Testimonials

 

 

My dog hero is a rescue who came to me with a lot of issues – severe aggression towards people, bikes, vehicles and other dogs.  I told myself that my dog would be happier on a farm, or with a more experienced owner. Then we found Mark. In just two hours, Mark was able to turn my dog into one I could manage.  I went from being ready to give up to now, two years later, enjoying the strongest of bonds with a dog I wouldn’t trade for the world! My dog continues to teach me so much about love and being a better, stronger, more consistent person, and I would have missed out on all of that had I not discovered Mark the Dog Dude.  Mark Elliott is the reason we prevailed over even the most extreme issues. I’m excited to keep working with Mark and my dog, and I would wholeheartedly recommend him to anyone – but ESPECIALLY to the most despairing, hopeless dog owners who think they’ve tried everything. You haven’t tried everything until you’ve worked with Mark.
Nikki, Toronto

Mark has been my ‘dog guy’ for fifteen years. I have relied on his helpful training sessions to enhance my relationship with each and every one of my dogs, and Mark has been an essential ingredient to a calm ad happy household! He even helped support the integration of my two human babies! Mark is our dog walker and dog sitter. He is also my ‘personal trainer’ – the key to my understanding of my dogs and to supporting a positive household dynamic.
Tam, Toronto

We had Mark work with our Rat Terrier Stella and we’re so thankful for the guidance that he was able to provide. We learned so much about the importance of being a leader when going for a simple walk, and how that lays the foundation for our dog’s confidence and by extension her behaviour. Being able to help Stella walk with us, with conifdence has completely changed the way she approaches other animals while we’re out and about, and has relieved stress for all of us. Mark was kind, compassionate, and so incredibly knowledgeable about dog behaviour and we’re so thankful that he was able to give us and Stella the tools to be more calm, cool and collected.
STELLA, CARRIE & ERIK

We’ve had our rescue for 2yrs and she’s amazing, but not if you’re under the age of 16. Mark worked with us to build confidence with our pup on a leash that later led into building confidence and respect around little humans 🙂 after a single session our dog was calm and collected around kids. It was incredible. Now we just need to work on re-enforcing the skills we learned. I’d highly recommend Mark as a trainer.
DAWN & WILMA, TORONTO

Hello Mark

Thank you again for helping us with our Labradoodle, Mercedes. She walks even better than she did and is very good about waiting for us to go up and down stairs and through thresholds. We appreciate you modelling how to take the lead and communicate effectively her. We just came back from her volunteer therapy dog duties and I’m happy to report that she was delightful! I have recommended you to several people.

Thanks again for all your help,
Bev and Brian

MERCEDES, BEV & BRIAN, TORONTO

Mark has been nothing but relentlessly supportive and encouraging of the dogs in our rescue, Redemption Paws. He’s worked with almost a dozen of our rescue dogs on basic training or larger issues. He’s a straight shooter with our team and adopters. Mark aims to get results and does not disappoint anyone- especially not the dogs.
Nicole Simone

Founder, Redemption Paws

We would highly recommend The Dog Dude!! We  adopted a rescue pup at 10 months old who needed some serious rules and boundaries and we could not have done it without Mark. He offered and continues to offer so much support after the sessions whenever we’ve needed it. He’s a fantastic trainer and all around great guy!
WINSTON, JESS & TIM

Mark has helped change everything for us with Nola. Nola came to us with absolutely no confidence, scared of everything, having been surrendered by her previous owners. We couldn’t even get her out of her little corner of the house for a walk at first.  We tried a few other dog trainers who gave us some poor advice, including ideas about “increasing her food drive” so we could give her treats outside; and talking to her during the whole walk to make her feel comfortable. None of this was working with Nola.

Mark taught us that this is not how dogs interact with people. They respond better to leadership, and being shown how to interact in uncomfortable situations. The steps that Mark’s instruction have made in our lives, and most importantly, in Nola’s life, have been monumental.  After just one session with Mark, our ability to walk Nola was significantly improved. We continued to witness more improvement with Nola in the months afterwards. Mark was also always helpful and willing to discuss if we had any question we wanted to discuss over the phone, to ensure that we were consistently making progress. We now have total confidence in our ability to work with Nola, and Mark has been instrumental in teaching and empowering us to be the confident leaders Nola needs.

Nola is a fearful dog still, but she has learned to trust our decisions about where to go, and even gets excited for walks sometimes now (as long as they don’t disrupt her beauty sleep). We even feel comfortable taking her off leash in many situations, where she is excited to explore but never wants to stray too far from us as her leaders. The transformation of working with Mark outside on going for walks and using the leash to show leadership has transferred into the house as well, where Nola shows her true “dog-self” now, exuding confidence in every part of our apartment, but also understanding limitations on where we want her to be (i.e. she is not allowed to sleep in our bed). Mark’s methods are not gimmicky, but are based rather on his vast experience of working with so many dogs with a variety of problems over the years. No matter how disparate the problem you are having may seem – and for us and everyone around us, Nola seemed like an absolute lost cause – Mark will be able to provide you with the tools and know-how to make a marked improvement. Mark genuinely cares about the dogs he works with, and is our go-to person for any advice and guidance on Nola. We couldn’t recommend Mark enough!

ROB, NADINE & NOLA, TORONTO