Dog Charming

Sonya was wonderful with my dog to help reduce his reactive barking, and her expertise and guidance was clear. She clearly explained her training methods so they were easy to understand and follow. I really feel like both myself and my crazy Jack Russell have benefited enormously from her help.It’s very obvious that Sonya has immense experience and knowledge, and the research to back it up. Really appreciated her evidence-based approach.Thankyou again for a great experience!

Sonya is just fantastic. Her experience and passion for dogs really comes across in her training. Sonya has been helping me and my border collie pup with a variety of unwanted behaviours and the improvements I have seen in my pup have made us both so much happier. Sonya has educated me so much about positive reinforcement training and I have been able to utilise these techniques with all of my puppy training sessions. Sonya really made me understand when I should reinforce my dogs behaviour and has genuinely given me so much advice that I will carry with me for as long as I have dogs. Which will be forever. Thanks for everything Sonya, you're the best!

Sonya was fantastic. I recently adopted a little Staffy X who had separation anxiety. The first time I left her she whined, howled and paced for the entire 30 minutes that I was gone. I signed up with Dog Charming to have video consults to help me help my dog. The video sessions were actually fantastic as my dog gets super excited when people come over. Having a video consult meant that I didn't have to calm her down and we could get straight into the 'missions'. I think we only had trouble a couple of times with connectivity but it was solved very quickly and calmly by Sonya. I am pleased to say that at the end of the 'missions' I can leave my dog for several hours. She doesn't enjoy being alone but no longer whines, howls and paces. Sonya has also taught me so many helpful techniques that help me with training my dog to build up her confidence. Thanks Sonya

I contacted Sonya after trying to fix my dog's separation anxiety by myself for few months with no success. At the beginning I was a bit hesitant about video consultations but in reality they proved to be as effective as the in person's ones. Sonya worked patiently with me, as not only we had to fix my dog anxiety but my own too! We worked hard but Sonya was always a great support every time I needed it. When I contacted her, my dog would start crying as soon as the door closed behind me. Now I am able to leave her with no issues. I also started leaving her when I go to work at 7 and when I get back at 3, she is snoozing on the couch.Sonya is incredible and I would recommend her to anyone, don't let the video consultations stop you!!

My dogs went from being on the verge of eviction due to neighbour complaints due to their whining and separation anxiety. Sonya used video training via zoom in order to not disturb the dogs natural environment and this worked and allowed her to see what my dogs were doing while i wasn't there. The dogs proved immensely during and after working with Sonya and we no longer get complaints about them, and am far from being evicted. Sonya even wrote a great support letter to my strata and my council of owners, defending my choice of not using a bark collar and to use positive reinforcement for better, longer lasting results which was greatly appreciated by all parties.

We engaged Sonya to help us understand Tucker our 8 week old puppy and to assist with his interactions with our cat. She has an incredible knowledge about dog behaviour and showed us in practical examples on how to set him up for great relationships with both the cat and us. Highly recommended for any new puppy owner (or any dog lover) as we learnt so much about positive training.

I had the pleasure of being referred to Sonya at Dog Charming by the Behavioural Vet, which proved to be a pivotal turning point in my 5 years old dachshunds quality of lifestyle. Initially I had some reservations training with Zoom, but I quickly became a convert. Sonya was able to readily identify behaviours, explain the triggers , provided immediate education and feedback. At intervals we receive retrospective video clips highlighting behaviours before and after improvements at intervals which was impressive. It has been a great adventure for all my dogs, thanks once again Sonya:)

Working with Sonya at Dog Charming was a really worthwhile experience for both myself and my elderly dog, Molly.We had recently lost her companion dog - they'd been together for 14 years - and Molly was suffering from separation anxiety. I worked with Sonya each week via video conference, and this proved to be invaluable. I found that the video conference worked brilliantly as Sonya was able to see exactly what was happening and what Molly was doing but it didn't add the extra element of having another person in the room, which I feel would have altered Molly's behaviour. The fact that we used the video conferencing also reduced the possibility of stressing out Molly as for her it was just 'business as usual'.Sonya really listened to my observations from our progress during the week and discussed these with me and then talked through the next steps in the training as well as observing me going through the steps to ensure that I was comfortable. Her written feedback on the video consultations was great as I could go back over them just to clarify my understanding.Molly made great progress and is much calmer, is more relaxed when on her own and is happier within herself. Thanks, Sonya!

I am so grateful I met Sonya nearly 7yrs ago. After rescuing my little girl Dancer it didn't take long for me to realise that she had some huge issues. Sonya addressed all of these for me and allowed us to create the most special relationship together. Dancer now walks beside me on lead (no pulling), welcomes visitors (instead of barking and snarling) and comes back to me instantly when being called with no hesitation. Sonya is all about being very kind to all dogs (and humans!) and only uses positive reinforcement. It's easy once you learn from Sonya the simple 'tricks' like clicker training - wow this has changed our world. So much so Dancer has been in a short movie! Thank you Sonya for your wonderful wonderful patience with myself and my special girl Dancer - she is now safe and so are other dogs too when we go walking (side by side!) now. Mandy & Dancer x

Sonya helped us with our anxious Rhodesian Ridgeback. Sonya is so knowledgeable and was so generous with her time & support. As a result, we have not only seen an improvement in our dogs behaviour but have gained so much knowledge and confidence. Our dog used to get anxious when guests came to visit but with the plan that Sonya put in place, he now gets excited and happy when there is a knock at the door. I have no hesitation in recommending Sonya at Dog Charming.