FAQs

Payment for classes and private lessons can be made through etransfer to our business email:  k9@zendogtraining.com  No password required.

Payment must be received before the first class starts. 

If you don’t do etransfer, contact us for other payment options. 

Payment for our Zen Puppy Kindergarten course is the only exception: all payments must be made to Simply Natural Raw Pet Foods. 
They accept a variety of payment options.

For training equipment we keep it simple and gentle!

A basic collar and/or front clip harness (with a back clip option) and a standard leash. Depending on the training we are doing, leash length can be 6-8 feet for loose leash walking, and 20-30 feet for recall and distance training. 

Another must-have is a treat pouch (or easily accessible way to get treats out) and a clicker. 

Please no aversive collars, flexi or bungee leashes.

We are committed to reinforcement-based training and follow protocols backed by the latest science on dog education and welfare.  That means we won’t use anything that causes fear or pain to your dog. 

We use markers (verbal or clicker) to provide clarity and accelerated learning; and food, toy play and verbal/physical praise from the human to create and build desirable behaviours.

We will show you how to move from a fixed to a variable reinforcement schedule as your training progresses but most importantly, we teach you HOW to be a reinforcement-minded person for the lifetime of your dog. Reinforcement builds and maintains behaviour for all learners!

Most of our private packages and some of our group classes start with a zoom session because this is our opportunity to train you! Here we get to “teach the teacher.”

The Zoom is to help you understand how to set up a training session; how to use a marker (and why markers are important); how reinforcement works for your dog; how diet, management, exercise, and enrichment all affect behaviour and learning.

Learning all this theory tends to go best in the quiet of the learner’s home!

Our private lessons run anywhere from 60 – 75 minutes, depending on the session(s) you have purchased.  In that time, you have us all to yourself!

We focus on the specific issues and goals before you, and together we come up with creative strategies and exercises to reach those goals and resolve those issues.  Each lesson is followed with an email covering the exercises and topics we covered in the form of videos, written material, relevant podcasts, diagrams and lesson plans – all designed to keep you on track and to refer back to at your leisure.

You are encouraged to call and email with your questions as you start your training journey with us.  Your one hour lesson with us is packed with weeks of practice ahead!

For your private lesson, we either come to you or have you meet us at a location appropriate for what we are focusing on in that lesson. 
There is a $25 travel charge per lesson for private clients outside of Vancouver. 

A group class environment is an affordable way to better understand dog training and the exercises that are applicable to today’s urban dog or puppy.  Each class runs for one hour and follows a set curriculum of topics, supplemented with a lesson plan emailed to each student before that week’s class.

Except for our Skills and Drills Power Hour class and Sunday Morning Walking Club (which are biggies!), we keep our class size small: 5-6 handler/dog teams per class.  This ensures you get quality individual attention from your instructor!

Our classes typically run 5-6 weeks in length and there is opportunity to progress to the next level for students keen to move up.  Our group classes feature a number of weekly exercises that are game-based, practical and fun so that you have homework for the week ahead.

We respect that life is full of twists and turns and we will do our best to accommodate a change to your plans. If you need to move a private lesson to another day, we simply ask for 24 hour notice, otherwise the fees for that lesson are lost. 

There are no refunds for partial private packages once a lesson has been taken.

For group class refunds, because we keep our courses small, with a wait list, we require five days’ notice so we have the opportunity to fill your spot.  Once a class has started, there is no refund. 

There is a $10 administration fee for all refunds.

We are open to transferring payment to other training services if you feel the course you have signed up for is not suitable for your dog.  Get a hold of us and we can talk!

Really, training starts the instant your puppy comes home!

Learning is happening all the time for puppies and every interaction from you is an opportunity for teaching to occur. From learning how to potty outside, to responding to his or her name, and that the leash means good things, your puppy is teachable from day one forward!

And what puppies learn first they learn best, so take advantage of those early learning moments.

Because all dogs have to eat, using some of those calories as a reinforcer to build desired behaviours makes good sense.

