K9 Expeditions
Yonge and Eglinton Toronto, ON, Canada

For some Monday fun . . . I’ll start. Something you ride on by holding the handles and pushing off with one foot. It has 2 wheels and isn’t very fast .... . . Your turn. Feel free to answer/guess each other’s descriptions See more

Instagram has a nice dog community, but the information online can be quite overwhelming. Today, we don’t have a shortage of information. You can learn everything you need online. YouTube, google and Instagram can teach you virtually anything, assuming things go PERFECTLY according to plan, like they usually do in these videos. We had a plumber come in to our facility and he said I have been to a lot of appointments to fix plumping messes caused by YouTube videos. . . Once... again, there is no shortage of information, but what information works for you? How do you even know? The problem with this is that the information may work on 1 dog but not the other. This leaves people with a wealth of confusing, conflicting information. . . A professional helps you in this situation by taking all of the confusing information, and telling you what works for your dog. My favourite appointments are the ones where people have already seen many trainers, watched many videos and tried everything, but no one was able to give them a specific approach that would give them long term success and also an instant result. . . Just remember that you are not hiring a pro for the information. The information is out there. You are hiring them to do a proper job for your specific situation. See more

Here is our final adoption roster for a little while. All of these dogs have been trained by us and were only taken on as an emergency. Please keep in mind that these dogs should only go to homes that are committed to working through behavioural issues. Here are some details about each of them individually (from top left to bottom right) . . Birdie is finally up for adoption. She has been with us here for a while and a lot of you have met her. She is an absolutely lovely dog ...but doesn’t work well with our lifestyles. We also want her to enjoy life with a nice loving family, instead of at a facility with us. We enjoy her company but there is a loving home for her somewhere! . . Pru was given to us for rehab for showing aggression towards owners. He is a pushy dog that needed some boundaries and now he’s not so much of an ass. He is pretty calm and easy going. Needs an experienced owner. . . Rose is a Dogo Argentino and had no options left. She will be coming here tomorrow and we will let you know how she will do in a new home. @canadiancaninecrew was nice enough to board her until now and she will begin her work with us tomorrow. Do you want a drop off video? . . Finally, we have Tiger.....he is Lucy’s brother. We have seen lots of dogs from that breeder with similar issues. He is a sweet dog though, but very neurotic. He can become obsessed with strange things without a proper outlet. He will need an experienced owner. . . We would appreciate any and all help you guys can provide. We would love to get these dogs placed in forever homes as soon as possible. Please click the link in our bio for more info on these dogs and send this post to people who are looking for dogs like these. Once again, they’re not easy, but we will set you up to succeed like we have done with many other surrenders. See more

When it comes to difficult situations in the dog industry, managing a multi dog household safely is high on that list. I think serious handler aggression takes the cake, but multiple dogs wanting to fight in the same household can be extremely stressful. . . I have had a multi dog household for nearly 10 years now. Even when I started my career, I always had multiple boarding dogs over and they lived in my house with similar rules as my personal dogs. A lot of these dogs had ...aggression and reactivity issues, but I have never had any issues with these dogs due to my house being a very controlled environment. . . Most multi dog households struggle to manage all of the seemingly innocent things that they think their dogs are doing, which can lead to serious issues long term. For example, what if your dog is on the couch and is not good at communicating that they want to be left alone. What happens if your other dog goes up to him and lays down beside him and pisses him off? This may seem innocent but can turn into a fight 6 months later. . . What if one of your dogs has a toy and your other one goes up to him and pulls it out of his mouth. That might be fine and cute today but will it still be cute in 6 months or will it piss off your other dog and cause a giant fight? . . What if you’re in the kitchen and you drop a tiny scrap of food by accident and your dogs charge towards the food. One of them gets it and the other doesn’t. That might be fine today, but will it be safe in 2 months? This is all very serious. This is what creates a fighting household. . . We may look like a cute group on Instagram but it’s a tight ship in this house. They only play when I let them, and they stop when I say so. They get toys and balls to play with every day, but only on their own. They never eat beside each other, even though I know they all can. They love each other a lot and I won’t do anything to screw up that relationship. . . I see minor issues all the way to dogs being unable to be on the same floor of the house together. It is all due to these minor and seemingly insignificant situations compounded over time. We will likely do a podcast on this. What do you guys think See more

If I had a nickel for every sketchy breeding opportunity that was offered to me, I would have a LOT of nickels . Every week I get a few messages saying: . Hey wanna stud your dog to mine? Hey I’m looking to breed my (insert nervous wreck American bully, GSD, or Doberman) do you know any females? Hey wanna partner up and breed some frenchies? We’ll make a killing!... . . The worst is when people ask me to look after and train their nervous wreck of a female dog and help raise the litter in exchange for half of the profit of the breeding sales. This will make me $10,000 to $20,000. It’s not about the money it’s about the ethics and stupidity behind what’s going on. . . This week alone we have received a ton of surrender calls and I have been sent quite a few surrender-euthanasia posts on Instagram. The reality of the industry is that you can’t save them all, and that there are a very very small amount of people that are willing to take on these dogs, rehab and rehome them. The hardest part of all of this is the liability that comes with the process of that dog hurts someone again, which is always possible. . . The main point I’m trying to make is that these mentally unsound, backyard bred dogs will continue to be produced at a faster rate than ever and the only route to stop them is to completely stay away from NON-REPUTABLE breeders. Here are some basic red flags: . . No Sign Of the Parents The dog is a mixed breed. Reputable breeders do not make non-purebreds Breeder should be interested in preservation of the breed and bloodlines, not money. Puppies are nervous- Run For Your Life. Breeder has a contract with some strict rules which may seem unreasonable but it’s all for protecting the breed. . . Shop responsibly and also adopt responsibly. If you are looking for a rescue dog, make sure you tell the rescue what you are NOT interested in. It’s better you clear that up so you don’t end up adopting a dog that ends up ruining your life while you try to be a saint. Let’s stop the problem at the source! The source is BACKYARD BREEDING. See more

