Below are a few examples what other dog owners have to say!

I really enjoyed your positive company and I feel empowered to work at helping Haight with her insecurity. Your expertise and gentleness have helped to ease my mind and give me some peace. I love Haight very much and want what’s best for her, and I know that you know that. I also felt that you had confidence in me, which helped me to have more confidence in myself. I wanted you to know, that equally as important as the valuable information in Haight’s behaviour assessment was your faith in us. I feel now more strongly convicted and self-assured. We ARE on the right track. Haight is a great girl. We are a good pack.

Nancy Bain, Bridgewater NS


Hi Silvia - just want to say thank you for the reports and to tell you how much we all enjoyed our session yesterday. I want to tell you how impressed I was with all your knowledge and with all the information you were able to provide to us regarding our problem(s) with Charger. We realize that it is going to take work on all our part to help Charger overcome his dominant behaviour and to help him to deal with stressful situations calmly.

Darlene, David, Devin and Charger - Brookfield NS


When I started to read the articles on Silvia's website, I thought to myself - can this lady be for real? Her techniques seem so ultra positive, so loving, so committed to the whole dog and their human family, that I asked another ultra positive trainer friend of mine to have a look at her website - which she did, who then contacted Silvia because she was so impressed - and when she got back to me, she said that Silvia was "the real deal". I have been continually amazed at the depth of Silvia's dog knowledge and her capacity for figuring out what is making not only mine - but my friend's dogs (who I've been referring to Silvia because she's so good) - go from being afraid, reactive, and dysfunctional - to happy, well-mannered, and fully functioning members of their canine and human families. We are so lucky to have Silvia Jay here in Nova Scotia. And the dogs are especially lucky!

Joan Sinden - Charlie Loves Halifax

Jackie Evans, Port Greville, NS



After adopting my Pomeranian I immediately realized something was wrong and that I needed a professional. He was terrified and aggressive with everything but me. I'm so thankful I found Silvia! She taught me how to deal with my reactive (but cute) little guy in a way I could implement on my own and feel good about. I stuck with her plan and decided to stop looking on the internet. Within 2 months I saw a significant positive change in him -and the improvement hasn't stopped! I now feel in control and certain I'm on the right track.

Thanks so much Silvia- Your great:)

Nina Haynes



Her obsession with Ollie has significantly decreased, yesterday I was on the deck working with Ollie and Sadie was content to chew on her ball on the ground below so that is a big change. It has gotten to the point where Ollie frequently initiates play on her own because Sadie hasn’t been harassing her and the neck biting has decreased as well. It isn’t always like this 100% of the time but it has greatly improved.

We don’t let the play escalate to much we monitor them and as long as they are playing and having fun we leave them with intermittent play times with us. I have been working on recall when they are playing and they will come when I have treats. The game where we do the recall with a couple people has worked too. We have been working on the leave it (Smokey cat provides lots of opportunity for practice as he strolls through randomly) , and the down stays and they are certainly coming along.

They don’t fight over stuff they can share the balls and not fight over a stick Sadie is claiming things less she seems more relaxed in her place here I think she understands this is her home and she is staying. We will introduce more things when they are together starting with a bone and have them both on a leash with the eye contact and work up to food. I find Sadie is much easier to work with learning to walk on a lead than Ollie I get eye contact all the time especially after the harnesses came I find it works really well we can get a lot more steps in that Ollie between stops.

Janet – New Minas NS



Our dog training classes are now over for the summer and were an unbelievable success! Three different levels of classes were offered through the Cochrane Humane Society and the Weedon Pioneer Community Hall, including puppy, beginner and advanced levels, with instructor Silvia Jay. We had an overwhelming response to our training programs and would like to thank Silvia, we’ve had great feedback and will continue with the classes in the fall. Silvia uses positive reinforcement methods and her classes provide a fun and relaxed environment for learning.

Cochrane (AB) Humane Society Newsletter Volume 30, June 2005



Last year while planning our wedding I decided that I wanted to have our dog Bailey be the ring bearer. Everyone I told about it thought it was a great idea… except, of course, my fiancé! The thing with Bailey is that new places and lots of new people make her very excited and when she’s excited she jumps up and likes to give kisses. Now I know that Shane was right to worry about this since everyone would be dressed nice, especially him in a tux and me in my gown! However, I really had my heart set on her be a part of our day. Our florist suggested getting a dog trainer to do some specific training before hand and then her handler for the day. I emailed a few places I found on the internet… a few of them were actually discouraging me from the idea. Then I heard back from Silvia, she loved the idea and she sounded very positive! We met once, she gave me some pointers on what training to do on my own and then she had Bailey for some alone time. I felt very confident that this was the perfect solution… and I managed to convince Shane, too! Finally the big day arrived and it all worked out perfectly. I know for sure it wouldn’t have worked out as well if not for Silvia!

