Dogma Training

08/28/2026

📍 Save the date for Dogma’s Open House!

📆 Saturday, September 26 | 1–3 pm | 515 70 Avenue SW

Drop by anytime and see what a day at Dogma actually looks like. Explore the puppy enrichment room and sensory garden, check out the training bay, and meet the trainers behind it all. We’ll have live mini Puppy Success Sessions running, program info for every stage, an enrichment stuffing station, promos, and more! The mural from is an experience in itself!

Special guests from will be on-site too, with a short presentation during the event!

All people- and dog-friendly, fully vaccinated dogs are welcome - no RSVP needed. Just come say hello. 🐶

Full details through the link!

Dogma's doors are open. Come see the space, meet the trainers, and bring your dog on Saturday, Sept 26, 1–3 pm. Drop in anytime during the event!

08/28/2026

Even with our standards, certified leadership, and everything we had built, I knew we weren't giving puppies the best possible start by putting them straight into day school.

KinderPups had been part of my original vision for the facility. Seeing it finally come to life, when the timing was right and we were ready, was an important milestone in our journey.

Some dogs needed some training support in daycare so we were charging extra for some one-on-one trainer time. Some families declined, and it put us in a difficult position as the dog needed more to be successful/stress-free. I knew there was a better way.

The focus wasn't just obedience. It was about laying the groundwork to help puppies thrive not just in day school, but in life. Smaller groups. More individual attention. A dedicated space for puppies to learn at their own pace.

Our first intake filled quickly. We hit capacity right away and had to hire another puppy trainer almost straight away. The market told us clearly and fast — this was something families needed.

What struck me most was how quickly we saw the impact, especially with the nervous puppies. Having more time and individual focus allowed them to blossom in ways that wouldn't have been possible in a larger group. It was immediate.

We started KinderPups as optional. The benefits were so important that we made it a requirement for all puppies.

Then something unexpected happened. Families didn't want to leave. They were seeing real results and didn't want that to change when their puppy transitioned to regular day school. So we created JuniorPups to bridge the gap.

That progression became the foundation for where all our programs are today.

KinderPups hasn't changed much because we got the core right early, built around what puppies actually need. We've added an enrichment room, a private space and yard, more rest, online learning, Q&A sessions, virtual classes, and a puppy parent community. But the heart of it is the same.

Invest in puppies early. Get it right from the start.

Everything else follows.

08/26/2026

National Dog Day is today for everyone else.

Here, it's every day.

Every session, every walk, every class, every school day, and every family we help understand their dog a little better - that's just a regulary day at Dogma.

So today we're not doing anything different. We're just doing what we always do: showing up for dogs and the people who love them.

08/26/2026

Before you try that dog training tip you just saw online, pause for a second.

The dog training industry is completely unregulated. Anyone can call themselves a trainer, make content, and build a following. The most shareable advice is rarely the most accurate, and some of the techniques that spread fastest are the ones most likely to make things worse, not better.

A few questions worth asking before trying anything new: Who is actually saying this and what are their qualifications? Does this consider how my dog feels or just what they do? Is this approach kind or does it rely on discomfort or intimidation? Would I be happy for this to be filmed and shared?

Your dog deserves advice built around them. Not around views, trends, or what worked for someone else's dog.

Swipe through for the full breakdown - including how to spot advice worth following.

08/25/2026

Don't miss out on this amazing dinner event you can attend with your dog! Hosted by our great friends at Vin Room - trust us, this is going to be a fabulous night!

Summer is finally here and so is our Pooches Patio Paw'ty. Join us at Vin Room West for our 5 course menu for you and your pooch. Tickets include dinner for you and your pooch and a swag bag worth $25.



Menu and tickets
https://vin-room.myshopify.com/

08/21/2026

This week we're back for Part 2 of Margie learning all about positive vet visits!

Today, she’s learning how to step onto the scale. This can be tricky for some dogs. they’re stepping onto a new texture, in a new space, with lots of distractions all around them.

With a slow, positive introduction, the scale can become just another fun and rewarding part of the vet visit.

Margie does a great job exploring this new objects and learning that an item she may later encounter at the vet's office can be a positive part of her day.

08/21/2026

I hadn't considered that scaling a business means scaling your standards too.