***LIMITED EDITION GIVEAWAY*** . PRIZE: To celebrate the launch of The New and Stunning RUFFLAND MILLSTONE kennel, we will be giving away 1 MILLSTONE LIMITED EDITION KENNEL. ANY SIZE.... . . RULES: 1. Follow us @k9expeditions on Instagram. 2. Like this photo 3. Comment and tag friends in the comments. 1 comment/tag =1 entry. Unlimited entries allowed. 4. Share this post to your story. If your account is private, you MUST screenshot the share and DM me. . . RESTRICTIONS: -Contest is limited to CANADA, USA and EUROPE. -Must be in contact within 24 of contest closing to claim prize otherwise we will move to the next in line. . . TIMELINE: Contest ends on February 19th, 2021 at MIDNIGHT. Winner will be announced on February 20, 2021 at 9pm on our STORYON INSTAGRAM. If you don’t pay attention to our story at that time, please don’t message me after asking who won because it wasn’t you. . . Good luck to everyone!! See more

I have been meeting lots and lots of nervous puppies over the last few months. Some of them are 9 weeks old and afraid of their own poop. No this is not a joke . When it comes to these puppies, it’s important to know that these dogs did not come from an experienced, reputable breeder. A young, nervous dog is usually a genetic nerve issue or the breeder did not do a good job raising the puppy from birth. Usually, bad breeding and nervous genetics is the key factor. Not abuse.... . . This doesn’t mean you should get rid of the dog, it just means that if you are sure this is something you want to tackle, you have to put in a lot of effort in the early stages and continue the effort lifelong. . . You may hear the balanced training community repeatedly talk about NOT letting people touch their dogs. This is NOT the case for a nervous puppy. Their fears need to be properly counter conditioned. You literally need to do hundreds and hundreds of repetitions per month. The key here is to make sure the puppy meets as many NEUTRAL humans as possible. Do not avoid this problem, tackle it head own with the expectation that your puppy may never like strangers, but at least you’re still trying. . . This means that you must avoid these people at ALL COSTS: . People who stick their hand out right in your nervous dog’s face People who get overexcited and creep your pup out People who run up to your dog and want to pet him Anyone who your dog is not showing mutual interest in. . . What I would do if I met a puppy like this, is stand there and stick my hand out at my side. He is welcome to inspect me and sniff me and I will wait until the puppy shows some comfort but I will NOT touch the dog unless I can clearly see that he is ok with it. . . For anyone wondering how to properly counter condition a puppy in these situations, I will post a reel. We have turned lots of these puppies around ONLY because we communicate to the owners that making sure the dog interacts with as many people as possible is the #1 priority. Do you or did you have a puppy like this? Any tips that worked for you? See more

What gear do you use? . . This is a question that always fascinates me. It’s interesting what gear people prefer to use day to day. Some people LOVE 6ft leashes. Some people hate them! Some people would never use a leather leash and would only use nylon. What kind of leash do you prefer using? What length and material? .... . Then there are collars! Do you like a fat collar or a thin one? Martingale or flat? What material? . . I thought I would quickly share what I use! Not a plug for any of my gear at all lol but I only use my gear . . SCOOTER&BROLY . Collar: I prefer a fat bright collar. Usually I use the K9 Academy thick collar . E-Collar: BIOTHANE bungee from @packhardware . Leash: I love a 6ft, thin NYLON leash. I use mine with my buckle. . Also they both walk on either the 2.25 black prong from @sprenger_dogsports Or a slip lead. . . What do you guys use and what do you strongly dislike? This helps me create a better, more universal line of products . . Let me know See more

How do you forget after a training session with a professional? How much information do you retain? . . I always find this topic hilarious because I consider myself not so good at retaining information, unless the teacher is VERY engaging. The reason I ask is to better our teaching skills. Me And @dogtrainercass have talked about this a few times. .... . For example, when I go to get my dogs trained or when I learn about dog training, marketing or even personal fitness from someone, I need a LOT of hands-on repetitions before getting it. . . When people leave after training, I always wonder: Did we do a good job making things as SIMPLE as possible? Did We keep the attention of the client or did We lose them many times? Did they practice enough repetitions to remember what to do when they get home? Did we create enough difficult scenarios so that they won’t get stressed when they get home? What will they remember most ? . . This especially comes to mind when I leave a training session for my personal dogs, forgetting a lot of information despite doing my absolute best to remember everything. . . How much do you remember after a dog training session? Where there specific things that stuck with you? How overwhelming was your FIRST session? See more

When I first started training dogs, there was no such thing as place in the home. It was a long time ago, and we used place as a boundary to prevent reactivity. It was also a very quick command and used to help build motivation or to release a dog into a reward as opposed to how it’s used now. Around 2017 I started to hear more about how people used it for duration (30min+) instead of a short term motivational command. . . We used to use a Down-Stay as our duration comman...d. As much as I love place, I still use Down as my duration command instead of place quite often. I’ll tell you guys why it’s better for my lifestyle: . . I prefer my dogs near me in the house laying down. I can literally force them to hang out beside me all day with a down stay . This is my favourite thing to do with nervous dogs. . . Things have also heavily changed in the dog world and for some reason, place has somehow been communicated to the masses as some sort of a job. Just remember, making a dog lie on a bed does not tire them out, does not stimulate them mentally and is not a replacement for proper exercise. . . Anyways, both are great when used properly, and the advancement of the command (place) has been great to see. Just make sure you don’t overuse a duration command if the dog has not been properly worked. . PLACE BENEFITS: Dog has a CLEAR idea of their boundaries (the edges of the bed) Dog can stay on the bed as you walk away and go other places You can send the dog AWAY to place Great way to teach a dog to mind it’s business as other things are happening. Great dog for motivating and frustrating a dog when used properly PLACE CONS: Takes up too much space Overused and can create a very frustrated dog Hard to Reward if the dog is not near you Not 100% mobile . . DOWN-STAY BENEFITS Can be used anywhere:you can down the dog in the kitchen, living room, on the couch, at the dining table, patios Your dog can hang out beside you so it’s easier to reward . . DOWN-STAY CONS Not as clear of a boundary as place Harder to teach a down stay at a distance . . Which do you use more and which do you prefer See more

