Everything we cover in 3 vs 4 weeks at board and train here at Bark Brigade ✅
Board and train is tailored to each dogs individual needs, but there are some obedience bench marks we hit with all the dogs that come through for 3 and 4 weeks, and we make sure they can take it out into the real world before they go home!
In 3 weeks, we are aiming for absolute stability and control on leash as well as off leash recall. We only do recall with a 3 week minimum stay so we have time to condition that e collar fairly and effectively for the dog!
4 weeks is our advanced off leash option. This is for anyone who wants to have absolute control of their dog on and off leash anywhere and anytime. We take these dogs out and have them off leash heeling just about anywhere by the time they head home!
These are the results we strive to hit for every dog that comes through our program. Severe behavioral cases aside, the vast majority of dogs are capable of this level of obedience and stability anywhere, you just need the right foundation in place.
This is a shortlist of the obedience we go over during your dog’s stay, but there is a ton more behind the scenes going on. Confidence building, socialization, reconditioning behavioral responses, crate training, and so much more are all part of the process, but that’s what creates the mindset in the dogs to be able to perform to this level!
🐺 Bark Brigade Dog Training
📞 250.588.6941
📧 [email protected]
💻 barkbrigade.ca
📍 Calgary, AB
#barkbrigade #reactivedogtraining #yycdogtrainer
#yycdogtraining #calgarydogtraining #calgarydogtrainer
#calgaryboardandtrain #yycboardandtrain #albertadogtraining
#albertadogtrainer #albertaboardandtrain #reactivedog
#reactivedogs #reactivedogsuccess
Simba and his family wrapped up their 10 sessions of private training today and we couldn’t be more proud of the progress they’ve made!
This team was extremely dedicated to making it work with Simba, who was a bite risk in the early stages of training and weighing over 120lbs to boot! The difference we’ve seen him over the the past few months has been mind blowing, the owners really stepped up, committed to the program and came out the other end with a dog they can really be proud of ❤️
People aren’t scared of Simba’s huge presence in the house anymore, he can be off leash, and he can just tag along for a little shopping trip no problem!
Great work team Simba!
🐺 Bark Brigade Dog Training
📞 250.588.6941
📧 [email protected]
💻 barkbrigade.ca
📍 Calgary, AB
#barkbrigade #reactivedogtraining #yycdogtrainer
#yycdogtraining #calgarydogtraining #calgarydogtrainer
#calgaryboardandtrain #yycboardandtrain #albertadogtraining
#albertadogtrainer #albertaboardandtrain #reactivedog
#reactivedogs #reactivedogsuccess
Another reactive dog turned off leash reliable!
Rocky wraps up his four week board and train tomorrow so we took him out on the town to put his training to the test. The goal with off leash outings is a dog that follows direction and obedience commands without issue, but also knows how to just exist and make good decisions on their own!
Rocky’s owners brought him to us for reactivity to pretty much everything, problems with inconsistent obedience and the goal of off leash reliability. Being almost 4 years old, Rocky had some practice rehearsing these behaviors and needed some serious rehab to get him to this point. Just like all the dogs that come through here, we made the expectations clear, took them through the functional obedience, found what motivates him, and he’s finally showing us the dog he’s capable of being!
🐺 Bark Brigade Dog Training
📞 250.588.6941
📧 [email protected]
💻 barkbrigade.ca
📍 Calgary, AB
#barkbrigade #reactivedogtraining #yycdogtrainer
#yycdogtraining #calgarydogtraining #calgarydogtrainer
#calgaryboardandtrain #yycboardandtrain #albertadogtraining
#albertadogtrainer #albertaboardandtrain #reactivedog
#reactivedogs #reactivedogsuccess
Winston only has a week and half left in his board and train so we are getting out on the town generalizing his training as much as we can!
Winston is a pretty nervous guy, so we like to bring his ball and keep the obedience training fun the first couple times. This way we can keep it light and have him having all the same fun he has in the training room out in the real world.
There will be times we just need him to follow instruction, but it helps to get the nerves out with a little play and show him that outings don’t have to be super stressful!
