ABC Dog Training Caroline Bird Cpdt - Ka

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ABC Dog Training Caroline Bird Cpdt - Ka

Caroline Bird CPDT-KA Certified trainer with 16 years of class teaching experience with dogs and owners. offering classes in obedience, puppy and agility.

Private sessions both in home and at my boarding kennels near st martins.

09/09/2025

Once a week l like to give Bear (the service dog in training) a change from the classroom learning. This week we went to Pet Value, and he got to chill out surrounded by lots of small animals and passing people who were doing shopping.
All the doggy treats at the front of the shop were a bit of a challenge, but all the tiny critters were not a problem at all.

09/06/2025

UPTOWN MANNERS CLASS. Saturday 13th September 3-4pm. Held in uptown Saint John.
Are you looking for more training for your dog outside of the traditional classroom setting.
Uptown manners is the perfect solution for this. There will be lots of distractions including the regular show of pigeons.
This is a set of 5 classes, always held on a Saturday afternoon.
It includes learning a different set of obedience skills that would be needed in a uptown area environment.
After the skills training we move in a group around the uptown area so that the dogs can get a chance to safely learn to navigate all the new challenges coming their way.
To register for this class go to the website www.abcdogtraining.org
Please note that this is not a basic obedience class, for that you would need to attend a group class at the Latimore Lake building, see the page for more details

09/03/2025

NEW CLASSES FOR FALL AND WINTERTIME

TUESDAY 9TH SEPTEMBER, AGILITY SKILLS.
This is an ongoing class for the experienced agility students who have completed their previous skills classes.

NEW CLASS
WEDNESDAY 10TH SEPTEMBER, PRE-AGILITY SKILLS @ 6.30pm
A set of 8 classes for any dog aged from 8 months upwards. It is a introduction to many foundation skills that will be needed before the dogs start on the agility equipment. Packed full of so much learning, some obedience, dog body awareness, crate games, building drive, toy play and retrieves, teaching dogs to understand your body signals and so much more. Following this will be a six-week course for introduction to the equipment. Cost is $150.00 plus hst

NEW CLASS
SATURDAY 13TH SEPTEMBER at 3pm UPTOWN MANNERS CLASS.
A set of 5 classes that are held in the uptown area of Saint John. A little bit of obedience that will be more to cover skills needed when moving around the very busy town streets. Then moving as a group, we will be walking around the uptown area. This is NOT a basic obedience class; this is more for people who are looking to continue training in an environment outside of classroom and need some new different distractions. Cost is $115.00 plus hst

NEW CLASS
SUNDAY 28TH SEPTEMBER @ 5.30pm. PUPPY CLASS.
A set of 7 classes for pups aged 3-5 months old who have had at least 2 sets of shots. Class includes a theory class, introduction to basic skills, plus many other puppy related games and supervised social playtime with the other pups. Cost is $140.00 plus hst.

NEW CLASS
SUNDAY 12TH OCTOBER @ 4PM. BASIC OBEDIENCE.
This a set of 10 classes that include a theory class and then 9 classes of skills training for everyday life skills such as focus, loose leash walking, sits, downs, stays and recalls. All stays and recalls are trained for long, short and duration using games to ensure that both owners and their dogs really do understand what we are teaching. Cost is $180.00 plus hst.

NEW CLASS
THURSDAY 6TH NOVEMBER@ 6.30PM. CANINE GOOD NEIGBOUR.
This is a set of 6 classes that will cover all the elements that would be needed to enable a dog to understand and improve upon everything included in the test. Cost is $140.00 plus hst.

All classes , except the uptown manners will be held at 1250 Latimore Lake Road. Saint John. This is a large purpose made building with cushioned flooring, heated and has lots of free parking.
TO REGISTER for the classes, go to the website www.abcdogtraining.org

The small dog social playtime will restart in late December.
Other classes will restart in January and include the movement puzzles . This will be held on a Saturday afternoon. Details will be posted nearer the date.

