September 19, 2022 • 25 mins
Dog handler/trainer Eddie from Classic K9 Academy based in Toronto shares his experiences with his first dog, having absolutely zero dog experience and from there what he's learned and how he got to where he is today.
Finding a professional trainer is such an important step in your journey with your reactive dog. Do your research into trainers that will suit you and your dog and align with what you want to achieve and also what you believe in.
Any experience/training processes or methods mentioned in this podcast is not to be used for your dog without the guidance of a professional trainer. What works for some dogs doesn't work for other dogs so please be careful and ensure the safety and wellbeing of your dog.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Hey guys, it's episode nine, Ikind of can't believe it. But
thank you so much if this isyour first time listening, or if
you've been here since thebeginning, which also feels like
yesterday, I'm Cass, the host ofthe Spicy Dog Mama podcast. And
I'm dog mom to Rey my reactivebully breed girl, who I'm very
much so obsessed with. I usethis platform to share my
(00:21):
experiences rescuing, raisingand training three very
different dogs, the mistakesthat I've made and the wins that
we've had, to help and encourageothers on a similar journey. It
can be hard raising a dog evenwithout reactivity. And I think
that all owners have somethingthat we can learn from one
another. But all of our dogs aredifferent, and our journeys will
all be different. So no matterwhat, just do what is best for
(00:44):
your dog. Remember that myexperience is just that, it's
mine. I'm learning as I go. I'vesaid it before and I'll say it
again, I'm not an expert. I'mnot a trainer, no matter what
I've gone through, seekprofessional guidance for your
own dog with a trainer thatmatches your values.
So on this episode, I do get tochat with a trainer, which I
(01:05):
only just got to know recently.
Eddie from classic canineAcademy will share parts of his
journey, where he started, whathe's learned and how he got to
where he is today. Just like allof us mistakes were made, but
he's found what works for him,and has been able to help others
as well. Let's go.
(01:30):
Hello, I've pretty well onlybeen following you. Since
starting this podcast. I heardabout you through @RaisingRoxy
who is just an absolute star.
Her and her mom, holy smokes.
They're doing incredibly.
They are amazing. They are astory to tell unravel. For sure.
(01:51):
Why don't you just introduceyourself?
Alright, so my name is Eddie, Iam the founder of Classic K9
Academy, I have roughly reachingabout eight years of experience.
Prior to doing this wholetraining, I was actually a dog
handler for a structureddaycare, which I'm actually in
the process of owning as well.
So before I did any sort oftraining, I was actually
(02:11):
watching dogs and understandingcertain breeds have certain
personalities, meaning certainbreeds work better through
different styles of training.
Do you focus mostly withreactive dogs?
I deal with a lot of...
surprising, right now due toCOVID, it's a lot more anxious
dogs rather than reactive. Priorto COVID. It was a lot of
(02:32):
aggressive/reactive/dog to dogaggression, like those kind of
behavior cases I was dealingwith. Now it's more so obedience
and anxiousness.
Probably prior to COVID it waspoor or the incorrect
socialization. And then becauseof COVID, there was the lack of
(02:52):
socialization.
Exactly. Well, the thing ispeople don't understand due to
like reactivity. It doesn't stemfrom aggression, that usually
stems from lack of confidenceand anxiety as well. So that's
kind of like, so it does fit inwith anxiety with reactivity, it
just really depends on the dog.
And that's what kind of myexperience comes through. Like
say, I can work with a Bully, aGreat Dane, a Shiba Inu, a
(03:15):
Husky, a Cane Corso. And becauseI have the experience of through
their personality, not justreading it up online before
seeing the, I guess you can say,the clients, but I can see their
dogs in action around other dogsas well. So I do understand more
so the dog's body language,which is where I can actually
work through his dog bodylanguage rather than just
(03:35):
correct, correct, correct,reward, reward, reward. I try to
figure it out behavior first,and why the dogs act this way.
And right now I'm looking into,like I said, owning the
business, structure daycare,where 80% of the dogs that we
currently have in a structureddaycare came from behavior. So
it's not impossible to have adog who's primarily aggressive
(03:57):
to be a good dog around otherdogs. Yes, they might need
attention. But they are stillliving the life they want to
have in front around other dogsas well.
I love that. I think that thereshould be more structured style
daycares. I'm not one who wantsto send Rey to a daycare because
of the way that she is, theenvironment. It's not
(04:17):
necessarily a space that she'sgoing to want to be in because
of the over excitement and thenoise.
And the difference here is thereare there are daycares out there
who may be good. It's just youwant to be very careful. Last
thing you want is to bring yourdog to a daycare where it's
structured as if it's a dogpark, right? And the way we do
it with our company is weactually, and this is not to say
(04:38):
like hey, come to me, I'mstructured. It's nothing like
that. It's just so peopleactually ask certain questions.
If they are interested indaycare, and they don't come to
us ask these certain questionsor see what their methods are.
For example, the structuredaycare that we have here is the
same people who are trainingdogs are watching your dogs in a
daycare so they understand thatdog who is going through
(04:58):
training and their quirks, it'striggers etc, and watch them in
the daycare, having a dog calmdown if they're overstimulated,
introduce them to the packcorrectly, you know, speaking to
the owner. So this is one thingwhere it's honesty first for us,
where if a dog actually hasissues at the end of day be
like, hey, that you might wantto look into this and this and
that, to make sure the dog goeshome well and the trainer's or
(05:20):
even the owners understand 'Hey,he is right. We're going to work
on this'. We don't have to go tohim to work on it. But we'll
give you guys advice on how toactually work on your dog at
home as well.
I love that. That's super cool.
