KO K9 Training

11/28/2024

nail care can be extremely stressful for some dogs. if there is one thing I recommend to every single dog owners is: don't wait until the nails really have to be done. make it a regular thing, short and sweet. with whatever step they feel comfortable with. even if it's just looking at the dremel, of having their naila touched. you are not helping your dog, or the relationship with your dog, if you wait until the nails need to be done, and someone has to basically force the dog to endure the entire procedure. so start practicing ans desensitizing regularly today 💛 your dog will thank you for it in the long run

11/13/2024

✨️ How to start heel walking right ✨️

➡️ Today we filmed another dog training basics video for you. Laying the foundation for heel walking for pet dogs

✅️ In our system, we focus on teaching dogs what the heel position means, and how to find it again and again, before we introduce the actual walk. It's easy to progress to walking too fast, and it leads to the dog constantly rushing ahead. The reason is the dog not understanding that heel is actually a position, and when the walk is introduced, the dog's job is to hold the position in motion

🔥 In the video, we will explain how we introduce and practise the basics with our current board and train Gertie

🙏🏼 We hope the video is helpful. And as always, you can support us by commenting, liking, and sharing

11/12/2024

🐶 Wondering what one of the very first things is that we work on with all our board and trains, in order to teach them movements and build desired behaviours?

👌🏼 Handfeeding and luring with their food. Sometimes we come across the notion that handfeeding means, I offer the dog food, the dog takes it. But there is a little more to it. What we want to see is a commitment to the hand, the willingness to push in to get the food, to work through progressions, when it gets a little more difficult in the terms of speed, complexity of movements, distractions around us etc.

✅️ Here is a little intro clip into handfeeding and luring. We hope it helps. If you found this info helpful, leave us a comment, a like, or share it 🖤

Here's a little video of our 6 months old board and train Gertie, who is with us for basic obedience and calm manners. Gertie is in the process of growing in...

11/10/2024

✨️ Say hi to Gertie, everyone ✨️

Gertie is our newest board and train. This sweet 6 months old girl is here to get as much obedience and exposure in as possible, learning how to be calm and polite, all helping to prepare her to become a therapy dog for school kids one day

Welcome to the Gertie, we are so excited to have you 💛

Nicole Owchar

11/07/2024

Little glimpse into one of many training sessions during our days. This was a one hour session in under 1 hour with our dogs, our foster, and board and trains

10/29/2024

It's finally here: The offer lots have been asking for over the last months 🔥🖤🔥

Our board and train spots for behavioral cases are closed for 2024. And with that, our spots for our Kickstart Board & Trains are NOW OPEN!!

✨️ These spots are limited and a special deal to close 2024 ✨️

Is our KICKSTARTER B&T the right choice for you?

💛 Do you have a dog between 3 and 12 months?

💛 Would you like your dog to learn basic manners and obedience foundations through a professional?

💛 Would you like your dog to be exposed to the world by an experienced dog trainer?

💛 Would you like for your dog to learn appropriate manners and play around other dogs, but you don't really know how to facilitate this?

✅️ Then our program is the right choice for you

🔥 Inquire now to secure your spot for our limited and special program offer. The program will start mid November, cost is $2,000 plus gst for 4 weeks

10/29/2024

Our board and train spots for behavioral cases are closed for 2024. And with that, our spots for our Kickstart Board & Trains are NOW OPEN!!

✨️ These spots are limited and a special deal to close 2024 ✨️

Is our KICKSTARTER B&T the right choice for you?

💛 Do you have a dog between 3 and 12 months?

💛 Would you like your dog to learn basic manners and obedience foundations through a professional?

💛 Would you like your dog to be exposed to the world by an experienced dog trainer?

💛 Would you like for your dog to learn appropriate manners and play around other dogs, but you don't really know how to facilitate this?

✅️ Then our program is the right choice for you

🔥 Inquire now to secure your spot for our limited and special program offer. The program will start mid November, cost is $2,000 plus gst for 4 weeks

10/21/2024

🔥BOARD & TRAIN OPENINGS 🔥

(Photos of some of our recent Board & Trains living their best lives 💛)

We have just opened a couple spots for 4 or 6 week Board and Trains starting mid November. No matter if you need help with reactivity, aggression, fear, socialisation, confidence building, or need help generalizing obedience, we're here to help

✅️ All B&T programs start with a 90 minute assessment (in person or virtual for our clients that live further away)

✅️ During the program, you will receive regular video updates with explanations on what your dog is working on, and how, so you have a full understanding on the process, can get accustomed to any changes you'll have to implement, and start getting familiar with new training styles and exercises

