Our new site has a blog and members can share their personal experiences and concerns with their dogs. Others can comment and share experiences.
Pricing Increase
April 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment
We are sorry to announce that due to our increasing costs of lease pricing and overhead, we will need to implement a small pricing increase across the board. We strive to keep our pricing as reasonable as possible and haven’t had a change in years; even with the increase, we will be far below the rates of our local competition. Small consolation I know, but we do our best to provide a high quality service, with excellent staff. We promise to provide a great level of staff to dog ratio for safety and personal attention in the daycare and the training classes. We are committed to continuing to offer the level that you have come to expect from us, but unfortunately to do so, we will need to have a small increase.
The current pricing is now reflected on the daycare and training pages. Thank you so much for your business and we promise to continue to offer the best care and service for you and your pets!
Lucinda and staff
Canine Campus Voted #1!
February 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment
We are very proud and grateful to our clients to announce that we were voted the number one facility in the Markham-Stouffville area for 2011! All the staff at Canine Campus is dedicated to offering dogs and their owners a positive experience and we made a lot of changes in the past year to enhance our offerings.
We renovated and expanded, so that there’s much more room for both training and daycare clients and offer the ability for the little ones to socialize in their own area, safely separated by a glass wall. This allows all the dogs to get used to the sight of different sizes, with out incurring safety issues of having them together off leash.
We also expanded our hours to meet client needs, so that the daycare is now open 7 – 7 weekdays. You can come for a half day of daycare any time of day and no longer are requested to take the time to bring your dog out front, before coming inside – we’ll do it for you.
We are committed to keeping the size of daycare groups and our classes to a safe group – no more than 30 in daycare and 6 in training. This ensures proper socialization and safety.
Thanks to all who voted for us! Please come out and try our award winning services!
Helping Anxious Dogs with Positive training
September 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Thank you so much for the reactive training classes. We learned so much, and will continue to put into practice what you taught us. I have gone to numerous dog training classes and seminars in Canada and the US over the years, but your class was quite simply the best! I can see why your dogs have won so many obedience titles.
Already we have made headway. Yesterday was the first day Henry didn’t go ballistic when another dog walked into the lobby of our building. He looked at the other dog, looked at me, and sat for treat. I gave him a treat because it was the first time he’s ever done that. Six weeks ago we never would have been able to take him on Yonge. The two times we tried it, he was a leaping, barking maniac. Now he pretty much ignores bikes and even motorcycles, which is amazing.
Sarah, Terry and Henry
Puppy Daycare is here!
September 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Do you have a pup that hasn’t received all their shots, but you’re concerned about leaving them home alone all day while you’re away? We can help you at Canine Campus! Though it is ideal to wait until puppies have had all 3 sets of shots for full immunity, sometimes life gets in the way and it is a hardship on the pup to be alone for 8-10 hours.
We have created an entirely separate puppy room, where they won’t come in contact with any older dogs, their toys or beds. Pups will be taken directly to the “safe room” with their own toys and beds and walked separately. Everything is disinfected daily to increase their protection. They will still be getting great socialization, because they can see all the action through the one way mirror.
Let Canine Campus take care of your pup when you can’t and we’ll be sure to keep them safe.
To Tug, or not to tug?
August 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Tug games with your dog can be one of the most rewarding games for dogs, most just love it! It’s a great way to reward after a job well done, as many working and agility handlers do, or to use as a distraction in an exciting situation.
However, I do have concerns on teaching it to the very young puppy who is still learning what is know as bite inhibition – the ability to control the pressure of their bite. This crucial skill must be learned before they are 4 months of age, because it is nearly impossible to learn after that time. The best way is through socializing with other pups, as in a Puppy Kindergarten. There they learn that if in play they bite down too hard – the other pup squeals and won’t play any longer. Humans can provide the exact same feedback – high pitched “ouch!” when the pup mouths your inappropriately and on a second occurrence, you stop playing and leave.
Many young pups that engage in tug with rope or cloth toys have a problem distinguishing this joy of the hard grab and bite in the tug game, from doing the same to your shirt or pants. I only teach tug after I have a totally solid “out” command with any type of toy and when I’m certain that my pup has enough self control to listen when he’s all revved up. This is a great way to teach self control – but they need to demonstrate the “out” with toys first, before I introduce tug.
