Behaviour Dog Parenting Training (BDPT) program delivers a 98% success rate using only gentle and compassionate engagement. A service-based practice, BDPT provides one-of-a-kind coaching for dog owners' well-being and dog behaviour therapy, online courses, progress dashboard, psychological assessment and life-long support.

From Muskoka and Area?

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From Kitchener, Waterloo or Guelph? 

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.We understand that as an adopter, you have opened your heart and home to a new dog who is struggling with reactivity, fear, anxiety or aggressive behaviour.  You likely feel some unease, similar to inviting a stranger into the home. 
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Our team of highly trained psychology-based behaviourists have observed many families struggle with a new dog with behaviours like:

- A barking dog and a lunging dog when visitors arrive, possibly due to past protection training, or generalized fear and anxiety. 
- A dog who snaps, snarls or even bites family members when snuggling on the couch, which could be unresolved resource guarding. 
- A howling dog, or barking dog when left alone, perhaps experiencing a panic attack due to separation anxiety. 

The dog may exhibit one or several behaviours and this list is not complete. We get it.  In the cases we work with dog-parents explain behaviours that defy logic and rationale and causes wariness and confusion.
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We go beyond simple behaviour resolution to look at ALL issues impacting your lives, such as; lower your stress, build your positive dog-parenting skills and develop a cooperative and valued family member. 

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WE OFFER SERVICES TO MEET EVERY BUDGET

Sparky Smith, Head of Canine Psychology and Behaviour - Pet Psychologist of the Year 2022!

A thirty-minute phone consult for expert advice and insight with award-winning Head of Canine Psychology & Behaviour, Sparky Smith.

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One Hour Evaluation Service

A one-hour in-person evaluation with one of our experts for an individual lesson.


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Rapid Response is a DIY option

Rapid Response for Dog Parents is a "Do-It-Yourself" option, where you deliver on a tailored 4-week.
The first session is ninety minute housecall with an Animal Psychology and Behaviour Expert, and the second session is a sixty minute feedback session.

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BDPT brings powerful results with a 98% success rating

Behaviour Dog Parenting Training (BDPT)

A family is as diverse as you define it, and dog-parenting enables great joy and satisfaction. Our BDPT is a program which includes a dog behaviour therapy plan as well as online course content, along with weekly or bi-weekly sessions with an expert. 

Begin this journey by booking a thirty-minute consultation with Sparky. The cost will be deducted from the price of the program on registration.

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Coming Soon!

Online Dog Parenting and Psychology Institute - Coming Soon
An on-demand online module-based course that will self-direct you to achieve similar results to our BDPT. 

TOP FIVE REASONS TO JOIN OUR DOG FAMILY

1. We support your lifetime evolution of your multi-species family - yes, for life!

We don't just meet you at one time in your life, fix one or two issues, and leave.  Lifetime support is integrated into every BDPT program.  That's how confident we are with our program's ability to make positive and powerful changes in your life and that of your dog.  For our team, it is not unusual to receive beautiful pictures from past clients who are now part of our extended dog family, years after graduating.

2. We work with all your professional support services and coordinate communication and engagement.
We differ significantly here.  Many professional dog trainers who say they have worked with trauma symptoms may not always be equipped to deal with complex cases.  We prepare for the potential that a patient may require multi-disciplinary approaches, meaning veterinarians, support services personnel and canine psychologists. Our reputation amongst veterinarians in Toronto is significant as we partner with them with where they are at, providing comprehensive, well-researched veterinarian behaviour reports. Quite simply, it super-charges your vet.  Also, we include anyone in your dog's social circle to learn along with you; this means dog walkers, trainers and other support personnel you've engaged.  All are welcome to join and learn gentle and compassionate ways to help dogs with behaviour issues.  We've trained many professionals as an extension of our program with no additional costs to you.  Our values include supporting you as a dog parent to heal your dog and integrate into your family fully.

3. We draw pictures for clarity and understanding.
The breadth of our data collection and ability to create powerful visualization is significant.  We complete a 360-degree investigation including a systematic review of the entire family, including you, the dog-parent(s).  Interviews, psychological assessments, and past experiences inform a strategic pathway and a tailored Behaviour Dog-Parenting Training program  Family processes, structures, dynamics interrelationships deliver the decisions, emotions and ultimately, the behaviours we want and are able to sustain for life.  We also complete comprehensive psychology, environmental assessment, history (when available), and medical history on the dog.

Then we draw a diagram. Why?  Pictures allow us to create a snapshot of all the relationships that matter.  A visual diagram shows factors, issues and processes and how they are interconnected. It allows us to share where our best intentions may be undermining the dog's ability to manage in their new world.  Our past clients and the broader scientific community have received this approach well.  MIT states the visual diagrams we use, called causal loop diagrams, "... are very helpful in capturing and communicating sources and implications of feedback within a complex system".  How important is that when dealing with the complexity of healing a dog's emotional and mental well-being? 

4. We are the 'only' ones who provide Behavioural Dog-Parent Training (BDPT).
Many will state they work through you to train your dog, but the outcome is to have your dog obey.  Our practice is different as it teaches a broader self-awareness of what you are communicating to your dog and how to tap into your internal tools. We teach you how to land your communications and gestures each and every time for remarkable voluntary responsiveness.  For example, desensitizing bad behaviour like repetitive barking, even when using positive reinforcement methods, is limited in connecting the dog's broader development to become a cooperative partner.  Sure, it fixes the reactivity in one instance, at one time in a dog's life but fails to consider the connecting points to relationship-building, trust, rapport, resilience-development and more.  BDPT shines in this regard.  It delivers a wide-reaching system within you to provide more information, clearly understood and readily accepted each time you engage.  This truly speaks to being a dog parent with accountability to raise your dog to be a valued family member and cooperative partner.  The difference is significant in creating a relaxed and simple relationship of just being together in a joyful partnership regardless of where you are or what is happening.
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5. We solve the complex problems you are experiencing and that many good people have tried to solved and failed. 
Herein lies the benefits of being psychologists and systems thinking experts with extensive experience.  Our practice looks at the entire system involved in behavioural issues, including the neighbourhood, home, you as the dog-parent, the professional services used, the dog's mental and physical well-being, known trauma and past experiences.  We can map and illustrate the interconnections that support what is happening today.  It is an impressive moment to see families' view the difference between what they say they want and what they are actually producing. 
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All our services prompts reflection on the relationship and behaviours you want to achieve and the gap between where you are now.  Dog parents' psychology, belief systems, emotions, actions, lifestyle, self-perception, self-care, and dog parenting capabilities are reviewed as part of our comprehensive BDPT.  It allows us to bridge the knowledge gap and set you up for success.