The Balanced Lab

11/06/2024

Warmest welcome to miss Maple 🥰

This doodle is only 8 months old and she just had her 5th private session today. We are halfway through my advanced off-leash program. Maple’s first session with me was TOUGH! We barely got anything done because she fought me every step of the way. Intense leash biting, intense whining and panicking, intense frantic/ spastic behaviours. I was very upfront with her owner Brittany about how difficult she was. At such a young age; I was taken back by how much attitude and anxiety she had (a hard combo).

Each week Brittany has taken my advice and followed the homework to a T. Each week I have seen their relationship get healthier and today, I was absolutely blown away! Maple calmly laid by her owners leg while we chatted with NO whining and she gave so much effort in everything we asked of her. I was genuinely amazed and pleasantly surprised. Her progress is a testament to her owners dedication and hard work!

We still have work to do but I am so happy with her progress so far 😃🙏

11/06/2024

Happy 3rd Birthday to one of the best decisions I ever made, picking you out of all your litter mates 🥰 Today shall be filled with lots of sniffs, snacks and free access at my sock drawer! Love you forever Tootie ♥️

10/29/2024

Welcome Millie to the pack!

Millie is a 9 month old Irish Setter and she is almost done my E-Collar Basics course. This 5 session course covers on leash skills as well as the place command, impulse control and for Millie specifically, prey drive & reactivity. Millie was showing some pretty intense reactivity at a really young age so I wanted to spend majority of the time we had together, focusing on that. Her owner has done great work applying everything she learns each week into her daily routine. That’s the KEY in dog training, consistency!!!

10/24/2024

Who doesn’t love a cute golden retriever?

Welcome Emmy to the pack! Emmy is a 8 month old Golden Retriever and she is approaching the halfway mark of our advanced off leash program! I worked with this family a few years ago with their other golden, Boomer, and according to the family, his training has held up all these years!

When I first met Emmy she was pulling super hard on leash, chased every single leaf and could not sit still for .2 seconds. It is safe to say she has come far in only a few weeks!

10/15/2024

These 2 deserve a spot on the main feed 🍂🍁

10/14/2024

Welcome to the pack, Willow!

Willow is an almost 2 year old golden doodle and she is halfway through my advanced e-collar program. Willow has an amazingly committed family that comes to every session with a good attitude and always asks great questions.

Over the past 6 weeks, we have worked on Willow’s leash skills and her dog reactivity, we taught her a place command & her family is now able to utilize that for doorbell reactivity, and we are now starting recall work! The most important part of dog training is the owners relationship with their animal, private sessions allow me to see owners grow their own confidence each week and it is so sooo rewarding!

Willow is a star student and truly makes everything look easy (she’s a bit of a show off) 😜 I can’t wait to post her graduation video next month!

10/06/2024

Billy the 4 month old Havapoo is here for his 10 day puppy program!

This little fluff is here mainly to work on his potty training and excessive mouthing, but he’s also going to learn all of his basic obedience, manners, appropriate socialization around other dogs and people and over confidence boosting!

I’m absolutely obsessed with him and I’m so glad he’s here. He’s also coming back for his big boy board & train at the end of November!

10/03/2024

Welcome Harvest to the pack!

Harvest is halfway through our off leash program together and she (and her owner) are making steady progress each week.

Harvest has always been on the insecure side, it takes her a while to warm up and she can be sensitive. Her owner is learning that calm confident leadership is exactly the type of energy she needs to come out of her shell and gain more confidence. Her owner Cassie is doing a great job practicing their homework each week and coming to each session ready to learn and grow. Dog training is really about the owner as much as it is the dog so I’m loving watching their bond grow each week. We still have lots of work to do but we’re on the right path!!!

10/01/2024

Welcome Chance to the pack!

This little guy is a 1.5 year old miniature cockapoo. His owner and I started working together a few months ago when she started to see worsening behaviours creep up. As a first time dog owner, Chance’s owner wants to get it right so they can live a wonderful life together.

The main issue with Chance is his constant whining & barking. My assumption when I first met him was that he was going to be an anxiety case, but I could tell after the first 24 hours of boarding him, that he’s actually just very demanding (lol). The constant whining and barking is his way of demanding resources (affection, attention, food etc). He maaaay have been slightly spoiled before meeting me so there is not a clear leadership/follower role in his home resulting in a demanding/ pushy attitude.

I’m glad he’s here so I can show him how the human/dog dynamic is supposed to look and feel which will ultimately open up his world. His owner doesn’t feel comfortable taking him into super busy places because of how vocal he is, so I am eager to change that. He is ridiculously cute so I can see why it’s hard for his owner to be assertive with him, but no matter how adorable a dog is, they are still a dog with a very specific psychology that needs to be honoured.

Your world is about to change Mr. Chance ♥️

10/01/2024

Hiiii Charlie!

This cutie girl is a 6 month old Golden Retriever and she is a few days into her board and train program.

Charlie is here to learn all things manners, impulse control & obedience training. She has a really hard time sitting still unless she’s asleep in her crate so the place command is going to a game changer for her family. She lives with 2 small children so being able to control her excitement is crucial! Charlie’s family calls her a “Hoover dog” because she eats everythingggg off the ground.

I’m so glad Charlie’s family booked her in when they first brought her home. They knew I had a waitlist and wanted to get a spot when she was the perfect age. Charlie is already showing some undesirable behaviours so nipping things in the bud now is ideal.

