What to Expect
Find out what it’s like to work with us.
Service Descriptions
Learn About Our Private Lessons & Group Classes
Private Lessons
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Step 1: Pick your Program
All our private dog training programs are month-to-month programs that you can pause, cancel or switch between as your needs change.
Choose between lessons 2 or 4 times a month, with an option to have your trainer do some of your training homework for you.
We’ve got something for you, too, if you just need a one off lesson.
Step 2: Your Online Intake
During your intake we will:
• Screen for anything that might be holding you back from making progress or contributing to the problem(s)
• Explain why the problem is happening and what we’re going to do about it
• Nail down your goals & give you some actionable homework that you can start on immediately
After your intake you will receive a custom training plan with everything you need to know and do.
Step 3: Your Follow Up Lessons
Your first follow up lesson is generally booked a week after your intake and comes in 2 forms: private lessons & daytraining lessons. See the private training FAQ about follow up lessons to learn more about the difference between these service options.
Group Classes
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Indoor, In-Person Classes:
Our group dog training classes take place at our East Van facility located at 3360 Fraser St, Vancouver, BC V5V 4C1 (Connective Community Center).Duration:
1 hour per class, for 4 to 6 weeks, depending on which class you choose.
Choose Between:
Puppy Class
Basic Manners Part 1
Basic Manners Part 2
K9 Nosework
* With More Classes On The Way!
Reactive Dog Club
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Reactive Dog Club is a drop-in service where pet parents meet and practice training with other dog owners (at a comfortable distance) under the guidance of a professional dog trainer. It’s the perfect “next step” service after private lessons for reactive dogs.
Sessions take place at a local, public park or indoor locations such as our East Van facility, depending on weather.
*Appointments Take Place Online / In Your Neighbourhood or Home - Classes Take Place at our East Vancouver Facility & Local Parks
General FAQ
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Here at Honourable Hound, we strive to give you and your dog everything you need to have an amazing life together. Our focus is on teaching you how to train and understand your dog using a humane & science-based approach.
We pride ourselves on being able to offer you solid advice that is realistic, sustainable, and most importantly individualized to you. Most people tell us it’s pretty fun to do, too. We like to think of ourselves as holistic, but in more of the thorough & all encompassing sense and less in the ✨crystals & essential oils✨ sense of the word.
At the end of the day, we work at your speed, whatever that may be. We’re here to give you exactly what you need to succeed, whether that be an empathetic ear & a shoulder to cry on or an innovative idea that makes you go “I wish I’d started doing that ages ago.”
Should you choose to join us for a class or private dog training, you’ll learn all sorts of things that you can use throughout your dog’s life to keep their training in tip-top shape and their needs met. We would love to be a part of your training journey and share the joys of having a dog with you!
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Several of our industry colleagues have crowned us “the behavior modification queens,” but we aren’t really the type to vibe with such an ostentatious title. We do like to think we’re pretty good at it, though.
Our clients often describe working with us like having a nonjudgemental friend who gives killer advice on all things dog.
As for us, we like to think we specialize in really listening to your needs so that we can give you good quality, individualized advice. Private training is our bread and butter service and we keep true to our values in our group classes by having 3 to 4 teachers available to give you customized feedback and support (which cap out at 4 to 6 dogs per class). A 1-to-1 and 1-to-2 instructor-to-student ratio is pretty rare to see in a group class, but we do it because it’s what gives you guys the best results.
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Nope! Guarantees sound wonderful and make for compelling marketing, but the truth is there’s no way to guarantee another living being’s behaviour 100% of the time.
Imagine if you went to a couples counsellor and they told you they offer a 100% guarantee that if you work with them you’ll never fight again with your partner. Sounds nice, but it just isn’t a promise that can be ethically made.
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Only if you want your dog to continue doing the behaviour! A dog’s behaviour is greatly influenced by their learning history - meaning that they’ll do what worked for them in the past.
Rewards don’t always have to be treat-based. Food is just generally the easiest type of reward to get behaviours started. Once your dog is reliably performing the behaviour, we can often switch it out for something else. Such as access to a person, object or place they want if that’s your preference (and if Fido agrees to work for that.)
On some occasions we can train a behaviour that is self-reinforcing - meaning you hardly have to do anything since doing the new behaviour makes your dog feel good. But food-based reinforcement is usually the fastest route to teaching reliable behaviours.
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If your dog is sick or you feel ill, please email us to let us know and stay home from class or cancel your private training appointment. The credit from your missed group class can be transferred to your next purchase and we waive the 48 hour cancellation policy for illness.
