Private Dog Training
Did you know that Companion Veterinary Clinic is the first Fear Free Certified Practice in Alberta?
We are passionate about preventing and managing fear, anxiety, and stress in your pets — not only during medical visits but also through our ethical, welfare-focused training methods. Our focus is on positive reinforcement, compassion and strengthening the bond you have with your dog! The best way to help anyone change how they behave is by understanding them, guiding them to make the best choices and supporting them to feel good about themselves, and this is true of our animals as well.
It will be recommended that all animals contact their veterinarian to rule out any medical concerns that could be contributing to your pet’s behaviour.
Private Dog Training Services in Edmonton
Private Puppy Training
If you have a new puppy in the home, it is important to understand normal puppy behaviour, prevent unwanted behaviour and set your puppy up for success.
We offer:
- Preventative training for puppies! Start your new puppy off on the right paw with an enrichment plan, safe socialization techniques, and management strategies. Learn how to set up a confinement space, positive reinforcement training techniques for house training, how to deal with puppy biting, crate training and more!
- Foundation behaviours: Leash equipment conditioning, place, recall, down, touch, loose leash walking, and veterinary husbandry skills (nail trims, bathing)
Interested in group classes? We offer classes for puppies aged 8 to 24 weeks!
Senior Dog Training & Enrichment
We are also passionate about making sure that quality of life for our senior pets is as good as we can make it.
As dogs age, they can have sore joints, vision and hearing loss, and increased anxiety. Our training team is made up of Registered Veterinary Technologists, and so we are uniquely qualified to understand medical challenges and are committed to ensuring all training is done safely.
We can help by:
- Showing you how to set up your home so that it’s friendly, safe, and comfortable for your senior dog (clear movement paths, stairs, etc)
- Creating an enrichment plan to help your senior pet exercise their mind and body and keep them active and engaged in life
- Incorporating training into their routine to help with cognitive health
Cooperative Care, Grooming, Husbandry & More!
It is vital that your pet is comfortable with touch, medication administration and husbandry as these are important for their care.
Examples include:
- Husbandry & grooming: Learn about consent, how to use a nail board and trim nails, Fear Free techniques for brushing, bathing, dental care, and more
- New pet introductions
- Veterinary handling and cooperative care: Learn about consent, medication administration, and how to set your pet up for success during veterinary exams and procedures
- Winter wear and equipment: Teach your dog to enjoy putting on their jacket, boots, harness, and more
Behaviour Modification & Consulting
The list of behaviour issues that could be causing you concern as a dog guardian is long. Fortunately, we are up for the challenge! We offer private behaviour modification services for a variety of concerns.
Some behaviours are serious and require immediate attention because they can be dangerous to your dog both emotionally and physically, and can negatively affect your quality of life as a dog guardian. For example, we offer training services to address the following:
- Distress when being left alone
- Predation behaviour
- Fear and/or anxiety related aggression toward people and/or animals
- Aggression between household dogs
Depending on the severity of the above behaviour concerns, we may refer you to a Veterinary Behaviourist for assistance.
Other behaviours, while not dangerous, are still frustrating and require training to manage them! Working to understand why these undesirable behaviours are being displayed, how we can help you meet your dog’s needs as well as train alternative behaviours are some of the aspects of our training program. For example, we can help with:
- Nuisance behaviours: counter surfing, rushing the front door, jumping on visitors, climbing on tables
- Pulling on-leash
- Lack of recall
Fears, Anxieties & Phobias
Sometimes our pets need help with their emotions, just like people! We offer a gentle, Fear Free approach to help your dog with:
- Separation Distress
- Cognitive decline (disorientation, house-soiling, anxiety, sleep-wake disruptions, etc.)
- Fear and/or anxiety related behaviours including excessive barking, fear of people, animals, scenarios and/or environments
- Fears and phobias: thunderstorms, fireworks, etc.
- Behaviour on-leash: lunging, barking and growling at people or animals, fear of outside stimuli while on walks
ALL animals will receive a veterinary examination to rule out any medical concerns that could be contributing to your pet’s behaviour.
Contact Our Training Team
Note: We’re currently at capacity and unable to take on new clients for training. Please email us at training@companionvet.ca for a list of recommendations, or let us know if you’d like to be notified when we can take on new clients.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Yes! We will come to your home in Edmonton for private training sessions. For areas outside of Edmonton (St. Albert, Sherwood Park, Beaumont, Spruce Grove) we charge an additional travel fee.
Absolutely! We can meet with you virtually over Zoom for private training.
You’re welcome to request a specific trainer, but there are no guarantees. We match trainers to clients based on who is the best fit to help with each specific issue.
All of our trainers are Fear Free Certified and have graduated from the Karen Pryor Academy Dog Trainer Professional program. Beyond that, our trainers individually hold a variety of credentials and certifications.
This is certainly convenient, but not required! Depending on what your behaviour concerns are, we may request a referral from your veterinarian so that we can work with your dog’s veterinary team.
If the issue is frustration and/or fear/anxiety on-leash, we can set up scenarios with other dogs to create real-world situations that you might encounter while walking your dog. But we are not set up to introduce your dog to other dogs and set up socialization opportunities. Contact us for a list of our colleagues that you can reach out to who do provide these opportunities.
That really depends on the behaviour concerns. Generally, we can see most new clients within 2-4 weeks.
No, we will never recommend the use of aversive tools. These tools are painful and they not only cause our pets to make negative associations with people and stimuli in their environment, but they also cause apathetic learners, increase fear, anxiety, and stress, and do not teach the dog what they are supposed to do instead.
Learn more about choosing a dog trainer and red flags to watch for.
Reviews & Testimonials
