Dog Training Tips for Toronto Dog Owners
Browse our library of actionable dog & puppy training articles
Actionable advice for Toronto 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...
Expecting Puppy? Must-Have Books
Puppy arriving soon? Here are two books that we consider to be the absolute gold-standard in puppy raising/training books today. We're sharing this because we want to make sure that our prospective students get started on the right foot. Many of the best selling books...
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...
Webinar: Train Your Own Service Dog 101 – May 21, 7PM
Service animals can be life-changing, providing much-needed freedom to their handlers. Similar to a wheelchair or portable oxygen, service animals allow their handlers to participate fully in society by mitigating effects of a disability. There are two common ways...
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...
When Can You Start Walking Your Dog Without a Leash?
A question we get a lot here at When Hounds Fly is "when can I start walking my dog off leash?" It seems like it's a goal for a lot of people - almost like a sign their dog is well trained, to be able to walk around the city without a leash on. The answer we always...
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...
Well Socialized? No, Well Traumatized
Saturday Afternoon, 3:00PM, Trinity Bellwoods Dog Bowl This weekend I caught up with a couple that had taken group classes in the summer. Their roughly two year old rescue lab mix had been doing great. Right after adoption, leash pulling was their major problem, and...
Good Behaviour Depends on Good Health
If you've hired one of us from When Hounds Fly to discuss behaviour problems (fear, anxiety, reactivity, aggression), you'll remember that before we even talk about the behaviour problems, we spend time talking about the overall lifestyle of the dog. The House of Good...
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...
Dog Trick Seminar with The Ultimutts
Over the Easter long weekend, When Hounds Fly was lucky enough to have Melissa Millett of the Ultimutts come and help us level up our tricks training! View this post on Instagram A post shared by When Hounds Fly (@whenhoundsfly)...
Masks Stay After March 21, 2022
Important Announcement!After consulting with the entire instructor team, and polling our current and alumni students, and looking at supporting evidence, we are making the decision to continue requiring all participants of our group classes to wear a facemask covering...
January Classes Cancelled: What To Do – For Current Students
Dear Students, The State of Emergency/Stay at Home Order starting on January 14th has changed things for us again. As a result, When Hounds Fly’s services will be shifting once again to comply with the latest provincial order and municipal guidelines. Please continue...
Booking and Cancellation Policy Change – Effective Monday, June 8, 9:00AM
Changes to our Booking Policy Effective Monday, June 8, 9:00AM We’re just five days into our post-lockdown re-opening journey, and we thank everyone for their patience regarding getting into our classes. We’re navigating uncharted waters and learning as we go. And, we...
Reopening
Classroom Re-Opening Rules – Last Update – May 31, 2022 We are confident in our ability to run safe, effective, and enjoyable classroom experiences during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Part of the success of our classes is thanks to our students! Please see below for the...
As seen on:
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.