🐺 Bark Brigade Dog Training
📞 250.588.6941
📧 [email protected]
💻 barkbrigade.ca
📍 Serving Calgary and the surrounding area
#barkbrigade #reactivedogtraining #yycdogtrainer
#yycdogtraining #calgarydogtraining #calgarydogtrainer
#calgaryboardandtrain #yycboardandtrain #albertadogtraining
#albertadogtrainer #albertaboardandtrain #reactivedog
#reactivedogs #reactivedogsuccess
#offleashdogtraining #offleashdogs #offleashdogtrainers #ecollar #ecollartechnologies #ecollartraining #dogtraining
Training tools are misunderstood!
Many people against training tools would take the first clip of Jax on the prong collar and claim that the collar we chose to use has the dog in a perpetual start of fear. I see it all the time online and it’s just doesn’t tell the whole story.
In this case, Jax is very scared of cars and doesn’t do well with any new stimulus or environments at first. Before we put any obligation on the leash, Jax would be lunging, barking and choking himself out on the leash next to this street. Once we took away the ability to pull, and made him stay loose, we see what’s all underneath, which is a scared dog who doesn’t know how to handle what’s in front of him. The tool here just helps us get his arousal down and to a place where we can do the work, desensitizing him and creating better associations with what scares him. Without that first part, we would never be able to make any real progress!
The second clip is a few weeks later. Jax got better each day and we eventually graduated him to the flexi leash allowing him more freedom. He gets more freedom because we taught him how to make better choices and took the time to work him through his irrational fears.
Yes training tools create momentary discomfort, no correcting dogs isn’t fun and should be taken lightly, but when the end product is happier, confident dogs with freedom, that’s the route we are all always going to take!
🐺 Bark Brigade Dog Training
📞 250.588.6941
📧 [email protected]
💻 barkbrigade.ca
📍 Serving Calgary and the surrounding area
#barkbrigade #reactivedogtraining #yycdogtrainer
#yycdogtraining #calgarydogtraining #calgarydogtrainer
#calgaryboardandtrain #yycboardandtrain #albertadogtraining
#albertadogtrainer #albertaboardandtrain #reactivedog
#reactivedogs #reactivedogsuccess
#offleashdogtraining #offleashdogs #offleashdogtrainers #ecollar #ecollartechnologies #ecollartraining #dogtraining
Bernie is in full swing off leash out and around Calgary!
He goes home this week and we are gonna miss him but we know he can’t wait to show off his new skills at home!
Bernie came to us with no real behavioral issues, just a young dog (about 8 months) that we wanted to set up for the best life possible!
🐺 Bark Brigade Dog Training
📞 250.588.6941
📧 [email protected]
💻 barkbrigade.ca
📍 Serving Calgary and the surrounding area
#barkbrigade #reactivedogtraining #yycdogtrainer
#yycdogtraining #calgarydogtraining #calgarydogtrainer
#calgaryboardandtrain #yycboardandtrain #albertadogtraining
#albertadogtrainer #albertaboardandtrain #reactivedog
#reactivedogs #reactivedogsuccess
#offleashdogtraining #offleashdogs #offleashdogtrainers
When a dog learns it can scream, bark and even physically break out of a crate, it can be incredibly dangerous and just mentally taxing on a dog’s life.
We want the crate to be a calm, safe neutral place. For some dogs it’s become a place that creates an intense anxiety, and for others it’s become a crutch they run to for safety and try to guard. We can create a lot more clarity around expectations in the crate by taking the obedience we use everywhere else and using it here, getting the dog in a calmer, compliant state of mind inside it.
For Rambo, we need to remove the thought in his head that he can throw tantrums and bust out of his crate. We do this by adding a lot of obligation around it. Dogs can puncture themselves trying to worm out of a wire crate or get out and eat something they shouldn’t while no one is around. It’s a life threatening behavior and once they learn they can do it, it can be tough for break. But with enough reps and consistency, we can get even the most stubborn dogs to at least accept the crate and usually come to actually really enjoy it.