I mean, some dogs can do justfine in the high energy, crazy
daycares. It also might lead tosome leash reactivity or
frustration, but I don't thinkthey should only be for the
(05:41):
happy go lucky dog.
In all reality, dogssocialization isn't your dog
playing 24/7? Right? That's whatpeople have to understand. It's
simply your dog is okay sittinglaying down next to another dog.
And watching dogs play as well.
That is enough mentalstimulation when a dog goes home
and learns like, Hey, I don'thave to join this play over
here. Just because I'm withthem. I just have to look and be
(06:03):
like, Okay, it's alright. I'msafe here. So understanding the
dog is one thing as well, wherethe dog actually understands,
first of all, that dogs in theirarea is safe and has no need to
react if they're in the generalarea as well.
No, that's awesome. When youfirst started working at the
daycare, did you already haveany kind of training experience?
(06:26):
Or did you go in blind tobehavior.
So the funny story is my parentsnever allowed me to have a dog.
So I was 17 at the time, workingat McDonald's, I pretty much did
everything incorrectly that Ithat most people would be like,
Hey, don't do this. So I hadlike, exactly with dogs. So with
(06:49):
my own dog, so this story withmy own dog is we're actually got
into the training business aswell and handling dogs. I had
$60- t o my name working atMcDonald's. I went on Kijiji
that's already a red flag rightthere and looked up doberman.
They didn't do any research ontheir breed. Another red flag
right there.
A good looking dog. That's whatyou thought. Right?
Exactly. I fell for everythingthat should not have been done
(07:11):
in the first place. Right? Iwent over there. The parents
they opened the door, theparents of the Dobermans puppies
were barking at me, another redflag, right? And because I was
17 at the time, and I really,really wanted a dog I adopted a
dog, their priced at around 850or $1,000, something like that.
And I told them hey, I only havethis much. Right? So they gave
(07:34):
me the runt of the litter andthey gave me the puppy that has
a scar on its tail throughdocking. And that's how I ended
up with my now almost 11 yearold doberman. I went through a
lot of mistakes that now I'mlearning and because I went
through those mistakesexperience wise, I'm able to let
people know like hey, like thisis not what you guys want to do
(07:55):
their dog. I learned firsthandgoing through like three
mattresses, two couches, manyshoes, many clothing, carpets
like I've been through the wholenine yards. Yeah, he was
reactive to buses, dogs, bikes,etc etc. So I was I was having
to work on that. And and thenwhat happened was I went to the,
I actually applied to be a doghandler, I mentored under David
(08:21):
who actually- the reason- so theplace is actually called The
Original Dog House. It thereason why it was called that it
was opened up 18 years ago, soit was the first ever dog
daycare center in Toronto. Thatis why it's called The Original
Dog House. And he worked with alot of dogs prior, he was in the
military working with dogs aswell. So I mentored under him
(08:44):
but as time goes on, technologygoes on as well. So I'm applying
things that I would be learningto this generation and adding
some of it from past generationsand pretty much using my own,
quote unquote, balance method aswell.
Yeah, we're gonna learn and grow100% along the way. I want to
talk about your Doberman becauseI want to know exactly... was it
(09:10):
all fine and good? You had apuppy, you were just kind of
teach him like... When didthings really start going
downhill?
First of all, I didn't do cratetraining when he was young,
biggest mistake. There goes themattresses right, the
mattresses, the carpets, peeeverywhere in the house. Which
is why I always drive people toget a crate for your puppy for
(09:34):
your dog. And then eventuallyyou can wean off I'm not saying
to keep them there for yourwhole life. If you get off of
it, let your dog free roam, it'stotally fine as long as they
understand the boundaries of thehousehold. It's not because you
want to keep your dog couped.
It's more so you want to createstructure and safety for your
dog. The same way with a toddleryou would not allow a toddler to
crawl around the householdwithout anybody watching the
(09:55):
toddler. It's the same thingthere and as he aged into the I
guess you can call it a teenagerphase around eight, nine months
old was when I kind of wasdealing with the reactiveness to
TTC buses, cyclists, joggers,bad recall off leash, went to
PetSmart. Big mistake there aswell. I just didn't know at the
(10:18):
time that Petsmart doesn't trainfor behavioral issues such as I
wouldn't say reactive isbehavior issues, moreso a
confidence building thing. Butthat didn't really help them as
well. So it was up until when hewas one and a half, two years
old until I dove deep intoresearch and like, figured out
Oh, actually to deal with Rambo.
(10:42):
But like I said, I'm sure youknow, as well, all dogs don't
learn the same.
Exactly, yeah. Did you justresearch on your own and apply
those? Or did you seek out atrainer?
At the time, so this would havebeen this would have been the
peak days of Cesar Milan and thedog whisperer. So that's where
all my things were applied from.
But even then, some thingsdidn't work with him. He was a
(11:04):
very stubborn dog. And becauseof that age, he was also more
disobedient to testing mylimits. Which is fine, like all
dogs go through it. But it was alot of more so watching certain
people do certain things on TVlike Cesar Milan. And then if it
didn't work out, actually Googleresearch. At the time, there
(11:26):
weren't a lot of highly knowntrainers at the time tha t will
say just because Instagram, tiktok wasn't out there exactly
like that to, to for people toshowcase their skills and
services. So a lot of it had tobe Google.
Which is also going to be trialand error.
(11:47):
Exactly. So there was a lot oftrial and error on my part. And
right now he's actually areally, really good boy. So it
took me about until he was threeand a half, maybe even four
years old to actually work oneverything. So meaning, just
like every dog out there who aredealing with reactive issues,
don't expect an overnight kindof solution. I worked on it for
(12:08):
almost two and a half years toget him to where he was hard
work very hard. But is it worthit.
