Sparky's Comrade

Sparky's Comrade Toronto East End Dog Trainer
coaching - day training - supportive walks

Happy New Years Folks.... We are back and ready to play with all the dogs in 2025!
01/05/2025

Happy New Years Folks.... We are back and ready to play with all the dogs in 2025!

This week's photos dump.. Happy Friday!!
12/13/2024

This week's photos dump.. Happy Friday!!

One of the crummiest parts of this job..Navigating through the crap information out there that folks have read on the in...
11/27/2024

One of the crummiest parts of this job..

Navigating through the crap information out there that folks have read on the internet or have been told by 'professionals' in the industry.

I grieve for dogs like Nala.. if I met her before the prong was introduced.. would her prognosis been better?

Here we look longingly into the dog park. She has been getting closer and closer every day. But due to her fear of people we just never know if she could be able to explore this safely.

What I wish most for dogs (other than regulations in this industry)...

All breed types learn the same way!

They aren't trying to be dominant.. or they aren't stubborn.. they aren't a hard breed.... you dont need to establish a hierarchy.... etc.. at the very core of it all...

Dogs are expressing a need...
1. Get the things that they want.
2. Escape and avoid the things they don't

Then to carry you forward from there... we guardians (and pet professionals!!!) should safeguard and guide our dogs in a humane and ethical way.

(i hashtag for the algorithm.. hoping guardians getting balance training suggestions might see another way).

Smell ya all later.. 🏖 heading to the beach.
11/04/2024

Smell ya all later.. 🏖 heading to the beach.

Happy Halloween 🎃
10/31/2024

Happy Halloween 🎃

I don't train dogs.. I coach people
10/28/2024

I don't train dogs.. I coach people

Just a photo dump of my best friends.
10/16/2024

Just a photo dump of my best friends.

Are you reinforcing fearful behaviour..The biggest fallout of this myth, dogs that are fearful aren't being properly sup...
09/26/2024

Are you reinforcing fearful behaviour..

The biggest fallout of this myth, dogs that are fearful aren't being properly supported 🆘

Where do we need to start this conversation to better understand your dogs behaviour. Understanding WHY your dog is fearful.

Some reasons your dog is fearful:

1️⃣Learned History
Our dog can develop fear around specific stimuli/event or a generalized anxiety of an anticipated stimuli/event due to a previous negative experience/association.

2️⃣Perinatal Stress
If the mother during pregnancy or postpartum experienced stress this could result in offspring developing Fear and Anxiety.

3️⃣Genetics
Pre-programmed stuff… but, dogs are decedent of wolves, and have some buggy software from them.

4️⃣Inadequate or Lack of Early Socialization
During the early days of Puppyhood (3-12 weeks of age) is a great time to imprint our pups with long lasting impression of a bunch of things.

Guess what… your fearful dog's behaviour is not your fault. There are many reasons our dog is fearful that is completely out of our control. The only thing that could be continuing your dogs fearful behaviour, is the fear of reinforcing your dogs fearful behaviour.

So now what?

🤓Hire a Certified Trainer
👩‍⚕️Speak to Your Vet (med savvy vet is ideal)
👨‍👩‍👧‍👧Build your Village

Ready to get started on supporting your dog? Reach out to us, and book a FREE DISCOVERY CALL, and see how we get move forward togeth

➡️ We are certified, we know great vets, and we can certainly be part of your village.

What a great day.. playing with dogs all day.. (even if I do that every other day). Dog Lovers Market was a total hit.Th...
09/15/2024

What a great day.. playing with dogs all day.. (even if I do that every other day).

Dog Lovers Market was a total hit.

Thanks most of all to for having me today.

I'll admit.. overarousal is a clickbait term I hate.What I mean when I say 'overaroused' in the context of this post. ➡️...
09/12/2024

I'll admit.. overarousal is a clickbait term I hate.

What I mean when I say 'overaroused' in the context of this post. ➡️ Your dog becoming so fixated/engaged on something that you dangle food in front of their face they completely snub the treats.

