our issues. She was able to respond when we had a crisis after a dog bite with clear boundaries and resources to ensure everyone's safety. We truly appreciated all her support and would recommend her for general obedience as well as for more challenging behavioural situations (resource guarding, reactivity, etc). She has online courses as well as individual sessions to meet your needs.
Cannot say enough good things about Victoria and her gentle, humorous guidance in Bailee's training re reactive behaviours, safety, recall, etc. etc. She covers it all! Her patience with both Bailee and I as we navigated the behaviours, the training, successes & progress is so appreciated! Thank you! This photo is just for you Victoria - Bailee is thinking, "hmmm what next?" lol
An amazing experience overall! Great in terms of suggesting ways to deal with hyperactivity!
I have had the pleasure of working with Victoria for about a year now and I can confidently say she is one-of-a-kind in our community. I first reached out to her because my poor dog was struggling with dog-reactivity, noise sensitivity and separation anxiety. At that time, I thought I’d never see my dog relaxed and happy in a group situation or watch her play with another dog ever again. Victoria provided me with invaluable tools and knowledge and this has led to a much deeper understanding of my dog that will allow me to set her up for success for the rest of her life! It is thanks to Victoria that my girl is running and playing fear free and that is priceless.
Shaggy Dog Per Services is amazing! I consulted her about my cat’s inappropriate urination and were met with extremely successful results. So knowledgeable and helpful. I cannot thank her enough!
I adopted my first puppy back in October. Over a period of time I realized he has tendency to react to strangers and I had no idea how to help him with his challenges. Thus, I reached out to Victoria. There is no words to explain how relieved I am to have found her services. From the first initial phone call, I knew she was best suited for my pup. Over a few sessions we were able to breakdown why my pup was feeling the way he did. She provided ways to help me introduce my puppy to strangers so that not only my pup could be confident in these scenarios, but I would be confident in handling him. Victoria is knowledgeable, thorough and overall a very personable human. When I first reached out to her I felt discouraged, but by the end of our sessions I felt well equipped to be able to help my dog. If you’ve read this review far enough, you’re probably wondering if Victoria is the right fit for you. To me she was worth every penny in order to help my dog succeed and I would recommend her to anyone seeking services for their dogs. I cannot thank her enough for the tremendous growth I’ve seen in my dog!
We adopted a six year old pocket beagle, Penny, from a breeder. She came with severe separation anxiety. She was destructive when we went out and so we tried to crate her, but she got worse and soiled in her crate, and tore everything apart in there. We couldn't go out anywhere and were at the point of taking her back when we read Shaggy Dog's website. After three months, with Victoria, the change in our dog is like night and day - no more destruction or soiling. She is now a pleasure to have and there is no chance she will be taken back or rehomed because she is now the dog we wanted. Victoria has given us the tools to work with and we are now equipped to continue working with our little girl to increase the length of time we can leave her alone. Loved working with Victoria. We are seniors and Victoria was so patient with us, even when it came to finding our way around her zoom lessons. I have already recommended her to other dog owners and will definitely continue to do so whenever I see the need. Because of Victoria's training, we are on the move to have our life back again.
We were referred to another Pet Service but they were full. They recommended Victoria at Shaggy Dog Pet Services. We are very glad they did. Victoria is very nice and caring person. She is very knowledgeable and she has a great sense of humour. Her classes were very informative and we learned many things we never thought of or were misreading. We thought our pups were really excited about going to daycare to interact with the other dogs. We were sending them 3 times a week. We learned that they were anxious and stressed about going too often. We cut their visits back to once a week. They are much happier now. At the end of each session, Victoria answered more specific questions for us. We had one on one classes with her as well. My pups loved Victoria and I am sure they wanted to go home with her instead of us. LOL Even though there are others in the weekly online classes, you can't wait to hear what Victoria is going to suggest to them. Sometimes they have the same problem you do. Or they tell her what is working for them. I could go on and on about how happy we are with Victoria and Shaggy Dog Pet Services. What we learned and implemented has really changed our lives, and our pups, lives for the better. We highly recommend Shaggy Dog Pet Services!
Shaggy Dog Per Services is amazing! I consulted her about my cat’s inappropriate urination and were met with extremely successful results. So knowledgeable and helpful. I cannot thank her enough!
I had 3 wonderful sessions with Victoria. I am a first time puppy owner, so I was nervous about how to train my little miniature poodle. Victoria was the answer! She is patient, kind, knowledgeable and efficient. I was amazed how much we got done in 3 one hour sessions. I really feel confident that I am on the way to having a well trained and socialized puppy. Thank you Victoria for all your hard work and great follow-up emails detailing what to work on. I highly recommend Victoria’s services for any dog owner.