There were so many red flagswhen you got him. But does
that... do you think that thatabsolutely set him up for
(12:30):
failure? Was it just hand inhand with how you raised him? Or
like, do you think that youcould have brought him home and
you could have been fine.
If I did my research prior tothe breed and understanding how
to upkeep a puppy, and what wasneeded for a puppy in the first
place. 100% I could have set himup for success 100%. I could
(12:52):
even do my research prior tolook for a trainer who had
worked with working breed dogs,that would have got him a lot
quicker to where I wanted themto be. But also certain things
with dogs behavior wise doesstem from their parents. So that
was a red flag in itself wherewhen I walk into the house, the
(13:14):
dogs are barking immediately.
And regardless of how much thebreeder would tell them to stop,
they would not stop. And guesswhat, when Rambo aged? He did
the same thing as his parents.
Right? So there is a mixture andI will take blame 100% that he
was the dog he was at a youngage because I did not set him up
to succeed at all.
(13:35):
In hindsight, is a Doberman theright dog for you? Or would you
have picked one knowing aboutthe breed?
Ah, one hundred percent, I wouldlet myself go through exactly
what I went through. If I wereto do it again, to learn. Or
otherwise I would not be here,where I would not be able to be
in this podcast with you guys. Ihelp people with their reactive
(13:56):
dogs as well. I would notsuggest certain breeds for
certain people. Do yourresearch. Don't be like me.
No, I agree though, you had tomake those mistakes to get to
where you are now. I got myrescue. And I did so many things
wrong. But I also wouldn't behere right now knowing what I
do. Still making some mistakesstill trying to learn from it,
(14:17):
but learning from others too,which is why I'm so excited to
talk to you.
And this is a thing where dogswill never be perfect. They are
creatures of habit, you'll neverhave a perfect dog regardless.
And people say their dog isperfect and which people have to
understand don't compare yourdog to other dogs, the work that
you've done with your dog, youkeep it to yourself, you enjoy
(14:37):
that because the dog that I'vedone with myself, my clients, et
cetera, et cetera, might havebeen a lot more work might have
been a lot more easier, but atthe same time, it's your dog.
It's a process you went throughand this is where the trust
building with your dog maximizesat its most is the one on one
training session that you dowith your dog.
Absolutely. And I love that youdid work as a handler at a
(14:58):
daycare prior to doing dogtraining and getting to know so
many breeds and their behaviorbecause training every dog is
different. And I myself, I hadmy rescue bully breed, I'm not
sure what he was a mix of, I hadthe golden. And now I have Rey,
they all learned completelydifferently. I'm still learning
so much. And there's no way thatwhat I'm doing with Rey is going
(15:19):
to work with every other dog.
The thing is because you'veworked with reactive dogs, so
you have already had three dogs,that you've trained yourself,
you already have more knowledgethan your typical first time
owner. Right. So you candefinitely help first time
owners even with simpleobedience in the first place,
right? But can I you a dogtrainer? It's the fact that
you're willing to help based offyour experience.
And that's why I want to sharemy experience because even
(15:41):
talking about the first timethat Reese bit a dog and what I
did wrong and socializing, I'vehad people say like, I probably
would have done the same thing.
So it's, I'll share my mistakes,and maybe make myself look
really bad just to help somebodyelse not make the same mistakes,
or at least be aware of it.
Because maybe they do want to dothe same thing. Okay, but here's
what might happen, like dogparks. And like daycares. Yeah,
(16:03):
here's what could go wrong. Youcan do what you want with your
dog. But, you know, these arethe risks.
And it's people like, like youwho are needed in the community
is the fact that, yeah, your dogmay look good, they listen on
camera, but there were a lot ofissues and things that had to be
worked on. And being as honestas possible, lets the community
(16:23):
understand as well. It's, it'snot all butterflies and flowers.
You set them up and understand,hey, it's not all fun. But at
the end of the day, when youwork through it, it is a
beautiful process.
Yeah, I love how much morepeople are becoming transparent
on social media. I love seeingthe progress and people saying,
Yeah, okay, here's also what...
either you messed up orsomething did go wrong, is huge
(16:45):
to help other people, even justso they don't feel bad about
what they've done. Or feel thatshame.
And this is why with with peoplein general, and I speak with I
tell them, like, trust me theissues that you guys are dealing
with, like I've been throughwith my own dog.
How far into working as a doghandler at the daycare, did you
(17:05):
start your business?
So I was so I was a dog handlerfor about two years. So I did
have two years of just watchingdogs walking dogs, understanding
the personalities and behaviors.
And then I went into obedienceafterwards with only puppies.
Just because generally speakingpuppies are a little bit more,
quote unquote malleable to learncertain foundations of basic
(17:28):
obedience in the first place. Soeverything that was taught to
puppies was easier, so to speak.
It is just like teenagers orchildren or babies who cry, it's
they will get over iteventually, as long as the
process of learning and tellingthem an understanding, no, or
enough or reward as well forpositive behaviors, eventually,
(17:52):
the puppy does understandeverything. And then from there,
I went into advanced obedience ayear after working with dogs
over the age of one that was alittle bit more difficult
because by one years old,certain dogs have certain
habits, meaning you have tountrain one year worth of
experience with bad habits andkind of push it to the side and
(18:16):
put in the good habits and agood foundation afterwards,
which just doubled the workwhich is totally fine. And then
two years after that I went intobehavior work. That was very,
very difficult because my firstbehavior case was a German
Shepherd who bit like threepeople, multiple dogs, and
(18:42):
pretty much it was unsafe arounddogs. That is for first case
which I did not manhandle itmyself, I was mentoring
underneath David as well whokind of guided me through that.
