TESTIMONIALS

Tom

There is no doubt that having a puppy/dog during the pandemic has been brilliant. With all the love, fur and slobber comes owner anxiety and panic about doing the right thing. Yes, there are countless Youtube videos to teach you but Simone at Pawsitive is just brilliant about getting to know your dog, their environment and you. She calms you down, she tailors advice and recommendations and because she's taken the time to get to know you both the training tips really work. Everything is easy to understand, the approach is explained brilliantly and you feel that she's with you every step of the journey. She helped with Tom's (that's the dog not me) self isolation anxiety, she helped me set up to pick him up as a pup and bring him home and she was there to talk me through diet, eating, sleeping, toilet training and playing. Simone is a godsend.

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~Chris Ward

London, UK

Bibi

Simone helped us with our rescue French Bulldog, Bibi. When we rehomed her we were unaware she was dog, people and motorbike reactive and generally gets anxious/stressed very quickly. Simone was absolutely fantastic at teaching us how to read Bibi’s body language so we could anticipate her behaviour. She also taught us amazing skills to manage a range of challenging behaviours which gave us lots of confidence.

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Before we worked with Simone, we had been in touch with another trainer who charged a lot of money and did not provide any useful input at all. Simone, on the other hand, taught us how to understand and live with Bibi who now is a very happy dog with tricky behaviours we know how to manage. I can’t recommend Simone highly enough!

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~Kaatje L. & Phil L.

 London, UK

Oscar

Oscar was a very self confident puppy when we bought him home, not inclined to do what was asked of him and preferring to do his own thing. As part English Staffordshire Bull Terrier, he is very intelligent and inclined to become bored easily, and therefore could have become a tyrant quite easily. Simone trained me as much as Oscar, making sure I knew the best methods to ensure he walked to heel on the lead; returned when asked and became a well socialised and well mannered dog.

Oscar is now often complimented as he is now a very calm dog, who really enjoys a good game. This is due entirely to the instruction I received from Simone. The training was clear and effective, ensuring that I didn’t have to do any more than rinse and repeat. I would heartily recommend her approach, as it really worked for us.

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~Jackie C.

Yellow Springs, Ohio (previously London, UK)

Sasha

I’ve had my dog Sasha since the age of 7 weeks and although she has always been gentle natured she was attacked by a male Mastiff when only about one year old. This attack scared her and it left her unable to trust other dogs. ‘Attack as the best form of defence’ became her strategy. It got so bad that a few years down the line I was unable to take her for a walk, she wouldn’t listen to me, and I had very little control over her whether inside or outside the house.

This behaviour wore me down, caused me distress, and as a result she was never allowed off the lead in public areas. Walking her became more and more impossible; her only form of enjoyment and exercise was in our garden. Taking her out became a thing of the past. When she’s snarling, drooling and prancing on her back legs, generally looking quite fearsome, and totally out of control, how can you explain to people that your pretty, loveable German Shepherd is really a nice dog?

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After a home consultation and attending her training classes I really started to take on board her effective ways of gaining control of my dog in every situation imaginable. Sasha and I now meet with Simone once a week which helps to build my confidence. Sasha is now six years old, well behaved, friendly towards people and other dogs. She is off lead when walking in the park and can be taken anywhere. If only we had met Simone years earlier I wouldn’t have experienced so many traumas with my dog as a delinquent pup.

~ Annette Ward

 London, UK

Domino

I decided to apply to Dalmatian Rescue to re-home a problem dog. Within a few weeks Domino the Damnation arrived, 13 months old and full of attitude. Having owned dogs, cats and horses over the years I felt more than well equipped to deal with this spotty demon. 6 days later I rang the Rescue centre in tears asking them to take him back as I could not deal with his unbelievably disruptive behaviour. The rescue centre were wonderful and within 24 hours Simone arrived for a home visit and with patience, and sensible advice turned us both around. Simone helped me understand Domino, his self appointment to Pack Leader, taught me how to deal with his challenging and outwardly aggressive behaviour and obsession with food. The day was without doubt a turning point for us both and she has kindly returned to visit us at home, and will again shortly to coach us all through introduction to CATS!!

Domino is a lovely hound and still has lapses (only at home – his castle) but I now know that this is always due to my mixed messages and him as an eternal opportunist. Thanks Simone.

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~Bridget R.

 Cheltenham, UK

Billy Bob

I cannot recommend Simone Day enough. She is angel of the dogs, and life saver of the dog owner.

She can fix any problem….even the stubbornness of Basset Hounds. When Billy Bob was 5 months old he was still peeing in the house, did not like walking on a lead, would not come back to me – you name it, he did it.

