Ethical Canine Training and Behaviour Modification

12/04/2025

I don't know how it's possible, but our Puppy classes keep getting cuter???

Congratulations to the last puppy Grads of 2025: Ernie, Finlay, Frank, Louisa,Ryker and Podrick.

We loved having you and hope to see you in Basic Manners in 2026!

12/02/2025

11/26/2025

I think that the language we use can have a huge influence on how we think about our relationships with our dogs. One of the most important things to consider is how putting human concepts on dogs can skew our perceptions and interpretations of their behaviour.

How many times have you heard the idea that dogs should "respect" people? What does that mean? What do we do if we think they are not being respectful?

Tell me what you think!

11/23/2025

Back to basics today. Most of my followers will know these things. But it does always baffle me how the "common wisdom" around dogs gets them so, so wrong.

11/21/2025

Dogs are special 💖

11/19/2025

"How on earth could I justify using force on a dog whose only crime was not knowing how to be right?"

Many years ago, while attempting to demonstrate some no-pulling techniques in a seminar, I was utterly exasperated by a young Labrador.

Clancy had leaped up and head punched me very hard not once but twice, making me see stars and really hurting my nose. Clancy was not malicious or intending harm, he was just an exuberant adolescent who had been taught that leaping around was acceptable. Not being physically sensitive himself, it was doubtful that it dawned on the dog that a head butt was very painful to a human.

I had been patient, kind, vaguely successful but by the second slam to my face, my patience began to shred. I began to think, “One good correction might get through this dog’s thick skull.” I surprised myself by thinking that, but then I further shocked myself (and some of the audience) when I asked the handler explicitly for permission to use a physical correction on her dog.

She agreed, trusting me as a trainer to do right by her dog.

In that moment when she trustingly agreed to let me use force on her dog, I found something in myself that surprised me further: a little voice that challenged me to push myself further, to help this dog without force.

Read more of this article at:
➡ https://suzanneclothier.com/article/i-had-to/

11/15/2025

What has a jam packed curriculum, puppy playtime, two certified instructors, and more cuteness than should be legal?? Our Puppy classes! Starting up again in January in Metchosin.

Ps Puppy class makes a great gift for the new Puppy parent in your life!

11/14/2025

Emotionally tidy? My dogs? Never 😅

Something I’ve noticed over the years is how much pressure we put on dogs to be emotionally tidy.

To stay calm when they’re frightened.
To stay quiet when they’re overwhelmed.
To put up with things that feel uncomfortable.
To be endlessly predictable and never show the edges of their emotions.

And the more I’ve worked with dogs, the more I’ve realised how unfair – and unnatural – that expectation is.

Dogs feel.
They communicate.
They react.
They try to cope in the only ways they know how.

And when those signals get labelled as stubbornness, naughtiness, or a training problem, it chips away at their safety and their trust.

This is why I work the way I do.
Because I’ve seen what happens when dogs are silenced, corrected, or pushed to make their behaviour more convenient for us.
I’ve seen the shut-down, the bracing, the tension behind the eyes.
I’ve seen dogs work so hard to hold themselves together because they don’t feel allowed to show how they really feel.

My approach isn’t about creating a perfectly behaved dog.
It’s about creating a dog who feels safe enough to be themselves.
A dog who doesn’t have to hide their emotions to keep the peace.
A dog who knows their guardian listens, protects, and truly sees them.

This is what matters to me:
not obedience
not performance
not perfection

but emotional safety, communication, and connection.

That’s the heart of Wild K9s.
And it’s the reason I’ll always choose understanding over control.

11/13/2025

Going to the vet is tricky enough for reactive dogs...make it easier on yourselves by skipping over that waiting room business entirely.

10/22/2025

Congratulations to our Basic Manners graduates! What a great set of students 🤩. Thanks for joining us Frankie, Tillie, Lucy, Plum, Rocky and Maddie (and of course helper dogs Joni and Shamus).
Our next Basic Manners course starts Tuesday November 4th at 7pm.

10/19/2025

Basic Manners starts again on Tuesday November 4th in Metchosin! Don't miss out on this class, it's your life preserver for making it though the teenage times with your dog. Link to register in bio.

10/19/2025