Now that we cleared that up... ⤵️

How can you INCREASE THE VALUE OF YOUR TREATS when the thing your dog would rather do outweighs even the best treats.

👉Training that skill to fluency✨️

1️⃣The history of always getting paid for that behaviour. Even though you are presenting 1 treat in that moment you have a history of 100 treats for that behaviour in the past.

2️⃣Practice... incrementally. Where you practice in easier situations.

Without this under your dogs belt... you bet those things will always be higher value to your treats.

Want more rock your world science to understand why is my dog doing xyz... book a discovery call to discuss your training goals and how we can tweek things.. link in bio.

Along with that.. we are here to help with accountability.. making achievable homework for you!

🌈my late friends.A dear fur friend passed recently.. and I dove into the archives to take a second to honour those that ...
09/12/2024

🌈my late friends.

A dear fur friend passed recently.. and I dove into the archives to take a second to honour those that recently and not so recently passed since I started working with dogs.

Luna
Pedro
Nina
Amber
Lucy
Chico
Kirby
Molly

Your dog becomes family.

*sorry if I missed anyone*

Come do enrichment w me and your dog!I'll be at the Dog Lovers' Market on September 15th.11am Dog Trainer Talk w ME 🙋‍♀️...
08/27/2024

Come do enrichment w me and your dog!

I'll be at the Dog Lovers' Market on September 15th.

11am Dog Trainer Talk w ME 🙋‍♀️

1130-4pm FREE Enrichment Sessions ➡️ booking link is in our bio

Hosted:

We still walking just in the East End...We have some amazing offerings now that we believe are designed to best optimize...
08/12/2024

We still walking just in the East End...

We have some amazing offerings now that we believe are designed to best optimize dogs well being that struggle with fear, anxiety and aggression.. or pups with unique needs.

Private Walks
1-on-1 Exercise and Bio Break

Supportive and Enrichment Walks
Dog led enrichment sessions and walks for dogs that need continued behavioural support.

Day Training
Working with us on coaching and we tackle some of those homework items for you.

Want to learn more?
Book a discovery call with us.

Petunia 🌸 Seriously love Dog Walking... its been a good bit since we offered walking services.. but its finally back.. w...
06/13/2024

Petunia 🌸

Seriously love Dog Walking... its been a good bit since we offered walking services.. but its finally back.. with a few changes:

East End services only
We moved and are helping dogs in the east end of Toronto: corktown to vic park, oconner to eastern/queen.

Book as needed
We know many of you are randomly being brought back to the office. Don't fret.. you can book as needed.

Join our community
Those that sign up for a package gain access to our virtual community. Training resource library, live events and q&a forum.

Service options
- private walks
- supportive/enrichment walks
- day training (training walks)

We can't wait to meet your dog.



Beat the heat and join us for class...We have a Companionship Class starting soon. This class will be a hybrid of online...
05/22/2024

Beat the heat and join us for class...

We have a Companionship Class starting soon. This class will be a hybrid of online and in person.

Learning down-stay, loose leash walking and recall.

We hope this program will help you navigate setting your dog up for success to get the most out of the in-person workshops.

3 weeks virtually to nail down the foundational skills.. then x3 Field Trick Workshops to put those foundational skills to the test in the wild. Locations will vary based on the skill we are testing.

Want to learn more? DM us or email us [email protected] to find out more class info.

We are back in action DOG WALKING!Offering:(1) Supportive + Enrichment Walks - dog led enrichment sessions with addition...
05/15/2024

We are back in action DOG WALKING!

Offering:

(1) Supportive + Enrichment Walks - dog led enrichment sessions with additional support for those that are struggling with complex fear, anxiety and aggression.

(2) Private Walks - one on one dog walks for dogs needing solo support.

The BEST PART.. book either one off walks or regular scheduled walks. Ideal for folks looking for supplemental support or just wanting to add a little more to their dogs day.

How to book in? Schedule your Meet n Greet today. Link in Bio.

I've been working w Clementine since the Fall of 2023. She was a wee smol pup then. We worked on general puppy stuff✔️ch...
04/04/2024

I've been working w Clementine since the Fall of 2023. She was a wee smol pup then.

