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Charlie

I am a senior and the proud owner of a 20 month Golden Retriever whose name is Charlie.
Charlie was my third pup. My family believed that "Mom needed a dog" after the passing of my Golden 2 years ago. My first thought was uncertainty, my second was "I can do this, not my first rodeo". The other two pups had both been in training so I felt there was no need with this one until I realized how wrong I was. By 18 months I knew that help was the only way I would be able to cope with Charlie or even keep him given the huge challenge that he was. A terrible leash walker. Walking him was frustrating and scarey at best but dangerous at worse especially in winter conditions. At age 75, with an 85 pound puppy on the end of the leash, it was a disaster waiting to happen. I also dealt with resource aggression over food. He was a very young puppy that I believed would bite until he actually did. This was a terrible time for me. Natalie Little was referred to me and with her training Charlie and I have a new found relationship. She has helped Charlie become a calmer, less challenging puppy who no longer lunges at me, bites (mouthing), or rips my clothing and no resource guarding of his food. Charlie is now the sweetest, snuggliest dog I have owned. Through her kind and gentle guidance, working with Charlie and me I find myself in love with Charlie. The fear and frustration has gone and I have learned how to calm him when he gets very rambunctions as well as watching for signs that Charlie is moving into that over excited stage or as Natalie would say when his bucket is full. We practiced so many techniques in the house where distractions were limited and where we could focus on the training. Charlie worked so hard but also enjoyed the challenges. Natalie, you will be pleased to hear that as of the past week when conditions outside permitted, I have taken Charloie for walks. He is amazing. He leaves the house calm. Is very manageable when other dogs approach although at that moment I always choose an alternate route. No pulling and I'm using the double clip leash and harness. Is he perfect? Of course not but I am so proud of him and so grateful to you for your trainig and teachihg me the skills I need that even as a senior a strong dog is a possibility. It has been a real pleasure working with Natalie who has been so generous with her time and coaching that it has made a huge difference in my life and certrainly in Charlie's. Thank you so much for all that you have given to usl Every puppy that comes into our lives is different and I certainly found that out very quickly but most important is to recognize the need to ask for help. I speak to all dog owners new or experienced but especially to seniors whose love for a dog knows no bounds but can be compromised when the day to day life with a pup becomes so difficult it is hard to manage. If you find yourself in this situation you will be well placed in the hands of Natalie whose gentle but firm methods become life changers in your relationship with your beloved pup.

FEBRUARY 2024

Gimlet

Gimlet's progress over the past month has been amazing since we began taking private training with Natalie. She's come such a long way in learning how to control her reactivity on lead. She's a calmer, happier dog who is learning how to temper her initial reactions. Absolute dog training techniques that Natalie has also introduced us to has helped tremendously! Even a more mature dog with these ingrained traits can learn so if you have a dog who reacts aggressively on lead, Natalie is your answer!

FEBRUARY 2024

Honey and Hero

We have gotten to know Natalie over the past year and a half through several one-on-one training sessions in our home. She is a delight to work with and both of our dogs Hero and Honey always look forward to their lessons. Natalie is a very patient instructor given that she was training two excitable dogs at once. Honey is an energetic two-year old Golden Retreiver whose personality made her sister Hero, an eight-year-old yellow lab, very excitable in return as she tries to compete with her for attention. Natalie taught us many techniques to help reduce their excitement when anticipating going for a walk, during walks and when visitors come to the door. They have both calmed considerably at our front door now when visitors arrive. Nat

alie was very flexible with her time which was important during Covid. She also checks in regularly to ensure we remain accountable for doing our homework. We will continue to practise many of the techniques she taught us into the future. Natalie is a real gem to work with and we would recommend her to anyone looking for a dog trainer. I think we will miss her visits as much as our dogs will!

NOVEMBER 2023

Indy and Belle

When our two cattle dog/border collie mixed breed dogs started to fight with each other, we didn't know what we could do. They would attack each other with such ferocity that we ended up at the emergency vet with them one day. That was when I asked our vet for a referral to a good dog trainer. Natalie was at the top of their list. I contacted her that same day, and she immediately called me back to get a better sense of our issues. We had an in-person session with her that same week. Eight lessons and three months later, our girls are again the best of friends. Natalie taught us how to 'empty their buckets' (bring down their arousal), and keep them empty. She showed us how to help the girls better manage their feelings (just like toddlers!), and learn how to be less reactive, to each other and the rest of the world. Now we have our lives back, and our sweet family dogs have returned and are able to greet people in a friendlier fashion, return to us instead of chasing rabbits and squirrels, and manage their big feelings around other dogs and each other. We are so grateful!

