My newly adopted 8-year old dog was not settling into his new home: he was barking at strangers while walking as well as lunging at and being obnoxious with other dogs. As a new dog owner, I was over my head so I booked a private lesson. Alisa was wonderful! She was very encouraging about the progress we had made and identified new strategies for us to try without making me feel like bad dog owner. I signed up for Basic Skills so my dog could learn pay attention to me and and gain some confidence with other dogs. Alisa breaks every command into manageable steps so it's easy to teach the dog. If the dog already knows the base command, she has variations or more advanced versions that make it more challenging. Between Alisa and her assistants, each owner gets a ton of individual assistance with training and feedback if your dog doesn't get it. She gives equally wonderful and helpful email responses if you have questions outside of class, and sends out a detailed summary of everything covered in class so that you have a reference for any missed items. Finally, I had been hesitant to introduce my dog to other canine friends, but Alisa showed me how to do this properly during 'play time' at the end of each class. She even helped me practice with other dogs in the class. By the end of the six classes, my dog was running around with another dog without any problems! I can't believe how well he's doing. We've just signed up for the Tricks and Games, and would highly recommend Alisa's You Silly Dog to everyone with a dog! read more

We enrolled concurrently in Alisa's 4-week puppy class and the bundle of 4 in-home private training sessions. I think her rates are very reasonable, and the value of what we gained was definitely worth the investment. We have a 4-month old vizsla puppy--very high energy!! Alisa's a wonderful trainer, patient, full of great strategies for any doggie behavior you wish to work on. In puppy class, our pup had opportunity to socialize appropriately with other puppies--an invaluable experience and skill, as he is now a wonderful greeter toward both other dogs and humans. He learned many basic skills, and we humans learned how to use a clicker effectively for training. The clicker was an essential tool for training our dog with basic skills: sit, stay, come, lay down, place, drop it, leave it. If you are wondering whether the cost of private session is worth it, I say go for it! The hour-long sessions in the dog's own environment, with Alisa present to go over things 1 on 1, were so helpful. In addition, we were able to observe Alisa model with our dog how to manage the behaviors we were struggling with (proper leash walking, what to do when he jumps/nips our young son, releasing items he should not have and teaching him not to growl/guard). Highly recommend!!! read more

We rescued a 4-months old puppy, who was living inside a puppy mill in awful conditions. He was neither house- nor crate-trained, and his skin was irritated by the acidity of his own urine given that he had to sleep in a tiny space. Needless to say, the first few days with him were chaotic and crazy - for him and us!. Exhausted, we turned to the internet searching for help. We found that Alisa was highly recommended, and decided to ask her to help us with our pup. In just a few weeks of training, our dog became potty and crate trained, and he now obeys basis commands. Alisa is very patient, explains things clearly, and is available via email. She provides tons of resources and tips, which have been invaluable. She is really wonderful, and I recommend her highly. read more

My 4 month old Yellow Lab was shy and afraid of the world before we brought her to You Silly Dog. Alisa was so patient with her and even encouraged her to socialize with the smaller dogs where she felt more comfortable during our Basics class. Within weeks, she was playing and enjoying her time with dogs big and small and learned her basic skills along the way. Alisa helped us instill behavior skills and confidence in our pup and taught us how to continue rewarding good behavior through positive reinforcement. We attended Basics, Beyond Basis, and Tricks and Games with Alisa at You Silly Dog and recommend her to every dog owner we meet. read more

We were so happy to find Alisa's class which focused on positive reward training. Other classes that we looked at wanted us to use prong collars which I was opposed to for my puppy. The basic skills class is the perfect amount of instruction, breaks, and play time - so important for puppies! Alisa gave us concrete skills to work on at home and sent email re-caps of what we had worked on in the class -so incredibly helpful!! Even Alisa's voice inflection works so well with the puppies, I found myself imitating her at home - and my puppy responds! A great foundation and plan to move on to other classes with Alisa. read more

We heard about Alisa from Best of Baltimore. She came to our house and helped us find constructive ways to work with our dog's separation anxiety. I really appreciated that she was willing to come to our house (and sit with all of our cats!) to work with our dog in a familiar setting for him. Also, she came prepared with all kinds of treats and goodies. My husband and I didn't end up feeling unprepared or like bad dog parents - she took care of everything for us! All in all, it was very helpful and our dog's separation anxiety has improved dramatically using her tips. read more

My clownish and playful young dog and I had a pretty dreadful time with another dog training club, and I contacted Alisa to see if we could just start over with her Tricks class. Right away she worked hard to schedule the class and prepare the attendees. My dog is SO MUCH HAPPIER now that I am building my confidence back. You will NOT find a snobby and somewhat hostile trainer or other dog owners here. All the tension and confusion has lifted and we are blossoming in class. Thank you Alisa! She took this picture, he really loves her :-) read more

