One on One Private Training

Dean is just exceptional. I’m a Vet Med professional and sought Dean out after hearing many good things from people who’ve worked with him. My dog recently started getting out of hand with his resource guarding, which before we were able to manage. Dean promptly responded to me and took the time out of his day to call me and listen to my concerns. He came that same weekend to come and assess the situation. He recommended tools and routines for my dog, and eased my stress about the whole situation. Dean is very experienced so if you’re ever worried your dog is too out of hand- he can handle it. I never once felt judged by our situation. Quite frankly he is a very empathetic and understanding trainer for the amount of things he sees everyday. He communicates with my dog firmly and in a way he understands. He taught us to communicate with our dog, which is such a gift and an anxiety-reliever. My dog is now learning boundaries and impulse control. I’ve never seen him control himself on his own like this before. Dean is so knowledgeable about the bully breed and is actively working to break the stigma around them. He’s helping our dog grow into a calm, well behaved boy that is able to get along with our other dogs- even around things of ‘high value.’ Two of our dogs are usually standoff-ish around new people, but when Dean was coming over they warmed right up to him. He has a calm demeanour that speaks volumes to dogs. Dean was great in following up with us and making sure we’re getting all that we can out of the training. He’s saving lives doing what he does and I will be recommending him to behavioural cases I see at work. Thank you Dean.

I was recommended by a family member to reach out to Dean at the Canine Proficiency Center to help with training my dog. I have a three year-old German Shepherd named Ace who was extremely leash reactive to other dogs (by barking; overly excited), ever since he was a young puppy. I simply was at the point where I couldn’t bring him anywhere that had other dogs in close proximity, which left our options extremely limited and feeling super isolated. I had already tried three different dog trainers at this point, where I was told to use treats to overcome his reactivity and it simply wasn’t working. I reached out to Dean and it was great that he was able to come to my house to do our training sessions, where we were able to go on walks throughout my neighbourhood (which was also something that I was not able to do with my dog). The first tool we tried on my dog was a prong collar, to which he responded positively to. However, we began to notice that the prong collar didn’t seem to be the right correction for him, as his reactivity seemed to still take place. Therefore, our next session we tried using a different tool, which was an E-collar. Dean was great with explaining all of the tools that were used and the proper effective ways to use it on your dog. Dean had asked me where is a place I have always wanted to take my dog on a walk, but felt like I couldn’t and I had said the waterfront. I couldn’t believe the amazing results, as I was finally able to walk my dog down the waterfront for the first time, since he was a little puppy. The positive results were immediate, as this was clearly the most effective tool for my dog. I was overwhelmed with emotion, as I thought I would never be able to get to this point with my dog. Dean truly is an amazing dog trainer with an immense amount of knowledge. He treated me and my dog with extreme kindness, patience and understanding, making it a very positive experience. I now feel like I can provide my dog with the life that he truly deserves and for that I am eternally grateful.