We have a 2-year old Jack Russell and a 1 year old. When our 1 year old was beginning to walk our Jack Russell became more agitated and would begin to growl at our son. We reached out to Victoria to ensure we were providing a safe place for both our children and our dogs. Victoria was quick to the rescue! She has helped us create a safer space for both to grow and nurture their relationship. Through clear communication and safe zones, we quickly noticed a change in our Jack Russell's behavior's to the point where he now seeks out our son for snuggles and tag wails. We would recommend Shaggy Dog Pet services in a heart beat, Victoria was wonderful to work with!
Victoria was very knowledgeable while assisting us in learning to understand our dog's behaviour. She has taught us the skills to respond correctly to his high energy and boredom. We are so very pleased with the services provided, and are very thankful to Victoria for helping us learn the tools to better support our busy boy.
Really gained tremendous value from the Veronica's training - both the online training which offered a lot of information that was valuable both in the moment and for the future. Our in-person training gave us a lot of confidence in retraining the behaviour of our four-year old rescue. Very happy we made the investment and I would recommend anyone look for training and retraining connect with Shaggy Dog
Working with Victoria has been a pleasure. Our dog was reactive and suffering from anxiety and Victoria approached our situation without judgement and helped us formulate a plan moving forward with many positive improvements. We took her reactive rover course and had private sessions. Victoria continuously referenced the science when she taught about dog behaviour and provided training recommendations. I would highly recommend Shaggy Dog Pet Services.
We highly recommend Victoria for any and all dog training! She was fantastic to work with and is extremely knowledgeable. She explained to us in detail the training process, why dogs present certain behaviors and how to correct it. Each time we left our training sessions feeling confident and in the end everything worked out perfectly. She has even given us further directions after our training sessions were through and is always available to talk to if we need anything. Thanks again Victoria!!
Results result results! Dr. Blondin worked wonders with our Great Pyrenees - Oadie. We had resorted to keeping him in a kennel, despite having 11 acres to offer Oadie. He just keep running away. After a few short sessions with Victoria we're ecstatic to report that Oadie is happy, healthy, and enjoying the 11 acres. He hasn't run away since we started the training Victoria recommended. We are all very happy with the results. Thank you Dr. Blondin!
Dr. Victoria Blonden is an excellent instructor. We highly recommend her services. She is articulate, extremely knowledgeable, with a wealth of experience.
It was an absolute pleasure working with Victoria! Not only is she smart and funny, her methods are effective and the dogs had a great time working with her too! We continue to work on our practice and our dogs are coming along with walking, and counter surfing! Would highly recommend Victoria!
Victoria at Shaggy Dog Pet Services is amazing! We worked with her throughout 2022 on separation anxiety for our new puppy. She is an excellent teacher and explains the research behind the training session. By sticking to her programming we were very successful! We started at leaving for 5 seconds and our girl can now comfortably stay at home for several hours. Highly recommend Victoria’s training services.
Victoria is a wonderful trainer who provided behaviour modification training with our 8 month old puppy when we were struggling. She's compassionate and explained clearly what we needed to do every step of the way. Can't thank her enough for her help and support.
Thank you Victoria at Shaggy Dog Pet Services for both the workshops- on Dog & Cat Behaviour 101 - that you gave at The Mutt Hutt Spaw & Pet Centre this past Sunday. I learned so much more about dogs and cats in these sessions. I think that these should be mandatory for anyone who is about to adopt a dog or cat...and for all of us who already have them. It is like taking parenting 101 classes. Why wouldn't we want to learn this?? Thank you again for giving me so much more awareness about dogs and cats. I know my furry family at home already appreciates this information. Thank you again!!
Met with Victoria for some assistance with my dog, Bruce, who has a tendency to be fearful and bark at strangers coming into his home or other familiar environments. Victoria was great with Bruce and able to calm him quickly when she came to our home. She educated us on dog behaviour, human behaviour, and what messages can be transferred through these interactions. She gave us a thorough and easy-to-follow training plan and has checked in multiple times since to see how everything is going and if we have any more questions. Would highly recommend Victoria for behaviour training that is based solely on reinforcement and positivity, rather than punishment and negativity. Her prices are also very fair, and it is worth it for Bruce to be more comfortable and for me to be more confident!
Victoria is an amazing trainer. She worked along side me to train my Sheepie and I'm truly grateful for her support and guidance. We came to Victoria for basic puppy training and am very pleased with her services and knowledge. Aglaea has learned so much from a sit and stay, heel with no pulling her leash when walking, puppy nip control, to greeting with proper manners and completely adores the learning games we learned to satisfy her natural puppy needs. Victoria's lessons and instructions are easy to follow, she readily answers any questions or concerns and I am now constantly complimented on my pup's manners and behavior. We had a lot of fun leaning and absolutely recommend Shaggy Dog Pet Services!