Alisa is great! We enrolled our 2 year old rescue in the Basic Skills class about 1 month after adopting him. The clicker technique worked very well. He didn't even know his name until taking her class! After the 3rd class, his behavior was noticeably different including sitting on command outside (where there are alot of distractions) and walking better without pulling. It is evident that Alisa has a natural talent with understanding dogs & she loves what she does. The price is very reasonable and you definitely get your money's worth. read more

Alisa is amazing. All of my kiddos have been through her classes (my first went through 5 levels of classes, and she's now 11), or personal lessons in-home, depending on their level of anxiety when I rescued them. She is patient and understanding, and is all about positive reinforcement! I would 100% recommend her! Depending on your dog's personality and past, she can definitely tailor a training program just for you and your pupper. She also is amazing with follow-up after you complete sessions with her! read more

We enrolled our chocolate lab puppy Riley in Alisa's "Puppy Basics" and " Basic Skills" classes. Both Alisa's methods as well as her expertise proved to be a perfect fit for Riley, my wife and I. Her classes were fun, structured and extremely helpful. Additionally, Alisa sent thorough emails after every class summarizing our exercises and made herself available for any questions (related or unrelated) to our training experience. As an added bonus, your puppy/dog will love it! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! read more

Alisa is fantastic! My 125lb puppy, Hercules, was chasing squirrels/cats/etc., pulling on walks, lunging (to play) at other dogs, jumping on people, and barking every time we ate. After 3 months of working with Alisa, Hercules walks by my side, stays calm around other dogs, doesn't pull me down to go after small animals, is quiet when we eat, and doesn't jump on people anymore. Alisa is patient, kind, and knowledgeable. I recommend You Silly Dog to anyone with a dog. read more

Alisa gave us private lessons in our home! She makes house calls, within a specific geographic location. She also has provided me with email and phone support. I think she's entitled to charge for such time, but at this point, she hasn't. I've encouraged her to charge me for such consults, but so far, she hasn't. Her time is valuable; and I'd be glad to pay her for the consults. Alisa seems to get joy out of seeing doggies and their people succeed. read more

From our old dog who we thought could never learn new tricks (let alone learn to cohabitate with a cat), to a rescued mutt with no matters, and the puppy we adopted in between, Alisa has trained them all! She uses ONLY positive reinforcement and force free training methods, which was extremely important to me. Because of Alisa, our dogs are happy, friendly, well mannered and social. Her classes are well structured, easy to attend and affordable. read more

Alisa from " You Silly Dog" is awesome. Her techniques of clicker treats, verbal praise, hands are rewards are usefull for my shelter rescued young dog, Jax. He is really hyper and a work in progress but he is doing better each day. She was so good with him. Her love off dogs really shines through. Alisa cares. You can tell she wants the best for you and your pet. If you just adopted a dog, sign up for one of her classes. Its worth it. read more

I recently attended Alisa's Tricks class, with my dog Cedar. We had such a great time, and I discovered a hidden talent for tricks in my little rescued dog. Alisa is very clear and patient in explaining how to teach the tricks, and the small class size means both trainer and dog get lots of attention. I have taken two dogs through Alisa's series of classes, and know they are better dogs -- and I am a better dog person -- because we did so. read more

You Silly Dog (Alisa) is fantastic. She was recommended by a friend. She gave us some really good training tips for our puppy. She was very patient with our puppy and with us. She had a home schooling option that worked great for our family and our schedule. I was amazed at how fast our puppy caught on to the training by Alisa. Our puppy LOVED Alisa, she could not get enough of her. I would highly recommend You Silly Dog and Alisa! read more

Alisa made a believer out of me. We took our new puppy to her basics class and it helped us teach our dog the basic and they stuck and she is now a fairly well-behaved 3 year old dog. While Alisa is great with dogs, the best part of her training is what I learned. Her positive techniques have made it easier for us to understand why our pups act the way they do. I'm a reformed skeptic and I highly recommend You Silly Dog. read more

Alisa was amazing with my dog Abe. I signed him up for Basics and Beyond Basics. He was my first dog ever and I rescued him at 4 months old. He quickly learned all the basic commands and bonded with me at the same time. One of my favorite parts of working with Alisa was her response to my questions outside of classes. Abe is such a social and happy puppy now! read more

Alisa did a private lesson with me and my Great Dane because he was having aggression issues towards men and she offered very helpful advice to alleviate the problem. We also took her Polite Greetings class and again, got some very helpful ideas to make Henry a better dog! read more