Reviews Feed

On April 1st 2024 we welcomed a 1 year old Papillon male into our family. Right away we knew we needed to implement training in several aspects including house breaking. I researched and ended up deciding on Sam Ivy. We had an extensive interview/conversation with Sam Ivy in which all aspects of the training were explained in depth. We were told about the philosophy, implementation, goals, etc of the training. We decided this was a good approach for us as we travel frequently with our dog and being tied down to a specific location is not an option for us. So, we went ahead and signed up. We have now completed our 9th session with Holli, ( BTW, she is an awesome trainer) and Radar is a much more centered dog. He is happy and willing to do the training, house breaking is at about 99% success (the other 1% is due to operator error!, aka: me). I can’t say enough about the program or about Holli. She is a dream to work with, always willing to listen and encourage and if something is not working, she will find a different way to try. I will gladly add to this review after our 12 weeks but the progress we have made is impressive. I would highly recommend Sam Ivy Trining to anyone who is looking for great program. We will more than likely continue into the next step of Service Dog Training. If nothing else, it is a huge confidence builder for both dog and handler. UPDATE. Radar, my husband and I, graduated from the Service Animal Program today. The difference in both Radar and myself is hard to comprehend. We are both much more confident and secure in our roles of handler and dog. Radar has come such a long way in a relatively short time. Holli's level of patience, kindness and above all knowledge is astounding. She has been there to support us every step of the way, sometimes dealing with challenges outside of her control. We had a very stressful family issue which interfered with our training schedule and Holli was so kind and understanding, working within our constraints until all was resolved. Since we started trining, Radar has over 50 flying hours, hours and hours in cars, at least 75 restaurant meals, airports, malls, hotels, etc. From the very beginning and using the tools Holli made available to us, he has behaved extremely well. He is a well balanced happy little dog who loves to "go to work". This was never going to happen without the Sam Ivy method of training and specially with Holli. I would highly recommend both Sam Ivy and Holli to anyone who would like to achieve a good outcome with maximum help and support. I will miss our twice weekly sessions with Holli, whom I have come to consider a friend. I have always enjoyed my sessions, ever when frustrated. I know that 99% of the issues were mine and Radar was just "reading" me and reacting accordingly. Thank you Holli from the very bottom of my heart.