My life with dogs started with a Beagle named Marshall when I was 13.
No one in my family knew anything about dogs or training. We didn't understand the animal we brought home to live with us. My family's experience with Marshall is a very common one across North America today. Until the day he died, he wasn't a "good" dog by any means- he got into the trash, ate things off the ground including dead animals, had ZERO recall, had ZERO obedience, loved to counter and table surf and would howl out the window at people and dogs going by... And that's our fault because we weren't better informed owners.Â
I promised myself when I grew up and got a dog, it would be the best dog ever.
Which brought me to Django.
The TL;DR version is: The people I lived with got a dog on a whim (No planning or research, none of the basic supplies ready or even knew which vet they were going to go to for his shots.) They just got on Kijiji, found a listing, thought he was cute and it would be fun. Fast forward four weeks and it was too much for them so I took him.
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Keeping the promise I made to myself even though, this wasn't how I planned or hoped I would get my own "first dog", I went to work on training right away and we went through:
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My own DIY training (YouTube University)
Major corporation (purely positive)
ALL the "popular" trainers on social media Â
Electric collar and prong collar
Six different trainers in my area, including three police K9 trainers
A 4 week board and train with one of the police K9/ working dog handlers
Koehler method - KMODT online (choke collar)
Several seminars and online courses hosted by "Popular" trainers​
Our vet recommending he take Trazadone prior to vet visits for his fear aggression (At 4-6 months old)
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At this point, Django was turning three and I had easily spent over thirty hours each week training and researching what I could do, what was I missing. I spent more than $7,000 and driven tens of thousands of kilometers and he only got more confused and I got more frustrated. I didn't get it, why wasn't any of this helping?
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Maybe some of that sounds familiar?
Spend a LOT of time and money, travel great distances and STILL struggle? Your frustrated with yourself, frustrated with the dog and ask WHY isn't any of this working? You do what this video said, what this trainer showed you, bought all the right equipment and it's more or less the same.
Unfortunately, this is a common theme now when it comes to dog ownership and training.
I guarantee what I have to offer is far beyond what anyone in Simcoe county has to offer in terms of understanding dog communication and solving behavioural problems. I have spent every dollar and minute I possibly could on learning everything there is learn about understanding dog behaviour at an atomic level. I spent my life savings and left a secure, well paying  job with benefits to work under the guide of some of the most decorated, distinguished, and well rounded trainers in North America, who hold multiple titles in pretty much every discipline and sport you can compete in.Â
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Real Life Canines is NOT purely positive and we do NOT use any unnecessary equipment. Relying on equipment, food and toys in not sustainable. Think of a relationship you have with another person. If the relationship is held together by something outside of the communication between you, there won't be reliability or sustainability.
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Our training "method" is a dialogue, it's simply a conversation between handler and dog. I have to do the behavioral "forensics" to find out what the underlying issues are. After that, we go back to your foundation and start repairing it before we move on. When we can look at a dog and understand what it sees, how it perceives things and what it's saying to us, we can begin to "speak" back in a clear, fair and appropriate way.Â
I am a minimalist with training, meaning it's me and the dog and I want to keep the metaphorical and psychological lines of communication between us very short and clear of "static."
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It's a point of pride that my training is truly balanced. True balance is in my communication, it's fair, clear, appropriate and unique to each dog I work with. We don't follow trends or do what's popular.
No assembly line, fast food, cookie cutter training.
Real Life Canines has been and always will be about the dog and what's right for the dog.Â
All the money, five star reviews, social media followers and popularity will never matter more than doing the right thing.
If you're frustrated and tired of the same old, when you're ready to change your perspective...
We'll be here. No judgement.Â
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