MAY 2023

Herbie

I have had the pleasure of working with Natalie at BARK training for 5 one-hour training sessions over about 6 weeks. The dog I was needing help with had a few specific behavioural issues. The main ones were restlessness in the house along with stealing things (including counter-surfing) and whining when he wanted to go out even when he had just been out, barking repeatedly when he wanted something, and bolting and strong on-leash pulling when he saw potential prey like squirrels and rabbits on a walk. The dog was a rescue whom I had had for about one month when I had my first meeting with Natalie. Natalie provided helpful general information about behaviours expected of rescue dogs over their first few weeks of being in a new home and about the main types of training and what they achieve. After that, I decided to book a package of 4 lessons. Natalie made great use of each hour. It is remarkable what she managed to cover and still check that you have understood. She is happy to answer questions after a session, as well. At each session, there was always a check-in with confirmation of how things were going and some feedback on the issues I was finding. Then she explained the basis of the dog's behaviour using analogies from human responses to similar situations. This would be followed by a description and demonstration of the training method to be done and then I would practise it with the dog. Natalie explained clearly, using words and drawings as well as the demonstrations, and provided clear and encouraging feedback to me. There are no harsh methods or punishment of the dog involved. It is remarkable to see what can be accomplished with physical and verbal cues and positive reinforcement. In between the sessions, I worked on the training every day. Since much of what I needed to do related to how he behaved on the leash, it was natural and easy to put in up to 4 sessions a day.
"While some of the progress we made may have been just from the dog becoming more settled with me over time, I think most can be attributed to applying the methods that Natalie taught me. Two months after our first session, the dog has become much more relaxed. While he still pulls and gets excited if we get too close to a prey animal before seeing it, he has gradually become much better at observing squirrels from a distance, for example, without always frantically wanting to chase after them. Most of the time he is walking loose-leash or I'm hurrying him along! His demand barking is now limited, for the most part, to occasions when he really needs to go out, and he is much less restless overall. I've kept the paper over the lower part of the windows, though, which I did so he is not tempted to spend his time watching out for wildlife and getting riled up. Thanks to Natalie and her well-defined, gentle, clear and consistent approach, I've learned some valuable things about dog behaviour, why dogs respond to things the way they do and ways to modify their response which I'll be able to make use of going forward.

APRIL 2023

Lexi

As first time dog owners we needed knowledge, guidance, and strategies to deal with serious unwanted behaviours with our 1 yr old Aust Shep cross. The help we needed and asked for did not come from Puppy Socialization or Obedience 1 we attended and passed. The real tangible one on one help came from Natalie's experience as a professional dog trainer. We easily found ourselves applying what she taught us and with daily and weekly assigned homework we saw instant and steady improvement with Lexi. Natalie taught us how to understand our dog and learn what she lacked and very much needed to become less of a pessimist and reactive girl. Lexi is learning to trust and accept our leadership and together our overall relationship is growing beautifully. Natalie is lovely to work with, always punctual, always prepared for what's next to learn, and full of encouragement no matter how small or big the progress is. We found more value in hiring her to teach us how to train and manage our Lexi, then attending and passing the typical dog classes everyone encourages new dog owners to do. We highly recommend Natalie, 100%!

MARCH 2023

Nash

Before starting dog training with Natalie, I had Nash enrolled in some local training programs and all were put on hold/cancelled due to COVID. As timing would have it, I came across Natalie's ad in a local newspaper and was glad there were still options out there to help us out.
Natalie was able to accommodate my work schedule and made precautions for safe house visits. From the first to the last session, Natalie provided tips and techniques, demonstrated how training practices were done, allowed me to practice with Nash and provided some great insight into how his behaviours and emotions were in tune with the training practices. Every session we went over the progress from the previous session and what was working/what still needed improvement and, overall, Nash was very comfortable and always excited to see Natalie. The training is done in a calm and controlled environment and that reflects in how Nash has responded to it. After 6 sessions, I can see a difference in Nash's overall excited demeanour, his response and improvements in training activities and his openness to continue learning new things. I would recommend Natalie to anyone looking for a knowledgeable and experienced dog trainer and Nash and I are looking forward to working with her more in the future!

