Little Brown Dog Training Co.

12/19/2025

And here we have our last Life Skills - Reactivity class of the year!

Great job and congratulations to these guys who were all working on regulating their emotions and reactions to the sight of other dogs.
Annie - who worked through big fears, Kano - who worked on general stresses of life that triggered his little Pom voice, Chopper - who worked on his need to go say hi to EVERY dog, and Bella (not pictured) who acted scary because she had to out-tough everyone... to be able to pass by other moving dogs, and voluntarily disengage from the sight of them by the last class is a huge accomplishment!

I'm so happy and grateful to be involved in this process. Success stories like we have are the reason why I created this course. No two classes are exactly the same - but that's what makes leash reactivity so challenging and incredibly rewarding to work through at the same time.

Thanks to our - we'll be back early spring for our next round!

12/12/2025

Coming in hot - our latest and greatest!

After much demand we are now offering an Intro to Skijoring course series!

Over the years I've had so many questions about this fun sport - and the most common statement I hear is "I'd love to skijor BUT I'm afraid that ______ (my dog won't stop/I'd fall over/my dog won't listen) - insert other cautionary note here.

The good news is - we are here to help! Learn through our trials and tribulations and train your dog to skijor from the perspective of a professional reinforcement-based dog trainer. If you are interested in getting started, this beginner-friendly series is for you!

Learn about:
Gear & safety
Where to skijor in & around Calgary
Essential groundwork and how to start
Directional cues & emergency cues
How to teach your dog to pull
How to balance..and more!

Webinar:
Monday December 22 @ 7:00pm - FREE!

In Person:
Monday December 29 @ 10:00am
Saturday January 3 @ 2:00pm

Come join us for one session or for all of them. If you aren't sure if skijoring is for you, come and join our webinar for free to learn more!

Register at www.littlebrowndogtraining.com/bookonline

Although this is a beginner friendly seminar, basic ski skills are a requirement for the in person sessions - note that we are not ski instructors and for safety reasons, you should be able to manage basic movements before adding in a dog.

Contact us with any questions - in person spots are limited to 4 humans per session. If these sessions fill, more will be added.

See you on the trails!

11/29/2025

Please note we are filling up for the season!
December tends to be our busiest time for private consultations (despite being a busy time of year)! We get a lot of requests from new and previous clients for a variety of concerns. In order to be able to fit everyone in, we suggest booking now or aim to train in January when everything slows down.

We are more than happy to work with you, or if we know of someone more suited to what you are looking for we refer out to other trusted trainers.

To book, click the link in bio and navigate to the private consultations tab.

Keep an eye out for an updated website in the new year, as well as updated pricing, programs and more!

11/11/2025

Congrats to our October Life Skills Class graduates -
Daisy, Lola, Roo, Raph, Finn, & Aspen!

This was a busy and full class, which went from rowdy to reasonable (as reasonable as 6 adolescents can be) - thank you all so much for joining!

This round had dogs from , and all working on manners and general "good dog" training. Safe to say they all graduated with honors!
Also a mega fan of these pictures. Scrolling back through after class ends always reminds me why we do what we do.

Thank you for having us be a part of your new dog's journey - such an important job - and excellent work by your humans.

See you all in the big world!

10/22/2025

Not gonna lie, it's been a busy week!
I'm super excited to get the ball rolling on further education so I can help clients more. I've completed a few webinars this week in between everything else.
These are my most commonly asked about behavior concerns and can be challenging for people to work with.

We've got a few more projects coming down the pipeline and into the new year!

10/20/2025

Do you have a dog who struggles with introductions to unknown people?
The Treat - Retreat game might be what you need!

This game consists of a combination of utilizing rewards (or classical conditioning), utilizing distance and teaching a dog an alternative behavior to the "problem" one.

Coined by Suzanne Clothier and now often used, this game consists of a strategy of tossing treats away from the dog - counter to the old belief of "just have strange people feed the dog treats out of their hand". If you've ever had a fearful dog, you know this may go ok initially but may quickly turn into a downward spiral of barking, growling and backtracking.

We use a combination of predictability (using the same or similar setup each time), calm and neutral body language of the strange person (no pressure to reach for or pet the dog), space and distance (because allowing a quick retreat is key on both ends), and a strategic retreat toss game (the Treat- Retreat part).

This weekend we met up with a local trainer-in-training to work with her dog, Pippin, and we filmed the process so you can see what it looks like. The total time elapsed during the session is about an hour - and you can see her body language dramatically change during this time.

Stay tuned as the full version will be coming in a YouTube video with explanations!

10/16/2025

It's time for more introductions!

We've had some class volunteers that you may have seen around - and lately we've incorporated this role into some training mentorship opportunities! Meet Tam - our latest awesome extra set of hands in class, consultation assistant, and trainer-in-training!

