Sits & Wiggles Dog Training

This is my first time writing a review on Unilocal,and unfortunately it’s not positive. I called to ask about the cost and registration for puppy training and spoke with Ferdie. After Ferdie told me the costs, he asked where I live, to which I replied in the Bronx. Ferdie then proceeded to tell me that an obedience center in Port Chester would be more affordable for me, even though I never stated or implied that his fees were too much for me. If he doesn’t service the Bronx (website says NYC, Riverdale, and some parts of Westchester), he simply could have said so, but I guess it’s better to assume that everyone in the Bronx can’t afford him. Needless to say I’ll be taking my puppy elsewhere.

Ferdie was recommended by our vet and has been excellent to work with. He is such a natural with our 5 year old rescue and has been incredibly informative. We both very much look forward to his visits!

I was skeptical at the reviews. Most trainers do not have five stars, nor do they seem as affordable as Ferdie. After two sessions, I am amazingly surprised at his innate dog training skills.
We adopted a rescued mix from NYACC (she was found on the street). She had severe separation anxiety (destruction of a bed, barking for ten hours straight, not eating, ect), and with Ferdie’s help, we have gotten rid of the majority of those behaviors. We are still getting rid of the elimination problem, but through positive reinforcement and what is essentially peer reviewed training, Ferdie gave us a solid plan of actions. He also, in one visit, stopped our dog’s nipping problem which was severe.
Ferdie is always on time, is certified, is exceedingly friendly, and is wildly informative. I would highly recommend his services when you think there are no options left. He is simply an amazing dog trainer.
AMENDED: A friend of ours also used his services and I saw the results personally, in addition to my own dog.

Ferdie is the best! My husband and I worked with him about a year ago when we adopted our first rescue dog, Mabel, and recently again when we rescued our second, Fiona. Fiona is slightly nervous about the world and a bit dog aggressive, and we initially called him when she lunged at Mabel so that we could nip (no pun intended) a potentially shaky living situation in the bud. Ferdie was flexible with scheduling and we had our first appointment within a month.
Ferdie taught us how to manage the dogs’ boundaries, relationship and mental states with positive reinforcement (this is one of the best things about working with Ferdie — the positive training is so much more rewarding and efficient for both the dogs and us), and truly the difference we see now is massive. The dogs are now two peas in a pod, and while we know that no pup is perfect, we could not have wished for more in our situation. In fact, we worked with Ferdie again this weekend to help Fiona’s leash walking behavior toward other dogs… we’re confident that with our hard work coming out of that session, we’ll get where we need to be!
Another wonderful bonus: Ferdie sends an extremely thorough, organized follow up email for you and your dogs after the session, so that you don’t have to worry that you’ve missed something important. I’d recommend him to anyone! :)

Ferdie is truly amazing!
My puppy, Happy (a Yorkie), is the high-​energy type. And I got him when he was about 8 weeks old, so when we met Ferdie, Happy hadn’t completed all the shots and he had not been socialized. Ferdie started from scratch to make sure that Happy would grow up to become a happy and well-​behaved dog. The training totally changed both Happy’s attitude and my attitude. We understand each other much more. — I understand Happy’s needs and wants and Happy understands mine too!
All my friends who know Happy could see the difference pre and post training.
The training was conducted in our apartment and also in our surrounding area (to practice things in a more distracting environment). The last session was conducted in Central Park when everything we learnt was put together (so well!)
Ferdie was very responsive to emails. His training guide and his report for Happy were excellent and would be good reference for us to turn to in the future.
I recently travelled with happy on a long-​haul flight with a stopover. And the trip has proved how invaluable training sessions with Ferdie have been. Very lucky to have found him.

Sits & Wiggles Dog Training with Ferdie Yau is amazing! Ferdie’s background includes training other non-​canids such as the Central Park Zoo sea lions. He uses positive training and is very patient with not only dogs, but also the humans who own them! Unless you grew up with dog trainers, most folks do not know how to communicate with or train dogs consistently and effectively, so learning from Ferdie definitely resulted in our dog and us being happier! We got our 1.5 year-​old Belgian shepherd mix from In Our Hands Rescue. We wanted to quickly find a way to avoid both our new dog and us developing some bad habits and any communication frustrations. The training and tricks we learned with Ferdie gave us many ways to get our dog to focus on us as well as make learning, walking, playing, and all aspects of our shared (dog-​human!) life rewarding and fun! Whether you are a first time dog owner or have had dogs before, we would highly recommend several sessions with Ferdie.

My girlfriend and I were desperate for help with our high energy puppy we adopted from a rescue. Ferdie was accommodating with our schedule and came to our apartment. Little Enzo was so anxious to meet Ferdie that he actually bit him. Ferdie handled it with patience and understanding. Within moments after biting him, Enzo was following commands and respecting the boundaries. It’s been less than a week since our first session with Ferdie, but Enzo’s behavior has improved so drastically I had to write this review and encourage whomever is reading to act and send Ferdie a request for lessons. I wish we’d done this weeks ago but am so glad we finally did!

Ferdinand is such a Pro. He’s been so helpful to us as new pet owners of a rescue dog. He gave us great info on training techniques, plus he told us about new products to assist us in setting lasting habits. His enthusiasm and knowledge is so encouraging for us as new pet owners.
We give him two thumbs up!