🐺 Bark Brigade Dog Training
📞 250.588.6941
📧 [email protected]
💻 barkbrigade.ca
📍 Serving Calgary and the surrounding area
#barkbrigade #reactivedogtraining #yycdogtrainer
#yycdogtraining #calgarydogtraining #calgarydogtrainer
#calgaryboardandtrain #yycboardandtrain #albertadogtraining
#albertadogtrainer #albertaboardandtrain #reactivedog
#reactivedogs #reactivedogsuccess
#offleashdogtraining #offleashdogs #offleashdogtrainers #cratetraining #cratetrainingsuccess #behaviourmodification
Obligation and accountability aren’t going to hurt your dog, they are going to build them 💪🏼
When people are dealing with dogs that are anxious and insecure, the default actions to take can be coddling and consoling the dog. All this so going to do is feed into the anxiety and leave you with a shell of a dog after it goes on for long enough.
Dogs thrive on black and white structure, and through centuries of selective breeding, most of them naturally look to humans for guidance.
Obligation and accountability is really simple in the beginning. You must not pull me on the leash, you must go to your crate and remain there until I release you, just basic stuff. It doesn’t mean we expect them to hold a down stay around distraction right out of the gates. But the simple stuff sets the tone for the relationship we are trying to build, trust, accountability, and acceptance are huge pillars of that.
🐺 Bark Brigade Dog Training
📞 250.588.6941
📧 [email protected]
💻 barkbrigade.ca
📍 Serving Calgary and the surrounding area
#barkbrigade #reactivedogtraining #yycdogtrainer
#yycdogtraining #calgarydogtraining #calgarydogtrainer
#calgaryboardandtrain #yycboardandtrain #albertadogtraining
#albertadogtrainer #albertaboardandtrain #reactivedog
#reactivedogs #reactivedogsuccess
#offleashdogtraining #offleashdogs #offleashdogtrainers
Trying to get in the habit of posting longer clips of training. Social media can be deceiving and the real process of training dogs with pre existing behavior and emotional issues is not always pretty.
For Moonshine, I’m not asking her for snappy 100 miles an hour obedience yet. 2 weeks ago she couldn’t be in a space like this without pulling, lunging, reacting and shaking from the environmental stress. Taking direction from her handler in basic obedience is a huge leap for her.
These reps aren’t going to turn heads yet, but having Moonshine willing to work and focus on me, understanding there is obligation without being scared is what we’ve been striving for, and she’s starting to figure it out.
Success for every dog is different, and while I always guarantee solutions for reactivity and a high level off functional off leash obedience from a board and train, my main priority is always for the dog and handler to be able to use me as a launch pad to keep progressing after they leave.
Moonshine is just over half way through here stay now, and she’s really starting to turn a corner in some of the busiest places around! 2 weeks to go gaining confidence in this girl each day.
#barkbrigade #reactivedogtraining #yycdogtrainer #yycdogtraining #calgarydogtraining #calgarydogtrainer #calgaryboardandtrain #yycboardandtrain #albertadogtraining #albertadogtrainer #albertaboardandtrain #reactivedog #reactivedogs #reactivedogsuccess #pitbulltraining
Moonshine is starting to learn that the only thing she needs to worry about is her own actions 😎
Two weeks ago this would have been hackles and posturing followed by charging into a fence fight. Don’t get me wrong, Moonshine has gotten some big corrections for her initial outbursts when she showed up, but when they are done with intention and proper timing, you don’t have to have that conversation many times before the dog realizes they need to look for other options.
In the beginning it’s usually just avoidance, but now we are getting to the point where Moonshine is expressing a little curiosity followed by a good decision. In my experience, enough reps of those kinds of interactions are what leads to complete neutrality to the thing that once terrified them.
#barkbrigade #reactivedogtraining #yycdogtrainer #yycdogtraining #calgarydogtraining #calgarydogtrainer #calgaryboardandtrain #yycboardandtrain #albertadogtraining #albertadogtrainer #albertaboardandtrain #reactivedog #reactivedogs #reactivedogsuccess #pitbulltraining
Arctic just landed for his first night here as part of our partnership with @barcsrescue_calgary!
