The Balanced Lab

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Barrie, ON
The Balanced Lab

The Balanced Lab is a balanced dog training program located in Barrie, Ontario.

We are able to offer dog owners the tools they need to create a harmonious and fulfilling relationship with their canine companion.

12/02/2025

Warmest welcome to my friend, Tokyo!

This dog is very special to me. She is a street dog rescue who is incredibly fearful/ shut down and a massive flight risk. Her owners reached out to me because they adopted her 1 year ago and she has still never really come out of her shell. They can’t walk her, she hates toys, she has very little food drive, she prefers to be alone hiding all day. Everything scares her.

Although understandable, feeling bad for a dog like her, constantly reassuring/ baby talking/ forcing affection & coddling makes things a lot worse. A dog like Tokyo needs a calm/confident leader to follow. She has no idea how to live in the human modern world, especially being a street dog, everything is foreign to her and she needs massive amounts of exposure.

Over the past 2 weeks I have been teaching her how to respond to leash pressure so I can get her walking & moving past triggers instead of fleeing. (Her owners would have to carry her home on their walks when she got spooked). I’ve also been working on building her resilience to noises/ stressors by not allowing flight and giving her a job to do instead (place). She still has a long way to go with me but I am hopeful with the progress so far 🥳

11/11/2025

Welcoming the biggest sibling duo I have ever had, Leo & Blu!

These 2 Cane Corso’s are on their 4th and final week of training with us & I wanted to give a little update/ recap on why they were sent to training.

Dog reactivity, leash pulling, selective listening and unreliable recall were the main reasons they were sent to training. Since getting to know them more, I have uncovered some root causes & underlying reasons that are contributing to the unwanted behaviour. Blu is the older sibling and she is what I consider a “back of pack” type of dog, she is weary of new things, untrusting of strangers, incredibly sensitive to the environment and lacks overall confidence. Leo is your happy go lucky, middle of the pack dog, but he has taken a more protective/ pack leader role over Blu because he can sense her “weakness”. Leo is incredibly easy going, people pleasing & loves to work, but his bad experience with another dog back in the day has deeply affected his social skills. Leo does not trust other dogs unless it’s Blu, any other dog is considered a threat to him and I believe that is a huge reason for the reactivity.

Over the past 3.5 weeks I have spent a lot of time working with them individually, but also together to better understand their relationship and dynamic. Leo has been learning better social skills around my dogs and I am seeing him soften up a lot more. Blu is gaining confidence while I continue to expose her to new environments and help her work through her panic.

I’m happy with how far we have come & I am eager to transfer these new skills over to their owner this upcoming weekend 🤗

10/29/2025

Welcome Bernie boy to the pack! 🐾

This adorable puppy is a 11 month old Corgi and he is a little over 1 week into his 3 week board & train program.

Bernie is a really fun little dude, he is full of life and energy and actually loves to work. His owners are struggling with some problematic behaviours at home such as nuisance barking, marking his scent on the walls, biting ankles when people move around the house, leash pulling and no recall. His unwanted behaviours are a result of lack of authority/leadership in the home mixed with pent up energy/ boredom. Bernie’s owners walk him a lot but because he is not trustworthy off leash, he is not able to run and chase the way a herding dog craves.

On top of that, he needs to learn cooperative care as he is giving his owners a hard time with grooming & overall handling. I am so glad Bernie was brought to me at a young age so we can nip these behaviours in the bud and get this guy off leash!!! Happier dog = happier owners 🎉

10/20/2025

The adventures of Gunner & Mickey

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10/02/2025

Some moments over the past few weeks…

Welcome Nala to the pack 🐾

Nala is a 2 year old pitty/lab mix who was adopted by her owner a year ago. After getting to truly know her over the past few weeks, this is my overall assessment: she is a sensitive dog that feels overwhelmed in certain environments - she desperately craves leadership so she doesn’t have to make decisions for herself. She thrives with clarity & consistency. Truly. She is SO relaxed & peaceful with me. She sleeps deeply. She plays effortlessly & she follows my lead as if she’s always known me.

When Nala’s owner brought her home, there was too much focus on freedom, privilege and lack of structure. Nala’s owner loves her so much (she’s a very lovable dog) but it’s important to understand HOW to love a dog, it’s so much more than spoiling them. Dogs need a pack leader to feel safe. Nala started off amazing with her owner but over the course of the 12 months owning her, some serious behaviours started popping up. She was lunging and snapping at neighbours in their condo, she was reacting to dogs & people that got too close, she was fence fighting and showing a lot of territorial behaviours. All of these behaviours are a result of lack of leadership - Nala decided she had to take the lead and create space because she doesn’t want strangers crowding over her and dogs in her face everyday.