And the thing with dogs is Ilike to put an analogy to a
balloon where if the dog is overstimulated, the balloon has
already been fully blown and thenext trigger will make the
balloon pop. And the pop is yourdog barking out of reactive or
(19:07):
out of reactivity, or actuallygoing the full length of
attacking a person or a dogmeaning you have to try to
deflate that balloon as much aspossible. And every time it
continues to blow up you want tokind of keep deflating so it
doesn't actually get to thatcase where it is. So that was
the behavior. I've done a lot ofanxiety work, aggression etc but
(19:29):
that's where most of my myexperience comes from is more so
behavior work ever since then Iwas doing less obedience work
and more behavior work at thetime. Because it was something
that grabbed my my mind a lotwhere I was like, why did this
dog do this? Why is it actinglike this? What signs is he
showing that he's gonna react orhe's gonna attack or what's
(19:50):
making them uncomfortable? Andthis is where a lot of times my
training comes from bodylanguage of the dog first and
understanding why did it dothis? And if there's a reason
why, can I find a method to gethim not to react that way
through his body first, or hisnose, for example. So for
humans, it's if I see it, Ibelieve it for dogs is if I
(20:11):
smell it, I believe it. Right.
And that's the thing with dogsis, if there are, a lot of times
you'll see dogs before they getreactive, they're stiff. Their
nose is kind of towards thetrigger, quote, unquote. And
it's constantly breathing,right, and their ears are
usually back or pointed up,depending on what the trigger
is. And if you are able to, youcan say distract those symptoms
(20:32):
first, before the reactivity.
You don't have to deal with thereactivity and cause yourself
the stress.
Don't let the balloon blow up.
Exactly, exactly, that's exactlywhat I'm trying to say. And over
time, the more often you're ableto distract the symptoms, you
don't have to stress yourselfout with the reactivity. And
(20:53):
over time, your dog's not goingto react as much where because
you're having them understand,hey, all I need is to show
you... have you show me thatyour body language is showing me
that you're stressed, I'm gonnatake in control, I'm going to
step forward, I'm going to kindof tell the dogs to back off and
kind of let me handle thesituation. And over time, what's
going to happen is, your dogwill look at you and be like,
(21:14):
Mom, Dad, I'm kind ofuncomfortable. And your your
step is to get like, Okay, letme take control as a parent,
back off, let's go this way,let's go that way, or no, enough
is enough. That is exactly whatyou're trying to get is turning
a trigger into a cue because ifyou go out in the street, if a
dog looks at you, it's prettymuch asking, 'I don't know what
to do right now, please helpme'. And you step in, and over
(21:37):
time it dogs just says hey, Itrust my owner, I'm not going to
react, he's got my back, orshe's got my back, etc.
That's the goal, for sure.
Exactly. And with differentbreeds and different types of
reactivity, there must bedifferent ways to deflate the
balloonThere is. So for example, there
are methods so I'm, I'm gonnaget I'm gonna get this out
(22:00):
there. And I'm a balancedtrainer, there are a lot of
methods to breaking reactivenessthrough positive reinforcements
through balance training, thatdoes not abuse a dog whatsoever,
I go by relationship-first,correction, reward. And then add
that all together to actuallyget the the results of dogs in
general. The thing with balancedtraining is just because you're
(22:23):
going through the trainingexercises and methods, etc, does
not mean you automatically goand set your dog up right beside
another dog. You work from adistance and you gradually get
closer and closer and closer.
And what you're doing is you'redesensitizing the distance of
the dog or the trigger, thepoint where the dogs like, Oh,
I've seen this 150 meters away,100 meters, 25 meters, 10
(22:46):
meters, okay, like it's done thewhole thing, I'm over it kind of
thing, right? Of course, dogsare dogs, they're gonna react
here and there, which is totallyfine. It's the fact that you
don't give up, you just applythe same thing you guys were
working on and keep your head upand continue going forward.
A huge thank you to Eddie fortaking the time to talk and
(23:09):
share about his experience andwhat he's learned on his
journey. As a dog owner, handlerand trainer, there's so much
that we can learn from otherpeople's mistakes. And it's also
nice to be able to relate tosomeone else as well when our
experiences are very similar. Wehad such good conversation that
there's actually so much morethat's not on this episode. I
(23:29):
didn't want to try to squeeze itall in. So instead, I'm saving
the rest of our conversation fora later date. So this is only
the first half of what we'vetalked about. And I'll keep the
rest a secret for now. You canfollow Eddie on Instagram
@classick9academy.
Finding a professional traineris the best thing you can do for
your reactive dog. Taking advicefrom a podcast, pointing fingers
(23:51):
at myself is not the way to doit. Like I said, this is not
what this platform is for. So doyour research into trainers that
will suit your dog and alignwith what you want to achieve,
and also what you believe in. Itmight take some time to find
what you're looking for. And itmight be trial and error to find
what works for your dog. We'veall been there. Keep at it and
stay strong. The work thatyou're doing for your dog is
(24:12):
incredible. And you should beproud of yourself.
I hope you've been able to takesomething away from this episode
that has helped you orencouraged you in some way. I
would love to know your thoughtsas well. You can reach out to me
on Instagram @spicydogmama, youcan send me an email at
spicydogmama@gmail.com. You canalso rate my podcast; that would
be amazing. Send it to a friendif you think they'd like to hear
(24:34):
it. And if you'd like to shareyour experiences, your thoughts
on reactivity and your journeyI'd love to chat with you. Next
week. We get to hear fromanother great friend of mine,
Julia and her experience withher Malinois/ Border Collie,
Kilo. Her story will sound alittle different than the ones
that we've been hearing butthere's still a lot that can be
taken away from it. So staytuned for next week, episode 10
(24:58):
and the final episode of seasonone. I love you all have a great
week you're doing amazing.