A Single dog training session is something that can be detrimental to a dog’s long term success. I meet lots of people that want to do just 1 session to fix a dog’s leash walking, or some other small issue. Usually, these dogs have multiple issues that are working together to create lots of problems. . . The problem with doing just one session, is that it will give you a false sense of success from a good trainer. A good trainer should be able to help you achieve a very obvi...ous result in 1 session. The problem with this, is that the client now believes they were able to completely fix the dog in a short hour. . . To help a dog live it’s best life, it’s good to do a package of sessions and continue your education to better understand how to tackle challenges with your dog. This is similar to someone going to driving school for one day and going for their driving rest the next. Not very reasonable for long term success. We used to help a lot of people in single sessions, but I just don’t do it anymore because we want people to see what life can really look like with a trained dog. . . Single sessions are ONLY decent if: -your dog was trained elsewhere and you need some tune ups -you have an extremely easy dog that needs barely any help -you have done nearly everything perfectly and need another professional opinion. . . Even if finances are a challenge, no matter where you go, commit to longer education instead of just a session. Your dog will thank you! . . How long do you guys think it would take to bring your dog to the level you have always wanted? What challenges are you currently working on? . . Maybe we’ll launch a long term training program What would you like to see See more

These 4 simple components work together to help you have a great life and relationship with your dog. . . Here is my little chart for example. It tells you what I focus on with my dogs and why. Your dog may have very different requirements but this chart will help you determine what you may be missing. .... . 1 STRUCTURE AND BOUNDARIES: I don’t do much of this because my dogs don’t do things that really annoy me. For example. When I’m cooking or hanging out at home, they don’t have many rules. They literally play with a Benebone or a ball in the house but I don’t let them turn my house into a wrestling arena. That is not allowed. Everything else is fair game. We don’t focus much in this area. . . 2 TRAINING: I use training to help mentally stimulate my dogs. The training we do is not the same as PET dog training. While we focus on intensity and focused commands, you Kay want to focus on impulse control and a calm state of mind. . . 3DIET and HYDRATION: I feed my dogs early in the day through training so they don’t bother me the rest of the day. I don’t want them frustrated all day and I also want to harness their food motivation. A GOOD diet (High quality kibble/High Quality Raw is important). I could do better in this area by researching more and giving them more supplements. . . 4 DRIVE OUTLET/EXERCISE: If all I did daily was a basic leash walk with these guys, my life would be in ruins. They would have every behavioural problem and would be nightmare creatures. This is by far the most important aspect of our day. If I don’t give them their hard Frisbee session, a tug session and a good run, my life is not fun. My structure and boundaries cannot be enforced because they will act like lunatics. Our training sessions and leash walks will not go well because they are walking bottles of frustration ready to explode. For a lot of people that ask me why their dog is still explosive even after training, it’s because the dog’s drive is not being fulfilled at all. A leash walk or a 1 hour run won’t do. . . I hope this helps! What do you focus on with your dog See more

Over the past couple of weeks I have had a lot of people attempt to force their dogs on Donna. I figured I would make a post about this to clear things up as to exactly why I don’t let any dogs near her except the ones I trust. I currently only trust about 16 dogs that I KNOW are great with puppies, and Donna will meet them all. I will not risk her meeting other dogs because she is already very social and it’s not an area that needs much work due to her temperament. Basically..., socializing her with more dogs than necessary will have MINIMAL positive effects while there are high chances of negative experiences. . . I can imagine a lot of you have dealt with similar situations from the messages you sent me on my story where I told a lady to go away because she was forcing her dog on Donna. . . Off the top of my head, here are some memorable situations that I personally faced. . . Feb 2010: I go hiking with Moxie at the rouge river. She is only 7 months old at the time. A yorkie runs towards Moxie and bites her in the shoulder. Lots of blood. Luckily Moxie doesn’t care. . . Sept 2013: I am picking up a Doberman puppy at their Condo. We get in the elevator. A dog comes in and without saying anything, the man forces his dog up to my dobie puppy. Their dog reacts. Owner says he does that sometimes hahaha. No damage done but very close. . . Aug 2015: I take my foster to a local coffee shop. He is 4 months old. A man brings his dog up to mine in line. His dog reacts, bites my dogs ear w/blood. My Foster dog started being reactive towards dogs the next day . . June 2017: i take my foster puppy (9weeks old) down to the beltline walking trail for our quick morning walk. She drinks out of the water fountain in front of the trail. Dog comes up from behind her off leash and grabs her by the ear. blood everywhere. . . Luckily in most of these situations, I had very resilient dogs. Most dogs are not this resilient at a young age and need their confidence developed patiently and slowly. If your dog is already SOCIAL, remember, it’s not a huge priority. Environmental exposure and exposure to humans is much much more important than dog socialization. See more

