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The Dog School in Vancouver is offering puppy programming for dogs 8-16 weeks old in a unique start-anytime format . We also offer FREE Puppy Play on Saturday Mornings! Read below to learn about our unique, fun, safe and effective Puppy Programs. Firstly, why does your puppy need puppy classes? Puppies benefit greatly from early socialization during the 8-16 week-old period. Socialization doesn't just mean play, in fact, it doesn't even mean mostly play! Socialization really

Recently while training my horse Samwise (who has a serious fear of people), I came to the conclusion that thinking in quadrants and protocols is a fatal flaw in applying first principles. I also have spent the last several weeks doing  a lot  of behavioural analysis on a really specific use case that I think applies to many dogs and horses. Before I dive into it, let’s go over contingencies and really make sure they make sense. When I first explained this to a friend of mine

A Better Way to Track Progress What shows that a dog has been trained? Take a moment to think about it. You’re probably thinking about real world applications; the dog is able to pass distractions on leash, or stay in the elevator. You might consider fancy party tricks or a dog who is participating in dog sports. You probably aren’t thinking about the graduation certificate your dog received at 15 weeks old and immediately chewed up. Or the certificate they got at 6 months ol

The First Principles of Dog Training At The Dog School, Katrina and I look to train people in the first principles of dog training, rather than simply guiding students through a series of rote protocols. It’s a bit of a “teach a man to fish” situation, except it’s more like “teach a dog to sit, and he’ll sit. Teach their owner how to train the dog to sit using first principles of dog training, and they’ll teach the dog to do lots of cool behaviours given enough time to practi

Dr. Sarah Shapiro-Ward | 22-Dec-2025 (original version published 10-Nov-2023) Eleanor settling while tethered at The Dog School Introducing Settle Settle is the most misunderstood dog training exercise regularly taught at The Dog School. The idea is that when asked to settle, dogs will relax and remain quiet and calm for long periods of time, for example when at the office, or when getting brunch at a dog friendly patio. Many dog training schools don’t teach a “settle” at all

By Katrina Per-Carruthers Sarah and I receive many emails from people concerned that if we use food in training that their dogs will become treat-dependent and only perform desired behaviours when treats are available. We also often get people very worried that their dog only listens with treats. While this concern is valid, it stems from a misunderstanding of the mechanics behind really good training. The issue is not the use of food in training, but rather the failure to tr