This woman is absolutely amazing. Barely know even where to start with this. When having a stranger come to your home, it is not a very reassuring feeling. Within minutes of meeting Victoria, we are 100% at ease knowing she will take amazing care of our fur babies. She is a very kind and extremely educated woman who simplified it for us newbies. She took 3 full hours at our home on a Sunday afternoon, and I feel that I have learned so much more about our animals then I ever thought possible. She even went as far as role playing with us to ensure we are following the training properly. She is patient consistent and her love for animals is very obvious. Her prices are beyond fair and she is a pleasure to interact with! She is by far the best choice we have made for trainer and sitter for our dogs. With all of the info and training tips she provided us, it has been only 3 weeks and already we are seeing major improvement. Thanks for everything Victoria, we are big fans
This service is wonderful my family was away for a week and Shaggy Dog Pet Services watched our older dog for us. They texted me every morning at my request with updates and pictures. When I came home there was a daily journal of what was happening while we were away. She took him on multiple walks daily. We are also using them for training purposes and she has trained our dog in less than one week and is helping me train him to listen to me on walks etc.
Victoria is wonderful I would highly recommend her.
Shaggy Dog Pet Service has shown me that my dogs are highly trainable by ME! In two short sessions Victoria has trained me how to walk my dogs so that they behave without me yelling or them pulling! She has also reliably come to take my dogs out twice a week for a group walk and left me journal notes from my dogs each time with updates on how well they are walking on leash. I have booked Victoria for some in-home dog, cat and fish sitting in the near future and I feel confident that I am leaving my pets and my home in her capable hands. I highly recommend Victoria’s Shaggy Dog Pet Services and it isn’t just because we have the same breed of dogs, it’s because her services are what she says they are - and more!
Victoria and Winston were tremendous in helping us train our puppy Coco. We started with puppy kindergarten where Coco mastered the sit, stay, leave it and drop it commands. Victoria was very supportive and encouraging through the nipping phases. We learned to recognize triggers and deter the nipping. Puppy obedience class is where we learned how to get Coco off the couch, settle down when visitors were at the door, go to her bed and lay down and more. Victoria and Winston helped us in having a behaved new family member in our home. I would recommend Victoria and her partner Winston to anyone with a new pup in their life.
Frances ZiyiFan, Kingston
Victoria and I met a week after I got my dog in 2016. She has helped me walking, sitting and training my dog since he was 3 months old. My dog made so many friends (Winston and Beau...) through Victoria. He is so happy and exhausted every time after the live-in sitting. Victoria always keeps me updated and sends me pictures during the sitting. We have had private training sessions to work on various issues of my dog throughout his puppyhood and as he matures. She helped me stay on top of my dog's behavioral issue. Her vet and behavioralist background provided me not only training techniques but knowledge about dogs in general.
Victoria was very compassionate when listening to my concerns about my cat Apricot and her new housemates. Victoria has always told us 100% of the truth and been very realistic with our training.I really appreciated her teaching us(the humans) what we needed to know to improve our animals lives while maintaining their natural behaviours. Apricot got the best cat highway of her life and we are always striving to create enriching experiences for her.Victoria was very fair with us and flexible when it came to our timmings of training and when we needed to pay - overall she has had excellent quality training and was extremely professional.
Amazing experience! Always has fantastic advice. Victoria is so caring and truly passionate about the pets she cares for! I highly recommend
Debbie L., Trenton
Victoria was wonderful to work with, she listened to my concerns and was able to help us. After a couple of sessions with Victoria the results were amazing. My dogs now enjoy each other’s company and we are able to enjoy theirs!
Thank you so much for all of your help!
Mary H., USA
Great training advice given and a friendly work environment. She helped me just by giving advice on things I could do to help with my cat problem I was having. Definitely would recommend
"I found Shaggy Dog Pet Services during the pandemic while a stay at home order was in place. All classes were done virtually and I couldn’t be happier with the results. My 8 month old English bulldog, Darla, was having issues with leash pulling. I could see improvements immediately after starting this portion of the class. Initially this was the main reason for seeking obedience training, however by the completion of the course, Darla had become much more obedient in many ways.
I would highly recommend working with Victoria at shaggy dog pet services."
Alison Starks, Kingston
Victoria is great and reliable. My dog Jake absolutely loves when she comes to take him for “walkies”. Jake is fairly reactive and has serious trust issues, but Victoria has been able to walk straight into our home from day one and he’s loved her. After each walk Victoria leaves a journal entry detailing the days adventures and if there are any concerns she will text immediately. Often she will send pictures of Jake on his adventure as well. It’s fantastic. Totally takes the stress out of my day knowing my little dude is well taken care of and getting properly exercised when I’m away.
Maddie O'Connor, Kingston
Victoria took the time to learn about my dog's behavioral past and listen to what my concerns were. She helped me understand Willow's behavior and how to best address it. She was so supportive, kind and professional. I completely trusted her with my dog! Willow would be SO excited every time we saw Victoria and Winston. I especially appreciate how Victoria is so flexible. She once quickly made a last-minute trip to take Willow on a walk-and-train, when other plans didn't work out. I am thrilled with Willow's progress and now feel like I have a good handle on things. Thank you Victoria and Winston!!!