Dog Training Tips for Toronto Dog Owners
Browse our library of actionable dog & puppy training articles
Actionable advice for Toronto Dog Owners
We’re Thinking About Getting A Puppy.. Any Advice?
A couple of months ago I got an email from friends saying they had been thinking about it, and they wanted to get a puppy. They wanted some tips and also some feedback. They recently found a breeder that was selling Golden Doodles (Golden Retriever/Poodle crosses)...
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...
Five Tips to Keep Your Dog Exercised and Enriched When It’s Freezing Outside
As a dog guardian, you know how important exercise and mental stimulation are for your furry friend. But what do you do when the weather outside is frightful? Keeping your dog active and engaged during the cold months can be challenging, but it's not impossible. Here...
New Year’s Training Resolutions for Your Dog
Every year at this time, people worldwide make New Year's resolutions: returning to the gym, beginning a meditation practice, saving money, eating healthier, and many others. Unfortunately, 80% of these resolutions fail by mid-February. So, why not make a resolution...
Client Success: Lady’s Transformation from Terrified to Teacher’s Pet
Lady is a rescue from Texas.We picked her up from the back of a pickup truck in Niagara Falls, straight shot from Texas. The rescue didn’t even have foster homes, so she went straight to our house.When we first got her, she was afraid of everything. The first time she...
My Friendly Dog is Now Reactive! Help
By Rachael Johnston, KPA CTP As someone who works a lot with dogs and humans in the context of private lessons I commonly hear this story from many a confused and exasperated client: “My energetic puppy used to be friendly to all the dogs he met but now that he is a...
The Secret to Helping Your Reactive Dog
Written by Rachael Johnston, CPDT-KA, KPA CTP, Family Paws Educator If you are the owner of a leash reactive dog, you are not alone! In fact, many dog guardians in Toronto struggle with leash reactivity in their dogs. It is certainly not an uncommon sight in your...
My Dog Barks at Dogs and People Out The Window
Perhaps you know the house on your street where as soon as you walk by, you are greeted by a frantic and not-so-friendly sounding bark and bump on a glass window? Oh look, there's that dog - he always barks at us when we walk by this house. Many owners think that...
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,...
New Year’s Training Resolutions for Your Dog
Every year at this time, people worldwide make New Year's resolutions: returning to the gym, beginning a meditation practice, saving money, eating healthier, and many others. Unfortunately, 80% of these resolutions fail by mid-February. So, why not make a resolution...
Boxing Week Sale
Get ready to bring out the best in your pup with our exclusive Boxing Week Sale! Purchase any Puppy Start Right or Foundation Skills package during this period and enjoy a bonus 30-minute Flash Sale private lesson. It's personalized training, just for you and your...
Moving to Riverdale (836 Danforth Ave)
East End folks! We are moving our classes effective January 1st, 2024. We're looking forward to seeing you at 836 Danforth, Unit B, inside the new Pack of Paws Riverdale dog daycare. Conveniently located on the Bloor/Danforth subway line for transit users (check the...
Sarah Shapiro-Ward on BC Today with Michelle Eliot
Our head trainer in Vancouver, the spectacular Sarah Shapiro-Ward, wowed us all with her expert advice on BC Today’s new pet segment!
Pups and Pints: A Successful Night at The Redwood Theatre
We're pleased to announce that Sunday night's event was a success! Past and present students of When Hounds Fly gathered at The Redwood Theatre for a fun night filled with smiles, tail wags, treats, pints, and socialization. The proceeds of the night were happily...
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.