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

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!

17/07/2025

It was tough to get a not-blurry pic of little Harlow, whose owner is excited to see her grow up to look like her childhood favourite, The Littlest Hobo. But I'll settle for movement in this image because it shows her getting brave with me after initially finding me too scary to approach.

16/07/2025

I have to share an update on Suki, who was so timid with me in her first days in her new home. This was taken at our third visit, and we've become buddies - not only that, but now after four visits, her owner reports Suki is much less troubled by noises and surprises and is feeling much more social generally, thanks to some great work by her new family.

04/07/2025

Salvato is a friendly goofball in the house, but he gets pretty excited - and even more excited when he sees people and dogs on a walk. A big guy like him can intimidate people, and can throw a lot of weight around, so helping him be calm is going to be priority number one for his family.

02/07/2025

When you bring your new adult dog home from a shelter or foster, it's a good idea to give them time to adjust before introducing them to too many people. You can use that time to get to know who they are, and discover as they begin to adjust a personality that might be different in a few months from the mask they wore at first. Rocky needs to go slowly in his new home, and is showing signs of being overwhelmed by visitors. We're working on it.

26/06/2025

Gorgeous Sky was pretty suspicious of men from the time he arrived at the Mississauga Animal Shelter. We did some good "exposure therapy" work, and he's relaxing much better, and has now found a great home where his new family report he's thriving. They sent this pic to the shelter staff, who shared it with me.

23/06/2025

I got to meet a third member of the litter! Astro and Ursa's sister Jupiter, now named Suki, is cautious like her sister, and we're going to be working on helping her cope with ordinary household noises, which are currently a bit much for her delicate nature.

07/06/2025

Here's Blue again, looking off into his future after our final session together at the shelter. What a great guy! He's a fast learner, has a head start on some good household manners and has shown solid progress towards walking on a loose leash. I think he's going to be a great pet, yet he has no inquiries on adoption yet.

Maybe you know someone who would be interested? Send them this link: https://www.petfinder.com/dog/blue-76312546/on/mississauga/city-of-mississauga-animal-services-on180/

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+14165765001

Website

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.