Zen Dog Canine Training

03/24/2025

Calling all puppies!

Zen Puppy - The Puppy Kindergarten Training. Invest in your puppy's future with first-steps learning.

03/21/2025

We have two spots left in our up-coming Zen Puppy Kindergarten course, starting April 1st.

Come join us for lots of learning and fun with your puppy! Contact us at [email protected] for details.

https://www.zendogtraining.com/services/puppy-training/kindergarten/

03/08/2025

It's BACK!

After a bit of a hiatus, our Sunday Morning Walking Club is back - just in time for spring!

If you have a dog in need of some social exposure to other dogs in a non-confrontational way, this class is for you! If you want to get out and meet other dog peeps on a social walk, practice your practical street obedience skills, this class is also for you!

Walks meet up once a month Sunday mornings in the Kits/Kerrisdale neighbourhood for an on-leash hour long walk. Cost is $15/dog and open to dogs that are everything except leash-reactive or highly-aroused.

Contact us at [email protected] for more details.

Sunday Morning Walking Club. Adult Dog Training - Hit the streets to socialize and build confidence around other dogs and people in our group walks.

02/19/2025

Why do we love to play tug?

If you are looking to increase engagement outdoors around distractions, and build on the relationship the two of you share, try tugging with your dog.

The act of playing with our dog through the use of a specially designed tug toy taps into their playful spirit and makes us relevant outside where reinforcement from the environment is more than abundant (think: squirrels, smells, other dogs, skateboards). Unless you bring some oomph to the table, the environment will win every time.

Enter the TUG!

Learn more on our website!
https://www.zendogtraining.com/training/lets-play-tug/

02/17/2025

Calling all puppies!! We have ONE SPOT left in our Kindergarten class starting February 25th.

https://www.zendogtraining.com/services/puppy-training/kindergarten/

02/14/2025

SAY HI!

Discover essential tips for teaching your dog proper greetings in urban settings. Learn four key rules for safe, enjoyable interactions.

02/14/2025

Come join us for the best fun you and your puppy can have!

Our next Zen Puppy Kindergarten starts February 25th - ONE SPOT LEFT.

https://www.zendogtraining.com/services/puppy-training/kindergarten/

02/10/2025

CO 2025 is happening the last week of summer and we need YOU! Come take in some of the best agility in Canada. Competitors are welcome to volunteer this year too, we’re setting up the group rotations to leave more time to help out. Interested? Fill out our form here: https://spitfiredogsports.com/co25/volunteer/ .

02/07/2025

Please share Far and wide we would love to get Denali into care if we can find the right Foster for her❤️❤️
And if you were looking to adopt, please contact Vancouver animal services directly !!

Foster home desperately needed for this big gorgeous gal, she has been at the shelter for over 8 months now, and her spirits are starting to dim:(

Well we’ve been visiting with our amazing team at the Vancouver Animal Shelter lately and we have another really sweet gal we’d love to help get into a loving warm bed🩷

Denali came to our friends at VAS after her person sadly and very suddenly passed away. She was unsure where she was, where her person was and what would be in store for her next…

After a few days of waiting for her person and understandable confusion she realized she was safe.

Denali is a solid girl whose appearance may be deceivingly tough. She is a big, mushy, playful, goofy, happy girl tho!
Give her a minute to suss you out.
Speak to her with a kind voice.
Compliment her stunning brindled coat.
She’s ready to meet you.
Offer her a snack and she’s all yours.
Give her a ball or a toy and see her playful side appear.
Then, take her out for a walk for some one on one time. She will win your heart and offer you hers💜
Denali needs a foster without other animals or young children to start so we can assess her and set her up for success!

Denali has a whole lotta love to give and a big heart wanting to be filled with love again❤️

For a foster application please visit the link below.
Https://straightouttarescuesociety.ca/dog-foster-application

02/05/2025

Got puppy? Not problem!

Join us for six weeks of cuteness and a whole lotta learning in our up-coming Zen Puppy Kindergarten course, starting February 18th.

Our well-rounded Zen Puppy Kindergarten course provides a low risk environment to expose your puppy to novel stimuli and baby dog learning with opportunities to build confidence and education in a safe and structured environment. The human end of the puppy’s leash will also come away with an incredible amount of puppy-related knowledge to guide their dog through the important months ahead.

The lessons are held at Simply Natural Raw Pet Foods in Kerrisdale with an interactive mix of skills building, puppy agility/body awareness, social play, and fun contests to win prizes. We set up a mini agility/obstacle course for the last class – one of the highlights, celebrating six weeks of hard work.

The course includes a puppy pack of training goodies and supplies to assist puppy-human teams on their learning journey. Class size is kept to six puppies between 9 and 14 weeks of age at the start date of the class. All puppies must have age-appropriate vaccines to join.

https://www.zendogtraining.com/services/puppy-training/kindergarten/

Call Simply Natural Raw Pet Foods at 778 655 1553 to register.

For more questions, please contact us at [email protected]

We've been in business since 2002 and provide a broad range of services - everything from puppy to reactive dog classes. Visit our website for more information!

01/31/2025

The Pressure of Training – Are You Aware of It?

