The Pack Dog Training

30/11/2025

Everyone say hello again to Molly who had her second session out of her five package training program with Kelly.

Owner concerns: Human reactivity, Dog reactivity, Socialization

How it started: Molly is a barely 1-year-old Mexican street dog that dad has had for less than 6 months. She arrived extremely fearful especially of humans and other dogs. Dad signed up for training right away to get on the right track.

What we did: Starting inside, getting her a crate (safe place) to make her world a bit smaller as she was very overwhelmed. We also implemented a house leash and more direction in the behavior rather than correction as she didn't know what the rules were yet.
We put her on a 2.25 mm prong collar, as usual a game changer, and then started with some basic leash manners with low to no simulation. Dad came to the program with an e-collar, and we started conditioning that from day one.

How it's going: The progress that she is made in three sessions is nothing short of outstanding, and it needs to be known that that is 100% because of Dad's dedication and prioritization of her training.
Today we met at Patterson off-leash dog park to do some unleashed and off leash socialization with other dogs utilizing the e-collar for interruption and communication. We also wanted to create some boundary pushing situations as she does have some fear around other dogs, the only way to get over that is to be put in situations and shown that other dogs are not that scary. We did leashed walks with Bkack Bean and Rufio and then an off leash with Cooper and Wall-E. She absolutely loves Cooper, who is very neutral with her, but she was extremely scared of Wall-E Because of his size and energy (which was a little bit of a payback as that is how she approaches other dogs) It was wonderful to see her stay close to dad and defer to him when she had feelings and we had a great walk around the park with her being a bit uncomfortable but seeing that nothing bad happened as she thought.

Stay tuned: Next session we are either going to go to Pacific Spirit Park or Dogwood and get around even more dogs!

29/11/2025

Everyone say hello to Jack who had his fourth session out of his five package training program with Kelly.

Owner concerns: Leash manners, Separation anxiety, Obedience, Socialization

How it started: Jack Is a young mixed breed with a lot of energy and a lot of excitement for the world in any living organism he meets.
There was little to no structure, rules or boundaries in the house and the tools they were using for walks was giving them no control or communication but they also weren't giving him enough leadership and direction.

What we did: First thing was get him on a 2.25 mm prong collar, which as usual was a game changer and gave Mom the confidence in handling him when he was near or overthreshold.
We implemented a house leash, more direction in situations rather than reacting and correcting his bad habits, we started showing him what we wanted him to do instead.
Out on walks we implemented more handler relevancy and started creating controlled scenarios with other dogs for mom to practice and gain experience with redirection, interruption, distraction while honoring thresholds.

How it's going: Mom says he's been doing excellent out on walks passing other dogs and they've even started to have some leashed introductions.
As I had a bunch of new dogs, I utilized them to practice working in close proximity around dogs in different temperaments. At no point did we promote actual engagement but instead neutrality.
I brought out Winnie, Bogey, Hanni, and finished with Cooper and Wall-E (off leash). There was a moment towards the end where Wall-E got too excited, which scared Jack, and when Wall-E saw that he became a bit of a bully, which had Cooper jump in and there was a short intense conversation. Afterwards Jack was a bit scared, so it was so important that we had a calm parallel walk after to rebalance the situation. Immediately after the dogs were fine but we wanted to make sure that everybody got back to a neutral state.

For our final session we are going to do a bit of the e-collar conditioning as mom is interested in adding it to the toolbox.

28/11/2025

What qualifications do I have to call myself a dog trainer? What differentiates me from a "literal child with zero education"?

Well .majack let's start with running a rescue for over a decade - getting dogs directly out of the shelter and immediately being the first line of assistance for them. I earned my stripes in the trenches, saving lives and rehabilitating these dogs so they could go into homes.
Despite being a biochemistry major and having a foundational education in science, I also am always a student and constantly have an open and eager mind for new information on the subject I am so passionate about. I have taken a number of BCSPCA symposiums (which give college credits), I attend any seminars or workshops on dog training or behavior I can, including the Triple Helix and .black two years in a row.
I have done two shadow programs under more seasoned trainers than myself in addition to starting my career with a CPDT-KA certification from the CCPDT - which I no longer have because I realized that a piece of paper that anyone could get for $350 doesn't mean anything.
I am constantly staying on top of new research coming out, whether it is "science" held to true standards or not. I have a collection of books similar to Melanie and follow a number of trainers, behaviorists and scientists podcasts and social media.