✅️ At the end of the program, you will receive a full day go home session

✅️ 3 follow up sessions (in person or virtual, depending on your location) are included, as well as lifelong what's app chat support for the issues we worked your dog through

➡️ If you're interested in securing a spot, reach out to us now via FB text or email: [email protected]

10/20/2024

🔥 NEUTRALITY 🔥

You might've heard this term in regards to your dog's training

I recently saw a post about the different definitions and interpretations of neutrality amongst dog trainers, and it showed me that there seems to be quite a wide range of interpretation, and with that, lots of potential for confusion for dog owners. So let's go through what neutrality means to us, so it can provide clarity if you work with us (or plan on working with us)

One definition of the word neutrality according to the oxford dictionary is: "the absence of [...] strong emotions"

And for us, it's as simple as that! The world is difficult enough, we don't need to make dog training difficult too

If we have successfully worked a dog into neutrality, the dog displays the absence of strong emotions in the presence of triggers. This does not mean that your dog can't have feelings about certain things at all, or that we expect dogs to be acting like robots. But it means that we have helped them to feel less strongly about things, and that they can regulate their emotions by themselves, without having to blow up or getting stuck in a state of strong feelings

If your dog still displays strong emotions towards a trigger, your dog is not neutral. If your dog needs to be asked for a strong handler focus, or to perform obedience around a trigger, the dog is not neutral, but managed. There is nothing wrong with managing a dog in certain situations, some dogs will always require some form of management. But it does not equal neutrality

To help a dog become more neutral, they need to have the opportunity to notice, and observe their triggers, and learn to regulate their emotions in the face of their triggers. For as long as we need to tell the dog what to do in the situation, or require distractions in the form of toys or food, we have not achieved neutrality

By the way, if your dog decides to offer you engagement in the presence of a trigger, there's absolutely nothing wrong with it, and it's beautiful that your dog's social drive is strong 💛

Hope this helps! Happy Training!

10/14/2024

Whenever Oscar needed to get his nails trimmed, he would scream bloody murder and had to be confined in a grooming sling

Not only is this extremely stressful for Oscar, but resource guarding and body handling issues often go hand in hand. In order to rehabilitate his aggression issues, we need to work on all stressors he experiences. We can not ask a dog for what we want, without having given them everything they need

Over the last weeks, we have worked on cooperative care with Oscar. In addition, he receives 15 mins of steady exercise running next to a bike before the sessions. The right level of exercise at the right time can be very helpful in behavior modification, helping to open up the neural pathways for much needed "feel-good hormones" whenever stress has blocked the hormones we need to create new associations

Want to see Oscar being an absolute champ during his nail clipping? Check out our stories and give Oscar a like 💛

10/06/2024

Come and meet our SAR Corps at the Canadian Finals Rodeo. We are having two more demos of live finds, including volunteers from the audience, at 12.15 and 1.30 today 💛

🙌🏻 One demo down, two more to go! Come check us out in Hall B today at .ca!

Next demos are at 12:15pm and 1:30pm! 🐾
Admission is free! All ages welcome!

09/21/2024

Meet ✨️ Nova ✨️, our tiniest Board & Train weighing in at 6.5lb 💪🏽

Nova has the great luxury of coming along on trips with her mom. Unfortunately, Nova is quite insecure and fearful, which leads to issues when she is traveling in her carrier or in general when she is on the road with her mom

She is staying with us for 6 weeks to build up as much confidence as this little sweetheart can come up with, getting her exposed safely to as many different scenarios and places, showing her that she is safe and can overcome challenges on her own

Welcome to the little Nova, and thanks to your mom for trusting us with your care

09/20/2024

Good morning from our adorable Board & Train 🖤 OSCAR 🖤

Oscar is fearful, insecure, reactive, and struggles with body handling and resource guarding. Oscar has been failed by the first trainer that came into his home, who basically immediately choked him out, risking severe damage to his trachea and causing even more damage emotionally. Since this session, Oscar has been progressively getting worse, and who could blame him, to the point that his vet recommended considering Behavioral Euthanasia

He will be with us for 6 weeks, starting with a few days of decompression for him to gently adjust to us. During this time, he'll be observed closely, learning all his subtle cues and mannerisms, what gets him curious, what makes him withdraw, what does he perceive as rewarding, what does he deem aversive. And once he is ready to get to work, we will rebuild him from scratch: confidence, obedience, trust, with us, strangers, vet staff (at this point, he needs to be heavily drugged to get into the vet) and ultimately his family again

Unwanted behavior like reactivity and aggression can often be hard to work on in the dog's home. They're often the result of habits, results of the environment, neural pathways traveled down again and again over the course of years often, and on top of being highly rewarding behaviors in themselves to the dog. In order to show him that there are other ways, he will benefit a lot to be away from his regular routine. Once he understands, and he is starting to feel better, the family will be coached on how to implement his new lifestyle into their home