After graduation with a BSc (chemistry) and BEd. from the university of Calgary, Tam realized her passion for animals and returned to school to obtain her AHT diploma from Olds in 2010. Realizing her special interest in behaviour, she is pursuing additional training to become a certified dog trainer in conjunction with being a fear free certified vet tech.
Tam has trained and competed in a variety of dog sports. Her dogs compete in flyball but have also participated in Rally Obedience, Agility, Barn Hunt and Tricks.
Tam believes in positive reinforcement and developing the human-animal bond to make training fun and enjoyable.

If you see her around, thank her for her help, and welcome her to the team!

10/15/2025

Life Skills Class - registration now open!

Starts Monday November 10th at 6:30pm

This is our most popular class - and our last round of Life Skills for 2025! The perfect course for adolescents, adult dogs, and new rescues. This course helps you and your dog learn the basics such as position cues, loose leash walking, place cue, recall, leave it, leash reactivity prevention, how to work with distractions and more! Come learn from an experienced instructor in this fun and inclusive class environment.

Classes are held at Paws Next Door at 4116 Macleod Trail SE, conveniently located just 5 minutes north of Chinook Mall.

6 weeks (1 hour per class)
$235 (GST incl.)

This course is suitable for dogs and puppies over 4 months of age who are comfortable around people and other dogs.

Discounts available to dogs adopted from our rescue partners!

Register or find out more at www.littlebrowndogtraining.com/groupclasses

Who are we? We are a small, local dog training business with a focus on high quality, ethical and modern science-based training methods. Certified, experienced dog trainers who are caring and compassionate, and recognize that whenever we see a dog in need of help, there will always be the human side...

10/12/2025

Have you taken a class or consultation with us in the past?

We want to hear from you!

We'd love to hear how any of the skills you've learned have benefitted you and your dog, and in what ways. Any successes and challenges, or feedback is welcomed!

Feel free to send a message, include a photo of your dog and what you liked about class and if you are comfortable with it being shared to social media, let us know.

Thank you!

10/09/2025

This is a picture of me - 14 years ago to this day, I had my second ever private lesson with a fantastic trainer in Victoria, BC. I had adopted my first dog - I never grew up with dogs, I only knew I wanted one and when I finally convinced myself I was old enough, I got one.

Shortly after I realized she had intense leash reactivity and some fear of men. I realized I was in way over my head. The shelter said she was good with other dogs (and had even been a puppy socializer for a bit). But the leash reactivity was intense - at our first lesson she was reactive to a dog on the other side of an entire baseball field. I used to wear workout gloves to walk her because my hands would get rope burns from her pulling. I often cried after training her or when something went wrong, because I was struggling just as much as my dog was.

Thankfully the local rescue I contacted recommended a fantastic trainer, . I will never forget her kindness, patience and how much she helped me and Madi when I knew absolutely nothing. I think back today and remember some of the questions I asked before I knew any better - but Darcie never spoke to me like I was asking stupid questions. She listened, responded kindly, made other suggestions, and gave me bits and pieces to follow in a way that made sense.

I always think about lessons I've had with fantastic teachers when I'm helping others - and how the way in which you are taught and supported can shape how you become, in so many ways.

14 years later, I'm now a trainer too, and I'm so grateful for those who were kind, patient, and showed me what truly being a teacher is along the way.

09/03/2025

Coming up in just under two weeks:

Life Skills Class

Starts Monday September 15th at 6:30pm
**2 spots left*

This is our most popular class! The perfect course for adolescents, adult dogs, and new rescues. This course helps you and your dog learn the basics such as position cues, loose leash walking, place cue, recall, leave it, leash reactivity prevention, how to work with distractions and more! Come learn from a professional dog trainer in this fun and inclusive class environment.

Classes are held at Paws Next Door at 4116 Macleod Trail SE, conveniently located just 5 minutes north of Chinook Mall.

6 weeks (1 hour per class)
$235 (GST incl.)

This course is suitable for dogs and puppies over 4 months of age who are comfortable around people and other dogs.
Discounts available to dogs adopted from our rescue partners!

Register or find out more at www.littlebrowndogtraining.com/groupclasses

08/23/2025

I don't always post a lot of photos of clients we have on the go, but look at this pup!

He is a fab mix of rotti and lab in a small package. We are working on the basics like loose leash walking and recall, to help him grow up to be a great kid.

Do you remember what it's like to have a puppy? It can be a LOT! Once we have an adult dog, we tend to forget how much they can just go go go, all the time.
My favorite tips for maintaining sanity during this time are:

• Maintain a good schedule & routine, predictability helps your pup learn and helps you have markers for when they start to do better - for example, with potty training
• Utilize other dogs to help ease the load! Invite friends over with sociable dogs, send your puppy to daycare for a day or two per week, take your pup to playdates! (Dog parks are not advised as they are not an appropriate place for a young puppy to learn social skills)
• Work on short intervals of everything - training, play, nap times, and crate training
• Give yourself a break if you need - hire a dog walker a day or two per week, use your puppy's crate while you need a rest!
• And don't forget, food based enrichment toys! These are hands down my biggest life saver to prevent yourself from becoming the chew toy, and for keeping puppies busy.

Happy training ❤️