Hey guys, it's episode nine, Ikind of can't believe it. But
thank you so much if this isyour first time listening, or if
you've been here since thebeginning, which also feels like
yesterday, I'm Cass, the host ofthe Spicy Dog Mama podcast. And
I'm dog mom to Rey my reactivebully breed girl, who I'm very
much so obsessed with. I usethis platform to share my
(00:21):
experiences rescuing, raisingand training three very
different dogs, the mistakesthat I've made and the wins that
we've had, to help and encourageothers on a similar journey. It
can be hard raising a dog evenwithout reactivity. And I think
that all owners have somethingthat we can learn from one
another. But all of our dogs aredifferent, and our journeys will
all be different. So no matterwhat, just do what is best for
(00:44):
your dog. Remember that myexperience is just that, it's
mine. I'm learning as I go. I'vesaid it before and I'll say it
again, I'm not an expert. I'mnot a trainer, no matter what
I've gone through, seekprofessional guidance for your
own dog with a trainer thatmatches your values.
So on this episode, I do get tochat with a trainer, which I
(01:05):
only just got to know recently.
Eddie from classic canineAcademy will share parts of his
journey, where he started, whathe's learned and how he got to
where he is today. Just like allof us mistakes were made, but
he's found what works for him,and has been able to help others
as well. Let's go.
(01:30):
Hello, I've pretty well onlybeen following you. Since
starting this podcast. I heardabout you through @RaisingRoxy
who is just an absolute star.
Her and her mom, holy smokes.
They're doing incredibly.
They are amazing. They are astory to tell unravel. For sure.
(01:51):
Why don't you just introduceyourself?
Alright, so my name is Eddie, Iam the founder of Classic K9
Academy, I have roughly reachingabout eight years of experience.
Prior to doing this wholetraining, I was actually a dog
handler for a structureddaycare, which I'm actually in
the process of owning as well.
So before I did any sort oftraining, I was actually
(02:11):
watching dogs and understandingcertain breeds have certain
personalities, meaning certainbreeds work better through
different styles of training.
Do you focus mostly withreactive dogs?
I deal with a lot of...
surprising, right now due toCOVID, it's a lot more anxious
dogs rather than reactive. Priorto COVID. It was a lot of
(02:32):
aggressive/reactive/dog to dogaggression, like those kind of
behavior cases I was dealingwith. Now it's more so obedience
and anxiousness.
Probably prior to COVID it waspoor or the incorrect
socialization. And then becauseof COVID, there was the lack of
(02:52):
socialization.
Exactly. Well, the thing ispeople don't understand due to
like reactivity. It doesn't stemfrom aggression, that usually
stems from lack of confidenceand anxiety as well. So that's
kind of like, so it does fit inwith anxiety with reactivity, it
just really depends on the dog.
And that's what kind of myexperience comes through. Like
say, I can work with a Bully, aGreat Dane, a Shiba Inu, a
(03:15):
Husky, a Cane Corso. And becauseI have the experience of through
their personality, not justreading it up online before
seeing the, I guess you can say,the clients, but I can see their
dogs in action around other dogsas well. So I do understand more
so the dog's body language,which is where I can actually
work through his dog bodylanguage rather than just
(03:35):
correct, correct, correct,reward, reward, reward. I try to
figure it out behavior first,and why the dogs act this way.
And right now I'm looking into,like I said, owning the
business, structure daycare,where 80% of the dogs that we
currently have in a structureddaycare came from behavior. So
it's not impossible to have adog who's primarily aggressive
(03:57):
to be a good dog around otherdogs. Yes, they might need
attention. But they are stillliving the life they want to
have in front around other dogsas well.
I love that. I think that thereshould be more structured style
daycares. I'm not one who wantsto send Rey to a daycare because
of the way that she is, theenvironment. It's not
(04:17):
necessarily a space that she'sgoing to want to be in because
of the over excitement and thenoise.
And the difference here is thereare there are daycares out there
who may be good. It's just youwant to be very careful. Last
thing you want is to bring yourdog to a daycare where it's
structured as if it's a dogpark, right? And the way we do
it with our company is weactually, and this is not to say
(04:38):
like hey, come to me, I'mstructured. It's nothing like
that. It's just so peopleactually ask certain questions.
If they are interested indaycare, and they don't come to
us ask these certain questionsor see what their methods are.
For example, the structuredaycare that we have here is the
same people who are trainingdogs are watching your dogs in a
daycare so they understand thatdog who is going through
(04:58):
training and their quirks, it'striggers etc, and watch them in
the daycare, having a dog calmdown if they're overstimulated,
introduce them to the packcorrectly, you know, speaking to
the owner. So this is one thingwhere it's honesty first for us,
where if a dog actually hasissues at the end of day be
like, hey, that you might wantto look into this and this and
that, to make sure the dog goeshome well and the trainer's or
(05:20):
even the owners understand 'Hey,he is right. We're going to work
on this'. We don't have to go tohim to work on it. But we'll
give you guys advice on how toactually work on your dog at
home as well.
I love that. That's super cool.
I mean, some dogs can do justfine in the high energy, crazy
daycares. It also might lead tosome leash reactivity or
frustration, but I don't thinkthey should only be for the
(05:41):
happy go lucky dog.
In all reality, dogssocialization isn't your dog
playing 24/7? Right? That's whatpeople have to understand. It's
simply your dog is okay sittinglaying down next to another dog.