I located Ferdie from the reviews on Unilocal and am extremely glad I did! My husband and I adopted a wonderful 2 year old cairn terrier, Enzo, in January who had some issues with on leash aggression while outside.
Ferdie is obviously very good at what he does (more on this later) but in addition, he is incredibly professional and works with your schedule. Ferdie was very responsive to my initial request, was flexible in meeting me at my in-​laws house (he easily rescheduled when the weather wasn’t cooperating with us) and even brought along his own dog to help with training!
I have read A LOT on training and tried different methods before trying Ferdie and I was still able to learn many valuable insights. Ferdie was very patient in answering all of our questions (and we had many) and spent over 90 minutes showing us what we should be working on and how. He provided us with written exercises to work for Enzo and even followed up a few weeks later to check on how we were doing. I would absolutely recommend Ferdie for dog training. He uses positive training techniques which our dog really responded to. Ferdie is patient, kind and obviously really loves what he does. Five stars all the way…

I just wanted to echo the sentiments expressed by all the previous reviewers. Ferdie is an absolute gem and I cannot recommend him enough! Over five sessions, he worked with my new puppy and me on obedience basics including sit, down, stay, release, leave-​it and recall. In addition, he offered tips and tricks for dealing with crate training and showed me how I might relieve my dog of some of her separation anxiety. Of course, he has a wonderful way with animals, but equally important, he knows how to teach. He breaks down training into manageable steps, models his techniques, and provides useful feedback. His post-​session emails reviewing what was learned and suggesting areas of improvement were very helpful. He is, quite simply, outstanding at what he does!!!

We made a last minute decision to rescue a dog from a kill shelter. This was our first dog and we were nervous, not knowing what to expect from him. His first week with us was a little stressful, he seemed to be protective and a little territorial. We decided that regardless of his personality, it was important to get him some basic obedience training… that’s when we called Sits & Wiggles.
We had a consultation with Ferdie and decided that we wanted to start working with him. He believes in positive reinforcement and we thought that was important. He has helped Bishop to learn all the basics — sit, down, stay, drop it, leave it, recalls, etc. More importantly, he has given us the knowledge and tools to be able to continuously work with Bishop even after our sessions with him were finished.
Ferdie was always on time, kind, patient, and very flexible with our scheduling needs. He provides follow-​up e-​mails after every session which is a wonderful tool, especially when you cover a lot in one session! He is always available as a resource if needed and he was great with our entire family & Bishop. Overall, he was a pleasure to work with and we would highly recommend him to anybody looking for any sort of dog training services.

Let me begin this review by saying that Ferdi is a gift from heaven. My cousin had an incorrigible Beagle who was nicknamed «The Terror of Queens». This dog jumped on the furniture, snapped at the children and refused to follow any commands. This was only the tip of the iceberg. When guests were invited to the house and seated on the couch, the crazy Beagle would jump from couch to couch stomping, salivating and snipping at the guests. It made visiting my cousin’s house a stressful experience as we were always yelling at the dog to «STOP!» There is no denying it, the dog was a nuisance.
In late 2011, we met Ferdi at Central Park in Manhattan. He was helping one of his friend’s German Shepard with a behavioral problem. I was watching how attentive the dog was to Ferdi’s training methods and I was extremely impressed. My husband turned to me and said, «There is no way that this guy can train your cousin’s dog! He is 2 years old and completely untrainable.» We spoke to Ferdi and he was confident that he could make significant progress with the Beagle’s behavioral problems.
For my cousin’s birthday, we decided get him several training classes with Ferdi. What was amazing is that after only a few classes the crazy dog had begun his transformation. My cousin was truly thankful and he decided to throw a BBQ so we could spend time with the newly transformed dog. From the time you enter the house you immediately notice the changes. The dog was much less snippy, no longer jumped on the guests or ate off the table. Ferdi also attended the BBQ. The entire family was so impressed with what he had accomplished with the dog in only a few sessions. I turned to him and said, «Ferdi, if I pay you double, can you train my husband to turn the same tricks?» All in all, Ferdi was an absolute pleasure. His love and passion for animals is visible. He transformed an insane, devil Beagle into a mild mannered, obedient dog. Furthermore, his fees were reasonable, he always showed up on time, and he is fantastic with dogs.

We adopted a shelter dog who was exhibiting signs of trauma, including major separation anxiety, and fearful of all loud noises. Ferdie helped us with all of her issues.
With Ferdie, here’s what you’ll get:
1. POSITIVE training — That’s for the dog and the human handlers.
2. KNOWLEDGEABLE — He knows his stuff and delivers. Not only has had he had a lot of experience with animals, he was good at working with us and making us feel like we could make progress at our own pace. As an urban, working couple, time is short for us, but Ferdie broke things down for us and sent us follow-​up handouts for reference. He even sent us a dog manual at the end of our sessions that clearly showed he has put a lot of time and effort into helping people be better dog owners/​parents.
3. PROFESSIONALISM — When Ferdie says he will be there, he’s there. He was always on time. He was always ready to work with us, and he has GREAT people skills. I had a million questions for him when we first started working together and he answered every single one and never made me feel like I was asking for too much. Wow.
4. ONGOING SUPPORT — Once you sign on with Ferdie, he’s there. I feel I can reach out to him even though our session are over, and I know he’ll respond.
By the end of our training we were more comfortable with our dog, had some techniques we could use that were effective, and a plan to keep positively improving our relationship to our dog.
We highly recommend him.

AWESOME AWESOME AWEOME! Ferdie is just the guy you want to train and help your dog. He has known my dog Marco for a little over a year now. Not only is Ferdie patient and kind human, but he has a extreme love and care for dogs. He has helped my dog with barking issues and immediately after getting Marco back from Ferdie; I noticed a definite difference. You can tell just from the type of person Ferdie is that he’s going to be great with animals. In command, yet calm and loving at the same time. I highly recommend!!!