While praise puts your dog in a positive emotional state, it is the reinforcement with high valued food that makes your dog say “oh wow! I want to do THAT thing again!”

Training treats can be as simple as plain cooked meat from your kitchen (cooked chicken for instance) or a single ingredient dehydrated protein (like beef lung) found at reputable pet food stores. Read labels to stay clear of glycerine, too much sodium, sugars and food colouring. The simpler the ingredient list, the better.

Most people use a crate in the first few months to ensure their puppy is safely contained while everyone sleeps.

Until your puppy is house trained and through the chewing stage, a crate in your bedroom will give your puppy reassurance that you are close by and also allow you to hear any disturbances if your puppy needs to potty in the night.

When your puppy is a bit older and more trustworthy, you can give him or her more freedom in your room by leaving the crate door open or providing a dog bed to sleep in.

Also referred to as FRAPS (frenetic random action periods), zoomies occur in many dogs, and especially in puppies frequently at night. The behaviour is characterized by sudden bursts of energy in a high arousal state while running in tight circles.

Although there is no definitive scientific explanation to the zoomies, it is generally believed that zoomies are caused by excitement, excess energy or as a stress reliever.

While in most situations FRAPS are harmless, it is important to keep zooming puppies away from streets, slippery floors, stairs or high furniture, to prevent injury.

Of all the things you will teach your puppy in her lifetime, the first and most important should be a response to her name. Your puppy’s name is going to be important for all training that follows because it cues attention back to you. Without your puppy’s attention, distractions will be much more difficult to conquer.

You can begin by simply pairing your puppy’s name with a high valued treat in a low distraction environment such as your kitchen. After a few days, try a slightly more challenging environment and call your puppy’s name when she is distracted and then wait for her response. Praise and reinforce with a treat.

If the environment is too challenging and there is no response, reduce the distractions. Slowly increase the amount of distraction your puppy is working around and keep the rate of reinforcement high. Be careful not to use your puppy’s name excessively – make every name call a party!

It is important to understand that your new rescue dog is going to need some time to settle into his new home. He has just been uprooted and perhaps has faced chronic stress before arriving on your doorstep.

In the first 3 days you may see that your rescue dog is a bit shut down and reluctant to eat food. Give him the space to warm up to his new environment and don’t ask a lot of him. Keep his world small – meaning, no big adventures just yet.

After 3 weeks, your new rescue dog should be comfortable enough to show you his personality. This is often when behavioural problems become apparent. We refer to this as the end of the “honeymoon” period for the rescue dog. He has settled in somewhat and is relaxed enough to show how he responds to his surroundings.

By 3 months, your rescue dog should have acclimated to his new home. He has settled into your routines and has established trust in you. You should start to see his confidence increase. The three month stage marks when most rescue dogs truly start to relax in their new home.

Rescued dogs suffering from past trauma or poor socialization often carry anxiety with them into their new home, making training a challenge.  It is important to be patient and recognize that it will take time to train your new dog.

Your new dog needs time to acclimate to his change of environment and so it is important to keep his world small to avoid triggering him to negative experiences. Stay clear of “big city” experiences for the time being. 

Positive reinforcement methods focused on desensitization and decompression in the early months will help your new rescue dog, and the use of a marker/clicker and high value treats can bring clarity to what you want from your new dog while making the learning experience fun. 

Hold off on group classes for now and look to private lessons with a qualified trainer, as this tends to be a better learning environment for an anxious rescue dog. In more serious cases, working with a veterinary behaviourist and using anti-anxiety medications can be an important step.

Rescue dogs suffering from fear can gradually build confidence and trust with training and time, but may not outgrow their fearful tendencies, especially if they have a genetic predisposition, past trauma or lack of socialization in the critical imprinting window.

With a good training plan, you can help your rescue dog make progress, but don’t expect him to turn into a social butterfly. The more you recognize what situations are difficult for your rescue dog and avoid them, the more you can build his confidence. But in many cases, a fearful dog will carry those fear tendencies throughout his life.