09/02/2025

We had to set this post up using one of my dogs as when l am working with a client it would not be a good time for a photo session
I have a lot of people come to me for privates because their dog is reactive on a walk when they see other dogs. It could be reactive because the dog is unsure of the situation and wants the other dog to go away, or it could be that the dog is very excited to see another dog and wants to go and greet the new dog. I usually ask them what they do with their dog when this scenario happens, and most will reply that they get the dog to sit and wait until the dog goes past.
This may seem like a good idea but really it is not the best solution to the issue.
Here is a rough explanation of what will happen to your dog when you ask them to sit, this is more for the dogs that have an aggressive response to other dogs. It's a nerdy type of explanation but l think most people will be able to understand it.
If the amygdale part of the part brain is activated (this part of the it responsible for emotional processing, especially fear and anxiety) every becomes fixated on what is on front of them. the heart rate increases: more blood is pumped towards the muscles.
More oxygen means more energy; the muscles are ready to move either to the FLIGHT OR FIGHT instinct.
So, by asking your dog a stationary behavior that would be hard to maintain it creates an internal conflict because your dog needs to move.
This is why when people come to me for privates l can not just fix that one problem. Training comes in layers, there are no short cuts and if you want your dog to not react to another dog for whatever reason you have to start at the bottom with something as simple as encouraging focus on you and not the other dog. Then l have to teach walking skills so that it becomes easier to move away from the other dog as opposed to making the dog sit and stare at the thing in front of them.
From there we add many other skills so that eventually we can add another dog into the same room as the dog l am working with. But by this time things are much calmer and the dog l am working with is not obsessing with whatever is in front of them.

08/30/2025

Time for a renewal for my CCPDT-KA certification (professional certified dog trainer, knowledge accessed).
This certification has to be renewed every 3 years, to do this l have to earn 36 CEUs (continued education units). It ensures that l keep up to date with whatever is happening in the new break throughs in the dog training world.
Todays training methods are so different to when l took my first ever training course 19 years ago when everything was Alpha and Dominance based.
Listed below are the courses and webinars l took to get the 36 CEUs
You Don't know Jack! Trouble shooting complex cases
30 days of canine Science
Handling reactive dogs in the city.
A multi-modal approach to dogs with aggressive behaviors.
Service dog training. Ultimate leash dog walking.
I have done other courses but they do not always qualify for CUEs, but to me they are still worth reading as l absorb so much information from them.

08/28/2025

When the knowledge of a professional trainer can really change things around for you and your dog.
Nowadays l constantly hear from people who are really confused, with information coming from so many different sources it is so hard to know what the correct thing to do is.
This post is from someone who contacted me a few weeks ago about a new dog they had just adopted. It was a tearful voice message from the lady who was at a loss at what to do.
She had a adopted a big dog (mastiff, bulldog, shepherd Pitbull mix) from a home where the owners had recently passed away.
The dog was a big snuggle bug around people but very reactive to other dogs. The dog adored her 9 year old son and would constantly follow him around everywhere.
The lady was experienced with big breed dogs as she had owned several before.
But so far, the dog had attacked the neighbour's dog and shown in the attached photo is the result of the dog of the dog dragging her off her chair and over a fire pit because he wanted to follow her son or maybe it was because he saw another dog, l cant remember that part without going back through her voice messages. But either way the dog was not under control and something needed to be done and very quickly before the situation got any worse.
I forgot to add to this post that she had tried a few other methods to walk him and had added a muzzle but it was all in vain as he would still drag her down the road.
I had to admit that when l heard her messages and saw the photos l was apprehensive about doing a one on one with her, but l am not the kind of person who will turn away someone if it is a genuine issue, so we arranged a meeting for the following evening.

The good news is that despite his size the dog was indeed a big snuggle bug. He was nervous about his surroundings but quickly settled especially as we started introducing treats as a reward for any behaviors he gave us that we were introducing to him that we wanted to see.
The owner and l chatted, and she got lots of light bulb moments when she realized that a lot of the things she had been trying so far were actually the opposite of what she needed to be doing.
The hour passed and she went home full of hope instead of despair and l went home relieved that it was not as bad as i have thought it might be.
A next morning l received a new voice message from the owner, he is a short version of that message... l do not know if l am over thinking this but from the time he came home yesterday evening he has been so well behaved, he is listening and obeying any instructions, especially ones like Off the Couch. He is like a whole different dog.
l love it when I get messages like this, we still have a long journey to make this dog an even better dog, but it's so heartening to know that just that one hour of talking and working with the dog has helped turned his chances around of keeping his new home.

08/27/2025

A reminder to anyone who wants some agility practice. The course is still set up at my kennels which is out by Saint Martins . It is available to hire for your own personal use for $25.00 plus hst for an hour.
All the numbers are still there so you can follow the course or if not just try out whatever parts you want.
Attached is a video of me and my dog trying it out, all mistakes are included as the video would have been to long if l had stopped to redo all the mistakes.
Note to self , need to practice running contacts, and weave pole entries, oh and stop my dog from barking at me while she tries to round me up!