I had read every book under the sun, was working from home, and still could not manage to break this habit. My relationship with Billy was strained and we needed a solution.

Making that step to call Simone was the best day of both mine and Billy Bob’s life. He has now, through her training, become a well adjusted and very well trained dog. Most importantly, the love and bond between us had grown because I have learned how to speak his language and he has learned to speak mine.

I have recommended Simone to enormous amounts of people over the years and they all have thanked me for doing so.

If you doubt, don't! Make that call, Simone can fix any problem.

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~Gity

 London, UK

Ailsa

Hello my name is Ailsa. I don’t remember much before I ended up in Battersea Dogs Home, having been found wandering around Haringey. No lady likes to tell her age so let’s say I was around 6 months old. Anyway, two lovely people came in looking for a dog after I’d been in the home for about ten days. I put on my best show and they took me home that very day.

The problem was I didn’t know how to say please and thank you. I wanted to show them how grateful I was but ended up hurting them. I bit them and growled at them. I would jump up to say hello and get too excited and then end up dragging them around by their clothes. It started to get frightening for everyone. My mum lost quite a few items of clothing over the first weeks.

It got so bad that my mum thought I might have to go back to the home. I was getting so frustrated that I was beginning to get a bit dangerous …. I even bit my Nana!

So they called Pawsitive and along came Simone..

In 30 mins I had changed from a frustrated and scary ticking bomb to the loving family dog my mum and dad had wanted. From that moment on I have not bitten anyone and have left all clothes in tact (apart from one pair of shoelaces – they were too tempting). Simone showed my mum and dad how to set the rules and she taught me what basic instructions meant and how to follow them.

Within the first two hours I was able to have the most juicy bit of sausage thrown at me and I would leave it alone! I never knew I had such self control!

Simone gave advice on what I should eat and also taught me that jumping on my 17 yr old step sister cat is not a good idea.

Since then we have had three more sessions in which I have been properly introduced to other dogs and been allowed off lead- as long as I am a good girl. I owe soooooo much to Simone. I am safe, loved and looked after and I think I give equal amounts of love back. I love cuddles and can enjoy them without getting to excited.

If you are a dog and know you need help ….. Go to see Simone.

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~Lucy F.

 London, UK

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Update June 2020:

We have now had Ailsa for 9 years.

Without your help we wouldn’t have made it through.

Just wanted to say thank you for all you  did for us.

I wish you health, happiness and peace.

With thanks

Lucy, Craig and Ailsa

Merlot

We’ve had Merlot since he was a pup and for no reason he developed a nasty temperament towards children when he was about 18 months old. The only thing we can think of was that he’d gotten bitten by his siblings at a year old (birthday party reunion – not always a good idea!).

Given that we have a large garden & a Frenchie that enjoys a fairly quiet life, we just became careful when friends with children visited or we were out in public with him. However, we knew we could no longer work around the problem given our wish to adopt children of our own.

We had tried both traditional training classes plus home visits from a behaviourist and saw little to no improvement. He’s a smart dog who would do the bare minimum to get through the sessions and earn the treats but no real progress was made. Then a friend gave us Simone’s number and we haven’t looked back since!

From the first session she seemed to understand how to read Merlot and more importantly knew how to get us to get through to him. She listened to what was important and acceptable to us – truly understanding that we all have specific individual expectations from our dogs. In addition to his problem with children we would also work through his other pet hates – dogs & wheels.

The change has been incredible. We no longer cringe with embarrassment or fear when children want to stroke the “funny looking dog” or when passed by people on bikes or in wheelchairs. Our neighbours children can now come in to play without a worry and Simone’s daughter has also become a friend and Mum’s little helper at our sessions.

We cannot thank Simone enough for the change and confidence she has given us and the real difference this will make to our future family plans.

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~Sara & Jan

 Essex, UK

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Post Script from Simone: This story had a very happy ending indeed when this family were finally able to adopt their son, pictured above with Merlot and their other dog, Tess.

Santa

We had Bella, a ten year old German Shepherd, and decided to get a new puppy, Santa. We went to puppy training but when we were out with Bella, she would not let Santa mix with other dogs. When we lost Bella and Santa was on her own, Santa would ignore some dogs, but bark aggressively at others, and ignore us when we called her. We avoided all dogs and were nervous wrecks! I was recommended to Simone by one of her former success cases.

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After a home visit from Simone, week one we managed ‘No Barking at other dogs’. Excellent! Week two we met two ladies in the park with eight dogs! Santa froze on the spot, but with Simone’s encouragement she was fine. From then on, every week there was such an improvement and now we are able to enjoy our walks with Santa greeting dogs of all shapes and sizes and we are confident now that she will be friendly.