No matter what training method you use—even reward-based training—there is always a certain amount of pressure applied to your dog in a training session.

Pressure isn’t just physical; it can be mental, emotional, and environmental too. Even when using treats, toys, and praise, dogs can feel pressured in ways we might not always recognise.

🔎 Typical Signs Your Dog Might Be Feeling Pressured:

➡️ Hesitation or slowing down in known behaviours
➡️ Excessive sniffing or displacement behaviours (e.g., scratching, yawning)
➡️ Avoidance, looking away, or disengaging from the session
➡️ Hyperactivity or frantic movement
➡️ Vocalization (whining, barking)
➡️ Taking treats with less enthusiasm or refusing them

🐾 How to Reduce Unnecessary Pressure:

✅ Check your expectations – Are you asking too much too soon? Break skills down into smaller steps.
✅ Be aware of body pressure – Standing over your dog, moving into their space, or even your eye contact can feel intense.
✅ Adjust rewards & reinforcement – Some dogs find certain rewards too exciting or overwhelming. Others may need more clarity in what they’re being reinforced for.
✅ Give them a choice – Allowing breaks and offering opportunities to opt in and out can reduce stress.
✅ Balance work & play – Training should feel good for both of you! Mixing in fun moments can ease pressure.

The more you recognise subtle signs of pressure, the better you can adjust your training to keep your dog engaged, confident, and happy.

Have you ever noticed unexpected pressure in your training sessions? Drop a comment below! 👇

01/29/2025

NO UNWANTED LITTERS, we all agree with that goal; it's the surgical technique that should be reevaluated. Hysterectomy and vasectomy can be performed as early as 8 weeks of age with no negative side effects, rendering dogs sterile AND hormonally balanced.

01/25/2025

Our Skills N Drills students being their amazing selves in class today....

01/21/2025

Adolescence occurs between six months and 18 months of age—a time when guardians typically struggle the most with their dogs. Some guardians are so overwhelmed and underprepared for this developmental stage of their dog’s life, they choose to surrender the dog to a local shelter or rescue group. In a recent study published in the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science found that the majority of the surrendered dogs (47.7 percent) ) were between 5 months and 3 years of age (M.D. Salman,John G. New, Jr.,Janet M. Scarlett,Philip H. Kass,Rebecca Ruch-Gallie &Suzanne Hetts, 2010)

The neurobiology of adolescence is fascinating, with some key events that alter both the structure and function of the brain.

During canine adolescence, changing s*x hormones effect the animals stress responses. Adolescent dogs have a decreased ability to process information they are receiving from the environment including the presence of dogs, vehicles, people, or really anything around them. They behave in ways that might feel frustrating or upsetting for the dog’s person.

The connectivity between the frontal cortex (responsible for decision making) and amygdala (responsible for emotional processing) decreases, resulting in less behavioral control. We see increased risk taking and more sensitivity to fear.

So what does this mean? This could mean that what was once no big deal to the dog now feels scary; what was once easy to do is now stressful; what once made sense is now confusing. At times, the world can feel like ‘too much’ for the adolescent dog.

As your puppy undergoes this transition into adulthood their inner world is intense, even chaotic. Many pet owners experience an increase in undesirable behavior and find themselves becoming increasingly frustrated. In turn, our own frustration and impatience can cause us to act unpredictably. This adds to our puppy’s inner turmoil. When the inside and the outside are both unpredictable it can be difficult for our dogs to adjust.

If you have an adolescent dog, what can you do? You can give your dog the time and space to observe what is going on around them when on leash at a distance away from the activity when possible. You can give your dog long walks to sniff and explore in nature, giving their brain time to decompress. You can offer your dog a quiet space to sleep so that they can consolidate memories effectively. You can continue training various skills, breaking them down into easier steps that can be generously reinforced.

By understanding what our adolescent dog is experiencing we gain greater compassion and understanding. When we approach adolescence with patience we create a world that is predictable and gentle so our puppies grow up to be their best adult selves.

01/14/2025

🔥 Does your dog listen to you… but ONLY at home?

🌍 The moment you step outside, do they:

😩 Ignore you completely?
😣 Pull on the leash like a freight train?
😞 Pretend “recall” isn’t in their vocabulary?

💔 Does it feel like you disappear to your dog the second you leave the house?

We hear you. We’ve been there. And we’ve created the solution. 👇

✨ Our Distracted Dog Workshop is exactly what you need to turn frustration into focus.

This workshop is for you if:
✅ You’re struggling to bridge the gap between at-home training and the real world.
✅ You’re tired of loose leash walking feeling impossible.
✅ You dream of a reliable recall but just can’t get there.
✅ You want your dog to actually pay attention at training class.
✅ You crave a connection with your dog outside your front door instead of feeling invisible.

🚨 Don’t wait—spaces are limited, and this is your chance to make real progress.

📲 Click the link now to sign up and transform your training:
https://tinyurl.com/7erzve7e

01/12/2025

Bringing in 2025 with our first Skills N Drills class of the year!

Want to be a part of this amazing group of students and their dogs?

Email us to begin that journey!

[email protected]