Chloe

"Chloe completed 8 weeks of training with Natalie and we can honestly say that we noticed improvement after the first week! Prior to training, Chloe's main concerns were recall, jumping up on guests and pulling on leash. The most immediate and drastic improvement, was her recall.
We also worked on a "stay on your spot" command which has truly been life changing. We practice everyday and the progress has been incredible. At the beginning, we could barely get a couple steps away from her without her following us; and now, we can get all the way down the stairs and out the door and she'll wait on her "spot" until we "free" her. This command has also been super helpful with curbing her reactivity to things such as the doorbell ringing. Unfortunately ,we haven't been able to reinforce her walk training as much, since she's a bit of a wimp in the colder months, but I'm confident that we'll be able to reduce the pulling with the techniques that Natalie showed us, since everything else has worked beautifully! We definitely plan to continue with Natalie once the weather starts to warm up and would highly recommend her to anyone! Chloe also loved her so that's a bonus! 😊"

Coco

Coco is an Australian Labradoodle who we adopted when she was 9 weeks old. We adopted her during the pandemic. Coco was very timid, scared of noises, scared of people and other animals. Coco also started biting the kids a lot when she got too excited. It was hard to socialize her during the pandemic. Yet we couldn't take her for walks because she was too scared of the outside world. Once Natalie came into our lives, Coco quickly improved with her confidence of being around other people, noises, and animals. Natalie taught us that a calm dog is a good dog and that we had an overtired and overstimulated dog. Natalie gave us many play based strategies to help improve Coco's confidence. She also taught us some fun games for us to play with Coco. It took 6 months before Coco was confident enough to go for a proper walk but now she is walking like a champ! Coco enjoys meeting new friends and playing with others but Natalie gave us some good techniques that keeps Coco focused on her owner. We are very thankful for all the work that Natalie did with Coco, she is a changed dog from when we adopted her. Natalie is professional, patient and knowledgeable about dogs. She included our kids in her training sessions which helped the whole family be involved. I would highly recommend Natalie Little to work with your furry canine friends!

Marley

I had always enjoyed having cats so when I adopted a 3 month old puppy it was a learning curve for me and Marley the pup.
Natalie came to my home and right away I could see she was extremely knowledgeable and confident she helped me train Marley to do his business outside. She also patiently explained to me how dogs think and react to life happening around them. They are so different to cats. Natalie taught me how to proceed with Marley when he meets another dog on our walk, how to train him to nicely walk on a leash without pulling, how to keep the barking to a minimum and the best was how to train him to go to his bed and stay there when guests arrive. Natalie is not only a good dog trainer but also an excellent, teacher she explains why dogs react in certain ways and how to skillfully intervene.

Vince and Frankie

We are the lucky family of two Frenchies and after unsuccessfully trying medication, CBT, and obedience training - we reached out to Natalie for help for our anxious, very spirited three year old Frankie. Natalie not only helped Frankie tremendously, she equipped us with the knowledge and skills to continue to work with her everyday. Our owner frustrations turned into learning opportunities and today we have a healthy, happy dog (who occasionally still loses herself). Natalie also recognized that our other Frenchie was low energy and disengaged. Through a games based approach, we have worked with Vince and he is now the playful dog he used to be! Our whole family enjoyed working with Natalie and would highly recommend her services!