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Thank you so much! I will certainly recommend your training skills to other people with problems.

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~Jill and Ray Lawrence

 London, UK

Pan

Just wanted to thank you for helping Pan and I so much – He has become the dog we always wanted, and after nearly 6 years of misbehaving, I thought that was impossible! After so may ineffective attempts in the past, we are so glad we found you! Your kind and highly effective methods have enabled us to re-gain control, and get him to listen to us! He’s not an angel… But he’s no longer a nightmare. I’ve been spurred to write because we went to a big annual event at the weekend, and this is the first year we have been able to take him us! He did amazingly well – and despite all the hustle and bustle and hundreds of other dogs, he didn’t bark once! We even stayed in a busy campsite – and laughed about another dog who was barking at everything passing – eight weeks ago that would have been Pan! It’s such a dramatic change! He’s now a sociable little fella – and everyone loves him all the more for it – the family were amazed at the change in him! I keep telling people how bad it used to be and they look at me disbelievingly! I can’t quite believe I can happily let him off in the park – and feel confident at keeping him focused on me! I’m so proud of him, and so pleased that I now don’t have to cringe everyone I see an approaching bike, dog, car, or anything he thinks is a bit interesting! Amazingly he barely notices bikes, even off lead! I can’t thank you enough – and neither can he, because he now comes out with us and has fun, rather than being left behind because he’ll be naughty!

Thanks,

~Lara and Pan (no longer a Border Terrorist!)

 London, UK

Isis

Isis arrived with us four months ago, needing to be rehomed at the age of three, and having recently had a litter of pups.

We didn’t know what had hit us and at the end of the first month, we were shattered, despondent and had received a complaint from the council about her constant barking when left alone. She was behaving in a way neither of us had ever experienced before with any of our previous dogs, and we were on the verge of taking her back to the breeder.

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Thankfully we met Simone and from the very first session she had with us and Isis, things started to improve. Simone’s strategy for dealing with the barking was an instant success, and her work with Isis to help her feel more secure and less threatened when left on her own or when coming into contact with other people, is producing great results.

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We’re continuing to work with Simone to help Isis overcome her issues and become a happy and settled member of the family. In only three months, we feel we’ve got a different dog, the improvement in her behaviour is amazing and without Simone’s help, we would sadly have had to admit defeat.

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Thank you Simone, we couldn’t have done it without you.

~ Jenny, Tom & Isis

 London, UK

Jimmy

A great session today, thanks. I always learn something new! As does Jimmy of course!

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~ Annie

 London, UK

Henry & Nelson

I thought I would write a little something because Henry REALLY is a changed puppy and some days I still can't believe that he used to be the picnic snatcher that he was. 
 
Well where to start..... Henry is a very social 2yr old Jack Russell. He very much loves his time in Greenwich Park especially running along with his friends and chasing after his tennis ball although last summer Henry found a new interest that took over all else. He found the family 'PICNIC'. Who knew a few sandwiches and KFC would change a puppy so much? I dreaded going to the park unless it was 8 in the morning or pouring rain and even then Henry would still seem to find that one family sitting under a tree thinking that that dark cloud would soon blow over. I was getting advice from everyone.... Henry had become amazing with the leave command as well as the usage of the rattle can but he was just too clever for his own good knowing that if the PICNIC was far enough away the leave command along with the rattle can was irrelevant.

Once the summer had ended and the PICNIC season was finished and after me apologizing to more people then I can remember, I thought I could breath a little easier but Henry's food obsession continued. Henry soon found who I call the 'bread man' that sits on a park bench on lovers lane in Greenwich Park in the evening. Henry was able to sniff that man and his bread out from so far away. One evening in January I was leaving the park with another dog walker. Henry and her dog started a little chase game just as I was about to put him on the lead. All of a sudden Henry left the chase and ran straight for the road. I tried calling him back but he was in his zone and just did not seem to hear me and it was too dark to see what he was running at. He ran straight onto the road and from where I was standing I thought I had lost him. My heart sank and I my hands were shaking. The other girl I was with ended up grabbing Henry who was munching on some bread and nuts that the 'bread man' was placing by the trees that lined the road.

The next day I went online and found Simone's number and gave her a call. Simone recommended a spray collar after hearing our stories and being familiar with Henry's horrible reputation. She demonstrated the collar to us and then it was up to Henry and I  to continue the work. As this summer is almost coming to an end I am more than happy to say that Henry is a changed dog. We are now able to walk by picnics without him even taking a second look. The King of Picnic snatching has left the building. Thank you Simone!   
 
Post Script:
We have a new addition to the family, an English Cocker Spaniel named Nelson. Nelson was lucky enough to attend Simone's Dog School Training Classes which both Nelson and I really enjoyed. We both learned a lot and continue to practice each day.