If anyone thinks that a piece of paper that comes from a 3 month online program with no in-person practicum or hands-on experience required then you and I have a very different definition of what determines a qualified individual on a topic.

Since Mari thinks that only pieces of paper mean that you are qualified, apparently all of the above mentioned the jobs can be held by "literal children"... I'm sure all of those people in those industries appreciate that.

Everyone also should know that Mari is a 20 something year old with a masters in botany and specializes in aquatic plants that is sh****ng on PhD holding animal behaviorists because she doesn't like e-collars

GFSF Mari 🤡

27/11/2025

26/11/2025

Let's sleeping dogs lie 💤

There's a reason why this is an old proverb, do you know what it actually means?
Avoid interfering in a situation that is currently causing no problems but might do so as a result of such interference.

Every week I hear another story, whether it be on social media, or someone I actually know, who got bit because they woke their dog up out of a dead sleep incorrectly.

I don't know about you, but I'm a raging bitch when I get woken up abruptly. When I was younger I used to automatically just start swinging at anybody that tried to jolt me awake.

For some reason people don't want to remember that their fur baby is actually a domesticated predator living in their house. As a domesticated predator they have fight or flight responses that come instinctually and that reaction can happen before they even know what's happening as it is part of their subconscious.

If your dog is asleep and you need to wake them up, set everybody up for success by:
1) Turning on the lights. Don't do anything in the dark.
2) Letting your presence be known. Don't try to softly walk up to your dog. Say their name and make a bit of noise as you walk towards them.
3) Not hovering over them, trying to kiss or hug them.
4) Giving them space, speak softly and perhaps gently touch their back in the middle - trying to avoid head or back end sensitivity.
5) Not doing bu****it social media trends for likes and laughs.

RESPECT your dogs space and down time, they deserve it and need it as much as we do 🐾

26/11/2025

"He's just a baby" 👶🏼🐾

26/11/2025

Say hello to Miss Aura 1y old, Australian cattle dog and just had her first session with Mais

Owner concerns: Human reactivity, Dog reactivity, Socialization, Biting/ Nipping, Aggression (has the intention to harm), Leash manners

Assessment : she’s a little firecracker, wouldn’t expect anything less from an Australian cattle dog. She’s definitely very barky at new people coming in and doesn’t understand bubbles for humans. Just lacking some impulse control or a lack of processing. She’s pretty barky. We didn’t see the leash manners as we jumped right into our first cognitive behavioral therapy session. These emotional behaviors were going to help her to solve regulate process and make better decisions.

Her mom is already sending me video feedback before I even got home from the appointment 💥 this is very important for the CBT method. Stoked for this journey.

25/11/2025

Say hello again to Winnie, who is on her final CCBT session with Mais

Original owner concerns: recall, basic manners, human reactivity, dog reactivity, people entering the home and window barking

This sweet girl as well on her way! Her parents tell me that her recall is about 90-95% even in the dog park! She can now easily walk by dogs on leash. Anxiety around strange moving things and unusual things in the environment is almost nonexistent or she self regulates extremely quickly. Our last session focused on that as well as a big one, pray drive with squirrels. She handled that like a champ today check out stories to watch her calmly be around squirrels. More work to do there, but her parents have the tools to succeed.

My heart was full on this day and the biggest part was she’s showing her personality a lot more. They’ve noticed a big difference at daycare with that and playing. Well done to Winnie‘s mom and dad for trusting me even when some of my ideas seem kind of weirdo. 🤣😜

25/11/2025

Everyone say hello to Brutus who had his first official session out of his five package training program with Kelly.

