Nicolette silva

ABC-CDT, CPDT-KA Fear-Free Certified

Welcome! Loving and caring for animals has always been what makes me the happiest and most fulfilled. After growing up with dogs throughout my entire life and riding horses from the age of four, I knew I needed to pursue a career with animals. After obtaining my Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from West Chester University, I graduated from the Animal Behavior College in 2020 as a certified, professional dog trainer. During my career thus far, I have worked with an award winning company, received my certification as a Fear-Free professional, completed and passed my CCPDT certification, attended 15+ professional courses to further my education, and have helped hundreds of dogs and families live happier together! Biggie Paws was inspired by my love for my own baby, Biggie. He is my 4 year-old heart dog who I would be nothing without!

What does “fear-free” mean?

Fear-free dog training is an approach that emphasizes minimizing fear, anxiety, and stress while working with the dog and beyond. This method is based in scientifically proven principles, including avoiding aversive methods/tools and punishment. Fear-free methods promote a humane and compassionate approach to teaching dogs and their humans! And yes - even aggression and reactivity can be helped using fear-free methods!

Do certifications really matter?

The dog training industry is unregulated, which means anyone, regardless of experience or education, can legally call themselves a dog trainer and offer services. This is why ethical and committed pet professionals will always seek out a proper education and credentials as well as continuing to learn and grow as we learn new information! For more information on how to choose a qualified pet professional, visit https://avsab.org/how-to-choose-a-trainer-position-statement/

Puppy Training and Socialization

Basic and Advanced Obedience

Jumping and Counter-Surfing

Loose Leash Walking

Reactivity

Resource Guarding

Human and Dog-Dog Aggression

Fear/Anxiety-Related Reactivity and Aggression

and more!

Experienced in:

  • "Nicolette worked with our smart, high - energy, mouthy Labrador, Hoagie and honestly she was the reason we didn't all lose our minds with him! Even though we were experienced dog owners, we were at our wits end with him by about 5 months - Nicolette gave us some tricks to use with him that we'd never had to use with previous dogs, which helped TREMENDOUSLY. She came back out to work with us (and him) at about 15 months, just to tweak and fine tune some things. Hogan LOVED her and she was so positive with him (and us). Can't say enough good things!!"

    — Sara F.

  • "I (and my two German Shepherds) give Nic two paws way, way up! She is knowledgeable, professional, and so patient! She has a wonderful and even disposition that puts antsy dogs (and their owners) at ease during frustrating moments in the training process - which was very welcomed after I had a negative training experience elsewhere with my reactive German Shepherd. She takes the time to implement truly fear-free practices. She is also very clearly passionate about her job and truly loves the dogs she works with. Cannot recommend her enough!"

    — Carly D.

  • "Nicolette did a great job with our Great Dane puppy, Maggie. We had 5 or 6 training sessions and Maggie was super excited to see her every time. I would highly recommend Nicolette to anyone looking for a dog trainer!"

    — Carl Pashko

  • "Nic is the best! She worked with our dog Piper for 5 sessions and really helped us to understand the best way to work with her in order to redirect some of her behaviors. Piper absolutely loved Nic and always looked forward to seeing her! We would definitely use her in the future for any services we may need for our pup!"

    — Devin R.

  • "Nicolette stepped into our house and our dogs Mona and Penny immediately fell in love. She is calm, patient and warm and gave us incredible tips and tricks to help train our dogs. She is lovely to work with and listens patiently. Highly recommend her for anyone looking to train a puppy (or senior dogs like ours!) and pet sitting. She rocks."

    — Cheryl C.

  • "Nicolette was so helpful in training our Golden Retriever puppy. He learned all of his basic puppy commands through her training, and still uses them daily at 2 years old. She has also helped us further with some fear issues he was having around outside and the car. She always goes above and beyond, and the dogs LOVE her!"

    — Courtney C.

  • "Nicolette is an amazing dog trainer! She helped us train our dachshund who struggles with reactivity. In the past, training has never stuck for him but she changed his ways. She absolutely loves dogs and came to all our training sessions with so much enthusiasm and always met our dog Chester where he's at. I recommend her to anyone looking for a trainer!"

    — Portia W.

  • "Nicolette adored Kevin like her own dog, and Kevin felt the same way. I can't thank her enough for helping us through one of our toughest times and allowing us to enjoy being dog parents."

    — Tori E.

  • "Nicolette is the best! She was so focused, patient, knowledgeable and helpful with training our pup. She showed so much love for him too. An absolute pro and a joy!"

    — Heather S.

  • "Our beautiful, sweet, big and strong rescue dog was taking us over and scaring us by running away sometimes. Then we found Nicolette and everything changed. She came to our house and showed us how to talk to Sofie (our dog) in always a positive way. This is a very integral part of the training that we liked. It worked miracles for us and Sofie LOVED her. We have a "new" dog now and couldn't possibly recommend Nicolette higher."

    — Alysa B.

  • "My dog Ellie and I fell in love with Ms. Nicolette!! Ellie is a 1 year old American Pit Bull Terrier, who is quite the stubborn young lady! Nicolette worked at our home with us to help learn to loose leash walk, to respond to commands, to find her place when guests arrive and how to greet people. We could not be happier with the service we received! We love and and miss Ms. Nicolette tons! Anyone would be lucky to have Ms. Nicolette!"

    — Jen P.

  • "We recently had Nicolette help us with our 2 year old English bulldog. He had issues with resource guarding, would constantly jump on people, and had additional problems. From her first visit, there was a marked improvement in his behavior. Not only did he learn important new skills with each lesson, he had fun and was thrilled to see her each week. From the first day, Nicolette got right to work, training both us and our dog. We now communicate much better and more effectively with Norman. Life around here is a lot calmer using the techniques we’ve all learned. We’re forever grateful to Nicolette and highly recommend her!"

    — Connie W.

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