Best Friends Training for Pet Dogs

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Best Friends Training for Pet Dogs

Private dog training instruction in your home - pet dogs only including puppy training, behaviour pr

14/11/2025

There's no need to be obsessive about taking away everything your puppy picks up - in fact, it can teach them to be secretive and avoid you when they find a treasure, making it harder to protect them when they have something dangerous. Sometimes Cambie likes to carry a pinecone. It seems to relax her on a walk. And asking to see what she has, then letting her keep it, helps her trust her people so they can also take things away when needed.

09/11/2025

Another case for detective work. Dogs aren't unpredictable, but they are sometimes inscrutable. I mean, you can predict their behaviour if you can learn their secrets... for some, learning their secrets is the real task for behaviour work. Deja... well, he plays his cards close to his chest.

06/11/2025

With those great ears, Echo is really tuned in to the activity of the squirrels she passes on her walk. Her reaction to them is kind of downing the otherwise immaculate vibe of her walks... But her people and I have a plan!

04/11/2025

We promise you, Pookie has ears, she's just hiding them after a solid run around the exercise yard at the Mississauga shelter. Pookie is a sweetheart, but has some clear boundaries about her personal space and other dogs, and we're helping her work that out.

13/10/2025

If you're thinking of adopting a pet, this weekend is a great time to visit the shelter at Mississauga Animal Services, where they're holding an adopt-a-thon, with a 50% discount on adoption fees. I'll be there from 1:00 to 4:00 each day offering training advice, and I'd love to see you there - and thanks in advance for sharing this with anyone who might want to come by.

Friday, October 17, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday, October 18, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Sunday, October 19, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

735 Central Pkwy W.
Mississauga, ON

03/10/2025

Juniper's face here is a great illustration of stress that looks like happiness to the casual observer. She looks so joyful with that big smile, but if you look, you can see that her lips are smiling so far back that her cheeks are bulged and tight, her eyes are open super-wide, and those perky ears are rotated out to the sides. She has her back to me, ready to flee, but looks over her shoulder model-style to make sure I'm not sneaking up on her. She's going to be fine when Mississauga Animal Services finds her a good home, but we're going to have to let her meet new people at her own speed.

29/09/2025

Treating Separation Anxiety, a panic disorder where a dog can't cope with being alone or with being apart from a particular person, requires more patience from a dog owner than perhaps any other dog problem, and sometimes the first steps are the slowest, when done right. About four weeks into treatment, Remi is now building confidence that his mama's absence is temporary and not a catastrophe. From here the outlook is good!

03/09/2025

It's tough to be Milo. Cars and traffic scare the bejeepers out of him, and he lives right in the downtown Toronto core where there's no avoiding them. His human and I are having to get pretty creative on balancing "safe" potty runs and car trips to places where proximity to traffic is more manageable for controlled desensitization.

30/08/2025

Most puppy classes require pups to have their first booster shots before joining, which means starting at 11 weeks - or older if the class start date doesn't time perfectly. With typical adoption age at 8 weeks, that leaves new puppy owners to find their own answers for three challenging weeks of formative time. I love when owners bring me in me for private consults to bridge that gap - and I get to play with young puppies!

03/08/2025

Some days it goes easier than others! The first thing we needed to address with Echo was getting rid of pulling on leash on walks. Echo was such a quick study, and picked up the idea of walking together super-quick!

28/07/2025

There's a lot in the news lately about the definition of consent. With dogs, we can't get verbal agreement when we feel the urge to cuddle and pet a cutie like Peggy - but it's just as important, if you want a good relationship and don't want any bite wounds. So when you're starting a relationship with a dog, squat or sit nearby and invite them to come to you. Let them control whether your hands make contact. Even once you've made friends, stop petting frequently to see if they nudge for more, or are content to let you stop.

22/07/2025

It's been a Husky summer for me at the Mississauga Animal shelter. Here's Kimo, at our fourth session, showing no more inclination to guard his toys or food and hoping to be somebody's great pet soon. If you know anyone who might like an energetic Husky, send them this:
https://www.petfinder.com/dog/kimo-75596353/on/mississauga/city-of-mississauga-animal-services-on180/

Update on Blue the Husky: he's been adopted!

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+14165765001

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http://www.BestFriendsTraining.ca/

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About Andrew

Andrew Perkins has been working professionally with dogs since 1991. A founding member of the Canadian Association of Professional Pet Dog Trainers, he served on its board of directors and as the publishing editor of FORUM, the association's national newsletter, for 11 years, and now serves as "director at large."

Best Friends Obedience offers private instruction in your home for basic training as well as behaviour problems such as house-soiling, puppy biting, resource guarding, stealing, early-stage aggression, inter-family relationship and other issues. Problem-solving is dealt with in a dog-friendly, motivational manner intended to enhance the owner-dog relationship.