The Balanced Lab

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Barrie, ON
The Balanced Lab

The Balanced Lab is a balanced dog training program located in Barrie, Ontario.

We are able to offer dog owners the tools they need to create a harmonious and fulfilling relationship with their canine companion.

12/24/2025

This is looong overdue but welcome Maple the pack!!!

Maple is a young husky mix that started training with me via private sessions before I moved back in June. We continued training throughout the summer and finally completed all 10 sessions by end of September. It took around 3.5 months total to get her fully off leash like this. Maple’s family is exactly the type of people I aim to work with, they were so dedicated and followed all of my advice. Maple is such a sweet, easy going girl, but of course she had her husky selective listening ears on most of the time, so they knew they wanted to get proper training to make their lives easier. Their biggest goal was to have a dog they could let off leash safely and I believe we accomplished that! I ran into them at the store the other day and they told me Maple walks off leash in their neighborhood on a daily basis and all these months later, things have only improved 😄

Private sessions are a lot of work but if you do the homework and stay committed, you get to reap the benefits!!!

Happy for you guys 🐾

12/20/2025

Welcome the last board and train dog of 2025, Zelda!

It feels very fitting to end my year with a black lab, the dog that started it all.

Zelda is a 1 year old female Labrador and she just spent the last 3 weeks with me learning how to be the best version of herself. When I first met Zelda, she was completely out of control & overwhelming her owners. As first time dog owners, they made a lot of mistakes that often first time dog owners do; giving waaaay too much freedom/ privilege too soon. Zelda is an amazing dog. Great temperament. Great genetics. She was simply missing leadership & structure to her life. Teaching her everything she needs to know was easy, she is a great student and eager to learn. The real challenge comes with teaching her owners how to be the pack leaders I know they can be! We have 1 more lesson together before she goes back home officially.

Come back anytime Zelda 😘

12/11/2025

Black labs for life 🖤

12/10/2025

Had to jump on this trend. What a journey it has been 🐾

12/07/2025

Welcome Mia (princess Mia around here) to the pack! 🐾

Mia is a 4 year old beagle X that is halfway through her 4 week board and train. Mia’s owners reached out to get help with her manners around people (lots of jumping up!!), her resource guarding over toys/ items she thinks belong to her, her lack of recall and overall listening skills. Like any hound, the nose controls their decision making, my job is to teach Mia how to prioritize human guidance/ direction over the smells - it’s not an easy task 😂

At this point in her program, I am happy with how far she has come, but I need to focus a lot on her mindset in busier environments/ passing by other dogs at a closer range without her getting excited, and perfecting that recall (even in a forest). Lots to do but she’s going to be a superstar in 2 more weeks 🤩

12/02/2025

Warmest welcome to my friend, Tokyo!

This dog is very special to me. She is a street dog rescue who is incredibly fearful/ shut down and a massive flight risk. Her owners reached out to me because they adopted her 1 year ago and she has still never really come out of her shell. They can’t walk her, she hates toys, she has very little food drive, she prefers to be alone hiding all day. Everything scares her.

Although understandable, feeling bad for a dog like her, constantly reassuring/ baby talking/ forcing affection & coddling makes things a lot worse. A dog like Tokyo needs a calm/confident leader to follow. She has no idea how to live in the human modern world, especially being a street dog, everything is foreign to her and she needs massive amounts of exposure.

Over the past 2 weeks I have been teaching her how to respond to leash pressure so I can get her walking & moving past triggers instead of fleeing. (Her owners would have to carry her home on their walks when she got spooked). I’ve also been working on building her resilience to noises/ stressors by not allowing flight and giving her a job to do instead (place). She still has a long way to go with me but I am hopeful with the progress so far 🥳

08/24/2025

Welcome (back!) Sundae!

This doodle gal was with me for her puppy program a few months ago and now she is back for her big girl advanced e-collar training.

Sundae is a higher energy dog with a lot of personality, she’s an absolute joy to work with and always has a good attitude. The biggest challenges her family was experiencing was her prey drive (that was escalating towards the family cat), her selective listening (especially off leash) and her crating manners. She was throwing some tantrums in the crate & getting into some bad habits at home. This board and train was the perfect reset for her and I know her family will continue her new structured lifestyle.

Her brother Beau did my board and train program a while back so it’s always nice to work with repeat clients 🥰

08/16/2025

Big welcome to The Balanced Lab’s first vizslas!

I said why not go big or go home and take 2 at the same time 😆

Snickers is 2.5 and Dodger is just over 1. Both of these dogs are here for overall listening skills & manners. After getting to know them over the last 2 weeks, I know exactly what areas I want to focus on with each dog. Dodger is under exposed to the world & lives in his own world. He tries to keep his brain active and entertained 24/7 by chasing bugs, shadows and hyper fixating on a ball. He does not listen (with or without distractions involved) and he is very invasive of your personal space.

Snickers is a lot more “chill” than his little brother but he struggles with anxiety & insecurity. He also doesn’t listen and if you ask him to do something that makes him even slightly uncomfortable, he has a full blown meltdown (fleeing, squealing, jumping all over you etc).

Phew. I’ve had my work cut out for me but I’m happy to report we are on a good track with both dogs. Dodger is becoming so much easier to communicate with - he actually finds value in paying attention to the human which is huge. Snickers is starting to show actual enjoyment in his training sessions as he grows confidence in himself. He’s also become a dream to walk!

We still have 1 week left and a lot more work to do! Thanks for following along 🙌

07/30/2025

It’s been a long time since I re-introduced myself - especially to anyone new to my page.

Hi!!! My name is Laura & these are my 2 personal dogs (Dexter aka Dex aka Sweet Man and Zoe aka Tootie aka Azoula). I started The Balanced Lab in September 2020 but I have been working with dogs a lot longer than that. Here are 10 (potentially interesting?) facts about me 🙃

1. When I was 18, I had a job as a part time nanny for 2 small kids. One day I showed up and they had adopted a 6 month old Toller, and I fell in love. I realized quickly how much I enjoyed being around dogs rather than kids 😆

2. When I was 19, I got my first dog job at a daycare. I loved it so much. I started to get in trouble with my boss for being too much of a “drill sergeant” with the dogs (lmao her words, not mine). I quit soon after.

3. I have a degree in Holistic Nutrition and I am a bit of a hippy. I believe the body is an amazing machine capable of healing pretty much anything if you give it what it needs.

4. I hit my funny bone so hard one time I fainted and gave myself a concussion 🫣

5. I have been bit twice in my life by 2 different dogs. 1 bite was serious and the other was moderate. I have lifelong scars from both. (Both incidents happened before The Balanced Lab started).

6. I love black labs because I fostered a black lab for back in the day. Her name was Frisbee and she was such a special soul. Dexter and Frisbee have the same dad. Dexter was a failed guide dog student and I adopted him.

7. My fiancé Josh is my favourite human. We’ve been together for over 10 years. He has a band and he’s an incredible musician 🤟

8. I love tea. I drink a lot of tea per day. I go through a lot of honey and milk. My entire family on both sides are from Northern Ireland and we had tea in our bubbas growing up 🤪

9. I struggle with neck tension & migraines. It’s been going on for years and I do acupuncture & physiotherapy weekly.

10. I used to live a very unhealthy life - drugs, alcohol, toxic relationships, stupid decision making. I changed my entire life over 10 years ago. I work really hard to protect my peace & do what’s best for me 🩷

Address

Barrie, ON

Website

http://www.thebalancedlab.com/

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