Canine Companion, LLC- Abbie Volpone

11/18/2025

Excited to share this article from Voyage Michigan Magazine!

Today we’d like to introduce you to Abbie Volpone. Hi Abbie, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?I once asked my family what came first, my love of art or my love of animals, and they couldn’t decide. Even my earliest drawings were of animals. I’m […]

11/11/2025

Huge for team Mochi!
You may remember Mochi from my post of reactive rover class graduates just two weeks ago. They decided to start my AKC Canine Good Citizen class that started the very next week, and here they are in week 2 tackling the neutral dog approach test item. A room of five strange dogs and Mochi is doing awesome, and her people have the tools to help her when things start to get too hard. We’re all so proud!

11/04/2025

On today’s client roster is a field trip to Lowes with Caelum, and muzzle training with Coney (wins!!) And this evening we’ve got five dogs starting Canine Good Citizen class at HSHV. Happy Tuesday!

11/02/2025

I’ll be helping handle pets for a FREE vaccination and check-up clinic this Saturday Nov 8th in Ypsilanti! Please check with your friends and neighbors and let them know about this opportunity, as well as the other helpful services offered here!

We are thrilled to announce that this month we will be having a vet from Street Dog Coalition come to POP with !! They will be doing vaccines and basic exams for cats and dogs. Please your pets in a carrier or on leash to the event and plan to wait in your car until you can be seen. If you have questions feel free to message us. The event will be first come first served so they may not be there all day. Next POP is Nov 8th at Masjid Ibrahim, 315 s Ford Blvd Ypsi

10/31/2025

The Great Pumpkin has arrived, Charlie Brown!
🎃👻Hoping everyone has a fun and safe Halloween! 🎃👻

Yes, her head is really inside a pumpkin. Her chin rest behavior is very useful for goofy photos. I’ll drop some blooper photos in the comments, and I’d love to see a picture of your dog’s Halloween costume while you’re there ⬇️🍬🍫
What treat do you think it took to get Sake to do this trick??

10/28/2025

From photos you might think this is a trick dog or agility class, but thats just because Reactive Rover graduation is so much fun! Four dogs that struggle with the sight of strange dogs, working a circuit of activities in close proximity to one another.

There are many challenges for these teams to face during our “graduation” lesson, but they always manage to impress me and themselves with how they work together with their dogs to make good choices, stay engaged, and have a good time. Congratulations to Hilda, Pippin, Beanie, and Mochi!

10/16/2025

Today I got to meet this awesome girl, some mix of adorable and absolutely hound, named Raya. Since the day she came home from the shelter as a puppy 3 years ago she’s been very reactive. And despite her family doing all the right training things, there hadn’t been much improvement and they were feeling stuck.

A hound dog living in a busy apartment environment is gonna have some big (loud) feelings. There are lots of small changes we plan on making to help better manage stressors and improve her baseline emotional state, one of which is (my favorite) long line walks in the park.

We introduced a long line and this girl’s body language changed immediately. She was doing things and making choices her people had never seen her do before. And one of the choices she made with her newfound freedom of movement and confidence was to climb ALL over the playground, including up and down all the slides, completely of her own accord and unprompted. Underneath the tense, nervous dog at the apartment complex was a curious, brave girl wanting to try new things! I can’t wait to see what she can accomplish at the intersection of training and meeting her needs.

10/05/2025

Community is something I’m really passionate about. Even in my business, I want to foster a sense of community however I can. When you choose me as your dog trainer, you are welcomed into a group of people who love their dogs like crazy, are understanding of the struggles of being a modern dog guardian, and are willing to help others on their own training journeys.

My students are encouraged to join a private Facebook group, exchange phone numbers, participate in fun student-only events, and (my favorite) help with other students’ private training sessions. From dog reactivity, to socialization, to stranger danger, and everything in between, my students help EACH OTHER. It’s my job to give them the skills, resources, and opportunities to meet their training goals.

One of the more popular things in our community is what I call “buddy walks.” Once you’ve been through some instructed buddy walks, you go into the pool of people who can BE a buddy.

Tonight, Willie (the border collie mix) was the buddy helper for Lucy and Sparky. Willie has been on many buddy walks and been a buddy many times, and his awesome humans take every opportunity to practice his neutrality with other dogs, and it shows in what a well mannered, relaxed boy he’s become. So they get to continue their practice, AND help others just getting started on the same journey.

Lucy is usually pretty relaxed around other dogs, but her brother Sparky’s big feelings about them has been making her a bit more concerned. So tonight they practiced together with Willie, and I’m calling it a triple-win. These three dogs all did so awesome tonight. Willie was a perfect example of the progress that can be made with commitment and consistency. Lucy got some predictable patterns to practice so she can be more consistent around other dogs. And Sparky? Well, he blew us all away and kept his cool, even joining us on some of the closer proximity exercises.
When we help each other, we all win.

09/30/2025

The dog training industry has changed a LOT in recent years, and that’s largely because of the ever growing science we have on our companion animals. This is why it’s SO important to work with a professional who prioritizes continuing education.

I am one of those professionals who dedicates my time to learning and growing with this field, reading books, articles, attending conferences and webinars, and adding to my course certifications. Today, I am proud to share that I’ve finally officially joined the L.E.G.S. Family and am a certified Family Dog Mediator. This is a community of professionals on the front lines of scientific advancement of this field, using applied ethology to balance the welfare and training of our dogs in modern life. It’s a community I’ve admired for a while now, and I’m thrilled to have finally had a chance to complete the certification course.

I’d love to talk to you about your dog’s LEGS 😁!

09/26/2025

I love spending time with Owen, the Great Dane puppy. This spunky little guy was born in rescue, and his adopted family is making sure he’s set up for success with training right away.
For young dogs, most “wins” aren’t flashy obedience skills or quick response to cues, but rather emotional wellbeing and shaping appropriate behaviors. We’ve been working on capturing behaviors we like and rewarding them so he learns to make good choices on his own. I can’t wait to watch this big puppy grow!

09/11/2025

Lainie is the sweetest little beagle who just turned one year old. She’s been working hard on her leash skills, learning the difference between when she can follow her nose and when she needs to stay close to dad, and feeling confident and relaxed in the world with all the exciting sights, sounds, and smells.
Today Lainie was a very brave girl and practiced these skills in Home Depot!

09/03/2025