Testimonials

"We rescued Bentley about 4 months ago. His owner was going to euthanize him. Branded a biter, he was drugged, kept in a crate and locked in a room day and night. In reality, he just didn't fit into their new lifestyle. I called Sydney right after we rescued him. She referred us to an amazing vet who took him off all of his meds and a few weeks later we began our training. In just three short months later, we just started nose work and will be training with Sydney for years to come. Sydney is loving, patient, knowledgeable, and always gives me helpful hints on how to handle certain behaviors. Both Bentley's and mine! I recommend her highly. She is a gifted trainer!!!"

Chris C. - Exton, PA
"I have had many dogs in my life, but Ruby is my first puppy. Ruby is a Fox Red English Labrador Retriever who as Sydney says wakes up each day happy and eager to see what the world has to offer her.  Ruby is smart, exuberant and energetic.  Sydney has been a wealth of knowledge and an invaluable resource for teaching me and training Ruby!  She customizes her training methods to meet both my needs and Ruby’s maturity level.  Sydney has taught me how to harness Ruby’s energy without breaking her spirit.  My goal is to eventually have Ruby be my service dog partner.  Without Sydney’s help, I would have no hope of reaching this goal."

Kelly J. – Harleysville, PA
“Working with Sydney was wonderful for us and for our golden retriever puppy who fell in love with her instantly.  She made training him easy and fun, going above and beyond to personalize the experience and suggest additional resources targeted to help him continue to excel.  We get so many compliments on his good behavior, thanks to the puppy foundations Sydney helped us put in place.  We look forward to continuing to tap into her incredible talents.”

- Matt and Nicole, Berwyn, PA
"As first time dog owners, we were a little terrified of the experience!  Sydney is an incredible dog trainer – her well thought out approach to puppy training gave me a lot of comfort!  Her love for dogs is so evident and Penny, our Cavador puppy adores her!  Sydney's always a text away to answer my questions at any time.  She has also watched Penny for us and I trust her completely.  Thank you Sydney!"

Sharada Singh - Paoli, PA 
"Sydney helped us teach our Chihuahua, Poppy, to overcome the fear that consumed her daily life. She injured her back and was afraid to have us touch her in any way. After weeks of careful practice using Sydney's teachings, our Poppy is back to the snuggle bug that she was when we first got her. My husband declared the reasonable rate to be "the best money we spent in 2021." Thank you Sydney for everything!"

Jennifer Beacom - Wayne, PA 
"An incredibly professional trainer who will meet you where you're at, both physically and in experience level. Me and my dog went through Sydney's Behavioral Problem Solving course to address reactivity. Her approach of training both the dog and the handler was wonderful. She not only gave me the techniques to train my dog, but also knowledge and resources to understand the dogs behavior. My dog went from one who I was convinced wouldn't work for treats outside, to one who became quite responsive. At the beginning of training she was very clear in what I could expect to get and how much progress could be made if I "did my homework" as she suggested. Even outside of training hours, Sydney would go above and beyond to send book recommendations, podcasts, videos, articles and more to help address my dogs specific problems. She was incredibly responsive to questions and answered them thoroughly! All in all, I would wholeheartedly recommend Sydney as a trainer."

- Matt L. - Phoenixville, PA 
"We have just completed our puppy training with Sydney Bates. Our puppy Ruby loved her. My wife, Ruby and I learned so much. Sydney is so talented, caring and has a great personality. After only five lessons we felt like we had made a lot of progress. Sydney has a great understanding of what dogs need plus teaching the owners their roles in proper dog training. We had so many questions and she always had the answers. In the near future we will use Sydney for the next step in training for Ruby. If your dog requires training you absolutely can’t go wrong with Sydney. In our book she is tops!"

​- John & Linda Hosbach - Ridley Park, PA
"I was terrified to become a dog owner of a terrier puppy for the first time in my adult life, and Sydney came to my rescue. The logic with which she laid out an appropriate approach (she has a wonderful puppies essentials program) gave me the confidence to invest in learning how to communicate better with my dog and with other dog owners in my neighborhood. She is a fantastic listener and easily applies her vast experience to a specific puzzle or situation. She uses a fearless no-nonsense approach that has allowed me to develop key techniques to guide my dog towards a relationship of trust and clear lines of communication. It’s been a convenient experience, too, as she came to our house weekly, allowing us to work on “real” situations that our puppy experiences daily. Do your homework, and all is coming! I look forward to working with her again as my dog matures."

- Dr. Maria Van Liew - Ridley Park, PA
"When one-year-old Chico started dominating and then attacking our 2 other dogs, Sydney helped us restore peace to the pack.  Chico is a Dachshund-Chihuahua-Pitbull mix, and as smart and stubborn as they come.  Sydney’s skillful tough love brought results right away, and Chico just fell in love with her. We learned so many simple techniques that just about wiped out bad behaviors like leash pulling, barking at neighbor dogs during walks and jumping up on visitors.  Training in your own home environment – where the behaviors occur – is incredibly smart and efficient.  Best of all is how much fun we all had with the training and homework.  Sydney’s mantra is that dogs are will do just about anything for you if you make it look enjoyable, and I’ve seen it in action."
 
  - Dr. Alice J. Speh – West Chester, PA
"Sydney is incredibly knowledgeable. She worked with us through Puppy Foundations and tailored her training based on our home environment and our puppy's personality."

- Yeye Perez - West Chester, PA
"Never having owned a dog before, I hardly knew what I was in for when I adopted my 4 year old Australian Cattle dog, Luna. She is so very gentle and shy, but packed full of energy if not exercised regularly. Sydney went out of her way to create a customized shopping list of effective toys for her size and breed which Luna can't get enough of! This was honestly such a big help, especially because I work from home now. Sydney has also been very knowledgeable about all of my questions and has given me several useful tips and tricks. I am so thankful for Sydney's training advice, and continued support as Luna adjusts to her new life. Please do not hesitate to reach out to this wonderful trainer!"

- Christine Trimble 
"Sydney is a wonderful dog person who believes in positive training methods and age-appropriate training. She makes sure your dog understands both the exercise and that you, the owner, can handle your dog and she does a skill transfer. She is patient, kind, and scientific and logical in her approach to training. You would do well to work with her. You and the relationship with your dog will benefit. I highly recommend her!"

- Alexander Gonta, Von Gonta Haus GSDs
"As the owner of Katz Dogs K9,  I am super picky about how I work with my clients dogs and who I would trust with them but Sydney is the exception! From her years of experience working with serious dogs at a young age, to competing with her own dogs and just being all around knowledgeable about dogs. Sydney is one of the few people I trust to leave/watch/care/train with my dog. I have her help out/fill in for me when I am super busy and need an extra hand and know the job will be done to a high standard! Sydney's training services are a no brainier and you should not hesitate to reach out to her!"

  - Eric Katz - Telford, PA
"I highly recommend Sydney as a dog trainer, she’s very competent and knowledgeable about dogs and she understands them!!"

- Joe Moldovan 
"Sydney is a FANTASTIC dog trainer. I would trust her with any of my animals. Very knowledgeable and she really shows that she cares about your dogs as much as you do! I would recommend her to anyone!"

- Katrina M
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