We worked on general puppy stuff
✔️chewing/nipping
✔️loose leash walking
✔️recall (family is big on hiking)

Her human owns a shop and so we did some socialization in the space and some general sit-stay work. She was such a superstar with this.

As she reached teenagehood.. her Brittany Spaniel-ism started to show. Lunging at cars/bikes.. and then people (on and off leash.. and being trail hikers it was dangerous w bikes whizzing through).

Along with that.. her loose leash walking took a small nose dive to. Normally in teenagehood.

We are working on reactivity prevention as her breed type is definitely prone to this.. and that training dovetails well with continued loose leash support.

She is crushing it.. her recall is legit so good. Her anti lunging behaviour watch me is coming along so well off of bikes and cars. People are still hard, but so far it's 50% improved from a month ago.

I'm so proud of her.

ONLY 2 SPOTS LEFT!West-Enders! We miss you and are coming to see you!As much as we operate almost exclusively in the Eas...
01/31/2024

ONLY 2 SPOTS LEFT!
West-Enders! We miss you and are coming to see you!

As much as we operate almost exclusively in the East End now, we are doing a Pop-IN Sunday, February
11th in Toronto’s West End!

Comment SIGN-UP and we will send you along the booking link. Only 4 spots available.

What’s on offer:

🐕 Done training with us: you are eligible to just directly book in for a Technical Session (IN-PERSON – 50 minutes) - 230$ +tax (20$ savings)

🐶 Never done training with us: Initial Training Package – 450$ +tax (20$ savings):
- 1x Initial Session (VIRTUAL – 50 minutes) - completed before Feb 11th
- 1x Technical Session (IN-PERSON – 50 minutes) – completed on Feb 11th

✨️What’s included in ALL our training sessions?
- Personalized Homework Sheet: detailing objectives on how to continue the work we did.
- Access to We Work for Treats Resource Library.

*I haven’t worked with you, but do I have to do the initial virtual session before you come to my house?
Yes/No. For some of our old dog walking clients and you are not dealing with any complex fear and
aggression, we can discuss your training goals and allow you to book directly for in-person service.
However, if we haven’t worked together yet we would need to build some foundational skills before we
meet in person so you can get the most of our in-person session.

*Excluded from participating in this service: separation anxiety and stranger danger. We have separate programs for people dealing with these more complex issues that will set you and your dog up for success.

Address

Greenwood Park
Toronto, ON
M4M3B5

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Videos

I work best under pressure... Let's finally make some small dog agility equipment... or epically fail at it. 1. Deconstruct a small teeter I have into a walk. 2. Make an AFrame.. my biggest struggle will be adhesive surface. 3. Jump out of PVC pipes. I used to have one.. but had used it at so many events where dogs always pissed on it. So, had to throw it out cuz it was so disgusting. Let's see what happens. #dogtraining #dogagility #smalldogs #forcefreedogtraining #positivereinforcement

Dog led enrichment sessions.. your dog dictates what's on the menu. From flirt poles.. to tug... from nose work to tricks.. on top of it all... trainer support for continued behaviour modification goals. Our goal is to tap into the play part of learning. #enrichment #torontoeastend #dogsoftoronto #forcefreedogtraining #positivereinforcementdogtraining #leslieville

Day Training is one of our services we offer to this in the East End of Toronto. We work 1-on-1 with your dog between our coaching sessions to help you with the homework. But, more so, conduct thoughtful practice that creates a safe space for learning.. with both you and yours dog. Want to learn more.. DM me and we can chat to see if this service would be ideal for you. #leslieville #leslievilledogs #torontoeastend #riverdale #thebeaches #dogtrainer #torontodogmoms

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Our Story

Sparky’s Comrade opened its doors January of 2012. We operate in the West End of Toronto offering Dog Walking, Training and Cat Visit services. Adhering to an Aversive- Free and Evidence Based approach is our top priority. Every Comrade is Pet First Aid Certified, Insured/Bonded and Licensed under The City of Toronto.