Thanks Again

Deb, Shane and Bailey – Calgary



Thank you for the recap and for all your help. We are already seeing an amazing amount of progress from Nico. She is being rewarded with ear scratches (not treats) when she does not growl and she has already begun to look to us for her bit of rubbing when Owen approaches her and she doesn’t growl. I think she will come around very quickly.

Keri Garrison – Peggy’s Cove, NS



All I can say is WOW! I’ve been working with getting Ernie’s attention around the house since our class last week. Also, I constructed a make-shift sensation harness by attaching his nylon leash (which I never used to use since he pulled so bad with it) to the front of a body harness.

Well, today I just started incorporating the attention-routine and what I read in your handout on an actual on-leash walk (we rarely walk on leash, I usually run him in a farmers field near here, since it’s been so stressful to walk him on leash previously) and it was amazing! I realized that he had it in him all the time, it was me that was the “dumb” one since I didn’t know how to speak to him in a way he could understand. I was walking him with the leash loosely held between two fingers most of the walk and even was able to jog a bit without losing control or having him pull. We had so much fun, for once! And I was so happy I almost cried! It’s been a stress for me knowing that I’m moving to the city and concerned about where I would walk him that was not around other dogs. Now I can see that we can have lots of fun even on-leash just by me learning how to work in partnership with him. It will also be so much better for him since he will get more exercise and we will bond much closer to each other. I realize that it’s baby steps, but things are sure looking up for us.

Thank you so much!

Still smiling and being cuddled by a happy dog … Shellie, Cochrane AB



I need to thank you for everything. I really feel as though you have been heaven sent. I appreciate everything you do and have done

Brenda White, Bedford NS



Hi Silvia,

I just wanted to send you a big thank you from all of us for all your insight into Brandi. Not only have you helped our family feel very comfortable with Brandi, you gave Eric a lot more confidence with her as well. Ted was very impressed with your skills and he enjoyed watching Eric work so well with Brandi. We plan on continuing the socialization with her and hopefully she will continue to be good with other dogs and a great family dog.

Sincerely

Jana Hart – Redwood Meadows AB



Hi Silvia,

You have been an excellent resource and always reply to your email. Follow-up is so important for the novice dog owner, or someone who encounters a new dog with a very different personality. That would be me! I thought that I’d be able to work with Lacey, like our previous dog friend, Duncan, but she is quite the character! As you know, we are progressing slowly and I’m feeling more confident every day – thanks to your help, advice and follow-up care.

Lana and Lacey

Calgary AB



Using Silvia as a consultant for our dog “Trixie” was one of the best decisions we have ever made. Within the first hour she was able to assess and give us insight on Trixie’s behaviour. She then was able to guide us in the right direction with gentle training. After several months our insecure dog has come a long way thanks to Silvia. The best part is that Silvia comes to your home and answers any questions via email between visits. A large part of it comes from her love of dogs and from her extensive experience.

Trixie is a rescue dog with issues that very quickly became part of our family. With Silvia in our lives helping we now know that Trixie will continue to be a large part of our family. Thanks Silvia for all your help and knowledge.

Ann, Craig, Megan, Christopher, Tabitha the cat and Trixie Rice

Calgary AB



Hi Silvia,

Feel free to use us as a reference. You were very insightful, gave us very practical and easy tips and were great to work with. Thanks. Actually, Ned is turning into an amazing pet. Now he has the confidence to show his personality and just be himself. He is very quirky. He likes to talk to you and actually will go explore by himself and make good decisions. I am really proud of him.

Thanks for everything

Angela Calgary



I heard about Sylvia through a friend of mine who had read and loved her book, Dump Dog. Because she is an advocate for and had such an amazing success story with rescues, I decided to call on her to help me with my own rescue. Sylvia's techniques and insight into my dog's personality and behaviour helped us, as a family, find a better way to navigate her training in a positive and forward moving direction. Sylvia gave me confidence in my relationship with my dog and a newfound understanding of dog behaviour. I would definitely recommend Sylvia's book and/or consultation to anyone who wants a better understanding and relationship with their dog. You won't be disappointed!

Marla - Truro NS



“As rookie dog owners, Silvia prepared us so that we could live the early days with our new puppy with confidence in our actions. That confidence translated to a terrific start for our dog in her new family.” - The Campbell-Coleman family - Waverly - NS



Go from dog owners testimonials to Dump Dog to read what Dump Dog readers have to say.