This is specially true when there are children in the household. I want to be absolutely sure that the puppy understands the rules, because a puppy playing tug with a child’s pant leg can be a very frightening thing! Because of children’s quicker movements, higher voices and general proximity – pups often feel that they are just another playmate for them and might engage too enthusiastically for a small child to be comfortable with. Those very sharp teeth can be unintentionally dangerous!
Tug is a great game and wonderful skill to teach – but be sure to introduce it properly, so that it doesn’t lead to behavioral issues down the road!
Puppy training basics
August 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Young dogs go through a number of physical and mental stages as they grow and it’s important that we keep this in mind as we train.
Puppies in the 8 weeks -4.5 month stage are growing quickly, but mentally are very immature with a very short attention span. They still retain a high level of dependency on their owners which translates to a desire to please. At this stage this willingness makes it fairly easy to train the basic commands, and an excellent time to set the ground rules for what you expect down the road. You need to clearly establish the house rules now to be effective later. Often, the puppy will challenge the youngest and smallest in the house and they tend to see them as playmates. Teaching young children how to handle the pup respectfully is very important – they’re not stuffed animals!
Behaviors that are totally common in puppies might seem cute now, but will not be as endearing in an adult dog. It is best to manage them now before they become ingrained. Behavior such as begging, nipping and chewing in play, jumping up and getting on the furniture are normal concerns – but they can translate into big problems down the road. Set out your house rules consistently and show your puppy positive alternative behaviors, such as redirecting to a soft floppy toy when they want to grab your pantleg.
All training is cumulative – even small activities can help improve the total learning of your dog. Training a dog to come when called is not just about them understanding what the command “come” means, but knowing that they will be rewarded when they listen to you.
Puppies are not good at policing themselves – they naturally need to chew, may not have excellent bladder control yet and don’t have a clear understanding of what is yours or theirs. Therefore, it is important to limit your puppy’s range both when you’re at home and when you’re away.
Crate training can be very effective for this when done humanely, and can be the difference between coming home to a puppy who you are as happy to see as they are to see you. Accidents from too much room to roam are going to happen in a young dog – and it is up to the owner to help the puppy be successful. Baby gates to control the amount of freedom your puppy has are an excellent means of letting the dog be with the family while not allowing them to wander out of sight and get in trouble.
Long days at home alone can be just too much for a puppy, and if given a chance they will look for ways to entertain themselves that might not be so acceptable to you. A “safe” room, such as a laundry or fenced off basement area, can be an ideal alternative to a crate. You can leave toys, a chew bones and maybe a corner with pee pad/paper if you have to be away for too long. This way you can possibly crate at night and have a safe space for the puppy during the day – or vice-versa. The general rule of thumb is that a puppy can only be successful at housetraining for as many hours as they are months old. When they’re up and actively playing though, 30 to 45 minutes is appropriate. Working towards helping your dog be successful at being alone is very important in how your relationship develops.
Back to School
August 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Summer is almost over already and it’s back to school time! We have lots of fun classes for every age and level, check it out on our training page!
We believe in the power of positive reinforcement methods and appropriate/non physical corrections. We focus on teaching canine manners to help you achieve the dog that is a pleasure to have in your home and in the park. We use voice, treats and toy play to motivate and correct pups – no harsh methods.
Classes at Canine Campus are recommended and attended by area vets, the OSPCA and breeders who all know that we provide small, quality training classes.
Check out the training page for more info, or give us a call! 905-477-8092
Test article
August 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment
this is a test article posting for the article pages
Breeder of the Pack!
August 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment
BREEDER OF THE PACK! Lucinda featured on Animal Planet documentary, ”Breeder of the Pack”!
VIEW SHOW (opens in new window or tab)
Animal Planet contacted Lucinda about doing a documentary on her history as a trainer and breeder of champion show and obedience dogs. Five breeders in Canada were chosen to be part of the series, so it was quite an honor. When they first called, I thought it was just a prank – it took a moment to realize that they were serious!
They followed our training routine for a week, including filming at a competition, capturing a training class, out for walks in the woods and our normal at home routine. It was an unbelievable amount of footage to create one half hour show – I certainly wouldn’t want to do it on an ongoing basis.
The crew was very thorough and professional, but it took a bit to get the dogs used to all of the commotion and cameras around them. They wanted us to keep to repeating activities over and over so that they could capture exactly what they wanted on film. Sometimes I had to just say no, because it got confusing for the dogs when they’d done something perfectly and I kept asking them to do it again. Hard to convince the producer that though it made for better TV, it didn’t work well for training!
Despite all the stress, Sonic and Kudos both came through and did a great job – they look so cute onscreen!