The plan is to teach the humans in Nala’s life how to truly honour her spirit & nature as a canine. She needs humans that are going to provide structure, rules & discipline while also fulfilling all of her needs. I am confident Nala’s family has what it takes and I’m excited to make it happen this weekend over 3 transition sessions together 😁

09/29/2025

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09/27/2025

I’m sure you’ve seen this face on my stories over the past few weeks - here is a little more info on Miss Maeve

She is a 1 year old Spinone Italiano and she is nearing the end of her 3 week board and train with us. Maeve was sent to training because her owners were struggling with confidence issues (specifically around barking dogs/ loud noises) and overall selective listening - they described her as stubborn. Maeve’s insecurity around barking dogs started when she was a puppy and was unfortunately rushed by 2 reactive large dogs, it sent her into flight and ever since, she has this strong urge to run away whenever she gets spooked.

Over the past few weeks Maeve has learned how to trust in human guidance and direction when she feels insecure - this has essentially eliminated the flighty feelings. She is in her teenage years so attitude and boundary pushing are to be expected, but I am confident in her new listening skills and healthier mindset.

We did alot of dog barking desensitization/ structured walks, controlled experiences as well as field trips to test her new training out in the real world. We have a couple days left to touch up anything we can, but I am confident her owners will be able to take over from this point on.

Besides the drool and constant beard cleaning (lol), she has been a 10/10 house guest.

08/24/2025

Welcome (back!) Sundae!

This doodle gal was with me for her puppy program a few months ago and now she is back for her big girl advanced e-collar training.

Sundae is a higher energy dog with a lot of personality, she’s an absolute joy to work with and always has a good attitude. The biggest challenges her family was experiencing was her prey drive (that was escalating towards the family cat), her selective listening (especially off leash) and her crating manners. She was throwing some tantrums in the crate & getting into some bad habits at home. This board and train was the perfect reset for her and I know her family will continue her new structured lifestyle.

Her brother Beau did my board and train program a while back so it’s always nice to work with repeat clients 🥰

08/16/2025

Big welcome to The Balanced Lab’s first vizslas!

I said why not go big or go home and take 2 at the same time 😆

Snickers is 2.5 and Dodger is just over 1. Both of these dogs are here for overall listening skills & manners. After getting to know them over the last 2 weeks, I know exactly what areas I want to focus on with each dog. Dodger is under exposed to the world & lives in his own world. He tries to keep his brain active and entertained 24/7 by chasing bugs, shadows and hyper fixating on a ball. He does not listen (with or without distractions involved) and he is very invasive of your personal space.

Snickers is a lot more “chill” than his little brother but he struggles with anxiety & insecurity. He also doesn’t listen and if you ask him to do something that makes him even slightly uncomfortable, he has a full blown meltdown (fleeing, squealing, jumping all over you etc).

Phew. I’ve had my work cut out for me but I’m happy to report we are on a good track with both dogs. Dodger is becoming so much easier to communicate with - he actually finds value in paying attention to the human which is huge. Snickers is starting to show actual enjoyment in his training sessions as he grows confidence in himself. He’s also become a dream to walk!

We still have 1 week left and a lot more work to do! Thanks for following along 🙌

07/30/2025

It’s been a long time since I re-introduced myself - especially to anyone new to my page.

Hi!!! My name is Laura & these are my 2 personal dogs (Dexter aka Dex aka Sweet Man and Zoe aka Tootie aka Azoula). I started The Balanced Lab in September 2020 but I have been working with dogs a lot longer than that. Here are 10 (potentially interesting?) facts about me 🙃

1. When I was 18, I had a job as a part time nanny for 2 small kids. One day I showed up and they had adopted a 6 month old Toller, and I fell in love. I realized quickly how much I enjoyed being around dogs rather than kids 😆

2. When I was 19, I got my first dog job at a daycare. I loved it so much. I started to get in trouble with my boss for being too much of a “drill sergeant” with the dogs (lmao her words, not mine). I quit soon after.

3. I have a degree in Holistic Nutrition and I am a bit of a hippy. I believe the body is an amazing machine capable of healing pretty much anything if you give it what it needs.

4. I hit my funny bone so hard one time I fainted and gave myself a concussion 🫣

5. I have been bit twice in my life by 2 different dogs. 1 bite was serious and the other was moderate. I have lifelong scars from both. (Both incidents happened before The Balanced Lab started).

6. I love black labs because I fostered a black lab for back in the day. Her name was Frisbee and she was such a special soul. Dexter and Frisbee have the same dad. Dexter was a failed guide dog student and I adopted him.

7. My fiancé Josh is my favourite human. We’ve been together for over 10 years. He has a band and he’s an incredible musician 🤟

8. I love tea. I drink a lot of tea per day. I go through a lot of honey and milk. My entire family on both sides are from Northern Ireland and we had tea in our bubbas growing up 🤪

9. I struggle with neck tension & migraines. It’s been going on for years and I do acupuncture & physiotherapy weekly.

10. I used to live a very unhealthy life - drugs, alcohol, toxic relationships, stupid decision making. I changed my entire life over 10 years ago. I work really hard to protect my peace & do what’s best for me 🩷

Address

Barrie, ON

Website

http://www.thebalancedlab.com/

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