I started Dogma because I was a good dog trainer with a vision to do things differently and I had little business experience. I learned on the fly, and opening the second location was when I had to start thinking of myself as a business owner, not just a dog trainer.

When I opened Killarney, I assumed the culture and systems we had built at Chinook would carry over. But they didn't, and I learned that people didn't see things through my same lens. Not because they didn't care, but because I had never fully articulated what I was seeing, or why it mattered.

It showed up in small things. Cleaning not quite up to par. Systems not being followed consistently. Things getting disorganized. And I started to see changes in the dogs' behaviour. At Dogma, the dogs don't lie. If the environment slips, they show it.

The challenge was that none of it happened overnight. Things slid slowly, and by the time I identified the patterns, they had become habits. That's the quiet danger of scaling because small shortcuts accumulate when no one is watching with the same eyes you have.

So we built stronger and simpler systems. We created checklists and introduced what we call the 5 Paw Check - a framework for every team member to assess the space through five lenses: dogs, people, sight, sound, and smell. It works because it's grounded in what matters in our environment.

We made sure lead team understood not just the what, but the why. My high expectations are what got us here. They needed to remain, and it was good learning to see the outcome when they weren't followed. Lead team needed to be equipped to hold that standard with their own teams.

I reminded everyone, including myself, that I was new to this too. Two locations were drastically different from one and we were learning together. The focus was on finding solutions, not dwelling on what wasn't working.

That approach came from the same place as everything else I've built - empathy first, high standards always, and the belief that people do better when they understand the why.

The dogs noticed the difference. So did the clients and so did I.

08/19/2026

If your puppy is biting you, you are not doing anything wrong. And your puppy is not aggressive. They are a puppy, and biting is how they explore, communicate, and learn.

Think of it this way: babies use their hands to touch everything. Puppies use their mouths. It's the same impulse, just different tools. The goal isn't to stop them from being a puppy, but to teach them what they can and can't bite, and how much pressure is too much.

That skill is called bite inhibition. And the window for teaching it well is early.

👉 Swipe through for what's normal, what to watch for, and what actually helps, if you do it consistently.

08/14/2026

When the doors opened at Killarney, I had no idea what was coming next.

Not the hard part, anyway.

I've always said to my team that we aren't just in the business of dog training - we are in the business of building relationships. Between us and the family, between the family and their dog. We build deep ones. At this time, I had clients who trusted me, knew me, had worked with me through the hard moments with their dogs.

That trust was critical and it didn't automatically transfer.

I did what I always do. I built the team, trained them, invested in them, and passed off leadership as the business grew. I promoted my longtime lead employee to manager at Chinook for familiarity and continuity. I stayed involved in all facets of both locations but focused my time at Killarney to get it going.

And clients complained with my absence at Chinook.

It was not flattering, it was exhausting. It added pressure to an already demanding season and created a dynamic I hadn't anticipated. Clients questioning decisions not because the standard had dropped, but because I wasn't in the room.

I witnessed firsthand that when a woman steps back from the front lines of her own business to lead and grow it, there's often an assumption that she must be disengaged - lounging, working off the backs of her team. A man in the same position would likely be assumed to be doing important work elsewhere. I was doing important work. It just wasn't always visible.

I tried to communicate this. Some were gracious. Some were not. I recognized the frustration came from the same place as the trust. Through the relationships I had built and the investment I had made. That helped me hold it with more compassion than I might have otherwise.

But the thing that stung most was unexpected. Some clients began to build stronger relationships with the team than with me. Some dogs I barely knew. And I had to sit with the quiet grief of building something so good it grew beyond what I could personally touch.

That's the goal. And it's also a loss, in its own way. It’s a necessary part of growth and to protect my own well-being.

And I learned more about leadership in that season than in almost any other.

08/12/2026

Kinda chic to build a dog training facility around what dogs actually need, not what's easiest or most profitable.

We're a woman-founded, values-based small business with certified trainers, strict capacity limits, and a program that takes Calgary as the classroom. We start puppies right, support fearful and reactive dogs, mentor the next generation of trainers, and never fill spaces just to fill them.

Kinda chic? Maybe. Worth it? Always. ♥️🐾