I brought my young Boxer, Lila, to train with Emma after being told by a prominent local trainer that Lila might be too stubborn to train. Lila was quite nervous when in public, and was having difficulty greeting other dogs appropriately.

Emma was positive from the first meeting about ways we could help Lila be more confident and learn to handle her interactions with other dogs better. I noticed significant improvements in Lila after every session.

Emma broke down the training plan into manageable pieces, and each week's session built on the ones before. At the end of five sessions, Lila was able to confidently walk downtown with four other dogs – unimaginable before we started training! Lila has really flourished under Emma's guidance. I recommend Emma's training services highly.

Since Emma has come into our life, we feel completely secure and more over delighted with the care that our puppy has received. We have been amazed at how loving and skilled Emma is with our dog – she is very intuitive with our dog and has been quick to teach us how to manage any challenges we experience with our now 9 month old Ridgeback. Emma has become more than our dog walker – she is a valued and trusted member of our family because she has always treated our dog like a member of her pack! We do not hesitate to give Thumbs Up our wholehearted endorsement. There is no puppy or dog, big or small who will not thrive under Emma's care.

My pup Odie and I found Thumbs Up Dog Training on Facebook and decided to head out to a pack walk. Odie was pretty reactive and would just lunge and bark at everyone and everything. Emma made us feel welcome and slowly Odie got less reactive. I decided to enroll us in the group class and he made a ton of improvement - so much so, we decided to enroll again. We still go on pack walks every month and Odie is a different dog! Thanks again Emma for teaching me! We continue to practice all we learned in your classes and I see improvement in Odie every day! 😍🐶

I'm so happy to have found such a great dog walker for Sola. Emma is flexible, reliable, and has great instincts. I'm always confident when I leave my pup in her capable hands, and Sola always comes home happy, dirty and exhausted. Thank you Emma!

I have been a weekly customer of Emma since March 2011. My dog is an English bulldog who suffered of mild separation anxiety last year. Our work hours can be very long on some days so I needed someone to help keep Max company, feed him at times and get him to walk. We first met up to discuss the general bulldog issues such as being prone to overheating, general aloofness, and stubborn character. She has more than succeeded at handling Max making sure that he gets enough exercise without overheating and he absolutely loves Emma. He bows and does a full body wiggle to greet her and is always very calm when I get home. In addition, Emma has been very accommodating with our schedules which gives me full confidence that my dog is well looked after even when I have a last minute change in my work schedule. I highly recommend her.

In the winter of 2013 we hired Emma to help us with our dog, Ollie, a former sled dog, whom we had recently adopted. Ollie was bred and trained to pull and we were having a hard time getting her to walk without pulling. We also have an older dog, Stanley, who was acting increasingly aggressive towards other dogs while out on our walks. Unfortunately, he was starting to teach our gentle Ollie that this was acceptable behaviour. After only six training sessions with Emma, we had Ollie walking without pulling and a few tactics to control and most often prevent Stanley's aggressive tendencies. We found Emma to be very knowledgeable about dog psychology and behaviour. She helped us to understand why Stanley behaves the way he does and why Ollie looks to him for leadership. Emma also has a fabulous way with dogs … Stanley and Ollie are always excited to see her. We highly recommend Emma.

Emma…The best dog lover who is always there when we need her! Every time we call, email or text, which is usually always last minute, she is there for us. Charlie absolutely LOVES her. She is beside herself with excitement whenever Emma arrives. We swear she hears Emma's car coming down the road. We never worry when Charlie is with Emma and feel so comfortable and happy that she is in such loving hands. Emma is a natural when it comes to pets… I see it every time she interacts with Charlie. She always brings a smile to our face when we see her pulling in the driveway as we know Charlie is off to have a darn good time!!! We would not hesitate to recommend Emma! She is truly the best and gives it her all. Thanks Emma for all that you do and for taking such wonderful care of Charlie! We feel so blessed to have found you!!!!

Emma thank you so very much for all the love and walks and attention you gave Shanny! We are lucky to have such a great, capable dog walker who takes pride in her work. Your kind, caring nature is well reflected in your pack. As well, your professional approach makes for a well behaved, attentive group. We are always confident our dog is in good hands and will not only socialize and exercise but learn to be a better listener and responsive dog. THANK YOU!

I met Emma when she was a trainee at Connective Training, and shortly after, she recognized me – or rather Bessie, my Springer Spaniel – down at the beach. At that time, at my request, she offered to take her walking one afternoon a week, and has been doing so ever since. She has also taken care of her in my home when I had to go away. Bessie adores her, and Emma continues her training on the walks. She is with other dogs and comes home completely exhilarated and exhausted. I recommend her to anyone who wants a reliable, happy, loving yet firm dog walker.

...Emma has proven her ability to consistently (and much to my surprise) tire out my very high energy dog. I know her varied walking locations and environments are also a huge success with Shylah because she is as excited to see Emma as she is anyone else in my family (and that's saying something!). When I leave for work every day feeling bad about my poor dog home all alone I can be comfortable because I know how happy she'll be and how much fun she'll have as soon as Emma opens the door. Emma has also consistently provided me with educated observations about my dog's health and behaviour and been able to provide well thought out, healthy, and effective solutions that fit my needs. This is a huge benefit of leaving my dog with someone who both cares deeply about animals and is properly educated (and continuing to educate herself) in animal care and training.

Finally I have been thoroughly impressed with Emma's flexibility in accommodating my shifting schedule, even making last minute changes to ensure that Shylah is taken care of. This is very important to me as my schedule can shift suddenly and without warning. Knowing Emma is usually available to assist means I can make plans more flexibly to accommodate my own requirements with confidence that my dog is taken care of... This level of care, along with all of the above, is my consistent proven experience over the last two and a half years. Because of all this the only person I trust to care for my dog is Emma Tucker.

I was ready to give up on my almost one-year-old labra-doodle, he was more like a labra-donkey. I've had dogs all my life, but nothing like Fergus. He was getting big and I couldn't walk him because he would continually pull me over and jump aggressively at me. Everything was an exercise in frustration. I tried to find a trainer and when I described his behaviour, no one wanted to take us on. Then someone recommended Emma and Thumbs Up, and after her assessment of Fergus and one lesson later, we definitely turned a corner. We continued for a few more lessons, and now he is the model dog. The difference is incredible. I can walk him off-leash and his recall is excellent. He listens to me and is so well-behaved that people have asked if I compete with him in obedience competitions. I could not recommend Emma more highly. She knows dogs! Also, her dog walking service was a godsend when I broke my leg and couldn't take him on the long walks he was used to. Thank you so much, Emma.