Frequently Asked Questions

We don’t offer individual sessions and work lesson-by-lesson for a few reasons:

1) with a lesson at a time, you won’t know when the training will be complete or when your goals will be reached, and that uncertainty is no fun!

2) It makes it very difficult to come up with a tailored training plan when we do not know how many total sessions we have to work with whereas our programs allow us to know exactly what we are doing and when, giving you that piece of mind!

3) because we tend to book out a little in advance, if we only worked session-by-session, you could be looking at a month or more in between sessions which is not ideal for momentum in the training, and we definitely want to keep things moving forward for you and your dog!

If you live on the North Shore (North Van or West Van), then we come to you for the training! If not, you’ll come to us with your dog for the training. This way we can schedule families a half hour apart and be able to meet with each of you efficiently, which means more availability for the amazing families we work with!

As for each individual session, the locations differ for each session depending on what we are working on. Some are indoors (see above for where based on where you live) and some are outdoors – either street walking or training at different parks or trails. This will be discussed with you at the time, based on where you live, your goals, and the program you’re in.

No, actually! We offer our “Basics On-Leash” obedience program as well! This program is perfect for those who do not want off leash training, or those who simply want to tidy a few simple unwanted behaviors with their dog.

View it here.

For adult training programs, we typically like to see clients once per week for their training program to keep momentum going. Sometimes there may be 2-3 weeks in between a couple of the sessions, but ideally it will be weekly.

For the Puppy Starter Program, we like to see puppies once every 2 weeks because puppies learn best in short lessons applied more often. This gives the owner a more spread out approach to helping them and their puppy learn best!

Each training session is approximately 1 hour in length (give or take 5 minutes).

Lifetime Support means that if you ever have a problem down the road and need our help, or perhaps need an additional session or 2 is needed to get everything tip top with your dog, then there is no charge for that!

Of course, there are certain things that need to be maintained with your dog long after training (training your dog is a lifestyle, after all). This maintenance is a requirement in order to receive the Lifetime Support.

To be able to schedule a Lifetime Support lesson with us, first we’ll have a chat via email or phone to see how things are going and see if we can get you back on track that way.

I always tell people that our Lifetime Support is similar to buying a new car in that sure, you get a warranty, but there is regular maintenance you need to do to maintain that warranty such as oil changes and putting gas in the car.

What our Lifetime Support is NOT: Complete the Set For Life Program with us, everything falls off the rails due to not maintaining anything, and we redo the program.

The simple answer is that dog training needs to become a change in your lifestyle with your dog in order to make the changes last! And sadly, yes, your dog will revert if you do not keep up what you’ve learned and let the boundaries, rules and limitations slide. But we don’t want that for you and that’s why we do everything we can to help you succeed long term!

Every living thing wants to go back to the way it was before change – from needing to wear a retainer after braces so that the teeth don’t move back, to maintaining a healthy diet and exercise after reaching a health or weight loss goal. Dogs are no different!

That’s no problem, we offer touch-up sessions any time in the future for a fee.

Every dog wears the E-Collar full time (every waking moment that you are with them – not usually overnight or when they are home alone for extended periods of time) so that they do not become “collar wise” meaning that the dog only listens when the collar is on.

After training is done, depending on the issues with your dog and the reason we did training, most dogs only need it when there is something new and exciting happening and you’ll need to get their attention, or if they are off-leash. The reason for this is because while your dog may be very well trained by this point, you will never be able to control outside distractions from happening (such as a bear up ahead, another off-leash dog that the other owner cannot control, etc). We like to think about the E-Collar after training like the seatbelt that you use in your car – you put it on every time you drive (hopefully), rarely do you actually need to use it, but it’s there if you need it!

Yes, of course! While we recognize that most clients fit into one of our programs the way that they are, sometimes things need to be tweaked a little, or even a lot! This is why every client that works with us gets a completely customized training plan that fits the needs of them and their dog based on the program that they choose!

We supply all of the initial training equipment (anything that is lost, broken, etc will need to be replaced and purchased separately) and this includes a slip lead or a leash, any special walking collars that we use, the E-Collar system along with a quick release collar strap and a treat pouch. We do not supply muzzles, crates or elevated place cots (which are the beds often used to teach the popular “place” command and an optional nice thing to get for your dog).