Happy New Year everyone! I’m not much of a New Year’s Resolution guy but I’m gonna do my best to not eat so much takeout this year (only on cheat days). How about this...if you guys catch me eating takeout at the facility, you can come up to me and kick my ass or demand a free training session! Who’s down? kinda joking kinda not joking . . . Anyways, I wish the best for you all this year! It was a tough 2020 which was much easier due to all of your love and support

When people see us work with their reactive/aggressive dogs in sessions, they usually don’t pay attention to all of the little things going on, only the obvious ones. The SMALLEST part of the equation was us addressing the reactivity with a correction, which is something we don’t often have to do. . . Let’s start with the most important piece. .... 40%. Micromanaging the walk. If the dog consistently makes bad decisions on the walk, then they are likely not being given any direction or leadership. If you make the dogs decisions for them. They will look to you first in their decision making process. A dog that Marks everything, sniffs everything, and is completely in their own world on a walk, is hands down the biggest problem. . . 25%. Indoor Structure Your house is considered the lowest distraction environment possible. If your dog is on edge at home by barking at everything, looking out the window and being concerned by every little sound, your walks will be very difficult. They spend most of their time indoors so they should be at ease despite any distractions. . . 20%. Motivation Towards the Handler If your dog doesn’t find you fun or engaging, their attention span will be elsewhere. If they are unable to play with you outside because they are over-aroused by everything, there will likely still be lots of reactivity. Win your dogs engagement. Make sure they find you fun and valuable over everything else going on. . . 10%. Repetitions. If you haven’t tackled difficult situations in progression with your dog, they will never get better. Start east. Eg. Low pressure neighbourhood. And work your way up patiently. Do not progress until your dog is comfortable. . . 5%. Correcting the reactivity. This is what most people tend to see and hear. This is the smallest piece of the puzzle. If everything else has been done properly and the dog still decides to react, you need to deliver a firm, valuable correction for the PHYSICAL outburst of reactivity. Ideally at the earliest stage of arousal. . . Hope this helps! Let us know See more

We have met lots of great new puppies and great owners over the last few months. It’s always great to see a dog owner filled with paranoia and perfectionism when raising a puppy for the first time. The will to not screw it up actually makes them very good owners. . . Here are a few things I have noticed: .... . Most first time owners are STIFF. They move like a terminator instead of a human being, which can be boring for the dog. If the dog wants to play, just play as if you were a kid. . . The other mistake first time owners make is that they buy too many toys and leave them all laying around which heavily diminishes the value of everything. . . Here is a short list of toys that I would recommend buying for a puppy, and when/how to use them. I used these for Scooter and Broly . . 1. TUG - ENGAGEMENT ONLY Never give a dog a tug toy unsupervised. It pretty much ruins the purpose of the toy. Tug toys are for dog - owner play time. Puppies should use a simple tug rag. . 2. BALL - ENGAGEMENT ONLY I like the chuck it medley. It has a soft ball for puppies to grab, a squeaker and a hard ball. Make this as fun as possible for the pup if you want them to enjoy fetch. . 3. TREAT DISPENSER - SUPERVISED I like the starmark treat dispenser ball. I enjoy watching puppies roll these around the house as food falls out . . 4. CHEW TOYS - PASSIVE The Benebone puppy chew toys are great. I like to give these to puppies to chew on when teething as long as they know I handed it to them and they’re not being super annoying. This lets them chew as I do other things. Keep your eye on them as they can be ingested in rare cases. . 5. FILL TOYS - PASSIVE The Kong series of puppy toys are good. Fill them with whatever you like and freeze them. Your dog can have them while they’re out or in the crate. Be mindful of their strength. These are marketed as extremely durable but I have seen them break. I like the CLASSIC KONG and the PUPPY TIRE. . #dogtrainingtoronto #dogtraining #dogtrainernyc #dogtrainingtips #dogaggression #dogaggressionrehab #aggressivedog #torontodogtrainer #dogtrainertoronto #dogrehabilitation #dogrehab #reactivedog #reactivedogsunite

As the dog training world evolves and becomes a little crazier, I thought I would share some of the things that I let my dogs do because I genuinely enjoy it. . . The reason I am sharing this is because I consistently post videos of my dogs acting like unruly maniacs and the direct messages I get are concerning. They go along the lines of: .... . Why do you let the dogs do that? Why do they jump on people? You let them say hi to people? You let them on the bed? You should teach them to calm down . . First of all chill the hell out because they’re my dogs . Second of all, the balanced dog training community has become more like the pure positive community once was. There is a it’s my our way or the highway cult and community of balanced training. . . Remember that we got dogs to enjoy life with them are there are some people who go too far off to one side of the training spectrum. . . Here are some things I let my dogs do and you can decide whether or not you think it’s a good idea for you and your dogs. . . 1 I let people pet my dogs all the time. If I walk down a busy street, people often want to pet my dogs. I let them pet my dogs as long as they are respectful and my dogs have held their focus well. If I am having issues keeping their attention around people, I will minimize human socialization. . . 2 I let them jump on me because it’s my favourite thing in the world. This comes with its negatives. They will try to jump on every other human they see. I warn people when they are saying hi that they will likely jump up to hug you. ONLY do this if you are fine with your dogs jumping on others. Otherwise, it’s recommended you curb the behaviour altogether to prevent confusion. . . 3 They hang out on the couch and the bed all the time. This is only recommended if your dog doesn’t have any territorial problems or separation anxiety problems. Long story short, only do it if you are happy with your dogs overall behaviour. . . 4 they need to calm down Listen, if I wanted a calm dog I would have got a doodle or something. I have absolutely no interest in keeping them calm. . . I hope this clears up a few things! See more