In two words – time and patience! Start with a good training plan built around positive reinforcement based methods and teach your dog things! Learning and working together, praise and reinforcement are sure ways to build confidence in your new rescue dog. Find things he enjoys and excels at (it can be as simple as sniffing treats in the backyard, or jumping on logs) and use those talents as part of his daily exercise.

The more you can use reinforcement in your training (food, play, praise) the more opportunity you have to “tell” your dog he is doing a great job, which leads to improved confidence. Seek opportunities to reinforce even simple desired behaviours in your rescue dog and avoid punishing undesired behaviours, which tend to tear down feelings of confidence.

The Vancouver Animal Shelter is a wonderful facility in Vancouver with an excellent adoption program for people looking to bring a rescue dog into their lives. They place between 200 and 300 dogs each year, from puppies through to seniors.

As a shelter, they work diligently to ensure each dog is well suited to the home looking to adopt. Not all dogs are good with children or other dogs and it is important to get that information up front.

The staff are very knowledgeable and committed to the welfare of their dogs in care. We at Zen Dog Canine Training work closely with the Vancouver Animal Shelter and offer discounts on training services for featured rescue dogs.

Dogs who are reactive to factors in their environment (ie other dogs, skateboards, people) need an intentional training program built around positive reinforcement, one that focuses on counterconditioning and desensitization to those specific triggers.

You will need to learn your reactive dog’s body language and create space between your dog and her triggers BEFORE the reaction, while avoiding a tight leash.  Using a marker and high value treats as well as exercises that involve engage-disengage concepts as part of your training can lessen anxiety in your reactive dog. This will create a better connection between the both of you and desensitize her to those triggers.

A calm environment, one in which it is easy for you to quickly gain space, is important in the training process. This might include choosing where and when to exercise your dog, avoiding heightened exposure to her triggers.

The best way to avoid creating a reactive dog starts when she is a puppy! Good socialization in the critical imprinting period of 8 to 16 weeks provides a solid point of reference for your dog as to what the world entails. Social exposure to novel experiences desensitizes your dog to her environment so she is neutral and builds confidence into adulthood.

Training classes in the first years also contribute to confidence and connection to you, two essential traits for your dog to have if you want her to be neutral to her environment. Non-reactive dogs tend to be relaxed in their world and not excited or stimulated by the variables in it.

Any dog can become reactive as it is not breed specific, although certain breeds are more prone to this behaviour. Herding breeds (Border Collies, Maliniois, German Shepherds, Australian Shepherds), terriers (Jack Russels, Pitbull terriers), and the working breed group (Rottweilers, mastiffs, Akitas) have a reputation for reactivity. But reactivity often surfaces during adolescence in many dog breeds, or can be brought on by a frightening experience (a dog attack) that triggers a negative emotional response.

Whatever the breed, it is important to seek professional help immediately because the sooner you address the issue, the less rehearsal and reinforcement has taken place to establish the behaviour.

Dog reactivity is not a disease that can be “cured,” but through consistent training you can lessen your reactive dog’s responses to her triggers.

Depending on how successful your training has been, management will always play a key role in ensuring your dog does not react. This will include knowing her body language and the early signs of stress; as well as choosing the best environments for your dog to be in.

With consistent positive based training, you can lessen your reactive dog’s anxiety and help her to feel safe. In many cases you can create positive associations or at least neutrality to her triggers. Living and working with a reactive dog is a daily process of commitment.

Dogs who react do so out of fear or frustration. Using punishment (harsh collar corrections, yelling, grabbing your dog) risks increasing negative feelings around the stimulus that causes the reaction. Corrections can undermine the relationship you are trying to establish with your reactive dog in those moments. Punishment is designed to stop a behaviour but does not respect or take into consideration the emotions behind the undesired behaviour. It makes humans feel good in the moment because the reactivity stops but it doesn’t address the “why” behind the reactivity, and when the punishment stops, the reactivity surfaces sometimes in other forms.

A better long-term plan is to work with your reactive dog’s emotional needs and to replace the reactivity with alternative behaviours and management tools through the use of understanding your dog’s body language and using positive reinforcement.