City Dogs Training & Behaviour

🚩 GROWLING IS GOOD DOG COMMUNICATION.

A growl isn’t your dog being “bad” or “dominant.” It’s your dog’s way of saying:

➡️ “I’m uncomfortable.”
➡️ “I need more space.”
➡️ “Please stop.”

Think of a growl as a warning system. It’s valuable information that tells us how our dog is feeling before they feel the need to escalate.

⚠️ Punishing a growl doesn’t change the underlying emotion. It may simply teach your dog that warning signals aren’t safe to use. The fear or discomfort is still there only now, the next warning may be a bite.

Instead of punishing the growl:
🐾 Pause what you’re doing.
🐾 Give your dog space.
🐾 Ask yourself why they felt the need to growl.
🐾 Work to change the emotion behind the behavior through counterconditioning and working with a veterinarian or veterinary behaviorist to treat the aggression if frequent/significant.
Our goal isn’t to stop communication—it’s to help our dogs feel safe enough that they don’t need to growl in the first place.

💙 Listen to the growl. It’s your dog’s way of talking to you.

⬇️ Have you ever learned something important because your dog growled? Let us know in the comments.

Back by popular demand!

Our first Off-Leash Dogs Happen... Now What? webinar filled up so quickly that Karen Baxter from Unified K9 Behaviour Centre and I are doing it again!

Join us for a FREE live webinar packed with practical, real-world strategies to help you navigate unexpected off-leash dog encounters with confidence.

🐾 Be prepared—not panicked.

📅 Sunday, July 5
🕙 10:00 AM (ET)
💻 Live on Zoom

👉 Register here: https://citydogstrainingbehaviour.thinkific.com/products/live_events/off-leash-dogs

We can't wait to see you there!

𝗡𝗘𝗪! 𝗦𝗲𝗺𝗶-𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀

Not every dog needs a full private program.
Not every dog thrives in a group class.

That's why I've created Semi-Private City Skills Sessions—a carefully matched training experience designed around your goals.

Whether you're working on:
🐕 Loose Leash Walking
🎾 Reliable Recall
☕ Calm in Public

𝙄'𝙡𝒍 𝒑𝙖𝒊𝙧 𝙮𝒐𝙪 𝙬𝒊𝙩𝒉 𝒂𝙣𝒐𝙩𝒉𝙚𝒓 𝒅𝙤𝒈 𝒘𝙤𝒓𝙠𝒊𝙣𝒈 𝒐𝙣 𝙨𝒊𝙢𝒊𝙡𝒂𝙧 𝙨𝒌𝙞𝒍𝙡𝒔, 𝙨𝒐 𝒚𝙤𝒖 𝒄𝙖𝒏 𝒑𝙧𝒂𝙘𝒕𝙞𝒄𝙚 𝙩𝒐𝙜𝒆𝙩𝒉𝙚𝒓 𝒊𝙣 𝙧𝒆𝙖𝒍-𝒍𝙞𝒇𝙚 𝙚𝒏𝙫𝒊𝙧𝒐𝙣𝒎𝙚𝒏𝙩𝒔 𝒘𝙞𝒕𝙝 𝙥𝒆𝙧𝒔𝙤𝒏𝙖𝒍𝙞𝒛𝙚𝒅 𝒄𝙤𝒂𝙘𝒉𝙞𝒏𝙜 𝙚𝒗𝙚𝒓𝙮 𝙨𝒕𝙚𝒑 𝒐𝙛 𝙩𝒉𝙚 𝙬𝒂𝙮.

✨ Just $85 per dog

Complete the interest form, tell me about your dog and your goals, and I'll take care of the matching.

Fill out the interest form to get matched:

Contact - citydogs.ca City Dogs Training & Behaviour Co. provides expert, science-based training and behaviour support for city dogs and their humans.

Only three spots left for the Downtown Foundations Class! Join us today!

🎉 The very first ParCORE Dogs Foundations Class is here! 🐾

📍 Financial District (Berczy Park & surrounding areas)
📅 Thursdays — June 11th–25th
⏰ 7:00–7:45pm
💲 $180

Registration through City Dogs Training & Behaviour:
https://citydogs.ca/contact/

Join City Dogs Training & Behaviour for the inaugural Downtown Foundations (Level 1) class and discover how ParCORE can completely transform your walks through:

✨ Connection
✨ Optimism
✨ Resilience
✨ Engagement

Using everyday city spaces as your playground, ParCORE helps dogs build confidence, focus, and optimism in the real world — making it especially beneficial for nervous, shy, energetic, or reactive dogs.

Learn more about ParCORE Levels & Titles:
https://parcoredogs.com/parcore-levels-%26-titles