Welcome to the Oscar, and thank you to your family for trusting us with your care. Now enjoy your morning nap, cuddled up in extra blankets

09/10/2024

Meet Luna, the most handsome Pyrenees x Anatolian Shepherd x St. Bernard Cross

Luna, who is usually very friendly and excited, has been attacked by dogs in ways that made no sense to her. She is now stuck in a limbo of excitement and fear, leading her to have very big feelings on walks towards other dogs = being reactive around many dogs

Issues like these aren't a matter of obedience or corrections (remember, we can't correct emotions out of a dog). None of these will help her feel better or make better choices

Over the next weeks, Luna's family will learn to read Luna's body language and recognize early signs of her building towards a reaction, learn to guide her towards other options and reward these, increase engagement with her humans, as well as going through multiple exercises that will help her by balancing her hormones in ways that will support her emotional state outdoors

💛 Welcome to the Luna & Family 💛

08/31/2024

Short-term boarder Charli patiently waiting for her morning medication (how is she so perfect?) 💛

Charli has never been boarded away from home, so her mom wanted to make sure that she is with people she knew (we used to be in the same agility training group), as well as can read her properly and make sure she is being guided through this experience as good as possible

While there are other dogs around while Charli is staying here, she doesn't need to actually meet them. Being in a different house, away from her family, in a different city, all these factors are a lot as is. Meeting new dogs always comes with a level of stress for a dog. Figuring out who the other dog is, how this dog communicates, if the dog is safe to be around, how this dog reacts to pressure, the other dogs playstyle, are all things dogs need to figure out, which takes a lot of energy. Some dogs adjust easily, some dogs mask up conflict with play, making it look as if they're enjoying the interaction, some dogs get very overwhelmed and might digress with their training around behaviours like reactivity, anxiety, fear etc.

Our focus for this weekend with Charli is to support her working through this little challenge, making her feel as comfortable as possible so she can experience some moments of growth in a safe setup

08/18/2024

✨️ Say hi to our newest training pack member Jericho ✨️

Jericho is a powerful, intelligent working line GSD with all the drive and equally strong emotions. A combination like this can quickly become dangerous and seriously limit the options of including your dog into your active outdoor lifestyle

His owners have done great work on teaching him obedience, providing enrichment, and applying management to make sure Jericho doesn't get into trouble

Now it's time to help Jericho learn to regulate his emotions, tap into and exist in pack drive, and become more coachable outdoors so they can continue the journey of providing him with a phenomenal life

08/13/2024

✨️ Did you know that rewarding your dog for good behavior in itself, can intensify your dogs behavior problems? ✨️

⚠️ This might not make sense right now, but hear us out!

➡️ Rewarding your dog increases Dopamine Levels. Dopamine is a neuro transmitter, related to pleasure and motivation to seek pleasure. In itself, increasing Dopamine seems like a great choice. Especially if the dog is low in Dopamine

⚠️ But did you know, that an excess in Dopamine can lead to repetitive behaviors without purpose, anxiety, excessive energy, aggression, and impulse control issues?

⚠️ Additionally, dogs can develop an addiction to seeking out Dopamine. Which is really important to understand, as Dopamine can be released through behaviors that a dog sees as rewarding, that a human might like to reduce

✅️ For our dog training practise, it's incredibly important to see the dog and the way the dog lives holistically

✅️ A problematic behavior can't just be approached with a cookie cutter solution!! Just because using treats worked for one dog (which might have struggled with issues due to low dopamine), it might not work for another. P Neither is the selection of tools, if the root of the issue is not defined clearly, and the approach not customized to what the dog actually needs. Changing the tool you work with because it worked for your neighbor, might not create the same result for your dog.

(Additionally we like to mention that it is entirely up to the dog to decide, what they perceive as an aversive and what not - which is a discussion for another time)

🔥 Here is a list of some things that should be looked into when trying to change a dog's behavior:

📍 Clean bill of health from a vet, including issues like pain, muscle tenderness, joints issues, digestive issues, any form of discomfort

📍 Diet

📍 Sleep / Rest patterns

📍 Biological Fulfillment

📍 Drive Satisfaction

📍 Dog's ability to switch off and relax

📍 Any factors that might affect the dog's overall stress levels (including subtle stressors at home?

📍 Has the approach chosen previously made the overall behavior better, or worse

✨️ If you would like to understand where your dog's behavior issues stem from, and get a customized plan that will work for your dog, as well as for you, reach out to us anytime. We are happy to help 💛✨️