After 25 wonderful years living and working on Long Island, my husband and I have moved out of New York. I will forever cherish the friends, clients, colleagues, and the memories that shaped me. Long Island and its people will remain forever in my heart. I am excited for the future and I look forward to meeting and working with the many furkids and furparents in Ocean County, NJ. I am, however, available for virtual services for any Long Islanders who wish to follow up or continue with me. Just give me a howl!
Services
I want you and your dog to enjoy many happy years together. The relationship we humans can achieve with our dogs is one that consists of companionship, connection, affection and devotion. The bond we can develop with our dogs is rewarding and unique and cannot be found elsewhere. Our lives are immeasurably enriched, broadened and deepened.
I can't thank you enough for all your help with guiding me in how to care for Bailey. Being a first time mom to a pup - having gotten him at only 9 weeks old - I was extremely overwhelmed! You came in, and instantly put me at ease. You have showed so much patience and care, that it truly touches me.
I am a dog lover and owner first, and a dog trainer second. I know from first-hand experience the difference dog training makes in the relationship between dog and owner. Without professional training it can sometimes be a frustrating relationship, but with an investment in good training a wonderful transformation will occur.
I pay attention to what my dogs like and dislike and use this information, along with the dog's environment, to control rewards and punishments. I encourage and teach the behaviors I want while simultaneously preventing, avoiding and discouraging the behaviors I don't want. I use the science of learning theory and my larger cerebral cortex to solve behavior issues.
Reviews (8)
Ro Dunn
Apr 20, 2020
Stephanie Larkin
Oct 26, 2019
Maryellen Pierce
Nov 29, 2017
Helen DelBove has the patience of a saint with all dogs and their humans. Love one of her mottos: Don't complain, train! I brought my 3 dogs for training and they are so good. Positive training works best. Helen started me using hand cues when they were puppies and I am glad she did. My oldest is now 12 and deaf, so hand cues are a life saver. Thank you Helen.
Andi V.
Jul 21, 2017
I am truly grateful to Helen for working with our dog when we brought home our newborn daughter. We have a large Coonhound mix who is generally friendly; however, he can be neurotic at times and his first reaction to our new baby was BAD. Helen worked miracles and now our beloved first child (our dog) and baby can safely coexist. We also took puppy training classes with Helen and these were great for teaching our dog basic manners. I cannot say enough good thing about Helen; she is an extremely capable dog trainer and a genuine person, I highly recommend her.
Laura Kowalski
Dec 27, 2016
Working with Helen has been an amazing experience! I can honestly say that with her guidance the relationship between my dog and myself has been transformative. She is a positive reinforcement trainer ( the only way to train) and she knows what is needed to aid in the communication between dog and human. I highly recommend her for anyone wanting to learn how to talk with their dog.
Marilyn Mitacchione
Dec 30, 2015
My experience is one of great Satisfaction.not only for my Little Charlie Boy (chiweenie) But for myself.learning how to handle little Charlie Boy was so Exciting for me. Coach Helen is a professional trainer and shows her expertize with patience and love to all of her fur-children. High recommendation for SmartyPaws
Nina S.
Jul 16, 2014
I will echo all of the other reviews here. Helen is a dedicated and wonderful teacher. She doesn't train the dog for you--she trains you to work with your own dog. She uses basic principles of behavioral psychology and positive reinforcement. Like anything else, you need to practice between sessions to achieve your (and your dog's ) full potential, but she gives you the tools.
She frequently spends more time than the allotted class time, and will always answer questions. The group classes give the additional benefit of socializing your dog around other dogs, humans, and distractions. My puppy was always excited to go to his classes! A wonderful experience which I highly recommend to pups and their humans!
She frequently spends more time than the allotted class time, and will always answer questions. The group classes give the additional benefit of socializing your dog around other dogs, humans, and distractions. My puppy was always excited to go to his classes! A wonderful experience which I highly recommend to pups and their humans!
Dina S.
