Prior to training, my Chinese Crested dog Winston was problematic; he was snappy towards strangers, aggressive, barked like mad at the door bell, growled at family members, and yet easily intimidated and lacked confidence. He was disobedient and clearly had dominance over the household and our family members. Alessina quickly identified these issues, and with baby steps and a range of training techniques, we regained control over our dog and our issues have depleted immensely. The training Alessina provides is clear, simple and easy to practice at home, yet did absolute wonders for our dog. Winston is now much more affectionate towards strangers and all members of the family, and we now have the resources and capabilities to continue his development in the future. Thank you Alessina!

04/03/2016

I first contacted Alessina after I picked up one of her cards at my dog groomer’s. I enrolled my miniature poodle puppy and me in her “Five Sense Obedience Lessons”.

Alessina came to my home to give the lessons. In addition to being very convenient for me, I felt it was a much better way to train the dog. Alessina could see what the dog was doing wrong and train us both on how to stop the puppy doing it in her actual environment. One-on-one sessions are also a very effective way to do dog training. No time spent worrying about other dogs. Alessina was always punctual for her appointments and flexible in scheduling the lessons.

Unlike other dog trainers I have worked with, Alessina’s training techniques included discussions about the physiology of dogs and how it affects their behavior and explains their needs. They clearly showed how much Alessina loved dogs.

These discussions were very interesting and did help me to realise how best to treat my dog to get the most out of her training.

Alessina’s calm training manner, using her voice and body language was very effective on my poodle. We learnt all the basic commands which the puppy picked up very quickly. It is now up to me to maintain Alessina’s good work.

In summary: I was very pleased with the way Alessina trained my dog (and me). It was effective, fun and hassle free. I willingly recommend her and her work to you.

Gillian Wood

With your help we were able to teach her not to bite and Pebbles (45 kgs of loveable fluff) is so well behaved on the lead now my 88 year old grandmother can walk her without any issues. Thank you so much again, we couldn’t have done it without you.

Alessina is a very calm and practical trainer who displays an affinity for, and love of, dogs.

Alessina was recommended to us when our dog was having some problems with separation anxiety and destructive behavior. Alessina has a wonderful rapport with animals and has been able to alleviate the situation and improve our dog’s behavior greatly. We are amazed at Alessina’s skills and we highly recommend her.

We would like to express our gratitude to you for helping us make our first experience welcoming a dog into our family a more pleasant one.

At a time when we were questioning whether to give up our beloved Trixie (a Kelpie x Cocker Spaniel) I met you in an unrelated situation and discovered this wonderful talent you have working with dogs and their owners. Trixie was unhappy at group treat-based dog training. It seemed to make her anxious and subsequently aggressive.

There were other situations when she was aggressive. You were able to make us realize that these behaviours weren’t necessarily Trixie’s fault. With your wonderful tuition we have been able to train with our voices and actions rather than with treats. You have given us the ‘tools’ with which to work. We now have a happy family enjoying our affectionate puppy.

Once again thank you Alessina for all of your wonderful help. Many thanks.

Our puppy Billy was a rescue dog, he came to our home when he was a little over three months old but he’d had a difficult beginning, being born into a family of pet hoarders. He was very keen on other pets but not so keen on humans, especially those he didn’t know.

He was showing some aggressive tendencies and he was certainly ruling the roost! Alessina came just at the right time. She helped us extinguish some annoying behaviours – jumping, barking, growling, chewing etc and helped us instill some good behaviours, sitting, staying and dropping.

I guess that is what you expect from a dog trainer right? Well Alessina was so much more than that, she helped us understand what was going on in Billy’s head and she taught us all some great games. She did all that with humour, support and a genuine love of helping humans and their animals get along and enjoy each other. We highly recommend her.

Thanks so much for your help in training our dog Billie. It’s now pleasant to walk him and go outside without being jumped on. Your expert advice has given us a family pet to love and enjoy. We are a much happier family now that the dog has been trained by you.

Alessina worked with Milly and I not long after Milly came into our lives. Alessina shows that she cares a great deal about your dog by the firm but warm guidance she gives. I realized early that this was about training me as well as Milly!

Thank you so much for helping us train Romeo. He is much better at listening and has gotten over his aggression…

Having waited 41 years to get my first dog I was determined to be the best doggie parent ever. I watched every minute of The Dog Whisperer I could find and took it all in. By the time I got the call to pick up the beautiful ex-racing greyhound that the good people at the Greyhound Adoption Program had matched to me I was nervous but thought I would be able to apply all that I had learned. Obviously being an ex-racer my boy Buddy was basically pretty well behaved; he walked reasonably well on the lead, he knew 'wait' and wasn't too bad at 'on your bed'. However, having never been a pet before and having been through the kennels and fostering via GAP he was pretty anxious and uncertain about life and was very clingy. On top of all that I was a mess! Totally overwhelmed with the enormity of what I had done, was worried I'd made a horrible mistake and, despite all my preparation, felt completely unprepared for doggie parenthood! Enter Alessina to rescue!

Alessina has a wonderful way not only with dogs but also with people! After only a couple of sessions with her I felt much more in control. She gave me the tools to help Buddy learn lots of new skills, the most impressive of which was 'sit'! Everyone, including the local dog obedience club, told me that greyhounds never sit. Wrong! Buddy now sits beautifully on command and the local dog trainers are amazed at the trust my boy has that he will do for it me. We also worked on setting some boundaries within the house such as not knocking me down the stairs and not following us into the kitchen and bathroom every five minutes. This was especially helpful as he is an enormous example of a greyhound and once he spreads himself across the floor there's no room for anyone else! His separation anxiety is still a bit of a work in progress but we we are getting there with the tools Alessina gave us. Bringing Buddy to live with us has been a big upheaval and life has changed completely but I wouldn't change it for the world. And thanks to Alessina life with Buddy is good

Thanks to Alessina’s fine work, my dog Pepper is now house trained and he loves to go on walks. She trained him to sit, drop and when told walk quietly on the lead. He always comes to his name. I recommend Alessina to everyone as a dog trainer and as a friend.