08/26/2025

Our latest group of cute little faces all enjoying the content of the new puppy class started a few weeks ago.
If you want to join us for our next group of puppy classes it starts on Sunday 28th September. For pups aged 3-5 months old who have had at least 2 sets of shots.
www.abcdogtraining.org to register.

08/25/2025

Someone has reached out to me as they have some agility items for sale, as l have students in in agility so l am posting this in case anyone is interested. PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT ME SELLING THESE ITEMS, reach out to me via messenger and l will pass on the lady's name so that you can contact her directly.
6x weaves with base $85.00
Winged jumps $30.00 each
2x2 weaves $60.00
2 x mismatched parts of jumps $10.00 for both
Travel weaves X 6 and jump set $75.00
12 Weaves red and white $100.00

08/23/2025

Life has been very busy so l have not yet had chance to introduce this new dog to the ABC dog training page.
This is Pepper (formally called Sunnie) who came into our home about a month ago. She is a Jack Russell, Cocker Spaniel mix.
After the passing of an older dog, we started a search and luckily for us we found Sherry Chase Doucette who is the founder of the group that rehomes dogs for people. Her Facebook group comes under the name of P.A.W-Private Adoption works helping families and pets in crisis. I personally cannot say enough good things about this lady who gives her time freely to help people and their dogs. If she sees this post hopefully, she can post her Facebook link in the comments.
Pepper will be seen frequently in our Facebook posts as she attends many of the classes. She is 7 months old now and last week went into her first class with the puppies.
Her hobbies include stealing socks, shoes, picking up any object in her mouth that looks edible and being to over excited when greeting humans or dogs.
She is a typical high energy 7 mouth old dog who despite getting lots of chances to extra exercise will frequently have the zoomies to get rid of the excess energy. Luckily, she also knows how to chill out and will sunbath next the windows whenever it's a sunny day.
Get ready for the extra photos, it's a new journey for her and we will try and make her the best dog that she can be.

08/21/2025

Lots of new classes starting soon.
I usually do individual posts for these but with so many other things that l need to post this might be an easier way to get the information out.
Held at 1250 Latimore Lake Road. Saint John.
Taught by Caroline Bird, a certified dog trainer with over 18 years of teaching experience.
Registration is via the website www.abcdogtraining.org

Thursday 21st August. BASIC OBEDIENCE CLASS. A set of 10 classes that cover all essential everyday skills including focus, loose leash walking, sits, downs, stays and recalls. This is longer than a typical commercial training course as we want to make sure that the dogs and their owners do really understand what we are teaching.
Cost is $180.00 plus hst.

Wednesday 10th September at 6.30pm will be the new PRE-AGILITY class. This is a set of 8 classes for anyone who is interested in agility. Please note this is not on the equipment, this class is for learning many skills that will benefit any dog and owner once we get started on the equipment.

Saturday 13th September at 3pm UPTOWN MANNERS CLASS. This is a 5 week course that is held in the uptown area of Saint John. It includes some more obedience skills that will be of benefit to any dog and owner when they move around uptown areas. It also includes a group walk around the street of saint John. PLEASE NOTE, this is not a basic obedience course for beginners, for that you would need to register for the class held at the Latimore lake building.
Cost is $115.00 plus hst.

Sunday 28th September. New PUPPY CLASS. This is a set of 7 classes for pups aged 3-5 months old who have had at least two set of shots. It includes a theory class, an introduction to basic skills, puppy play socialization time and lots more useful puppy games to help them get the best possible start in life.
Cost is $140.00 plus hst.

Still to be added to this list is Canine Good Citizen training classes. As soon as a date is confirmed we add it to this page
Next new movement puzzles will be held in January 2026 on a Saturday afternoon, date to be confirmed.
The small dog social sessions will be starting in late December 2025 on a Saturday afternoon.

Address

1250 LATIMORE LAKE Road
Saint John, NB
E2N1Y8

Website

http://www.abcdogtraining.org/

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About my dog training services

Caroline Bird CPDT-KA is certified dog trainer who has been teaching classes in the Saint John area for the past 13 years. She is also the owner and operator of Saint Martins dog boarding and training kennels. Her classes that are held in Saint John include puppy class, basic obedience, advanced obedience, pre agility and advanced agility. her website for classes is www.abcdogtraining.org or for the kennels www.stmartinsdogkennels.com