Caroline and Mazie
Some dog trainers are terrific with people. Some dog trainers have an amazing understanding of dogs, and what motivates them. Sadly, not many dog trainers possess both of these qualities.
Cynthia Edgerly does. How do I know? Because I have taken 3 classes from her with my dog Mazie, and she is the best! This is my third dog, and I have used other trainers in the past, but none had the excellent communication skills, patience, knowledge and experience that Cynthia has. She communicates clearly, breaks things down into manageable tasks, gives invaluable feedback, and makes training fun! Her handouts and web site contain enormous amounts of useful information, and I find myself referring back to them months after a class has ended.
Thanks, Bingo Dog Training! We’ll be back for more!
—Caroline ***
Aronson Family with Sky
We enrolled in Cynthia’s Basic class shortly after adopting our first puppy, and our entire family learned a great deal. Cynthia clearly knows her stuff, and she shares her expertise in a manner that is both professional and fun. Cynthia explained things very well, and every session was very useful and well organized. We appreciated how well Cynthia managed and facilitated the interaction of dogs with different temperaments and issues. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience; our children — and our puppy — looked forward to going to class each week. We will continue to take Cynthia’s classes and recommend her to others.
—Julie Aronson
Lemi and Bambi
I had a wonderful experience with Cynthia, and I’m looking forward to working with her again!
Cynthia demonstrates the skills needed to be a great teacher – communication, clarity of content delivery, and patience. Being a teacher myself, I was very pleased with the way Cynthia structured and provided her class with a detailed timeline of what content was going to be covered when, a manual which provided thorough detail of each skill covered, and “homework” – a packet with a weekly checklist of what skills to practice at home before the next week. All of these resources, when actually used by the student, does create a positive learning experience. Cynthia was very quick to respond to my emails, and she was very understanding of my position of a frustrated and discouraged owner. She was always very encouraging and honest with me in a very graceful manner.
I reached out to Cynthia when I was desperate for some guidance on how to manage my 2 year old Chihuahua mix, Bambi, a very sweet yet reactive and pushy pup. I was no longer able to take her to the dog park, to social gatherings, or walk peacefully outside because she was barking and lunging at every living thing around her. I’m not exaggerating. She was literally barking at everything – other people, dogs, cars, skateboarders, bikers… EVERYTHING! I became so discouraged and overwhelmed that I was dreading our walks. I was desperate for any guidance to help me help my pup be a good canine citizen again. Somewhere between the day I got her as a 7 month rescue pup and the day I couldn’t take her reactivity anymore, Bambi had experienced something that lead her to develop her inappropriate behaviors.
Cynthia and I worked together to better understand where Bambi was at the beginning of our training. I had signed up for a package deal, which included 3 hrs. of private consultation, and a 6 week course. Our first consultation took place in my apartment, where Cynthia met Bambi and did an extensive assessment, which consisted of a thorough interview of my history with Bambi, and several exercises to see how Bambi would respond to different movements and sounds. By the end of the night, Cynthia had given me a few exercises to begin working with Bambi, and she also encouraged me to contact her anytime. This 2 hour consultation gave me hope and reassurance that I had found a trainer that Bambi and I can work with.
During the 2 weeks before our 6 week group class session began, I had emailed her several times with more questions, and she always responded to me within a day, if not the very same day. I really appreciated her speedy response, and it helped me to continue to be hopeful and not give up on Bambi.
The group sessions were also delivered effectively. Given that Bambi had negative behavior issues with other dogs and people, Cynthia gave me directions on where to position Bambi and myself to ensure safety for the rest of the class participants throughout the entire session. Every time Bambi was reactive to something during the class, Cynthia explained to me what was happening with Bambi and how I can interfere or even prevent the behavior from happening. She taught me a lot about a dog’s posture and behavior, which helped me build my own confidence for knowing what to expect and do when I’m out on a walk with Bambi by myself. For our final hour of consultation, Cynthia took Bambi and I for a walk around the neighborhood, and showed me how to respond to Bambi’s reactive behavior. This was SO helpful, and I was able to apply what she taught me during our walks the very next day.