And watching dogs play as well.
That is enough mentalstimulation when a dog goes home
and learns like, Hey, I don'thave to join this play over
here. Just because I'm withthem. I just have to look and be
(06:03):
like, Okay, it's alright. I'msafe here. So understanding the
dog is one thing as well, wherethe dog actually understands,
first of all, that dogs in theirarea is safe and has no need to
react if they're in the generalarea as well.
No, that's awesome. When youfirst started working at the
daycare, did you already haveany kind of training experience?
(06:26):
Or did you go in blind tobehavior.
So the funny story is my parentsnever allowed me to have a dog.
So I was 17 at the time, workingat McDonald's, I pretty much did
everything incorrectly that Ithat most people would be like,
Hey, don't do this. So I hadlike, exactly with dogs. So with
(06:49):
my own dog, so this story withmy own dog is we're actually got
into the training business aswell and handling dogs. I had
$60- t o my name working atMcDonald's. I went on Kijiji
that's already a red flag rightthere and looked up doberman.
They didn't do any research ontheir breed. Another red flag
right there.
A good looking dog. That's whatyou thought. Right?
Exactly. I fell for everythingthat should not have been done
(07:11):
in the first place. Right? Iwent over there. The parents
they opened the door, theparents of the Dobermans puppies
were barking at me, another redflag, right? And because I was
17 at the time, and I really,really wanted a dog I adopted a
dog, their priced at around 850or $1,000, something like that.
And I told them hey, I only havethis much. Right? So they gave
(07:34):
me the runt of the litter andthey gave me the puppy that has
a scar on its tail throughdocking. And that's how I ended
up with my now almost 11 yearold doberman. I went through a
lot of mistakes that now I'mlearning and because I went
through those mistakesexperience wise, I'm able to let
people know like hey, like thisis not what you guys want to do
(07:55):
their dog. I learned firsthandgoing through like three
mattresses, two couches, manyshoes, many clothing, carpets
like I've been through the wholenine yards. Yeah, he was
reactive to buses, dogs, bikes,etc etc. So I was I was having
to work on that. And and thenwhat happened was I went to the,
I actually applied to be a doghandler, I mentored under David
(08:21):
who actually- the reason- so theplace is actually called The
Original Dog House. It thereason why it was called that it
was opened up 18 years ago, soit was the first ever dog
daycare center in Toronto. Thatis why it's called The Original
Dog House. And he worked with alot of dogs prior, he was in the
military working with dogs aswell. So I mentored under him
(08:44):
but as time goes on, technologygoes on as well. So I'm applying
things that I would be learningto this generation and adding
some of it from past generationsand pretty much using my own,
quote unquote, balance method aswell.
Yeah, we're gonna learn and grow100% along the way. I want to
talk about your Doberman becauseI want to know exactly... was it
(09:10):
all fine and good? You had apuppy, you were just kind of
teach him like... When didthings really start going
downhill?
First of all, I didn't do cratetraining when he was young,
biggest mistake. There goes themattresses right, the
mattresses, the carpets, peeeverywhere in the house. Which
is why I always drive people toget a crate for your puppy for
(09:34):
your dog. And then eventuallyyou can wean off I'm not saying
to keep them there for yourwhole life. If you get off of
it, let your dog free roam, it'stotally fine as long as they
understand the boundaries of thehousehold. It's not because you
want to keep your dog couped.
It's more so you want to createstructure and safety for your
dog. The same way with a toddleryou would not allow a toddler to
crawl around the householdwithout anybody watching the
(09:55):
toddler. It's the same thingthere and as he aged into the I
guess you can call it a teenagerphase around eight, nine months
old was when I kind of wasdealing with the reactiveness to
TTC buses, cyclists, joggers,bad recall off leash, went to
PetSmart. Big mistake there aswell. I just didn't know at the
(10:18):
time that Petsmart doesn't trainfor behavioral issues such as I
wouldn't say reactive isbehavior issues, moreso a
confidence building thing. Butthat didn't really help them as
well. So it was up until when hewas one and a half, two years
old until I dove deep intoresearch and like, figured out
Oh, actually to deal with Rambo.
(10:42):
But like I said, I'm sure youknow, as well, all dogs don't
learn the same.
Exactly, yeah. Did you justresearch on your own and apply
those? Or did you seek out atrainer?
At the time, so this would havebeen this would have been the
peak days of Cesar Milan and thedog whisperer. So that's where
all my things were applied from.
But even then, some thingsdidn't work with him. He was a
(11:04):
very stubborn dog. And becauseof that age, he was also more
disobedient to testing mylimits. Which is fine, like all
dogs go through it. But it was alot of more so watching certain
people do certain things on TVlike Cesar Milan. And then if it
didn't work out, actually Googleresearch. At the time, there
(11:26):
weren't a lot of highly knowntrainers at the time tha t will
say just because Instagram, tiktok wasn't out there exactly
like that to, to for people toshowcase their skills and
services. So a lot of it had tobe Google.
Which is also going to be trialand error.
(11:47):
Exactly. So there was a lot oftrial and error on my part. And
right now he's actually areally, really good boy. So it
took me about until he was threeand a half, maybe even four
years old to actually work oneverything. So meaning, just
like every dog out there who aredealing with reactive issues,
don't expect an overnight kindof solution. I worked on it for
(12:08):
almost two and a half years toget him to where he was hard
work very hard. But is it worthit.
There were so many red flagswhen you got him. But does
that... do you think that thatabsolutely set him up for
(12:30):
failure? Was it just hand inhand with how you raised him? Or
like, do you think that youcould have brought him home and
you could have been fine.
