Dog Training Tips for Vancouver Dog Guardians
Browse our library of actionable dog & puppy training articles
Actionable advice for Vancouver Dog Owners
Resource Guarding – Dog growls to protect his bone
How do you safely take a toy or bone away from a dog? Does your dog exhibit aggressive behavior when he has a bone or toy? This issue is called Resource Guarding and if not addressed, can escalate into dangerous behaviors like biting. From an evolutionary standpoint,...
Dog Bite Prevention and Safety
Keep Your Dog and Your Family Safe from Dog Bites Did you know that in the US, 4.7 million people are bitten by dogs each year? And, of those incidents, 77% of them are bites from the family pet (or a friend's pet), and 50% of bites occur on the owner's property? This...
New Puppy Training: Top 5 Tips
Hopefully you are reading this article BEFORE your new puppy arrives! Puppyhood is a very brief period of a dog's life and getting it right from the start will save you a lot of heartache and headache down the road. Here are our Top 5 Puppy Training Tips to help you...
Scary or Supportive? Puppy Socialization Done Right
Am I doing it right? Everybody that gets a new puppy has one thing at the top of their mind: socialization. But what IS it? HOW do you do it? WHEN should you start? What is socialization? From Oxford Languages: the activity of mixing socially with others.the process...
My Dog is Bored and is Driving Me Crazy – Enrichment During Social Distancing / COVID-19
By Dr. Sarah Shapiro-Ward Enrichment describes all the activities our dogs do which fulfill their mental, social and physical needs. Toronto dogs are typically accustomed to getting their social time through daycare, dog walkers, playdates and dog parks. Physical...
Top 5 Tips for New Rescue Dog Owners
We are strong advocates of rescuing dogs. Some argue that older rescue dogs come with more issues than getting a new puppy, but in our experience, most rescue dogs are friendly, easily trainable, and can quickly become excellent companions. A common question we are...
What Training Goldfish Teaches You About Dogs
Clicker Training Goldfish What does teaching a Goldfish tricks have to do with dog training? There are a lot of lessons to be learned about behaviour and operant conditioning by going through the work of teaching a common goldfish to swim through a small hoop or chase...
Dog Begs for Food at Dinner Table – How to address this without punishment
Why is this dog sitting in the corner, not begging for food? Why is Petey sitting patiently with his butt pressed against the wall in the corner, while my father enjoys his lunch and tea? Because of the effective use of operant conditioning (positive reinforcement...
Managing and Treating Separation Anxiety
What is Separation Anxiety? Separation anxiety is a condition in dogs where emotionally and physiologically, the dog becomes panic stricken when he's apart from his owner or people in general. Typically it manifests itself when a dog is left home alone. Behaviors that...
Resource Guarding – Dog growls to protect his bone
How do you safely take a toy or bone away from a dog? Does your dog exhibit aggressive behavior when he has a bone or toy? This issue is called Resource Guarding and if not addressed, can escalate into dangerous behaviors like biting. From an evolutionary standpoint,...
Why has my dog started getting into fights at the dog park?
Is he dominant? NO... Why has my dog, who used to love other dogs, started to get into fights at the dog park? Is he dominant? Dominant? Usually not. Few dogs are born wanting to get into fights. Fighting behaviour is evolutionary suicide. So why has my dog...
On-leash aggression towards dogs
Why does my dog bark and lunge at other dogs on leash? First, rest assured, you are not alone. This behavioral issue is so common that there are volumes of books specifically written about the subject. Dog trainers and behaviorists refer to this issue as "on-leash...
Dog Bite Prevention and Safety
Keep Your Dog and Your Family Safe from Dog Bites Did you know that in the US, 4.7 million people are bitten by dogs each year? And, of those incidents, 77% of them are bites from the family pet (or a friend's pet), and 50% of bites occur on the owner's property? This...
2023 Winter Small Dog Socials (Updated)
In 2023, we are pleased to resume Small Dog Social play groups for alumni and dogs that are currently enrolled in classes at When Hounds Fly! This is an excellent opportunity to socialize and exercise your dog off leash in a safe, clean and supervised environment....
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When Hounds Fly is proud to have the largest number of Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partners (KPA CTPs) and Certified Professional Dog Trainers (CPDT-KAs) on staff of any training organization in Canada.
You can count on us to deliver
Training You’ll Feel Good About – A Commitment to Positive Reinforcement
Positive Reinforcement methods are the most effective way to change behaviour, and make the learner (both human and dog!) feel supported and have a fun and enjoyable time learning.
An Experience Both You and Your Dog Will Enjoy
Every time you train this way with your dog, they’ll light up and come to you with this look of eagerness, joy, and anticipation. Working with us means that training changes from something you do to your dog – into an activity that you and your dog can’t wait for. The connection you build with your dog through our training methods is something that you have to experience.
In Your Neighbourhood, When You Need Us
We believe every dog (and their owners) should benefit from socialization and training as part of their health and wellness. We’re in convenient locations, with classes nearly every day of the week, at convenient times. To keep you from waiting too long, our core classes are “Start Anytime”, so enrollment is on-going. For private lessons, we continue to grow our team (currently over 12 instructors) so you can see us as quickly as possible.