I first met Sylvie at a business fair where her dog's Ozzie and Fergus were all the advertisement she needed. They were both impeccably well-behaved and focused on her every command, even amid all the movement and excitement of the people at the fair.
At our consultation six month old Bristow shared her approval of Sylvie by contentedly sucking on her thumb while we discussed training options. Sylvie thoroughly explained our options and answered questions about training tools. When we started Bristow responded very well to the way Sylvie varied the activities in each training session. Sylvie would be the handler to show us the skill in action, then quickly hand the leash over to one of us, encouraging and giving tips on the best way to work with her. She was quick to recognize Bristow's responsiveness to voice tone, and pass this information on to us.
While we learned the basics of come, sit, down and heel Sylvie recognized Bristow had poor social skills. Bristow was very confrontational when she greeted another dog. Upon recognizing this Sylvie brought Ozzie along to help her practice greeting, from there we went on field trips to the local dog park to hone her skills.
One of our proudest moments was when Bristow successfully completed her test to earn her certificate. To pass the test she had to complete each of her tasks five times successfully. The reason she was able to pass was because Sylvie had laid the groundwork and trained us to train our Bristow. Now a year and a half later we have a well-behaved seventy-five pound German Shepherd who is a delight to have as a part of our family because of the skills Sylvie shared with us.
From Jessica and her pack,
I have a 6-pack of dogs that were no longer fun to be around. My alpha dog (a spayed female, named Pokey) was fear aggressive & it seemed to be spreading quickly to the rest of my 'pack'. Pokey was afraid of other dogs outside her pack. She was also getting aggressive toward delivery people and even some people that were invited to our home. She had always been a very gentle dog and in fact was my 8 year old daughter's dog, so I knew I had to do something. I called Sylvie at Top Class K-9 and described the issues of her behavior. Sylvie then came to our house to do an on site visit to see how the dogs react and how I handled them. We then decided on a program that seemed to be best for Pokey & me. It was a lot of work but Pokey did get much better and I learned how to read her so I could help her when she was feeling insecure. It was work, but it was also fun.
So much so, that I enrolled my male Mini Australian Shepherd (Jo) who was also going down the road of fear aggression. He has now received his CGC (canine good citizenship) and earned his first obedience title (CD) ! I am enjoying my dogs more than ever and look forward to learning more and doing more with them. I highly recommend Sylvie at Top Class K9, to anyone wanting to have a truly enjoyable & reliable dog!
From Jane Berry and Two Blue
I am so excited - Two Blue aced a trip to the vet this morning. He successfully navigated the waiting room with no incidents and completely ignored the other two dogs (including a bull terrier). He stood for exam, and heeled, sat, and did a down stay on command. There was no shaking or shying away when the vet examined him. This is huge progress!Thanks Sylvie! My Australian Shepherd, Two Blue, is highly intelligent, but fear aggressive toward other dogs and very timid around people and new experiences. I am training him for agility competition and although he performs well on the agility course, I will not be able to compete with him unless I can build his confidence and control his aggressive tendencies. Prior to working with Sylvie I attempted to address his behavior using the more common correction method. This did not work and seemed to aggravate the problem. His reactive behavior was escalating rapidly.
I started private lessons with Sylvie in August and am now in her continuing ed program. She uses positive reinforcement to develop appropriate behaviors and customizes the classes to match your individual needs. I am absolutely thrilled with the progress Two Blue has made and am looking forward to his first agility trial in January.
Sylvie is far and away the best trainer I have ever worked with. She has a wonderful ability with dogs, but also helps you become a better handler and recognize where you unconsciously may be encouraging your dog's poor behavior. Sylvie can help you and your dog become a well-balanced team.
January 5, 2009 - Two Blue Update
I actually don’t think my feet have touched the ground since this weekend’s agility trial.Two Blue, whose agility career has always been in question because of his timid personality and fear aggressive behavior around other dogs, flashed through his four events (and very first trial) to obtain four qualifying runs, three first places, one second place, and his Novice Jumpers Title.
I wasn’t certain how he would react to the inevitable distractions around the perimeter of the ring from spectators and ring workers.I would have been thrilled to have him stand in line before his events and enter and exit the ring without incident.
Imagine my excitement on his first run when he entered the ring with relative confidence, sat at the start line without lead or collar, and bolted for the first obstacle when I gave him his go command.Then it hit me – he was leaving me in the dust and I was going to have to run much, much faster in order to keep up with him!He was completely focused on completing the course, showed no hesitancy, and responded quickly to my commands.I proudly picked up Two Blue’s qualifying and first place ribbons and showed them to him.He appeared quite unimpressed but went out and sped through his remaining three events, culminating with a very smooth 36-second regular run at the end of the show.Between runs he sat calmly in his crate without reacting to the other dogs around him and the people and dogs passing by.This is incredible for a dog that three or four months ago was prone to out of control outbursts of fear aggression toward other dogs.The slightest sound or sudden movement used to cause him to flinch he would not leave me even for a treat he was so insecure.
From Beckie and Lincoln Lincoln bit men. Many people told me he was a Red Zone dog who needed to be put down. I was devastated because I knew my dog was not vicious. Other trainers had worked with him, but Lincoln continued to be aggressive toward men. When I found Sylvie on the internet, I knew she would be Lincoln's last chance. I took Lincoln to the Top Class K-9 training center, and he turned inside out with fear. But before we left that morning, Lincoln was eating out of Sylvie's hand and falling asleep on top of her feet. Now all I have to say is "Auntie Sylvie!", and Lincoln goes into this hysterical state of wild joy. Sylvie diagnosed Lincoln's problem as being one of fear. She worked through his self-doubts and also taught ME to communicate calmness to Lincoln. As a result, Lincoln has gained the self-confidence he so needed. He will always be wary when strange men are near to me, but he does not react toward them the way he used to. He's calmer, takes time to evaluate a situation, and has learned to trust that I will not put him in a bad situation. Sylvie is a marvel. Our own DFW Dog Whisperer. I now have my other two dogs in her capable hands as well, and have been sending friends and their dogs to her. Wonderful with people AND animals, Sylvie is good for all of us! -
From the Bryant Family We have a beautiful, playful pitbull. She was still young when Sylvie agreed to talk her. Know we did look around at other trainers and companies, but we did not like what they said or how much they charged for what little work they did. With Sylvie, whenever we needed her she was there. For Reese's first time to the vet and out around traffic. Plus she did not have us muzzle her, like other people told us she would have to be. We also have a cat that was here first and they did not like each other at all. Sylvie got them to live in the same room together on the first day of training, and she was able to be walked on a leash the first day as well.
Sylvie is great with the animals and truly loves them. I send everyone I know to her.
From Carolyn & Wizzy
WillsWizard (AKA “Wizzy”) was just 10 months old when we started Beginner Obedience at Top Class K9. For eight weeks, Sylvie put us through the paces; and each week, Wizzy was so excited about being there and I was so proud of him. Who knew he was such a Wiz! Now we can’t wait until Intermediate and someday Agility. Thank you Sylvie!
From Pamela and Tigger Sylvie worked patiently helping me to train me and my dog, Tigger. He was fearful of new people and situations and would bark aggressively and lunge. I was afraid to expose him to anything or anyone new, I didn't know what would happen especially since he is such a big dog. My own fear made Tigger even more nervous. Sylvie worked on getting me to calm down so I could handle him and we worked on his obedience, a lot. We are still a work in progress. He is much more obedient and little by little I am seeing improvements in new situations. Thank you Sylvie, you've helped both Tig and I to have a calmer more in control life.