Watch my stories to see her learn alll the things 🥰

08/21/2024

Welcome Cali to the pack!

Cali is a 11 month old French Bulldog 🐾

This young lady has been causing some trouble back home with some unwanted resource guarding that has resulted in some pretty serious bites towards her family. Her aggression has progressed as of late so this board & train program couldn’t come sooner. I actually had her booked in for October but I knew she needed help ASAP!

In addition to the resource guarding, she also bites at her owners feet during walks, eats everything off the ground and has very selective recall (only comes when she feels like it) 🤪

Bulldogs are known for being extremely head strong, intense dogs that require a confident owner, these dogs can become quiet dangerous when they are “babied” and my girl Cali is a good example of that. We have lots of work to do but she’s in the right place!

08/17/2024

Sadie is here!

This 4 year old Bernedoodle is almost 1 week into her board & train program. Sadie has been a dog I have been looking forward to for a while now - her owners have been struggling for years with some of her behaviours so I’m happy to help them.

Her owners described her as “highly anxious, reactive, territorial & protective”. They struggle with big reactions towards dogs and people whether that’s on the walk, in the house or even in the car. So far I am seeing an excitable dog that DESPERATELY needs strong leadership (rules & boundaries to follow) or she makes bad choices. She can be tense around other dogs and she needs practice being neutral outside in the real world. I can already tell that her owners will be the big piece of the puzzle in this case, she’s seems very relaxed in my presence and that tells me she has learned to be protective/territorial specially around her family. This board & train is a big re-set for both Sadie and her owners so when they do reunite, I will show them exactly what to do to be successful with her back home.

07/08/2024

Welcome Lily to the pack!

This curly headed cutie is a 11 month old miniature poodle and she is a few days into her 3 week board & train. I am SO glad Lily’s owners brought her to me when they did because even though she is small, she sure does have some BIG feelings about some things. She is very mouthy when you try to do anything she doesn’t like (grooming for example), she bites at her owners constantly when they touch her (not aggressively but definitely with attitude), she barks, A LOT… she understands what you’re asking of her but she is determined to do the opposite just out of spite 😆.

Dogs like Lily are my favourite to work with because they are wicked smart, they just need someone to be more stubborn than they are, and I’m your girl! So far I am happy with her progress and I am so excited to see how much she learns after the full program! Happy to have you here Lily ❤️

06/06/2024

Say hello to the newest arrival, River!

River is a 1.5 year old Irish Setter and he is 6 days into a 3 week board & train with me. River’s owner reached out to me because she has big goals for this stunning red boy but she needed some help getting started.

River’s owner did everything right when raising him during puppyhood and things looked promising, but as soon as he hit adolescence, everything started to fall apart. He doesn’t listen, is always “on the move”, has a very hard time being still/relaxing, pulls like a freight train, jumps on everyone and everything (he jumped onto my coffee table the first day here) and cannot be trusted off leash. Phew I definitely have my work cut out for me don’t I? Good news for River and his owner, this is a special project for me because I have never had an Irish setter in my program and I have always wanted to work with one. He is SO sweet and has a very soft/gentle side to him, once he learns better manners, an “off switch” and rock solid recall, I know he is going to make his family very proud!

I am already seeing progress with this stubborn boy each day so we are on the right path! Watch my stories to see more 🐾

06/02/2024

Welcome Beau to the pack!

Technically Beau joined the pack a few months back when his owner started private sessions for leash manners but I wanted to give him a formal introduction.

Beau is a 1.5 year old Bernedoodle and he is a few days into his board and train program with me. Beau is a super sweet and affectionate dog that loves to work and honestly has a great attitude! So why is he here? This doodle needs a manners makeover! He jumps on everyone, pees when people come over, jumps and “nips” at the kids in the house, steals food, barks and whines for attention, chases the cat, mild leash reactivity and he has a really hard time being still unless he’s in his crate. Something I’ve also noticed since having him is his clinginess and lack of independence - he wants to follow you like a shadow and if you don’t let him, he gets anxious and whiny. That tells me he needs a big detox from constant affection and attention and way more time practicing independence. Beau is going to find the obedience training I do with him extremely easy - the real work will be rehabilitating his needy/clingy/whiny attitude.

You’re in the right place Beau ❤️ Will post his training journey on my stories 🐾

05/17/2024

I lied!! Sunday is the last day of voting!! If you haven’t already, show some love to The Balanced Lab!!!❤️🙏

Official 2024 Community Voting Awards Platform for Barrie, ON. Where the community votes for their favourites every year.

05/14/2024

Last day to vote for us for Best Dog Trainer in Barrie! 🐾🐾❤️

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=700786168914986&id=100069508284315

Official 2024 Community Voting Awards Platform for Barrie, ON. Where the community votes for their favourites every year.

05/09/2024

Westy is also halfway through her board & train and she has learned sooo much since drop off day (feel free to check out her story highlight on my profile to remember her dragging me down the sidewalk to chase a squirrel 🤪).

Westy is a smart cookie and all she really needed was clear communication & follow through from the human. She knows exactly what you want, she just always thought listening was optional lol.

Goals for the remaining time with me are to continue working through her dog reactivity in more challenging ways (closer pass-by’s) & tightening everything up! Good work West ❤️