Private Training FAQ
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In order to provide you with the best results possible, we need to get to know you, your dog & your dog’s issues in-depth. You can think of our intake as gathering all the pieces of the puzzle. This allows us to get a sense of the big picture and make sure we’re addressing the root of the issue(s) that you’re seeing, as behavioural problems are often a symptom of a larger issue.
It’s far more efficient to get right to the heart of the problem rather than chasing symptoms of the problem. The core idea of our private training is that when we fix your dog’s problem, your problem goes away, too. In some cases - the solution can include changing our dog’s daily routine (or our expectations) in addition to training exercises. But we won’t know until we get all the pieces of the puzzle.
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Daytraining lessons are where your trainer will come in and do some of your training homework for you. This service is ideal for those who are dealing with caregiver fatigue, a plateau in their training progress, or want to make the initial learning curve a little easier on themselves (it’s much easier on you when your dog already knows the gist of what you’re trying to do).
Private lessons (in person or online) are all about teaching you the exact skills you need to reach your training goals and maintain your dog’s behavior. This is the core skillset that you will need in order to see lasting results.
In-Person Private Lessons are best for :
Things that are difficult to describe verbally
Refining your dog training skills
Help with implementation of the training plan
Things that require more doing and less talking.
In-Person Lessons are designed to give you the practical hands on skills required to help you manage your dog’s behavioural woes in the moment.
Online Private Lessons are best for :
Questions
Learning
Problem exploration
Goal or plan shifting
Things that require more talking and less doing
Online Lessons are primarily designed to give you the theoretical knowledge you need to have long term success and become self sufficient over time. These lessons are all about problem exploration, education & solution building.
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Anywhere & everywhere within our service area! The beauty of In-Person lessons is that they can be held in your home or backyard, a local park and beyond!
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The number of lessons clients book varies widely because each case in unique. The problems you come to us with, your learning style, your existing dog training skills, the environment you & your dog are in, and how much time you have for follow through, are some of the major factors in deciding how many lessons you should book.
Some people only need to book a couple sessions with us to get their game plan in place and off they go! Others like the accountability of seeing us on a regular basis. We created flexibly monthly plans so that you can do whatever works best for you.
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Our monthly programs feature lessons 2 or 4 times a month. This translates to lessons every week or every other week. If you’d like to see us more or less frequently than that, shoot us an email (at hello@honourablehound.ca) and we’ll custom create something for you.
The type of problems that you are experiencing, how big your learning curve is, how much time you have for follow through, and how quickly you see change are some of the major factors in deciding how frequently you should see us. We’ve got a handy quiz (and a free 30 minute phone call with our founder!) at the bottom of our private program options page that can help you decide what might be right for you. Don’t forget that you can switch programs anytime, so it’s no sweat if you decide you want to see us more or less frequently after starting a program.
As you start to see results and get the hang of it all, most people will gradually wean off of private lessons by switching to a lower support program than the one that they started with. This often looks like 4x a month, to 2x to month, to finally 1x a month.
After completing a program, you are free to book follow ups here and there for tune-ups/refreshers, a bit of troubleshooting, or if something new pops up.
Group Class FAQ
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Your dog in a flat collar & harness, on a 6 ft. flat leash - please leave flexis at home
A mat for your dog to settle on (something washable and transportable)
A bowl & water for your dog
Lots of small, high value treats and/or food
Your dog’s favourite toy and an edible chew your dog will be keen on
* Please note: the 1st week of Puppy Class is just for pet guardians (people only)
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All classes take place at 3360 Fraser St, Vancouver, BC V5V 4C1 (Connective Community Center)
*Classes are currently held on Tuesdays & Saturdays with more on the way!
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For best results, please plan to attend each of your pre-booked classes. All your classes build upon information given to you in previous lessons, so missing a class can make it difficult for you to continue seeing smooth progress.
In the instance of a missed or skipped class, we’re unable to refund or reschedule. We are able to give you credit for up to 2 missed classes that can be applied to your next purchase with us.
If you need to cancel your enrolment in class entirely, there is $10 admin fee deducted from any refunds processed. Classes canceled with less than 72 hours notice from the start of the class receive a 50% refund.In the case of a dog coming into heat after classes have commenced, please contact us to determine if continuing classes makes sense.
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Dogs who cannot settle, vocalize frequently, or display fear and aggression towards dogs or humans are generally good candidates for private lessons rather than group classes. If you think this might be your dog, we kindly ask that you contact us to see which service is the right fit for your dog.
While we strive to make our classes accessible to all, excessive barking and vocalizing can be distracting to the instructor during teaching and is unfair to the other students (if they can’t hear or concentrate on the lesson.)