Calm Canine Dog Training

05/15/2025

Are you dealing with a feisty puppy that seems more like a tiny tornado? 🌪️🐶 Learn about puppy aggression and get expert tips on how to manage your pup's behaviour.

Are you now wondering if you’ve made a huge mistake while your feral racoon-dog gnaws on your body, chases your children, and makes you cry silently behind your bedroom door?

04/21/2025

I met this beautiful boy this weekend. I’ve worked with Shiba Inus before but this was my first Akita. His well-meaning and big-hearted owners were wound pretty tight trying to make him happy. But only when they understood the dog psychology did they realize that they had crowned him king and he was running the show and their lives. They are all going to be just fine as he gets a gentle demotion and feels that his owners will take care of him instead of the other way around! ❤️

02/17/2025

Continuing to move in the right direction with this guy, Dior. He's experiencing larger windows of calm, not just in crate time, but now also in his indoor solo time. He can stay sleeping as I come and go from the area of the house, rather than snapping up every time.
In outdoor solo time, he will sit or even lay down and look around rather than be hyped and busy. Barking outside is way, way less.
We are coming along with loose leash walking, but it takes dedication and consistency to make it happen. And it's by no means a mindless walk. As leader, I have to be more aware of his energy than he is. And he is hyper aware.
His nervous system is right on the edge and so it's important to go slow. It doesn't take much for him spill over into hyper.
I'm sure this guy has been taught "impulse control" in a well-meaning attempt to get him to settle and think before acting. The traditional way of teaching impulse control ("waaaiiit... waaaiit.......OK!") can really backfire. And for Dior, that is what happened. Instead of teaching him to slow down and self-regulate, he's been reinforced to have a "starting block energy" as if he's just quivering, waiting for the "OK" at which point he loses his mind in a rush to do whatever he wanted to do in the first place.
It's my opinion that you can't teach impulse control. "Impulsive" dogs are stressed dogs. Reduce the stress, reduce the impulses. And a bonus: no starting block energy.

02/06/2025

It's a serious problem, so let's look at 4 ways you might accidentally be supporting separation anxiety.

Separation anxiety is a pretty common term, along the same line as separation-related behaviours. Some folks want to make it into a diagnosis, but I don’t think that makes any real dent on the problem from the dog’s point of view. A dog with some level of separation anxiety is stressed when you ...

01/30/2025

Don't be an idiot in your dog's eyes. Your dog wants to know that you GET him. She wants to feel heard, understood, and taken care of. He has feelings of fear and frustration. Don't teach him a trick and shove a cookie in his mouth. Show her the way. Show up as a leader. Click below to start to feel the difference between "training" in the traditional sense and healthy, balanced leadership.

Having a dog is a joy! But it isn’t all roses. Very often, folks get a new dog and things roll along pretty well. But gradually, things start to get a bit more difficult. Barking out the windows, pulling at the leash, getting jumpy or nippy with guests are just some of the behaviours that creep up...

01/29/2025

It doesn't look like much and that's because "boring" and "uneventful" equals success in my books. Here's the handsome foster Dior, standing calmly outside on a loose leash, with a feeling of togetherness. Before, he was incapable of standing still outside, he was obsessed with sniffing (not happy sniffing, but neurotic sniffing), and he'd be pulling to the end of his leash without any regard to what was on the other end of the rope.

I didn't take video, but we even got some loose-leash walking in tonight. Calm, relaxed, loose leash walking together. Key word: together.

I think we've made inroads since I stopped using treats. Treats are great when used wisely but they cannot replace relationship. And this fella has been massively over-treated. He was more than a bit entitled, combined with exactly zero respect/regard for people, and only high-energy associations with outdoors and humans... we had ourselves a perfect storm.

The other thing that really moved the needle today was I gave him a few time-outs for invading my space. I had been ignoring him when he'd shove his nose insistently at me (he was definitely used to getting treats and pets for this behaviour). But I thought tonight, I'd get a bit more serious about asking for my space. He got 3 time-outs ranging from 30 seconds to 3 minutes. After the third one, he came out, politely sniffed my leg and walked away. Perfect!

Time outs are highly, highly effective, again, if done correctly and in conjunction with other strategies. If done incorrectly, or on their own, they can backfire, causing more stress to the dog rather than decreasing it - as is the goal.

It's been a few long weeks here, but now I feel we are really getting momentum! Well done, Dior. I knew you were in there. It's an honour to help you find yourself.

01/22/2025

Here's the beautiful foster dog, Dior. This is what a dog looks like when we prioritize his needs over our wants. He needed space, minimalist calm interactions, solo time, and consistency. Finally he can sleep instead of pace and whine! And finally we can start to walk together instead of him busting out all the moves and doing his own thing. He's coming right along. More healing required to be sure, but all in a good direction. Anyone looking to adopt a gorgeous purebred German Shepherd?

01/22/2025

https://www.calmcanine.ca/post/a-story-about-dog-training
Once upon a time...
Click the link above to read the brief and approximated history of dog training, what led us to screw up so many modern dogs, and how we might move forward to help man's best friend!

Once upon a time, some people wanted to understand dogs. So they looked to the ones who weren’t yet all scrambled up from human contact: wolves.These well-meaning folks captured a bunch of wolves who didn’t know each other and confined them in an area. Then they watched. The wolves fought. They ...

01/16/2025

🤣🤣

01/10/2025

The Pembina Valley Human Society asked if I could foster this 3 year old German Shepherd who was deteriorating under the stress of the shelter by the day, becoming unmanageably hyperactive, and progressively more adamant in attention-seeking behaviour to the point of nearing aggression.
They didn’t ask me to train him. But when I have a dog with me, I can’t help but apply my methods and approach in handling dogs. It’s built in.
Within the day, he was noticeably calmer. After a few days he was able to finally sleep on the floor nearby. It sounds boring but it’s huge for this dog.
The “shelter stress” is real, yes. But what we fail to understand when we talk about what stresses dogs out is that HUMAN HANDLERS are at the top of the list! Too much stimulation in the form of voice tone, pets, cuddles, treats, toys, play is STRESSFUL!
What have I done for this beautiful boy? Gave him space. Quiet. Calm. Sleep. Crate. Food. Restricted freedom. Kept my hands off him. And he’s thanking me for it. Settling in, shaking off stress, getting his mind back in his body. Sigh*
He just needed someone to step in and say in a way he understands, like a momma dog, “Dior, I got this. I got you. No expectations. You can relax.”

01/10/2025

I recently had a baby. Oh heavens what a delight!

Why did I want to have this baby? Because I want someone to love me? Because I like to cuddle? Because everyone was doing it? Because my cup was empty and I needed something to fill it?

Or did I want this baby in my life because I have extra love in my heart and I want to love a special little someone? I want to get to know her and meet her needs so that she grows into a mature, kind, beautiful human being.

Which attitude I have towards my daughter will affect my parenting. Which will affect my daughter's behaviour.

When it comes to owning a dog, the dynamic isn't too different from being a parent. Read the blog below to find out what kind of dog parent you are!

Owning a dog comes with so many questions. How do I teach him to come when I call him? How do I get her to stop jumping? Why can’t we go for a relaxed walk together? How come he keeps lunging at other dogs on the walk?There are a million questions when it comes to owning a dog, but perhaps the mos...

12/16/2024

Check out my blog post https://wix.to/gVPFjpQ

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! But Christmastime can also be a little stressful. Especially for your dog.Here are some tips to keep your dog in a cheerful mood this season.1. Leave him at home. If you’re heading out to a big gathering, don’t feel obligated to bring Fido. He might fe...