Just wanted to express our appreciation to all of you who are so professional, devoted and caring. You can't imagine how much we appreciated your support to overcome all the issues we were having. We are very confident that we will be fine since we know the most important elements of "the - owner - and - pet - relationship.." Thank you very much!!

So informative and extremely helpful. I will recommend this class and you to all my dog friends. Thank you!

The class is excellent. Carol is a God-send and the assistants are wonderful & supportive.

I was extremely satisfied with how well my dog has learned in these classes. He was extremely disobedient but these classes changed him completely.

“In the past, I have tried to train other dogs and nothing worked. I wish I would have known about this class sooner! Carol displayed patience, humor and communicated clearly to every dog owner. I recommend this class to every dog owner in the world!”

“The class was excellent – much more than we hoped for. The instructor (Carol) was VERY knowledgeable and VERY patient! We would take another class with her in a heartbeat! The rest of her staff was great too!”

“We can't thank you enough. This is our first dog and you’ve helped make this such an enjoyable experience. This class will receive our highest recommendation to our friends. Thanks!”

“Very enjoyable class given at a great pace. Thank you for advising me on so many questions. Nice gentle methods that really work. I believe a lot of mistakes were avoided by attending your class. Suggestions? I can't think of any. Totally positive experience.”

“This is my second dog trained by Carol. She trained Sasha 3 years ago and Carol is the reason I came back.”

“Even though I was asked to write both good and bad comments, I’m sorry that I can’t oblige. I have nothing negative to say. The class was fabulous and Carol was even better than fabulous! Thank you so much.”

“I was very impressed with Carol’s depth of knowledge and ability to handle whatever our dogs threw at her. She clearly knows her stuff!”

“I particularly liked your HUMANE training methods. I had put off training for a year because I did not like what co-workers and friends had told me about their experiences. It sounded as if other trainers frightened dogs into obedience. Carol and her staff have found an excellent balance between discipline and encouragement.”

“Controlling Jacob (large dog) became easier and easier each week. On Day 1 he dragged me across the room and, as of today, mostly walks calmly. I found this class to be amazingly helpful.”

“Carol really kept it going and held our interest. She works with the people as well as she works with the dogs”


Carol's favorite letter:

To my Fellow Dog Lovers:

While I was out walking my beast of burden this morning, I was struck with an overwhelming sense of how pleasant the experience had become. A once torturous event had turned into just another walk in the park, thanks to the knowledge, expertise and patience of dog obedience trainer Carol Bocchicchio.

While Chester, my black lab/chow mix had always been a faithful companion for the entire family, he began to show signs of aggression toward other dogs and would often bark and lunge at innocent people. When he started jumping and nipping at children who ran in and out of our house, we realized something had to be done.

I called Carol who came highly recommended. She spoke to me on the phone for the better part of an hour, explaining what she believed to be the problem and how we could fix it. There was no pressure to commit to the training; she just offered good, solid advice.

We decided to go with the five at home training sessions, and after the very first meeting I saw an improvement in Chester. And, I saw and improvement in myself! Carol pointed out some ways that I was exacerbating the problem and showed me techniques that were so sensible I couldn't believe I hadn't figured them out myself!

During the five weeks of training, Chester transformed into an obedient dog who sits as soon as I give the command, stays until I tell him otherwise and most importantly agrees to "leave it" instead of eyeballing other dogs on the road. He no longer jumps on people, scares little children or chews things when left alone. Though Carol has an inimitable training style, consistency and perseverance on our part has helped keep Chester out of the dog house.

While Carol Bocchicchio hones right in on the problem at hand, perhaps her greatest asset is her ability to create a unique alliance with the "student" resulting in a dog that respects her, performs for her and loves her. Carol clearly takes her job seriously and wants to make sure you get the most out of your pet. Throughout the training and beyond, you'll come to expect her friendly "just checking up" phone calls. And after completing a training session with Carol, you‚ll be able to answer with confidence and pride "my dog is doing GREAT!"

Chester and our whole family (not to mention the neighborhood kids) thank Carol and recommend her wholeheartedly to any dog, or dog owner with "issues" that need to be addressed.

Sincerely,

Betsy Voreacos


Webmaster's recommendations:

Jill says: When my 12-week-old Rottweiler puppy, Bella, started showing serious signs of fear aggression I knew I had to do something, and fast. I had read that there were obedience classes at the Bergen County Animal Shelter so I signed us up. The most important thing Carol taught me is to be patient with my "special needs" dog. She gave me some great tips on handling and improving fear aggressive behaviors. In class, Carol tailors each exercise to each dog. If the basic training method doesn't work for a particular dog, she finds something that does. Bella is now a happy, healthy 2.5 year old, very obedient dog.
My partner and I were so pleased with Carol's class we brought our next two puppies (Harry, the rottie mix and Bob, the Bernese Mountain Dog) through the class together. Unfortunately Bob wasn't mature enough at 5 months old to really learn from class but Harry at 7 months did very well. Bob repeated the class at 12 months old and did so well he is now in-training for competitive obedience trials. Carol is truly a one of a kind teacher. Many instructors use food rewards as a training method. Carol uses the dog's innate desire to please to produce results. I highly recommend Carol's training classes. If she can teach my three goofballs to be well-behaved dogs, she can teach ANY dog.


Kris says: My first dog was a handful to say the least. From the start, he had housebreaking issues that drove me to tears. I lost 14 pairs of shoes and a sofa to his destructive behavior. When I brought him to the basic on-leash obedience class, I was thrilled. Carol's instruction was super and she made the entire class feel that we were not alone in our dog related problems. The techniques I learned were effective and humane. By the end of the class, and with some steady practice, the improvement was significant, and kept getting better. I ended up taking my dog to more advanced classes elsewhere. This is when it became quite obvious that Carol's class was exceptional in comparison. When I adopted my second dog, who had a different set of problems to deal with, there was no question that Carol's class was the place to go for help. As it turns out, I never left class and I now volunteer for her. Digby and Mattie have come to know her as Aunt Carol and they thank her from the bottom of their hearts for everything she has done for them. That goes for me too!

Additional references available upon request.