Elwood

Elwood is a rescue dog from Saint Lucia. Although he spent the first couple months of his life living on the street, he has always been a friendly and loving dog.
When he first came to Canada he remained friendly and playful with all other dogs. One day he was attacked at an off leash dog park, and his behaviour changed. He became fearful of other dogs and was reactive to almost everything on his leash. His reactions are aggressive and not timid or scared. Natalie was able to show us techniques to help learn about his triggers, his anxieties and ways to slowly teach him the skills to deal with his anxieties and fears. She also helped with de-sensitive him to everyday life and teaching him to soothe and calm himself. After working with Natalie for a multiple weeks, Elwood has shown major improvement in his behaviour and day to day mentality. He was able to walk on a leash and remain focused on my boyfriend and I without too much engagement on other dogs or trucks passing. He was also able to calm himself much down faster. All in all, we have had an excellent time working with Natalie and consider it money well spent! We are looking into more sessions now. Highly recommend Natalie to anyone with similar or long standing issues that they need help with. It is never too late!! " - Madison

Mable

Natalie has helped my young dog gain the confidence and self control needed to assist her in social settings and with separation anxiety. Barkdogtraining was a positive experience for both Mable and myself. With her patience, knowledge and experience Natalie was able to help me understand my dog and the reasons that shaped her behaviour, something you don't learn in regular puppy classes. I have gained strategies to help Mable grow into a well mannered friend. Many thanks, Natalie.

Colby

Natalie came to work with our dog Colby when he was just about two years old. Colby is a very large goldendoodle with a very loud bark. We were having trouble walking him without being pulled and with him barking when people would come to the door. Natalie worked with all of us (my husband and I and our daughters aged 10, 14 and 16) in a manner that was easy to understand and implement. Natalie's method of introducing ideas and concepts really helped to ensure that we not only understood how to teach Colby the appropriate behaviours but also that we understood why we were teaching him in that way. Colby's behaviours improved significantly in just a couple of weeks and he now walks next to us on the leash. Thank you Natalie for your help in transforming Colby into a well-behaved dog.

Bear

Before meeting Natalie, Bear had a lot of issues. He would always be at my feet wherever I went, he would bark and any sounds he heard or anyone walking by. He had also started lunging and showing signs of aggression with certain dogs and showed a lot of signs of anxiety. Natalie was able to pinpoint the issues with Bear and start working on those right away. The play-based training is a great method since Bear had no idea it was training; for him it was play time and time to get lots of treats. He became excited to see Natalie on our weekly sessions and I saw improvement with his behaviour quickly. I am very happy with the outcome of the training sessions, Natalie helped with the issues and much more. She took time to do some extra training to help with day to day things like loose leash walking, recall, and him being able to stay on his bed on command. I have talked about her training and I will continue to recommend her to others who may have issues with their dogs or to new puppy owners!

Maddie

We adopted Maddie 6 weeks ago at the age of 7 months. She had never been on a leash before and would only go outside in an enclosed backyard so we wanted to focus on recall training. Natalie was able to provide a very positive, enthusiastic, and effective training experience specific to our needs.
After just 4 weeks Maddie is excellent on the leash, her recall is greatly improving, and she is more confident and responsive. The sessions were very informative and fun which helped strengthen the bond and understanding between us. Natalie gave us all the tools to continue the good work. Natalie thank you for your patience, understanding, creativity and wonderful training experience.

Prince

I am very happy to have Natalie train my dog Prince. She has helped me understand how bad habits can easily be diminished given the correct training and patience. Our weekly training sessions has made an enormous positive impact on Prince and I feel more confident in the way I am handling things with him. Natalie is very patient and explains things clearly, always giving examples on why we do things a certain way and this has helped me understand my dog better. The games that we have been practising with Prince have been very rewarding and I can clearly see the improvement in his behaviour from the first week.
I would highly recommend Natalie, a.k.a "The Dog Whisperer"!

Ollie

Lets be upfront, finding a compatible dog trainer and someone you can trust is difficult. From the very first email interaction Natalie was professional, compassionate and listened attentively to my questions. She answered everything and was patient with me. Once she explained her training methods (which differ from many other dog trainers) I was sold.
My five-month-old puppy Ollie has been making leaps with his training. When Natalie is here training Ollie she is patient, understanding and explains her training methods in a simplified manner. Although anyone could take a book and learn how to train a dog, not everyone knows the tricks and emotional understanding of dogs, Natalie does. Natalie is quick to reply to my emails/texts and has even provided me with after actions reports which I could reference for my training. She's not shy to ask you if you are keeping up with the training on our off time, as puppy training doesn't stop when she leaves the door. Which brings up another major reason why I chose Natalie, she comes to your home. As a father with a busy schedule this is a life savior. I can go on talking about Natalie's training methods and her professionalism, but it won't do any good. Do yourself a favour and pass her a message. Even if you are hesitant, I strongly recommend you give her a few moments of your time, I'm sure you won't be disappointed. Being a dog whisperer is a skill that not everyone can master, Natalie has.