Owner concerns: human and dog reactivity, overall socialization and recall

How it started: I did the initial assessment with only one of his parents back in September. He was attacked the day after they adopted him, which triggered a downward spiral of reactivity and lack of confidence out of his parents. While they tried a number of different trainers, they did not reach the success they hoped for.

How it's going: Today I got the privilege of meeting his other parent and primarily worked with them for the session as the dynamic was a bit different between his parent that I worked with at the assessment.
We did a quick run through of the main points I talked about at the assessment before jumping right into working on handler relevancy and loose leash walking.
I then brought out several dogs starting with Cooper, then adding in Wall-E off leash to create some distanced triggers and distractions as his parent kept bringing the attention back to them.
We finished with a parallel calm walk with Winnie.

Stay tuned: while they are having good success with their 2.25 mm prong collar that they came into the program with, I loaned them a Halti to try out between now and next session as I feel it would be a great tool for their toolbox.

24/11/2025

Everyone say hello again to Kobe who had another pack walk out of his six pack walk package with Kelly.

Owner concerns: Dog reactivity, Leash manners, Socialization

How it started: Kobe and his parents have already completed a five package training program and made some awesome progress on his excitement-based reactivity towards humans, fear-based reactivity towards dogs, overall obedience and impulse control.

What we are doing now: They left the five package training program with a lot of confidence, but not necessarily ways to practice where they felt comfortable. They signed up for the six pack walk package so I could create controlled scenarios using my own 12 dogs and clients dogs to create real world situations in a safe environment.

Today we focused on Mom. She recently had a baby so she's been unable to join us for a majority of the final sessions in the five package and it was important that she joined back in. As dad works shift work, when he is gone for days, she had only felt comfortable to walk Kobe in the front yard or the back alley and never around other dogs. She knew how to use the e-collar and theory but had not had real life practice so that's what we did today.

She was initially nervous as she does not weigh that much more than Kobe, so we talked about the benefit of the RC Pets Active Waist leash they bought from me. I love using a waist leash as it utilizes our center of gravity as biped humans and allows the handler both hands. In addition Kobe does not have the same amount of respect for Mom as he does for Dad, he's definitely a daddy's boy, and loves to take advantage of his size and bully her.

We went to the local park where Mom used the waist leash and practiced mainly using the e-collar as the pressure to bring Kobe's attention back to her, stay in a heel and disconnect from dogs.

I brought out Winnie, followed by Cooper and then finishing with Bogey that we worked at from a distance, with her staying still and me circling around her, and then doing distance parallel walks. We did not use any treats for this session as we were trying to keep energy and excitement low.

They did so amazing! We can't wait for our next sesh!

23/11/2025

Everyone be say hello to Hank who had his initial assessment with Kelly.

Owner concerns: dog reactivity

My assessment: Hank is a late pandemic pup, which is important to know because we want to have realistic goals. Hank missed a critical window in socialization and therefore gets VERY strong feelings about other dogs. On leash he's terrified and reactive, off-leash he just wants to play play play.
Since getting him in March from a local rehome, he has seen a couple of other local trainers including our .by.brixton
We had worked with them and their previous dog where we helped them greatly on his reactivity, so they came back to us.
I was very happy to see Hank on leash when I pulled up. They had been switched over to a prong collar by Shena and as usual described it as nothing short of game-changing.
On a walk, Hank was decent on leash and even had some check-in moments up until I brought out Cooper. He was locked on from about a block away and normally this would be the time that Mom would turn and burn, but I asked her to pass us to see how he did. Overall, it wasn't bad on the first pass but the closer we got the more he escalated. I wanted to see where he would take it, so I took the leash, released all of the slack and let him go up to Cooper - which he of course did far too hot and quick which earned him a appropriate correction. He took it nicely, but then try to get, and got corrected again. He then tried a third time, to which I intervened because clearly he wasn't speaking dog.
Inside the home there is a little structure, although I was happy to see two crates that are utilized, it's only at night and his choice during the day with the door open. I explained to Mom and Dad that it is important that we help him regulate his feelings and give him "nap time" throughout the day which shouldn't be an issue as they work from home.

We are going to do a five package training program so stay tuned for more of this adorable Frenchton ❤️