Reviews Feed

We could not be happier with our decision to move forward with Sam Ivy! We were very skeptical about any kind of training given our situation, however it was the best choice we have made. I have never left a review for anything before, but we were so happy with the results we saw with our dog, and the service from our trainer, Gina, that we had to. To give you some background, we rescued a lab mix several years ago, who at the time was a sociable and friendly puppy. He became the second dog in our home. He has always been very protective, attached to me, and somewhat anxious and skittish, however in the beginning we were able to take him to the dog beach and everywhere with us. Over time we saw more antisocial behavior develop that became progressively worse. He began getting into fights with other dogs, bit a friends dog, barked at everything, lunged at cars and people etc. We could no longer take him to areas with other dogs due to aggression, and we saw aggressive tendencies start to emerge towards people, to the point that he had to be locked away if anyone new came to the house. We became fearful about taking him out anywhere, and were asked to leave outdoor seating in a restaurant due to behavior. Safe to say, we were at a loss at where to go with him. He is an extremely loved family member, and it was hard not being able to bring him with us to different places, especially knowing how loving and well behaved he is at home. We were desperate to find a way to improve his behavior and help him enjoy life outside of the home, safely. We did our research, I called many training companies and never followed through due to fear that they wouldn't be quite right or wouldn't work - and initially it seemed like a big investment that we couldn't afford not to work. After searching and setting up an initial call with Sam Ivy, my concerns began to ease. I never felt pressured into signing up, or to make a sale on a training program. All my questions were answered with patience. We chose to go with the virtual training given that it would eliminate the need for our dog to get accustomed to the trainer, thus giving time back to the training itself. My spouse was skeptical about the virtual training initially, but after session one we were both sold. We were matched with Gina, who was professional and friendly from the get-go. Gina listened to all of our concerns, while keeping us both on track with what we needed to do to work with our dog. She taught us how to take back control and demonstrate that we are the alpha's in the pack. Within the first few sessions I could see a huge difference in our dog already. I had gone from only exercising him in our back yard for months, to walking him around the neighborhood several times a day, while he listened and followed directions. Each time I practiced the tools Gina gave us, I became more confident and less anxious taking my dog out. As the weeks progressed we visited parks, public spaces, practiced obedience and learned how to correct unwanted or aggressive behavior. We have gone from being stressed about anyone walking by or knocking on the door, to taking our dog out with us everywhere, and he is now able to sit with us in outdoor restaurants, behaves when people walk by, and follows commands. I walk him at least twice a day and don't avoid every single person in sight for fear of his behavior. We have noticed his temperament shift to a much calmer, trusting state. He is still a somewhat anxious dog who prefers his family over others, but he is a dog that behaves in public and trusts his owners to make decisions. I should note that we have an older dog who is not aggressive but is not obedient and this did not impact what we were able to achieve with our dog in training. Gina showed us how to work through this. We could not be more thankful for Gina and the time she spent with us. We go everywhere with our boy now which is what we always wanted: to see him comfortable and happy out with us. Thank you Gina for everything you did, and thank you Sam Ivy.