The most common problem I have seen with dogs that have done a little bit of training, whether it is with us or with another trainer, is a variable punishment system. Just remember that variable punishment doesn’t work now and will never ever work. Variable punishment means that you will provide a no marker and a correction sometime or most of the time when your dog does an unwanted behaviour but not 100% of the time. . An inconsistent punishment schedule can be extremely c...onfusing to your dog. They will be wondering, what the hell? Why did I get to jump on that person, but this time I’m getting a correction? . Why was I able to move from my sit command last time but not this time? . . Why am I sometimes allowed to sniff everything on a walk and sometimes I have to walk in this tight position? . . With a consistent punishment schedule, the dog will have clarity and understand that a certain behaviour is 100% not allowed. No cracks or slips in the system. . . This is similar to rules for wearing masks. We wear masks in stores because they tell you you have to and there are no cracks in the system. You must wear a mask or no entry. It’s clear, and simple to understand. It doesn’t say today we may let you in if you have a mask and we also may not. . . This is where clients who have done training already struggle the most. When we re-assess their handling skills after training, we always notice that the dog gets away with breaking a simple command a few times. The level of management and communication is not as simple to understand for the dog. With confusion, comes frustration. Keep things clear for your dog. Do not be variable in your correction/punishment systems. You can be variable in a reward system to keep a dog guessing and more motivated to perform. Punishment needs to be 100% clear and consistent for a dog to excel. Remember, when a dog fully understands something, you barely ever need to apply a correction. See more

My used car dealership experience has been very similar to buying a dog from a backyard breeder. There are many Used Car dealerships that are good and also many breeders that do a great job, but there are just enough of them to ruin the name of the business. . . My van has been in repair for 14 days now . Transmission problems, clutch and engine heating and an unfair amount of money to be spent. The expectation when you buy a car from a dealer, is that the car has been fully... inspected and should be operational without issues for at least a year. Especially a commercial vehicle. Since I got this van a mere 70 days ago, I should have received a decent amount of support from the dealer, but that’s not really the case, because the customer’s satisfaction POST SALE is no longer their concern. . . This is similar to the experience you will get with a backyard breeder. Someone who doesn’t create dogs for purpose. Someone who doesn’t create dog to be a well built family companion, and most importantly, someone who breeds a dog without mental and structural stability. . . The van looked great and operated great when I saw it, but add a little bit of daily work to it, and it broke. A puppy from a bad breeder may seem fine, but wait for it to mature and become the dog it was genetically destined to become, and you will experience the dogs real problems. . . The other problem is the lack of support. Once the sale is done, they will usually continue to pump out dogs for cash and forget you ever existed. Remember guys, do your research, get a good dog, and you won’t have to spend nearly as much on training or at the vet. . . A good breeder will take the dog back if you have problems with it, because they stand behind what they create. A good breeder will support you in your struggles, and a good breeder will make sure the dog isn’t going to cost you a vet trip every month (within reason). . . If you are wondering where Broly is in this photo, he is off being a jerk somewhere and wouldn’t lay down for the photo

As Maggie sits and enjoys her coffee, she can’t help but be amazed at how far dogs have come in this city (Toronto) alone. People actually move aside to let dogs pass on the sidewalk. Many more dogs are under control and also, more people seem to be seeking training than ever because there are better options. . . I remember when I used to walk downtown and midtown with Moxie daily back in 2014, there were lots of bad dogs and naive owners to go along with it. Everyone would r...ush their dogs up to Moxie for leash greetings and when I said No they would still force a leash meeting or let their dog run up to mine. I had to resort to saying f*** off please to everyone. Nowadays, around my area, people seem to be a lot more respectful and educated. Dog ownership and etiquette has definitely changed. We see more dogs walk in a heel position. More dogs walk with training tools, and more people walking with treat pouches . . . With that being said, there is still a long way to go. We still hear lots of bad stories. We still have dogs come in after seeing multiple trainers and wasting thousands of dollars, and we still get barked at by lots of reactive dogs who haven’t received any training. . . The important thing is, times are far better now than they used to be. The dark era of insane pure positive trainers is fading and dog ownership is starting to look easier for the average person . This is all thanks to the great communities that spread helpful informational. If you ever feel that sharing a post won’t make much of a difference, or posting about you and your dog’s training successes, trust me it does! . . I also can’t speak for liberty village in this post. That place is still the Wild West and there are some wild dogs and dog owners down there. Love you guys but good luck walking your dogs down there lol. . . #dogtrainingtoronto #dogtraining #dogtrainernyc #dogtrainingtips #dogaggression #dogaggressionrehab #aggressivedog #torontodogtrainer #dogtrainertoronto #dogrehabilitation #dogrehab #reactivedog #reactivedogsunite

RUFFLAND KENNEL GIVEAWAY . . Hi guys, I will be putting in my Ruffland Kennel Bulk order at the end of the month and have decided to give away ONE CUSTOM SIZED, CUSTOM COLOUR KENNEL. -... SIZE OPTIONS ARE: SMALL/MEDIUM/LARGE/ XL - COLOUR OPTIONS: ORANGE/TAN/WHITESTONE - Rules to enter 1. Must be following @k9expeditions 2. Like this photo 3. Tag 4 friends in the comments 4. Closes OCTOBER 1, 2020 at 10AM OPTIONAL: Share to your story for an extra entry (public accounts only) - Winner will be randomly selected. We are willing to ship to all of North America. May be a small customs/shipping fee for US participants. . . #giveaway #dogkennel #dogtraining #dogproductgiveaway #dogcontest See more

