Testimonials

Hello Joana,
 ''I wanted to share a story with you.  Your training saved Maggie’s life  ( you remember Maggie is the Benji looking rescue dog).  We were on vacation and I was walking her alone at night. It was very dark and something frightened her. She somehow quickly backed out of her easy walk harness and took off down the street running full speed.  I was scared to death!!   All of all sudden I gained composure and yelled “Maggie STAY”…and she stayed!  “Maggie COME”  And she actually came to me!!!!!!   We were both so scared as she ran into my arms.   So thank you so much for giving us both the tools to save her life.  Just wanted to thank you and share this with you."             

Jill, Nutley, NJ

Hi Joana, "Penny has been doing very well.  We're still following all the rules you gave us and we've definitely adjusted to having her on the leash all the time.  I swear, that tip alone makes a world of difference!  We've been going to the Brookdale Dog Park as much as we possibly can.  She loves playing with all the other dogs and getting petted by all the dog owners!  She's definitely a million times calmer and sweeter since we started all this training.  She really turned into a different dog within only a matter of days.  It's incredible.  Lastly, she's been doing wonderfully with the housebreaking!  She only had one accident in the last month or so.  Amazing.  Thanks for checking in and thanks again for all of your help.  You truly are a miracle worker!  We're looking forward to seeing you again." Sarah, Clifton, NJ Joana,  We just wanted to thank you again for your time last night. This has been an overwhelming time for us and for the first time last night I felt we had the right help.  We will keep looking for puppy interaction and working with her on the commands. I am very much looking forward to the training classes in January.  Tom, Montclair, NJ Joana, I just wanted to thank you for all of your help this week - Murphy's behavior is already improving!  We brought him to Brookdale dog park yesterday, and we met a current "advanced" student of yours, and two past students. Everyone had great things to say about your classes (and we were all using easy-walk harnesses). Its always nice to hear good things so I wanted to pass it along. Emily, Nutley, NJ "My Husband and I recently had a session with Joana, and she is GREAT.  She came to our apartment and stayed until we had covered everything on her list and on ours.  She went through a series of commands and helped us with walking our puppy on a leash.  Her advice is very professional and sound.  Some of it is so simple, it's brilliant, and you can't believe you didn't think of it on your own.  But you won't.  Dogs aren't intuitive to us all, which is why we need people like Joana.  Our puppy isn't problematic beyond the fact that, well, he's a puppy.  It's a good idea to have someone help you out.  You're going to be together a long time-so start on the right foot.    My aunt is a dog trainer in TX as well, and I have high standards and know what a good trainer is-and Joana is.       I highly recommend Sit and Stay."  Anna, Hoboken web review Hi Joana, "Just wanted to let you know how much you did for us during your training session with Bianka. She is different as night and day using what you taught us. She had no problem with us using a leash in the house and seems quite comfortable having it on. Only 48 hours since you were here and I can already see that we’ve taken control with her instead of the other way around. She also responds well to the doggie push ups and the other commands you taught us. I guess most of all thank you for the hint on how to control her barking as she is already barking a lot less than she used to. I’m also calmer than before. Bianka is bringing more joy to our lives and we look forward to a long pleasure filled life with her. Thanks for what you do." Roland & Marie, Rutherford, NJ Hi Joana, "Last week we had our Halloween visit at the Eastern Star Assisted Living and Nursing home in Bridgewater, NJ. He went as an angel!  He is doing so wonderfully and amazes me when we go to "work". He "hams" it up with the residents and is a perfect gentleman around the ladies.  I have been looking daily on petfinder and keeping my eyes open for my next dog to join our family and to come train with you again." Kathleen, West New York, NJ Joana,  "I wanted to thank you for all the information and tips you taught us on Sunday. Your session made us feel more confident in our ability to manage and correct (as much as possible) Madison's resource guarding, which was a huge relief to us. We've given her bones only while on leash and hope to have a dog play-date so we can practice your other tips soon. We both appreciated your positive approach and general attitude towards dog training, and we feel like it's already making a difference in her behavior. She is doing the "puppy push-ups" happily and perhaps most importantly we feel like our relationship with her will be much stronger and more positive from now on." Nicole & Mike, Hawthorne, NJ   "After Rocco joined me in my home, one of the goals I had was to make sure that I was trained properly in obedience training. What *I* wanted was to learn about positive reinforcement with Rocco. I asked my dog walker, Lauren (who, by the way, is excellent and if you are interested in her services, feel free to email me and I will pass along her contact info) for a reference. She didn't hesitate and told me to use the trainer that she used on her Siberian Huskies: Joana Watsky, owner of Sit and Stay. I called Joana, and we talked a lot on the phone. She asked me about my dog, what I was looking to achieve, and how she could help. I already knew a lot, with thanks to my sisters for their advice, but I wanted to make sure that I was laying the proper foundation to raising a good dog now, and not trying to correct bad behavior later. Joana explained how she worked with positive reinforcement to train puppies, and that it was never too early to teach owners these methods. Also she would cover grooming, housebreaking (with command words once outside), basic commands (sit, stand, down, "leave it"), command praise and dog psychology - plus any other questions I had. We made an appointment, and she arrived at my home last night. Suffice to say, I already knew a lot of what she taught me and it's a great class for a first time owner or someone, like me, who does have dog experience but is looking to fill in the gaps. I learned a lot, especially about redirecting Rocco's love to chew everything. Often I would catch him chewing on my couch or going to a lamps electrical wire - and of course i'd say "NO". But she taught me that it's not enough to just do that, we have to say "Leave It" and then direct him to something that is positive, like a dog toy he can chew on. She was also teaching me that while I'm teaching Rocco that I'm the "pack leader" I have to temper my love towards him. It can't just be "affection, affection, affection...then discipline". He has to earn attention through being a good puppy, not just be an owner who showers him with playtime or petting. Not letting him up on furniture or sleeping in my bed (I haven't allowed this since day 1). There was a lot of other things she covered, including teaching Rocco "sit", "stand", "down". "Down" was a bit tricky, Rocco has a stubborn streak and didn't like "down", but her persistence and training methods did get him into a down position. Commands like "stay" and "come" would be taught at a later date when the puppy is a bit older. By taking this class I also got 15% off her group obedience class in the future, which I will be attending when Rocco is about 6 months old. If you are like me, and live in or around Hoboken, have a dog and want to learn a few things - I highly recommend taking this class." Hoboken Web review:  www.philly2hoboken.com Hi Joana, Just wanted to update you on Beast and Gaston!  First let me say Thank U, Thank U, Thank U!  They are doing great.  Housebreaking is going really well.  They have only had one accident all week and the pads are gone.  Taking them to the park twice a day has really calmed them.  They play nicely in the living room, and sleep in their beds at night.  Gaston hasn't been crying and he seems calmer and his anxiety is improving.  I'll keep you posted but I can't thank you enough.  I've seen a major improvement in them already and it's made the day calmer around here. Joyce and Paul, North Bergen, NJ Hi Joana,   I'm just following up with you with regards to Dymo's training. I've implemented some of the suggestions you made during our training session and already there is a remarkable difference in his behavior and demeanor. A few people have asked me if I got a new dog!   I was telling a few coworkers who own dogs about your methods and theories and I am also passing along your business card to them. They seem very enthusiastic and open to new ideas about how to take care of their dogs. Again thank you so much for your help and advice. I'll definitely keep and touch and keep you updated on Dymo's progress.                                                                                        Sincerely, Danielle, Jersey City, NJ