Fast forward 6 weeks, and Bambi and I are now walking peacefully around our neighborhood again, and I even have been able to take her to the dog park after over a year of not being able to go to one. I know this is just the beginning of a long journey, but Cynthia has helped it to be an enjoyable one thus far. I truly feel I am a better Mom for Bambi, and I believe our bond has gotten even stronger.
Thank you Cynthia! You’ll be seeing me and Bambi again soon!
—*Lemi*
Jenn and Sunny
I couldn’t say enough wonderful things about Cynthia and her training techniques as well as her boarding!!! She is so kind, smart and has an amazing wealth of knowledge and experience. She can teach any person or dog an old trick and she makes it all very fun. I had some serious behavioral issues with one of my dogs and she taught us both (dog and human) how to work together in resolving my dog’s inappropriate behavior and made it fun. It’s so nice to now have a normal life with my pooch, I didn’t know it was possible until I met Cynthia. I have also had Cynthia take care of my dog multiple times in her boarding care as well as board and train. My dog at one time had a version of separation anxiety that Cynthia helped me resolve, now my dog can’t wait to see Cynthia and starts doing her happy whine when she sees us driving up to her property. She not only takes the dogs out for fun outings everyday and exercise, she provides and homey warm feeling for a pup away from home. I wish she had a board and care for humans, my dog has an absolute blast with her! *** —Jenn
Liz and Ernie
My name is Liz Bullard and my dog is Ernie. I found Ernie at the Scotts Valley Animal Shelter and took him home April of this year. Ernie is a sweet dog but from the start I had problems with him guarding objects and occasionally growling at me, children and some adults. I was able to enroll Ernie in Cynthia’s Level I class and also hired her for one private lesson to help with his challenging behaviors.
Cynthia showed me how to handle Ernie. Between the private lesson and the Level I class, I feel more confident working with Ernie. He can now “happily” leave objects that he used to guard. Cynthia also showed me how to handle his growling behavior. He still is a bit distrustful of some people but because of how I manage his environment, his growling rarely occurs.
By-the-way, Ernie loves Cynthia. On Thursday evenings when we drive into Santa Cruz for class and make that last turn into the parking lot, Ernie immediately knows where he is and becomes very excited. He doesn’t calm down until he is able greet Cynthia and give her a ton of kisses. I feel very fortunate to have found Cynthia and to have learned so much from her in a short period of time.
—Sincerely Liz Bullard
Patricia & Kona
My family and our puppy dog had the most pleasant experience at Bingo! Dog Training. Cynthia provides a clear structure that is easy to follow and that makes sense. Our out-of-control Lab puppy is now (mostly) well-behaved and we have become better dog trainers, too.
—Patricia & Kona
Kim and Wailea
I really love Cynthia’s dog training technique. She is so positive and gentle with the dogs as well as with the owners! And we all (dogs and humans) learn so quickly with her positive reinforcement. Wailea loves doggy training.
—Kim
Kay and Baxter
Thank you so much for your work with Baxter in the Basics class. As a result of your suggestions and patience in teaching both of us how to communicate in a positive way, he hasn’t shown any aggression or attempts to bite in a number of months. The change wasn’t overnight but a gradual move from overreaction to compliance. Using time-out has been a wonderful tool. It helps him pull himself together when he gets overwrought and gives me time to relax before dealing with his behavior. And you were right about the tricks – when he starts to obsess about someone or something outside the house I call him over and we have a lesson with lots of rewards. He loves the extra attention, forgets about whatever was causing him stress, and now has a whole range of tricks to show off for company. (He can even count to six!) We’re looking forward to attending another series of classes when our schedules allow.
Sandra and Dash
Cynthia is amazing. She could teach our Dash a given command within about 2 minutes. But even more importantly, she could teach us to do the same. Dash loved going to school every week, and is a much better behaved pup now.
—Sandra