Sep 09, 2013
I have been meaning to write this for a while now but after our family vacation last week with our little "angel" Prissy, I knew I had to make it my priority. I got Prissy from NorthShore in January as a puppy and was told she would be no more than 50 pounds full grown; seven months later she's already 64 pounds and I don't think she's done growing yet, but she's precious and healthy so it's all good. I've always had dogs but like most in my generation, you just had them; we never thought about training. Well, at 52 years old, I knew if I didn't start a good training program with Priss right away, I would regret it.
I visited the local franchise pet stores but I didn't feel very confident in their abilities. As soon as I met Helen I knew she was the "one". We began with a Basic class and I immediately saw the possibilities. When Prissy started to actually do what I was telling her to do, it blew me away; what blew me away even more was that I was learning more than she was at a time when I thought my "learnin" days were over (the nest had just become empty and I guess I was feeling it more than I let on). Helen made me look at almost everything in a new way which in turn helped Prissy.
She is all about confidence and praise which really, really works. Don't get me wrong, Prissy is most definitely a bull in a china shop but when I tell her to sit or lie down or leave it (just to name a few), she does it (she really does it)! Which brings me to the vacation. We drove to Lake George and stayed at a beautiful rental home for the week before dropping my wonderful son off at college.
I was sure I would never see that security deposit again but I was not going to let that hold me back. However, Prissy was so well behaved and listened and didn't jump and walked beautifully on leash and didn't ruin the house. thanks to Helen! Granted I was the one caring for and training and "monitoring" Priss, but without the confidence Helen instilled in me, it would not have been possible.
What you need to know most of all is that every bit of the information and training Helen gave me was all done almost without me even knowing it; she's never boastful or condescending or any of the bad things you might associate with learning. I don't know how she does it, but she does it. We often talk about the need for a class for just the owners because we really are the ones being trained; something I didn't believe before I started. I'm sorry this was sooooo long, but I am always blown away when I realize I'm in command of this big, loving, precious, doofy animal and it's always done with love and compassion, again, thanks to Helen's guidance.
If you just brought a new angel into your home or if you've had an angel with you for a while, you owe it to yourself to at the very least meet with Helen; I'm sure you will see what I saw. It's never too early or too late to be the pack leader. you just need to learn from the best leader in town. Thank you Helen; for everything. Oh yeah, you will have so much fun with Helen you will not believe you're learning anything at all, BUT YOU ARE!
I visited the local franchise pet stores but I didn't feel very confident in their abilities. As soon as I met Helen I knew she was the "one". We began with a Basic class and I immediately saw the possibilities. When Prissy started to actually do what I was telling her to do, it blew me away; what blew me away even more was that I was learning more than she was at a time when I thought my "learnin" days were over (the nest had just become empty and I guess I was feeling it more than I let on). Helen made me look at almost everything in a new way which in turn helped Prissy.
She is all about confidence and praise which really, really works. Don't get me wrong, Prissy is most definitely a bull in a china shop but when I tell her to sit or lie down or leave it (just to name a few), she does it (she really does it)! Which brings me to the vacation. We drove to Lake George and stayed at a beautiful rental home for the week before dropping my wonderful son off at college.
I was sure I would never see that security deposit again but I was not going to let that hold me back. However, Prissy was so well behaved and listened and didn't jump and walked beautifully on leash and didn't ruin the house. thanks to Helen! Granted I was the one caring for and training and "monitoring" Priss, but without the confidence Helen instilled in me, it would not have been possible.
What you need to know most of all is that every bit of the information and training Helen gave me was all done almost without me even knowing it; she's never boastful or condescending or any of the bad things you might associate with learning. I don't know how she does it, but she does it. We often talk about the need for a class for just the owners because we really are the ones being trained; something I didn't believe before I started. I'm sorry this was sooooo long, but I am always blown away when I realize I'm in command of this big, loving, precious, doofy animal and it's always done with love and compassion, again, thanks to Helen's guidance.
If you just brought a new angel into your home or if you've had an angel with you for a while, you owe it to yourself to at the very least meet with Helen; I'm sure you will see what I saw. It's never too early or too late to be the pack leader. you just need to learn from the best leader in town. Thank you Helen; for everything. Oh yeah, you will have so much fun with Helen you will not believe you're learning anything at all, BUT YOU ARE!
