Dog Training Tips for Vancouver Dog Guardians
Browse our library of actionable dog & puppy training articles
Actionable advice for Vancouver Dog Owners
Scary or Supportive? Puppy Socialization Done Right
Am I doing it right? Everybody that gets a new puppy has one thing at the top of their mind: socialization. But what IS it? HOW do you do it? WHEN should you start? What is socialization? From Oxford Languages: the activity of mixing socially with others.the process...
My Dog is Bored and is Driving Me Crazy – Enrichment During Social Distancing / COVID-19
By Dr. Sarah Shapiro-Ward Enrichment describes all the activities our dogs do which fulfill their mental, social and physical needs. Toronto dogs are typically accustomed to getting their social time through daycare, dog walkers, playdates and dog parks. Physical...
Is my dog playing, bullying, or fighting?
In our Puppy Socialization classes, one of the lessons we try to teach new puppy owners is how to recognize the signs of appropriate and healthy play between dogs. On one hand, we have some owners that are "helicopter parents" and at the onset of anything more...
New Puppy Help! Expert Advice from When Hounds Fly Dog Training
Congratulations on your new addition! Bringing home a new puppy is a big event and it’s your job to raise them to be confident and successful in the world. Having helped over 12,000 dogs (and their owners) since 2010, we’ve been asked a lot of questions from new puppy...
We’re Thinking About Getting A Puppy.. Any Advice?
A couple of months ago I got an email from friends saying they had been thinking about it, and they wanted to get a puppy. They wanted some tips and also some feedback. They recently found a breeder that was selling Golden Doodles (Golden Retriever/Poodle crosses)...
Client Success: Lady’s Transformation from Terrified to Teacher’s Pet
Lady is a rescue from Texas.We picked her up from the back of a pickup truck in Niagara Falls, straight shot from Texas. The rescue didn’t even have foster homes, so she went straight to our house.When we first got her, she was afraid of everything. The first time she...
My Friendly Dog is Now Reactive! Help
By Rachael Johnston, KPA CTP As someone who works a lot with dogs and humans in the context of private lessons I commonly hear this story from many a confused and exasperated client: “My energetic puppy used to be friendly to all the dogs he met but now that he is a...
The Secret to Helping Your Reactive Dog
Written by Rachael Johnston, CPDT-KA, KPA CTP, Family Paws Educator If you are the owner of a leash reactive dog, you are not alone! In fact, many dog guardians in Toronto struggle with leash reactivity in their dogs. It is certainly not an uncommon sight...
Becoming a Professional Dog Trainer
There are a huge number of programs out there promising to teach you how to become a dog trainer. But there are only a few that actually give you the level of education and practical experience needed to truly BE a professional. The Karen Pryor Academy Dog Trainer...
Beat the Heat: Keeping our Dogs Cool
There is real danger when the temperatures rise for our dogs. We can’t take them for the same length of walks, or sometimes even on the same routes. Heat stroke, burned paws, and dehydration are all possible. There ARE ways we...
My Friendly Dog is Now Reactive! Help
By Rachael Johnston, KPA CTP As someone who works a lot with dogs and humans in the context of private lessons I commonly hear this story from many a confused and exasperated client: “My energetic puppy used to be friendly to all the dogs he met but now that he is a...
The Secret to Helping Your Reactive Dog
Written by Rachael Johnston, CPDT-KA, KPA CTP, Family Paws Educator If you are the owner of a leash reactive dog, you are not alone! In fact, many dog guardians in Toronto struggle with leash reactivity in their dogs. It is certainly not an uncommon sight...
My Dog Barks at Dogs and People Out The Window
Perhaps you know the house on your street where as soon as you walk by, you are greeted by a frantic and not-so-friendly sounding bark and bump on a glass window? Oh look, there's that dog - he always barks at us when we walk by this house. Many owners think that...
Well Socialized? No, Well Traumatized
Saturday Afternoon, 3:00PM, Trinity Bellwoods Dog Bowl This weekend I caught up with a couple that had taken group classes in the summer. Their roughly two year old rescue lab mix had been doing great. Right after adoption, leash pulling was their major problem, and...
Good Behaviour Depends on Good Health
If you've hired one of us from When Hounds Fly to discuss behaviour problems (fear, anxiety, reactivity, aggression), you'll remember that before we even talk about the behaviour problems, we spend time talking about the overall lifestyle of the dog. The House of Good...
Sarah Shapiro-Ward on BC Today with Michelle Eliot
Our head trainer in Vancouver, the spectacular Sarah Shapiro-Ward, wowed us all with her expert advice on BC Today’s new pet segment!
Meet Sarah, When Hounds Fly Vancouver’s Head Trainer
Sarah Shapiro-Ward, like many trainers at When Hounds Fly, left an unrelated career (Biochemistry), to pursue her passion for dog training. Also, her experience with training didn’t even start with dogs, or positive reinforcement - her experiences begin in her 20s...
How Do I Socialize My Puppy While Puppy Socialization Classes Are Suspended?
By Erin Britton: April 13th Update: After reading this article, go check out our Pandemic Puppy page for newer information including our "10 Genius Hacks to Socialize Your Puppy Safely During Covid-19". COVID19 is disrupting more than just our human interaction; our...
When Hounds Fly’s Core Values
As we got ready to celebrate our 10th year in operations, our team got together to reflect on what we do, how we do it, and what's important to us. We collaboratively defined a list of core values that we'd like to share for all to see, and hold us accountable to: In...
Going to Training Camp! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018
When Hounds Fly is closed from Thursday May 31 to Monday June 4 inclusive because most of us will be attending the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy Training Camp 2018 in Wilmington, Ohio! We look forward to learning from the brightest minds in Dog Sports training from...
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When Hounds Fly is proud to have the largest number of Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partners (KPA CTPs) and Certified Professional Dog Trainers (CPDT-KAs) on staff of any training organization in Canada.
You can count on us to deliver
Training You’ll Feel Good About – A Commitment to Positive Reinforcement
Positive Reinforcement methods are the most effective way to change behaviour, and make the learner (both human and dog!) feel supported and have a fun and enjoyable time learning.
An Experience Both You and Your Dog Will Enjoy
Every time you train this way with your dog, they’ll light up and come to you with this look of eagerness, joy, and anticipation. Working with us means that training changes from something you do to your dog – into an activity that you and your dog can’t wait for. The connection you build with your dog through our training methods is something that you have to experience.
In Your Neighbourhood, When You Need Us
We believe every dog (and their owners) should benefit from socialization and training as part of their health and wellness. We’re in convenient locations, with classes nearly every day of the week, at convenient times. To keep you from waiting too long, our core classes are “Start Anytime”, so enrollment is on-going. For private lessons, we continue to grow our team (currently over 12 instructors) so you can see us as quickly as possible.