I was trimming some of the bushes in my yard today, and for the first time, these two started playing with sticks. Sticks can be very useless and also a bad obsession for dogs. I have never really given them an opportunity to develop an obsession with sticks, but today it was obvious that this would quickly become a neurotic obsession for them. . . Tail chasing, laser pointers, shadows and sticks are all neurotic substitutes for your dog to attempt to fulfill their drive requ...irements. For the sake of this post, I will only talk about sticks. . . Sticks can be found everywhere. In the yard, trail, and on walks. They can cause lots of damage to your dogs teeth and gums, but they are most dangerous when ingested. If your dog develops an obsessions with chewing on sticks, they will definitely ingest small parts of them. . . Since sticks are everywhere, your dog will exit the house in a neurotic state of mind if they constantly chew on sticks. It will become their new obsession and they will always search for them. I stopped my two guys from chewing on these dumb sticks after about 30sec. . . Remember that you build your dog’s obsessions and habits. Your dog can either be obsessed with sticks, or be obsessed with you. It’s similar to our obsessions. We can be obsessed with junk food, or obsessed with our health. Have you noticed this behaviour at all with your dogs? A good substitute is a fetching toy that you can throw around and will help build engagement with your dog. See more

My dog is actually better off leash than on leash. . . . This is a saying I hear pretty often, and the dogs behaviour is always the same. It is actually extremely unlikely for a dog to be better off leash than on leash if you really think about it. ... . . If a dog is on leash and you tell them to sit, will they sit? If they don’t, you can bet they won’t when they’re off leash. . . If a dog is on leash and you tell them to come when they run to the end of their leash which only happens to be 8ft long anyways, will they turn and come? If they don’t, do you really think they will when off leash? . . I had to address this because this is a dangerous mindset to have. Because you feel your dog is better off leash, you will want to leash walk them less and let them run around more. . . I understand why people would say this, it makes sense. There is no restraint, no leash pulling and no pain in your shoulder. It may give you an illusion that he is better off leash, but at the end of the day, the dog will not be as likely to listen to your obedience commands when they are off leash as opposed to on leash. . . This is the true determining factor to whether your dog can actually be off leash yet. How is their leash obedience? How is it with distractions? How is it in new environments? Can your dog still do everything you ask? Great. Then you can graduate to off leash. . . So remember, don’t go telling everyone your dog is actually better off leash than on leash, because that’s technically impossible. You are basically asking your dog to do the exact same things with a restraint vs without a restraint. The dog will always be more obedient while kept on a leash. See more

Has anyone ever said that your dog is just like you? I used to hear this all the time with Moxie. We had similar personalities. She was always hungry, would eat until she’s about to explode but would also enjoy sleeping for a whole day and watching movies. She was also relatively stubborn. She had Suggestion Holes instead of ears, which I do as well . . . I remember the first time I heard this phrase, I was at a track practice 10 years ago. Moxie was with me and we went to... the hotdog stand with some friends. We all bought 2 hot dogs. One of my friends couldn’t finish theirs so they gave the rest of it to me, as it was being handed to me, My other friend dropped their hotdog and Moxie inhaled it in under 1 millisecond. We both ate our hotdogs that were handed to us without even taking a second to breathe. They watched and said wow. Like owner, like dog . . The second time I heard this, Moxie came with me to a meeting and one of my friends decided to bring lasagna. She usually gave me her leftovers because she could never finish her lunch and she always knew I was hungry even after finishing my lunch. Moxie went right up to her as she was eating, and stared at her while drooling . It was like she knew she wasn’t going to finish the meal and hand it over. Like owner like dog she said. . . I don’t think I have many similarities to Scooter and Broly, but as the days go on, Scooter is becoming a little more relatable . I also haven’t heard that phrase regarding these two. . . What about you guys? Do you and your dog have any similar traits? Do people say you are just like your dog? Let us know See more

Here’s an annoying little pattern we’ve noticed over the years in dog training. It’s the Dog Trainer spouse. If I can get more specific and narrow it down, it’s the Know it all Dog Boyfriend. Sometimes it’s not the boyfriend, sometimes it’s the girlfriend, but it’s usually the more masculine member of the relationship. . . It has become annoying because these spouses fly into our facility with a bunch of non existent dog training credentials. They bark nonsense louder tha...n reactive dogs when they hear a doorbell . . . I’ll tell you a few quotes I’ve heard this year from these spouses. . When my wife says anything to the dog he doesn’t listen but when I say things, he’s sharp and extremely obedient . . I usually reply with ok call your dog and tell him to come sit then. . They proceed to call their dog only to be ignored by the dog and they follow it up with a this is a new environment excuse . . Here’s another one: . . I know how to train the dog, I’ve had perfectly trained dogs my whole life. She just needs the help. . And I usually reply with ok why doesn’t she just pay you then lol . . These are some short examples, but we hear it all the time. Most of the time, these spouses come around and realize they actually don’t know anything. However at the beginning of training, this can postpone and also jeopardize success. If one person is committed to training, the entire household needs to become a student to the process of bettering the dog. . . I have also noticed it more this year when male spouses talk to @dogtrainercass . It’s almost as if a female trainer in today’s society gives them the impression that they don’t exactly need to take things seriously. Unfortunate, but still happens. . . If you are one of these people, stop being a douchebag lol. You don’t know anything about dog training and your dog can barely do 1% of the things you claim it can. Sometimes you have to realize that your absolute BEST decisions still brought you to a dog trainer, so maybe it’s time to stop making decisions and let professionals decide. . . 90% that come in are a team. The 10% is where we see these problems. See more