If I did my research prior tothe breed and understanding how
to upkeep a puppy, and what wasneeded for a puppy in the first
place. 100% I could have set himup for success 100%. I could
(12:52):
even do my research prior tolook for a trainer who had
worked with working breed dogs,that would have got him a lot
quicker to where I wanted themto be. But also certain things
with dogs behavior wise doesstem from their parents. So that
was a red flag in itself wherewhen I walk into the house, the
(13:14):
dogs are barking immediately.
And regardless of how much thebreeder would tell them to stop,
they would not stop. And guesswhat, when Rambo aged? He did
the same thing as his parents.
Right? So there is a mixture andI will take blame 100% that he
was the dog he was at a youngage because I did not set him up
to succeed at all.
(13:35):
In hindsight, is a Doberman theright dog for you? Or would you
have picked one knowing aboutthe breed?
Ah, one hundred percent, I wouldlet myself go through exactly
what I went through. If I wereto do it again, to learn. Or
otherwise I would not be here,where I would not be able to be
in this podcast with you guys. Ihelp people with their reactive
(13:56):
dogs as well. I would notsuggest certain breeds for
certain people. Do yourresearch. Don't be like me.
No, I agree though, you had tomake those mistakes to get to
where you are now. I got myrescue. And I did so many things
wrong. But I also wouldn't behere right now knowing what I
do. Still making some mistakesstill trying to learn from it,
(14:17):
but learning from others too,which is why I'm so excited to
talk to you.
And this is a thing where dogswill never be perfect. They are
creatures of habit, you'll neverhave a perfect dog regardless.
And people say their dog isperfect and which people have to
understand don't compare yourdog to other dogs, the work that
you've done with your dog, youkeep it to yourself, you enjoy
(14:37):
that because the dog that I'vedone with myself, my clients, et
cetera, et cetera, might havebeen a lot more work might have
been a lot more easier, but atthe same time, it's your dog.
It's a process you went throughand this is where the trust
building with your dog maximizesat its most is the one on one
training session that you dowith your dog.
Absolutely. And I love that youdid work as a handler at a
(14:58):
daycare prior to doing dogtraining and getting to know so
many breeds and their behaviorbecause training every dog is
different. And I myself, I hadmy rescue bully breed, I'm not
sure what he was a mix of, I hadthe golden. And now I have Rey,
they all learned completelydifferently. I'm still learning
so much. And there's no way thatwhat I'm doing with Rey is going
(15:19):
to work with every other dog.
The thing is because you'veworked with reactive dogs, so
you have already had three dogs,that you've trained yourself,
you already have more knowledgethan your typical first time
owner. Right. So you candefinitely help first time
owners even with simpleobedience in the first place,
right? But can I you a dogtrainer? It's the fact that
you're willing to help based offyour experience.
And that's why I want to sharemy experience because even
(15:41):
talking about the first timethat Reese bit a dog and what I
did wrong and socializing, I'vehad people say like, I probably
would have done the same thing.
So it's, I'll share my mistakes,and maybe make myself look
really bad just to help somebodyelse not make the same mistakes,
or at least be aware of it.
Because maybe they do want to dothe same thing. Okay, but here's
what might happen, like dogparks. And like daycares. Yeah,
(16:03):
here's what could go wrong. Youcan do what you want with your
dog. But, you know, these arethe risks.
And it's people like, like youwho are needed in the community
is the fact that, yeah, your dogmay look good, they listen on
camera, but there were a lot ofissues and things that had to be
worked on. And being as honestas possible, lets the community
(16:23):
understand as well. It's, it'snot all butterflies and flowers.
You set them up and understand,hey, it's not all fun. But at
the end of the day, when youwork through it, it is a
beautiful process.
Yeah, I love how much morepeople are becoming transparent
on social media. I love seeingthe progress and people saying,
Yeah, okay, here's also what...
either you messed up orsomething did go wrong, is huge
(16:45):
to help other people, even justso they don't feel bad about
what they've done. Or feel thatshame.
And this is why with with peoplein general, and I speak with I
tell them, like, trust me theissues that you guys are dealing
with, like I've been throughwith my own dog.
How far into working as a doghandler at the daycare, did you
(17:05):
start your business?
So I was so I was a dog handlerfor about two years. So I did
have two years of just watchingdogs walking dogs, understanding
the personalities and behaviors.
And then I went into obedienceafterwards with only puppies.
Just because generally speakingpuppies are a little bit more,
quote unquote malleable to learncertain foundations of basic
(17:28):
obedience in the first place. Soeverything that was taught to
puppies was easier, so to speak.
It is just like teenagers orchildren or babies who cry, it's
they will get over iteventually, as long as the
process of learning and tellingthem an understanding, no, or
enough or reward as well forpositive behaviors, eventually,
(17:52):
the puppy does understandeverything. And then from there,
I went into advanced obedience ayear after working with dogs
over the age of one that was alittle bit more difficult
because by one years old,certain dogs have certain
habits, meaning you have tountrain one year worth of
experience with bad habits andkind of push it to the side and
(18:16):
put in the good habits and agood foundation afterwards,
which just doubled the workwhich is totally fine. And then
two years after that I went intobehavior work. That was very,
very difficult because my firstbehavior case was a German
Shepherd who bit like threepeople, multiple dogs, and
(18:42):
pretty much it was unsafe arounddogs. That is for first case
which I did not manhandle itmyself, I was mentoring
underneath David as well whokind of guided me through that.
