Cultured Canines

Puppy training is great, if a little story-heavy! We learned a lot and now our doggo is very well-behaved. They also sell hip belts and leashes, which we still use, and prong collars/e-collars, which were very useful in early training days. They’re a little like their doggos - very responsive and friendly! ??

Our Henry just completed the COOL Course. Before Cultured Canines he would get overexcited and scream at every person or dog he saw. By the time we did the last in-person session he calmly joined the group and participated in all of the activities without getting overexcited. Beth and all of the trainers are super willing to answer questions and help find solutions. This was the first treat-free class I've taken and, while I was apprehensive at first, I never once felt that Beth's methods were cruel. The trainers will work with you to get you comfortable with the process. This course is definitely worth the investment and we’re excited to keep coming to class! Photo of Henry shopping at Winners on Whyte Ave in Edmonton, AB. Never thought we'd be able to take him to such an exciting place, but thanks to Cultured Canines the possibilities are limitless.

Great training course that has online and in person elements, which makes adding training seamless into our sometimes busy lives. Love that the drop ins are available after you "graduate"! We have a super challenging husky mix and whenever she's around, Amanda always goes above and beyond – giving us tips and calmly guiding us. Love the rest of the team as well! Thanks everyone :)

Lucas and the team have been brilliant with our 8 month Irish Doodle, Chester. He has come home a different dog after his Board and Train. He is so responsive to all the commands the team taught him. Its a pleasure to walk him and just hang out with him. Lucas and the team were so patient with my husband and I and ensured we had regular updates from them as to how Chester was doing. In addition the follow up sessions have been invaluable to ensure we maintain all the goodness Chester was taught whilst also ensure we are the best 'fur parents' we can be. Thanks again guys and we wouldn't hesitate to use the team at Cultured Canines again. Rhona and Ian

I did cultured Canine's COOL Course with my rescue dog, Summer. Before Beth's help, my dog really didn't respect me at all and I was scared to walk her or take her anywhere because she was just out of control. After completing the course I was able to walk my dog without worry and do a number or commands with her. I can even drop her leash and have her continue to walk beside me. I loved the course so much that I did it again with my other dog, Morty. Now I feel so much more confident taking them out in public.

My niece dog did her classes here and is welcome EVERYWHERE. When I dogsit, she is respectful of my cat, she comes to visit the antique mall and gets rave reviews, and even visits my elderly parents’ house with me and is very gentle with their geriatric cats. If I ever get my own dog they’ll be taking classes at Cultured Canines, no questions asked!!!

I have just finished the COOL course with Cultured Canines and I can’t say enough about the difference it has made both for my 3 year old dog who was in the class, and for my 10.5 year old who wasn’t but who has also benefited. Probably the best part of the course is that it takes place outside in the real world and always in a different location each session so that the dogs get to experience so many new things. The training is designed to help you problem solve, build confidence and skills and manage trouble behaviours and work towards better replacement behaviours so that no matter the situation you are in you can get your dog through it. At the beginning we were provided with a package that included notes and the homework for each session, plus we were given handouts most sessions if there was a particular topic that needed a bit more explaining. Hope is a dog who came to us just a few months ago. We brought her home from Belize, and she lived a very different lifestyle and rarely left her house or yard as it’s not really safe to walk small dogs there as there are so many big stray dogs everywhere. So she needed to adapt to lots of things and was very fearful and reactive. Walking her on pathways was harder and harder as she would bark and lunge at everything and everyone. It was humiliating trying to walk and control her. The skills and confidence she has learned through this course has been life changing. I wholeheartedly recommend Cultured Canines to any dog owner who is struggling or just not enjoying your dog as much as you want. This class will definitely change that. Also it was such a nice touch to get a certificate and ribbon at the end:)

I couldn’t recommend this course (C.O.O.L) more. Beth and her team are magic; working with them was the best decision I have ever made for my dog. Bear was rescued from California, brought to Canada during the pandemic, and showed up at 2.5 years old with extreme anxiety and reactivity. I had never owned a reactive dog before and immediately hired a trainer after he escaped his body harness during a walk while reacting to another dog. The first trainer recommended he go on medication, the second trainer put him in a situation where another dog attacked him while he was muzzled. After that, we avoided all busy times of day and busy places, we walked at sunrise or quite late at night. It worked for us and he seemed happy. Cultured Canines had a class in my area and I was really impressed with how the instructors interacted with each dog and owner- even the reactive ones so I decided to try it out. Our first class was definitely hard, but Bear was sitting at the very far back of the class by the end of it and even participating in a group walk (as the last dog in the line but he did it). The second class he did slightly better, same with the third and so on. We always stayed in the back or on the edge of the circle BUT the progress we made changed us both. It gave me more confidence to handle him in any situation- they gave me the tools to help him thrive and to set him up for success. My dog can now walk past another dog, sometimes better then others, but he can do it and I can gauge his reaction to stop it before it gets heightened. He is no longer scared of joggers, bikers or skateboarders. He sits calmly in the backyard, he can hold stay even when another dog is walking by us. He loves his walks now, we still avoid very busy times in popular parks but he continues to make progress and is a really calm, fully engaged, dog while we walk. His entire demeanour has changed and while he’s always been a lovely dog inside the house, he’s now that dog outside the house as well. His anxiety is gone and his reactivity has been significantly reduced- I know we will only get better from here. Owning a reactive dog is hard, people confuse it for aggression and there is a lot of judgment sometimes- but it’s also been one is the most rewarding experiences of my life. Bear is all love, but the world scares him, and now we know how to put in the work to overcome that and we’ve both benefited. We were never judged in that class, even when it was hard and both of us were frustrated. Beth and the other instructors showed patience, empathy and were really helpful in working through anything as it came up- they were unbelievably supportive, undeterred and judgement free. All dog and their owners would benefit from this course. They train owners and dogs alike. They made my anxious guy a happy one- and I love seeing him thrive. I will go back for regular training and plan to try barn hunting with them as well.