Mocha

Natalie was recommended to us through a neighbor who felt our Mocha needed some social training! He wasn't very nice with other dogs and sometimes people. Walking Mocha for me was not enjoyable and the door bell sent him into a frenzy! Our beautiful little puppy had turned into a very nervous dog.
We liked Natalie's positive approach to training. The walking improved so much; I was able to keep him beside me walking and I was able to distract him from issues before they happened. The door bell is also a big improvement; when one of our little visitors come and rings the door bell, Mocha no longer barks. He isn't totally over his barking; still work in progress. The door bell is a big accomplishment. Natalie has experience with so many types of dogs and behavioural issues. Her approach is easy to understand, encouraging, and perhaps most importantly, humane and positive. Natalie, always enforced the training with documents that we could refer to. We would recommend Natalie for any dog issues.

Anjo

We want to thank Natalie for all her help with our family dog Anjo. Natalie is amazing to work with, super patient, kind, helpful, and encouraging. Anjo took to her right from the start and would get so excited every time she came. Training has been fun and family friendly, most of all productive. We are not the only ones who have see the change and positive growth in Anjo and us as dog owners. Our family, friends and neighbours have all made positive remarks.
Our family has recommended Natalie to others and will continue to recommend her. Thank you again Natalie for all your help!

Lucy

We first called Natalie to get her help in training our dog, Lucy, to not bark so much. At the end of our first session, Natalie told us she wanted to train Lucy to be more confident and optimistic. We wondered what that meant, but now get it. Natalie showed us many games and things to do with our little Lucy that made a huge difference with her confidence and improved our relationship with Lucy immensely, which made her more ripe for training. All during the training, Natalie was very good in teaching all five of us. She was extremely good with the kids and very patient with all of us. She was also completely non-judgmental with where we were at with Lucy and the habits we had with her. We highly recommend Natalie. We love our little Lucy just as much as ever and now are enjoying her that much more thanks to Natalie's support and training!

Mowgli and Alfie

Natalie has been helping me with our newest rescue Mowgli with home based training. I was so worried and unsure at first with Mowgli as he has issues I have never encountered before.
I am so impressed with the progress Mowgli has made with Natalie's help in such a short time. It is amazing. Natalie is super easy going and explains the whys of each game or training technique. It has been fun for both Mowgli and me but also super informative. The training techniques make absolute sense once you learn about your pups needs and what it takes to have a confident, happy dog. I am also carrying the training over to my other rescue Alfie who is super well trained for the most part but the fun games are great for him too. I would happily recommend Bark Dog Training and Natalie to anyone for any age dog. Thank you so much Natalie! Looking forward to sharing my updates with you on Mowgli's continued progress.

Gulliver

From our first session with Natalie we knew we were in the hands of a professional with exceptional skills and a wealth of knowledge. Our Golden Retriever, Gulliver, who lacks confidence and courage, immediately took to her kindness, patience and caring as she employed training techniques. We are now in our fourth training session, with noticeable improvements in "Gully's behaviour. Her personal approach in working with him has paid off. We look forward to learning more skills to improve our dog's behaviour and have every confidence that Natalie's experience will benefit both us and our "companion".

Bowman

Working with Natalie has been wonderful, we have a much better understanding of our dogs behaviour! Natalie gets the whole family involved in the training and ensures that any of our needs or concerns with our dog are taken care of. Our dog has learned so much from Natalie and we are so thankful to have found her. We have worked on several things such as walking on leash, biting, recall and much more. Natalie is wonderful, we would recommend her again and again.

Boo Radley

I am very pleased to recommend Natalie as a dog trainer. She is new to Ottawa which has been very lucky for Boo Radley and I. She is extremely knowledgeable and her methods of training us both showed almost immediate results. Although I have owned dogs for many years, Natalie taught me subtle cues and signs Boo was sending I had never seen before. So interesting! You and your dog will be glad you called Natalie. :)

Sukee

Natalie is an excellent trainer! She is giving us tangible and useful techniques to help our puppy learn and grow into a settled, calm and happy pet. Each week we have things that we can do to work with our puppy during the week. It's so much better for us then group classes as we get the one on one attention we need. Natalie is positive and patient and very good at dealing with challenging situations. She is also great at following up through the week with reminders and resources we can use.