And the thing with dogs is Ilike to put an analogy to a
balloon where if the dog is overstimulated, the balloon has
already been fully blown and thenext trigger will make the
balloon pop. And the pop is yourdog barking out of reactive or
(19:07):
out of reactivity, or actuallygoing the full length of
attacking a person or a dogmeaning you have to try to
deflate that balloon as much aspossible. And every time it
continues to blow up you want tokind of keep deflating so it
doesn't actually get to thatcase where it is. So that was
the behavior. I've done a lot ofanxiety work, aggression etc but
(19:29):
that's where most of my myexperience comes from is more so
behavior work ever since then Iwas doing less obedience work
and more behavior work at thetime. Because it was something
that grabbed my my mind a lotwhere I was like, why did this
dog do this? Why is it actinglike this? What signs is he
showing that he's gonna react orhe's gonna attack or what's
(19:50):
making them uncomfortable? Andthis is where a lot of times my
training comes from bodylanguage of the dog first and
understanding why did it dothis? And if there's a reason
why, can I find a method to gethim not to react that way
through his body first, or hisnose, for example. So for
humans, it's if I see it, Ibelieve it for dogs is if I
(20:11):
smell it, I believe it. Right.
And that's the thing with dogsis, if there are, a lot of times
you'll see dogs before they getreactive, they're stiff. Their
nose is kind of towards thetrigger, quote, unquote. And
it's constantly breathing,right, and their ears are
usually back or pointed up,depending on what the trigger
is. And if you are able to, youcan say distract those symptoms
(20:32):
first, before the reactivity.
You don't have to deal with thereactivity and cause yourself
the stress.
Don't let the balloon blow up.
Exactly, exactly, that's exactlywhat I'm trying to say. And over
time, the more often you're ableto distract the symptoms, you
don't have to stress yourselfout with the reactivity. And
(20:53):
over time, your dog's not goingto react as much where because
you're having them understand,hey, all I need is to show
you... have you show me thatyour body language is showing me
that you're stressed, I'm gonnatake in control, I'm going to
step forward, I'm going to kindof tell the dogs to back off and
kind of let me handle thesituation. And over time, what's
going to happen is, your dogwill look at you and be like,
(21:14):
Mom, Dad, I'm kind ofuncomfortable. And your your
step is to get like, Okay, letme take control as a parent,
back off, let's go this way,let's go that way, or no, enough
is enough. That is exactly whatyou're trying to get is turning
a trigger into a cue because ifyou go out in the street, if a
dog looks at you, it's prettymuch asking, 'I don't know what
to do right now, please helpme'. And you step in, and over
(21:37):
time it dogs just says hey, Itrust my owner, I'm not going to
react, he's got my back, orshe's got my back, etc.
That's the goal, for sure.
Exactly. And with differentbreeds and different types of
reactivity, there must bedifferent ways to deflate the
balloonThere is. So for example, there
are methods so I'm, I'm gonnaget I'm gonna get this out
(22:00):
there. And I'm a balancedtrainer, there are a lot of
methods to breaking reactivenessthrough positive reinforcements
through balance training, thatdoes not abuse a dog whatsoever,
I go by relationship-first,correction, reward. And then add
that all together to actuallyget the the results of dogs in
general. The thing with balancedtraining is just because you're
(22:23):
going through the trainingexercises and methods, etc, does
not mean you automatically goand set your dog up right beside
another dog. You work from adistance and you gradually get
closer and closer and closer.
And what you're doing is you'redesensitizing the distance of
the dog or the trigger, thepoint where the dogs like, Oh,
I've seen this 150 meters away,100 meters, 25 meters, 10
(22:46):
meters, okay, like it's done thewhole thing, I'm over it kind of
thing, right? Of course, dogsare dogs, they're gonna react
here and there, which is totallyfine. It's the fact that you
don't give up, you just applythe same thing you guys were
working on and keep your head upand continue going forward.
A huge thank you to Eddie fortaking the time to talk and
(23:09):
share about his experience andwhat he's learned on his
journey. As a dog owner, handlerand trainer, there's so much
that we can learn from otherpeople's mistakes. And it's also
nice to be able to relate tosomeone else as well when our
experiences are very similar. Wehad such good conversation that
there's actually so much morethat's not on this episode. I
(23:29):
didn't want to try to squeeze itall in. So instead, I'm saving
the rest of our conversation fora later date. So this is only
the first half of what we'vetalked about. And I'll keep the
rest a secret for now. You canfollow Eddie on Instagram
@classick9academy.
Finding a professional traineris the best thing you can do for
your reactive dog. Taking advicefrom a podcast, pointing fingers
(23:51):
at myself is not the way to doit. Like I said, this is not
what this platform is for. So doyour research into trainers that
will suit your dog and alignwith what you want to achieve,
and also what you believe in. Itmight take some time to find
what you're looking for. And itmight be trial and error to find
what works for your dog. We'veall been there. Keep at it and
stay strong. The work thatyou're doing for your dog is
(24:12):
incredible. And you should beproud of yourself.
I hope you've been able to takesomething away from this episode
that has helped you orencouraged you in some way. I
would love to know your thoughtsas well. You can reach out to me
on Instagram @spicydogmama, youcan send me an email at
spicydogmama@gmail.com. You canalso rate my podcast; that would
be amazing. Send it to a friendif you think they'd like to hear
(24:34):
it. And if you'd like to shareyour experiences, your thoughts
on reactivity and your journeyI'd love to chat with you. Next
week. We get to hear fromanother great friend of mine,
Julia and her experience withher Malinois/ Border Collie,
Kilo. Her story will sound alittle different than the ones
that we've been hearing butthere's still a lot that can be
taken away from it. So staytuned for next week, episode 10
(24:58):
and the final episode of seasonone. I love you all have a great
week you're doing amazing.
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