Pawsome Pups Dog Training

When I think about Bridget and her ability to connect with a dog, I feel like my husband put it best. “Bridget, I swear you could teach my dog calculus”! Bridget has an unbelievable ability to help the dog understand what the owner is asking of it and - even more importantly - help the owner understand how to ask. To see a 9 week old puppy execute a slew of commands after 9 intensive sessions was nothing short of miraculous. If you’re looking for someone to give you and your 4-legged companion the best shot at a wonderful and mutually satisfying relationship, come here! Finally, we both greatly appreciated Bridget’s commitment to a positive reinforcement training technique… our little friend absolutely couldn’t wait to see Bridget every day, and had a ball learning! To sum it up, we can’t say enough about what Bridget did and we are very grateful for her time and expertise! 🐾 Bailey and Todd (and of course… Bentley) Purcellville, VA

We had an amazing experience working with Bridget. In less than two weeks, she helped us dramatically reduce our dog’s reactivity, which honestly felt impossible before we started. The difference is night and day — he’s noticeably calmer, more focused, and easier to manage in situations that used to be very stressful. Friends and family have even commented on how much more relaxed he seems. Bridget is knowledgeable, diligent, and truly understands dogs and their behavior. We’re so grateful for her help and would recommend her to anyone dealing with reactivity or behavior challenges.

I recently adopted a rat terrier/Jack Russell one year old dog named PJ that was found on a roadside for an unknown period of time. While he was already crate trained and house broken he was full of energy and in need of learning elementary manners and socialization with other dogs and strangers. PJ recently completed an 11 day private training course with Bridget Taber at Pawsome Pups Dog Training in Purceville, VA. I chose this business because Bridget is a dog trainer and breeder with ÇPDT- KA certification and her training program is based on positive rewards. She trains the owners as well as the dogs so that training can continue at home after the course is completed. PJ learned how to respond to commands such as sit, down, settle, wait, stay, up and off stairs, come, leave it, and how to walk loosely on a leash. The harness we started PJ off with had the leash attachment on the back of the harness. Bridget said that arrangement encourages a dog to pull the owner down the street which he did and I wanted to correct. Bridget has no pull harness and leash sets available for purchase. The results were amazing and also helpful in controlling PJ during the training sessions. Prior to training PJ would bark and growl at other dogs and strangers he met on our walks. Bridget had one of her German Shepherd dogs named Enya to assist her in getting PJ used to other dogs and to leave them alone. Enya is a Rock Star. She calmly lies there like a statue while Bridget teaches PJ how to get used to Enya’s presence and to leave her alone with the “leave it” command. Enya also accompanied PJ on a walk through a neighborhood where there are rowdy dogs barking loudly on the other side of a fence. Enya’s calming presence helped PJ build up the confidence to quietly walk by them when I gave him the “leave it” command. I recommend that anyone interested in learning more about this dog training program to look at videos on Facebook and YouTube which show that Bridget’s training techniques produce successful results.

1 year old pitbull/american bulldog mix. Very fearful. Goal to build confidence and trust in order to walk calmly on a leash without any reactivity to dogs or humans etc. Bridget is a board certified trainer that uses positive reinforcements. Yes, that means LOTS of treats when she says a lot that means bags and bags of prepared treats. Bridget recommended liverwurst, chicken, and cheese, which were all great motivators for my pup, but the best was liverwurst. With treats can come diarrhea, which she had a great solution to, ProPectalin. She is very straight forward with you, patient with the dogs, and gives you skills/tools/confidence to help you continue training at home. My pup is still somewhat reactive to dogs and other things on the leash, but he is getting better with the skills Bridget has given me to continue training. The training doesn't stop after your last session, you HAVE to continue working with your dog. The first picture is my pup sitting calmly at the vets with no restraint where as before he would be trying to get on my lap or pacing the room. The second picture is my pup with my not even 50lbs, 7 year old daughter holding him calmly at an event with a room filled with dogs and people at a winery.