Shake-a-Paw Dog Training

We didn't even know where to start with our foster dog Beans. He's a 10 year old dog who is skittish and majorly lacking confidence! Putting him through Paola's confidence and composure class was incredibly rewarding. She took the time to figure out what made him tick. She remained patient and helpful even when Beans (and I) were nearing the end of our rope. I appreciate how she explained each training tactic, making sure I understood every step of the way. Thanks, Paola!!! Beanie Baby says hi :)

I have been working with Paola, the owner of Shake a Paw for over 3 years with private lessons and now group classes. She has helped us to come a long way from the dog who would pull like crazy at the end of his leash even when I stood still and act oblivious to my existence to a dog who can actually calm down out in public and engage with me thanks to the exercises she has taught me. When I was informed of her class, Canine Confidence and Composure, I was excited and took the class. My dog had developed dog reactivity issues as a teenager and I had no idea how to handle the behaviour in order to make improvements and it just kept getting worse over time. This class taught me how to handle that behaviour and how to make those improvements. Now I am much more skilled at preventing reactions, rewarding good behaviour choices and reading my dog's body language. I am now able to help him recover within minutes of the now occasional reaction whereas before, if he reacted he could not stay in the environment and calm down; he had to be removed far, far away from the situation and it would take a long time for him to settle. I had so much success with the class the first time that I decided to take it a second time and we just keep making great progress.

Firstly, I didn't get confirmation of my class registration and my emails didn't get answered. I attended the first class and we didn't do anything! We didn't even introduce ourselves to the class or give a little history about our dogs. The "trainer" yelled out judgments about the handlers and their dogs and she thought she knew it all, and why we were there. She couldn't have been more wrong. She didn't care that my dog was an abused rescue dog and was terrified that she was yelling so much! We literally stood in one place and did nothing for over 30 minutes to listen to this "trainer" yell, so I left. I didn't go back either. I didn't get any money back. I didn't hear from her.

I grew up attending dog training classes, obedience trials, and dog shows - I took care of my "sister's" Sheltie from the age 9 onwards - 1-5km walks daily, grooming (bathing, trimming, etc.), feeding, and more, and have a good grasp on reading animals having had worked with them for 5 years in my late teens/early 20's. We brought our year old large dog to Paola's Agility classes as per recommendation from an acquaintance, who was also bringing one of our dogs older siblings to the same introductory course. Although our dog did well balancing and approaching the strange obstacles associated with Agility, this certainly was not due to Paola's training techniques. We managed to muddle through two classes, however, after the last class, all three of us sat in the car almost in tears as she was just not a positive trainer. At. All. She didn't ask about dogs' background or anyone's training background, we were never introduced to the other class members, and she did not get to know our dogs or how they worked while training. She made us feel like everything we did or his behaviours were awful, and that he would be un-trainable. She did not ask us how he learns, what drives him, and his past experiences. Fields to our dog meant Dog Park - running, playing, having fun - not obedience training (the setting was outside). Seeing his sister, he just wanted to play with her - being a puppy, it was difficult to show him that we were working, not playing. If there had been an interior building setting, he would of responded a lot calmer, and we he wouldn't of wanted to go into play mode when he saw his sister (we kept them apart). She had nothing positive to say to us or our dog, making us feel like failures. As per her website, she certainly did not show us how to have fun training, did not treat us or our dog with respect, was impatient, didn't show any effective training techniques, and we didn't return after the second class. We heard after we left that another 4 dogs pulled out, and 1 other pulled out after the first week - we did receive a refund for the % of classes that we did not attend. Sure she may win trials and have a multitude of awards, but when she has 1/3 of her class drop out, and made us feel so negatively against the entire situation that we never attempted agility again, God forbid if we ever brought our younger rescue pup who had no socialization until he was 14 weeks old due to a sad situation at his breeders - he has reactive/trigger issues and anxiety that were eased dramatically with private lessons with a trusted and reputable instructor. I feel he would not of liked Paola's attitude, and would of failed miserably in her hands vs the positive reinforcement, patience, and understanding of his awesome trainer @ CaroLark. I would never recommend Shake-a-Paws classes to anyone.

I signed up my foster dog to participate in the ' Confidence and Composure' Program. ChaCha is dog aggressive and is very reactive on leash, when another dog is in her sights, she will even react through the window when dogs walk past our home. She has come a long way since entering foster care, but we want to set her up for success if she is to be adopted to her forever home on day. Paolo came to our first private session, and I quickly realized that I have more to work on then Cha Cha. I love that Paola uses treats and positive praise to work the dogs and I am confident that this training will help Cha Cha over come some of her fears and anxiety. I am hopeful that it may also help curb her reactivity and be able to keep her energy in check. I look forward to being part of this training program looking forward to the in class sessions.