Remember that there are Google Dog Experts, YouTube/Instagram Dog experts, Neighbourhood Dog Experts Uncle and Aunt who have had dogs their whole lives and the worst one out there The guy who thinks he’s an expert because he watched every season of Cesar Milan’s Dog Whisperer . . . When it comes to research and troubleshooting, I’m not trying to step on anyone, but it would almost seem obvious by now to consult a professional for help. Funny thing is, I sometimes m...ake these mistakes as well. . . For example, I have been designing and getting some products manufactured. Instead of consulting a professional with a proven track record of manufacturing and selling products online successfully, I decided to ask people I know for their opinions on the topic. Even though they mean well, they have no direct experience on this topic. That means they are giving me advice that has not been tried, tested and true hundreds to thousands of times. . . I’m sure the people I spoke to meant well and wanted to help me, but this is similar to me giving someone auto mechanic advice. I have been driving a car all my life and have done minor repairs, but not enough repairs and only on my OWN car. Every car is different. . . The internet is also dangerous because instead of one person, you have hundreds to confuse you. It’s crazy. To make life easier, next time your dog does something crazy, ask yourself if you should Do it Yourself or consult a professional. Funny enough, the latter always seems to cost less in the end. See more

We have some lovely dogs up for adoption. Check out the page and let us know! Since COVID has been crazy for puppies, we are no longer taking in surrenders because our facility would be overflowing and honestly it has been exhausting. . . Yes they have behavioural issues, but with the right mindset and work ethic, you can make things work out.

Hi everyone. . . Since our pack walk was cancelled in March due to COVID-19, we thought we should at least have one before summer ends! .... . We would love to invite you to join us on our first ever pack walk. A safe environment for you to enjoy a walk with your dogs and other responsible dog owners. A great chance for owners to work their dogs in a distracting environment with our help and feedback. . . Rules for the walk: No On-Leash Greetings with dogs No uninvited interactions with other owner’s dogs. Feel free to tell us about any concerns beforehand and we will advocate for you. this is for current and past clients only. If you would like to come and haven’t worked with us but have a trained dog, please DM me and we can sort something out. . . Once again, there is not cost for this walk. We will be meeting at Sunnybrook park at 3pm on Aug 23. I will confirm an exact meeting location in the park closer to the day! If you have any questions prior to this walk, please DM us: @forwarddogtraining @dogtrainercass @k9expeditions . . We are looking forward to seeing you all! See more

The two ostriches standing in front of their van, which I have now named the ostrich-mobile . Broly looks like a moron in this photo because this is likely the longest he has ever sat still in his life. A whopping 7 seconds. . . If you see us on the road give us a honk .... If you are walking and you see us, give us a wave . And if we are parked, come say hi to Scooter and Broly . . On a side note, if you are taking your dogs anywhere, beware of school parks. I imagine that lots of kids are going to hang out there because it’s summer but it seems the clean up teams are not working. There are McDonald’s cups, water bottles, face masks and assorted litter everywhere. To the point where I had to be too alert today. The safest places to hang out with your dogs during this pandemic still seems to be baseball diamonds and soccer fields! See more

Lost my best friend Moxie a year ago today. This photo was taken a day before she died on August 1 2019. . It’s almost as if she’s saying ok Scooter listen. Tomorrow is my day so take care of my human. You are a complete idiot and you need to grow up. . .... Sassy until the end See more

Hi everyone, . . Here is a quick little illustration to show you what I consider as safe during transport with a dog. .... . Dogs should be crated while driving. I know it’s not always possible, but try your best to restrain your dog while driving. If you get in an accident, you have a seatbelt. If your dog does not, injury is almost guaranteed. . . With that being said, I do my best to be responsible even though I heavily enjoy having my dogs beside me in the passenger seat. The only reason I don’t do it often is due to safety. . . If you don’t have space for a crate, try a well made seatbelt harness. They are decent if a crate doesn’t fit in your vehicle. . . Personally, I like using crates that are just BARELY bigger than the dog. This will minimize the movement of the dog in the crate at high speeds. The less movement of the dog in the car of an accident, the lower chance of injury. . . I also use tie downs from Home Depot to secure the crates to the floor of my van. This ensures that the crates don’t move in the case of an accident. If crates don’t move, and the dogs barely move, there will be very minimal chance of injury. The only thing missing is an ultra heavy duty crate...but those are pricey and will have to wait . . . How do you travel with your dogs? Any tips? See more

A huge thank you to @progressive_k9 for not only getting me this amazing and super sweet dog, but also helping me raise him properly for sport and competition. . . Rob and Alexis have been super helpful and have a wealth of knowledge when it comes to dog training and raising a working dog properly. .... . Every time I see them, I learn so much. People often ask, Who do you learn from? Remember that every trainer, has a trainer(s) and mentor(s). @progressive_k9 has been a great mentor through this new and unknown process for me. . . We get a lot of calls that are a little ridiculous, and they often go like: . I want my dog to be aggressive I need a good guard dog I want my dog to attack on command Or the worst of them all, Can my husky be a good protection dog? . . . A lot of these dumb questions come from lots of online misinformation , people and local trainers. These guys cleared up a lot of things for me especially when it came to picking a proper dog for myself. . . Very glad to have a connection like them in my life and for all the help they provide. See more

It’s always good to be as black or white as possible when it comes to classifying your dog’s behaviour. It is easier to develop better behaviour when you first decide if your dog can do the behaviour reliably or not. . . For example if your dog knows sit but will only do it when there are no distractions and you have a treat in your hand, your dog is unable to perform any obedience in front of distractions. .... . If your dog is good with people that he has already met 10 times, but barks and growls at strangers, I would classify that as BAD with strangers. Some people would say that the dog is good after he gets to know you. The dangerous thing is that in the period of getting to know them there could be a bite involved since the behaviour wasn’t classified properly and they didn’t take the proper safety protocols. . . Instead of saying my dog walks great on leash somedays, and pulls on others or my dog walks great after she’s tired it’s a better idea to just classify that as bad leash walking because a dog should walk reliably well after training despite any serious changes in the environment. . . Finally, I personally would consider the come command as the most dangerous command to not classify properly. If your dog is great 80% of the time but won’t recall when he sees that one dog, squirrel or skunk, then I would consider recall Not Reliable . . The dangerous thing about classifying these behaviours in a wishy-washy manner, is because no dog gets hurt when they are listening or being reliable. It’s the small percentage of time when they DONT have reliable behaviour that gets them in the most trouble. This includes biting strangers, getting hit by a car while chasing something, pulling you down the stairs on a walk and attacking another dog. See more