We’re teaming up with them to take one dog in and put them through our board and train program before they go off to a forever home.
Yup you heard that right, you can adopt a rescue, and expect the same level of training that you’d pay thousands for. Anyone interested in meeting Arctic can reach out to me or BARCS! We’ll also be providing free training sessions to whoever adopts this handsome guy to show you how to maintain everything he learns during his stay with us.
Arctic had a really rough time before being taken in, but from what ai can see so far, he’s just like any other bully breed we get around here, stubborn, strong and full of love. We’re going to be getting Arctic acclimated over the next few days and posting tons of progress on his training so stay tuned!
#calgaryrescuedogs #calgaryrescues #calgaryrescue #yycrescuedogs #yycrescuedog #pitbull #boxer #bully #bullyrescue #barkbrigade #yycadoptabledogs
This is a clip that really demonstrates how important loose leash walking is for reactive/anxious/insecure dogs.
I’ve had this dog in for day training only a few times, with private sessions starting this week with the owners, and the majority of the work with him has been loose leash walking and various forms of confidence building.
On day one, Strider pulled like a freight train and was fairly reactive to dogs while on leash, pulling and vocalizing quite a bit. It was super clear in his case that he was just insecure and didn’t know how to handle seeing new dogs out in the world, so we have to give him some direction and teach him to trust us.
When you are crystal clear with your expectations and consistent with them, progress is fast!
#barkbrigade #stopleashpulling #stopleashreactivity #leashreactivity #leashreactivedogtraining #musterlander #musterlanderpuppy #looseleashwalking #looseleashwalk #calgarydogs #calgarydogtraining #calgarydogtrainer #yycdogtraining #yycdogtrainer
This is a little clip from a private session working with Diego. This is our third session with him and he has some really intense reactivity to strangers coming over to the house. It’s gotten so bad that he had to be locked in the basement when someone comes over so that guests can feel safe 🫤
Our first two sessions with Diego was in our training room to give him some fundamentals like leash pressure, markers, and a good place (bed stay) command.
Now that he some new rules in place, we can hold him accountable for breaking those rules, which is what we have been doing in training. However, once a guest comes into his home, I know for a fact Diego is going to go flying off that bed. We COULD just throw him on his bed at this point and slam him for jumping off and lunging at a guest, but I want to give him the best chance possible to succeed by teaching him how to control those impulses.
What we are doing here is teaching Diego that he can control his impulses to jump off the bed by getting him into a high state of arousal and teaching him to control it. This way, he has flexed those muscles a bit before the true test of a guest showing up.
Will I correct him for jumping off the bed at a guest? Absolutely I will, but he will understand the reason for the correction much better in that state of mind after practicing through play and there is less chance of him not being able to rebound afterwards.
Once he was able to not react and stay on his bed in the presence of a guest, guess what we do, break him off the bed and play! Stopping behaviors in dogs is incredibly easy if you’re timing is half way decent and you’re willing to administer a correction, but teaching a dog how to control those big feelings and ultimately change them is always the end goal for our dogs at Bark Brigade.
As it turns out, Diego did not hate guests in the house, they just made him a little scared 😌
#barkbrigade #yycdogsofinsta #yycdogs🐾 #yycdogslifestyle #yycdogs #yycdog
Some FOOD for thought over some beef stew tonight 🥩
Happy training and may all your dogs enjoy table scraps safely ✌🏻
On Saturdays, Havoc operates on demon time 😈
We’re late to the party at almost 2 years old. But this dude loves this sh*t and we’re determined to build a real bite for whatever road we decide to go down.
#barkbrigade #calgarydogtraining #calgarydogtrainer #yycdogtraining #yycdogtrainer #workingrottweiler #workingrottweilers #workingrottie #workingrotts #rottweilersofig #rottweilerclub #protectionrottweiler #protectiondogtraining #uk9bg