Reviews from Calgary

Quasi

We were excited to have our puppy Quazi join our family, but never having owned a dog before, we were overwhelmed, uncertain, and frustrated as to how and where to start puppy training. It has been most helpful having Natalie work with us and our puppy, starting us on a positive path to understanding and communicating with Quazi. Natalie's approach is clear, concise, and easy to follow. She takes the time to find out what are the behaviours we are concerned about and provides immediate feedback and recommendations -- it is very personalized. She is very knowledgeable and skilled; positive and reassuring. She has been wonderful working with our 10 year old son in helping him gain the confidence to also train and manage our puppy. Quazi has responded well to the training. We feel we are on the right track in having a well behaved dog that the whole family can enjoy. We don't know how we could have done this without Natalie! We definitely recommend her personalized dog training. Thank you so much!

Lenny

Lenny has a lot of energy. He is playful and loving, but we couldn't keep him still for long. He basically had the run of the house; he dominated us and our other dog. Natalie taught both Lenny and us and we now decide what he can and cannot do. Amongst other things he can now sit, stay, and lie down which leads him to a calm and cuddly state. He is now more manageable and enjoyable. Natalie even managed to get Lenny to jump into our car, which was a great feat. Natalie was calm, consistent and loving to our Lenny. We are grateful that we now have a dog that we can trust will behave. Thanks Natalie!

Pixie

Natalie is worth every penny spent! It was always a happy day for my puppy, Pixie and me when we saw her. She gave me so many tools to help raise a happy, confident and obedient Puppy. Natalie's training for both Pixie and myself have far outreached the basic sit, stay, down, and recall. I have been able to use Natalie's techniques to train Pixie to not be afraid of vacuum cleaners, to enjoy her baths and beyond. Our family has learned so much about basic dog psychology and positive reinforcement. We now have a wonderful, beautiful, loving, playful and obedient 10 month old pup.
I have recommended Natalie to many friends who have been equally enthralled with her positive reinforcement techniques/tools and we are all sad she left Calgary. I would highly recommend Natalie as a personal dog trainer. She knows what she's doing. Thank you Natalie for all you wonderful lessons.

Newberry

After months of pure frustration trying to train our new puppy, we hired Natalie and much to our relief, Newberry has responded incredibly well to Natalie's approach to training; she is kind, patient and best of all takes everyone into consideration when teaching us how to handle and train our dog. All three of our girls have taken part in training and are enjoying his company immensely. We are all much happier and feeling like Newb is a fun (and well mannered) part of our family; this truly would not have been possible without Natalie's help. Thank you just isn't enough!

Toby

Natalie was a miracle worker with our puppy, Toby, and with my husband and I. She was a patient, positive and very kind teacher to all of us. Toby learned sooo much so quickly, with her clear, precise instruction. We are so grateful we found her.

Mara

I had the pleasure of working with Natalie to train my dog Mara. The tools I learned from Natalie helped me to better understand my dog, improve her behaviour, and to dramatically increase my confidence as a dog owner and trainer. Natalie also spent time with my children teaching them along with me how to interact with the dog and how they could help with training. Natalie's training approach is effective and is easy to apply for adults and children alike.

Leo

We worked privately with Natalie last summer to help us with advancing our abilities with our golden retriever puppy beyond our initial group puppy classes. The one on one time we spent with her was invaluable. We learned tips and tricks to assist us with ongoing training that have lasted beyond our meetings. One of the best things we learned was the magic hand technique which we continue to use months later! It really does work like magic.
We were pleased with what we learned and would recommend working with Natalie if you want effective long-term training solutions for you and your puppy or dog. We highly recommend her and would not hesitate to work with her again in the future.

Luna

Our family has been so pleased with the work Natalie has done with us to help us with our very rambunctious loveable dog, Luna. Our relationship with Luna is much better because we don't have to struggle so much with the every day little frustrations any more. Natalie also helped my young son with gaining his confidence with dealing with Luna and teaching her to respect him.

Customer Testimonials - BARK Dog Training | BARK Dog Training