As Scooter goes for his usual neighbourhood walk, he notices an increased amount of junk and garbage. . . He looks at me and asks father why are people throwing their disposable muzzles on the ground? .... . I don’t know Scooter. I replied . . As we kept walking Scooter noticed a lot more junk and people throwing recycling in the trash. . . He looked at me and said how can people ruin this nice planet like that? . . I said relax Scooter. Our facility doesn’t have a city truck that comes by to pick up recycling so we have to throw everything in the community garbage bin. . . You monster. Bring me back to the human muzzle (face mask) we saw earlier. I have given up . . He proceeded to fall over and die beside the mask. . . Everyone please tell Scooter that the planet isn’t so bad and there are good things in the world so he can restore some faith in humans See more

Here is a quick little example of why I will never be able to compete with Scooter in dog sports and why I am such an advocate for getting a well bred dog. . . I have no history of Scooter’s genetics since he was surrendered to me by someone who got him from a backyard breeder. I know the breeder but have not bothered to call or research because she gave Scooter to an irresponsible and unqualified owner that barely lasted 2 months with him as a puppy. .... . After building Scooter’s confidence and focusing solely on him becoming comfortable with environmental changes, he was still cautious of this large piece of leather. It probably frightened him because it was on the stairs and fell causing a loud noise. Broly however, saw the leather roll and started carrying it without a care in the world . . . Some may say things like he was abused by large leather rolls which is a ridiculous and dumb statement. Scooter will always be cautious around new things that appear out of nowhere. He doesn’t come from a line of well bred dogs with solid nerves. . . These two were raised the same, with the same level of confidence building. I would say Scooter has actually had more environmental exposure than Broly, but Broly tackles any obstacle without concern. . . It’s always good to expose your dog to everything possible, but never forget that certain dogs have inherent issues that will always be there. . . Two dogs, raised the the same, but very different reactions. See more

If there’s one phrase out there that consistently gives me brain damage it’s My dog is so sweet and so loving to me and my family, but he (insert common phrase which always includes biting humans and dogs) . . . Let’s take these two for example. Sepco on the right will bite the hell out of a stranger. You show up at her house unannounced and bam. Mauled.... . . Then we have Jasper. This dummy will attack you over a beef marrow bone. He will also attack a dog for no reason if he doesn’t know them. He’s always looking for conflict. . . Now I know both these dogs are sweet to me, but I know them and their sweetness is irrelevant when their teeth are deep in your leg. . . The reason I hate hearing that statement is that no one ever ever ever ever ever sends their dog for behaviour modification training based on the good behaviour, so why even mention it? I would say it’s mostly a coping mechanism. Instead of telling me the dog is pure evil, they tell me a fluffed up story for 3 minutes followed up by 2 seconds of bad. . . I prefer when people are straight up and tell me My dog is from hell I’m sure of it Or: My dog is a complete jerk . . This actually helps the rehabilitation process because the human being is now in full acceptance of their dogs behaviour and is willing to make some changes. . . Remember guys, the first step is to admit the dog has a problem, and to stop making excuses for them. See more

Here are a couple of dog terms that people have a hard time differentiating. Is your dog social with people or is your dog friendly? What is the difference? . . Let take me as a human being in a basketball court shooting hoops for example. I am enjoying my time shooting hoops and a stranger comes up to me asking if he can shoot hoops with me. I would say No. Why? Because I want to be alone and don’t feel like interacting with this stranger because it takes too much ment...al energy and I don’t feel like building a new relationship at this moment. I just want to shoot some hoops alone. The stranger is Social because he wants to make new friends and play a game together. I however, am not Social because I would rather shoot hoops alone. . . However, this same situation can happen with one of my good friends. I can be shooting hoops and one of my good friends can appear and ask the same question. I would obviously say yes because I enjoy their company. This means I am friendly to people I already know. Me saying yes in this situation does not make me more social because I already know this person. If I said no, I would be neither friendly or social. I would just be a jerk . . . For dogs, you may have a dog that is very friendly with people and dogs that they already know. They may be sweet, playful and affectionate. But what if a new dog or person comes into the picture? Would they warm up as quickly? If they don’t, I would not consider them social by my definition. . . If your dog is social that means they would happily play with any and all creatures that move. Basically a happy-go lucky extrovert. . . That’s how I like to differentiate them anyways. Your dog is either social, friendly, or ......neither lol . How would you consider your dog in new situations? let us know See more

Today I told the little Scooty that he wasn’t doing his part in the household. Be more useful or I’ll put you on Kijiji for rehoming I said . . . Scooty immediately realized that it was time to become a more productive member to society instead of just a mooch. Scooter realized that I had been figuring out how to get to 10k followers on Instagram quickly. He immediately went on amazon and ordered a few books so he could study and help. .... . As Scooty studies and studies, he is realizing that the world of social media and online marketing can be pretty difficult. It’s also very difficult for him to study and help when Broly keeps pushing toys in his face. . . Big brother why you no play? He keeps asking. Because I need to help father little Broly so leave me alone. He threatened to put me on Kijiji. He replied . . . What would you guys like to see? Giveaways? Video posts? Memes? Scooter needs your help. Let us know and we will deliver See more