Thanks again. 

~Lisa O'Connor

 London, UK

Izzy

Dear Simone, thanks so much for your really valuable classes - they've improved Izzy enormously - she's now manageable! I do hope we'll bump into you at some point in the future. In the meantime, thought you might like to see Izzy preparing for her holiday....

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~Francesca K.

 London, UK

Thayer

My Large Munsterlander, Thayer, was a very well trained and lovely dog until at age 2 an extended holiday on a farm with friends turned him into a rabbit/squirrel killer. The transformation was incredible: Thayer went from being an obedient dog that always came when he was called to a wild, frothing, and uncontrollable dog in Greenwich Park.  The mere sight of a squirrel in the distance set him off and nothing I could do could get him back. For a year I walked him exclusively in Oxleas Woods as the lack of squirrels and traffic made it much safer for him to tear around, but even then he would disappear for long periods hunting, only coming back when it suited him.

However, at home he remained sweet and gentle, a completely different dog from when we took him out.   I tried everything, nothing worked. He was like a dog with two separate personalities

When I became pregnant I knew that Oxleas Woods every day would not be an option with a small baby. That is when I found Simone. It took some time but with Simone’s excellent skills, understanding and perseverance we were able to get Thayer back under control and back into Greenwich Park.

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~Tara V.

 London, UK

(Photo by www.SusannaStanford.com )

Severus

He is a changed man, he no longer runs after dogs, cyclists or joggers and comes when he's called. What more can I say

 ;-)

Thanks so much for your help, it's made such a difference.

~Tabs & Jaq

 London, UK

Barney

I have nothing but high praise for Simone Day in her professionalism in her business and her knowledge and understanding of dogs.

On getting our first puppy, we were experiencing puppy obedience issues after about 3 weeks of bringing him home, I was at the end of my tether and wondering what on earth we had let ourselves in for! Simone responded to my ‘plea for help’ email quickly and arranged to 1-2-1 visit within a couple of days. Simone spent 1 hour with me and taught me 3 valuable tools which changed our puppy experience completely, when my husband returned home that afternoon, he said our puppy was like a different dog and I was much calmer! We also, completed puppy training classes with Simone and our puppy (a border terrier) picked everything up very quickly and we practiced the techniques taught at home. Simone’s classes were fun and the information, knowledge and skills she taught us were invaluable as new dog owners.

Sadly, our first puppy escaped under our gate, was hit by a car and passed away. Simone was supportive and so understanding during this very upsetting time for us.

We were extremely lucky to, very quickly, re-home a 10 week old border terrier puppy from Battersea Dogs Home and I was keen to enrol him on Simone’s next puppy training class as we learnt so much the first time around. I was aware that this puppy would be different and have different needs, also, to refresh my skills to as these classes are as much about training the owners as the dogs! I also asked Simone to help out on a couple of issues we were experiencing with our new puppy, he suffered from separation anxiety (in that he would howl for the whole time we were out) and that his recall was non-existent.

Two separate 1-2-1 sessions with Simone (one in the park), skills learnt from Simone for these issues now means, I am able to walk our puppy, letting him off the lead and not stress that he will run away chasing after other dogs and not come back! Our walks are much more pleasurable now. Barney no longer howls when we leave him, he doesn’t like being left, but he now settles into his crate and doesn’t cry any more, he is calm and extremely happy to see us when we return. The lessons Simone taught us were exceptionally useful, easy to apply and follow and most of all they worked! Simone was on hand with any further questions I had after these sessions, if something wasn’t quite working. We now have a happy, settled and wonderful puppy who brings us great joy and is such fun to have around.

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~Michelle B.

London, UK

Fred

I am writing to thank you for your excellent advice and training for Fred the Dalmatian.  The collar is working really well and he is responding to the "Leave" command.  After you came last week there has been a marked improvement in his behaviour which has surprised my husband immensely!

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~Sarah M.

 Hove, UK

Mabel

When I got a rescue Boxer dog with a few issues, Simone was recommended to me by my neighbours. I had one session with Simone, she was very thorough and equipped me  with the knowledge to iron out the problems we had been encountering.

From then on I have used Simone's boarding service whenever I have been away. I am happy  to leave my dog with Simone and my dog seems more than happy to go there! As my dog can be quite boisterous I am not confident leaving her with anyone else but I know I can rely on Simone to give her the right combination of authority and affection !

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As well as her own dogs, there are usually other boarders staying with Simone and I'm always impressed by the way she handles them as a group.

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I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Simone both as a behavioural therapist and as someone to look after you dog for longer spells.

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Thank you Simone.

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~Mandy W.

London, UK