Would you like professional help with your dog’s training and behaviour?
Want a well trained dog but lack the knowledge, expertise and perhaps time to get it done? Perhaps you just want to enjoy a well trained pet & would like professional guidance on how to get there? Here is the answer:
Boarding & Training.
K9 Camp.
K9/Canine Boot camp.
Experience Matters
When looking for a dog trainer, you should prioritize experience, results and professionalism. Seek out a trainer with a proven track record in handling various breeds and behavioural challenges. A highly experienced trainer will have the skills needed to adapt their techniques to meet your dog’s unique needs.
Every dog is unique, requiring a tailored approach to training. A trustworthy dog trainer will take the time to understand your dog’s personality, history, and your training goals. They will then customize a training plan that suits your dog’s individual needs and learning capacity. Flexibility is key when addressing specific behavioral problems, and a skilled trainer will adapt their techniques accordingly.
Once your dog is trained, the trainer should then be able to teach you what your dog has learned and how to maintain the training.
Board and train programs have two distinct parts:
Part 1 Teach the dog a skill set
Part 2 Demonstrate for the owner what the dog has learned, explain the importance of the specific dog training skills and teach the owner how to maintain it.
When those two parts are properly fused together, the dog owner and dog will be able to carry on where the trainer left off.
Montreal Dog Training Positive Reviews and Testimonials:
One of the best ways to gauge the effectiveness of a dog trainer is by reading reviews and testimonials from their clients. Positive feedback that highlights successful outcomes and happy clients.
Investing time and effort into finding the right dog trainer will not only shape your dog’s behavior but also strengthen the bond between you and your furry companion. So go ahead, embark on this exciting journey of training and watch your dog flourish under the guidance of a skilled Montreal dog trainer!
First trainer didn't get it done
After having tried another dog trainer and gotten nowhere I really hesitated to try working with someone else. I was so pleasantly surprised and impressed with Nick and the results that he got from our puppy.
He really cares about the dogs and understands how they think and how to get the most from them. He sets up realistic goals and teaches the owners how to use his training in every day situations and they have made the biggest difference to the way that we feel when we are with our dog.
We gave Nick a puppy that we were having a lot of trouble with and we picked up a dog that was so well behaved and pleasant to be around. He’s a completely different dog….its incredible that Nick was able to achieve this in a few weeks!
We are enjoying and loving every second with our dog and owe this completely to the time that he spent with Nick.
Nick truly is wonderful and was a real life saver for us 🙂
Beverley Sasson
Stanley - Lakeland Terrier
Making dog owners lives easier with good training
If you are hesitating in working with Nick, maybe I can help you make what is ultimately a really big decision easier. I booked a consultation with Nick for my 1.5 year old Kangal × Caucasian Shepherd girl.
Within 15 minutes I knew I would be working with Nick in the future. The consultation let me know that my girl was in good hands and she would make strides in her training to make both our lives easier. After 3 weeks with Nick in the board and train program, I had tons of questions which were answered in both the follow up sessions and online. Already my dog and I live a better life because of the foundation we have built. I feel like I myself have become an amateur dog trainer in what Nick has taught me. I have the tools and confidence now to continue working with my dog. I look forward to doing some advanced training with Nick in the future and so does my girl.
Luca-Xavier
Aia Kangal/Caucasian Shepherd Mix
Family K9 Dog Training Reviews (a small sample)
A small collection of Board & Train / In Kennel Dog Training Videos
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Training tiny dogs!
Montreal Puppy training (with distractions!)
Montreal Dog Trainer -Dog reactive Husky in training
Montreal Dog Training – teaching reactive dog owner how to properly handle her dog
Training Dogs and Teaching Humans -the transfer lesson process
How to calm an anxious dog
Dogs are wonderfully resilient, adaptable creatures!
A big birthday party for a big (!) Great Dane
Teaching dogs not to jump up – building belief systems in dog training – montreal dog Training
Montreal dog trainer – focused heeling
Dogs are amazingly resilient and wonderful creatures. Training blind dogs.
Montreal Dog Training – structure, play and clear communication in training
Montreal Puppy Training-teaching a puppy not to bite and how to play
Top Dog Training Tips for Montreal Area Dog Owners
Top Dog Training Tips for Montreal Area Dog Owners
1. Start Training Your Puppy Early
Puppies abosrb information all day long. The earlier you start training the better the outcome will be in teaching obedience and good manners. Think of this:
Puppy jumps up and gets petted. What did it learn? Jumping up =reward. Instead, pet your puppy before the jump – or even better yet teach your puppy to sit and then ask her to sit before petting and what did the puppy learn now? Not only did your pup learn to sit which is valuable for so many things all their life – but they also learned a polite way to interact and ask for petting. Take this concept and apply it to your many moment throughout the day with your pup and you will start to see nice changes in behaviour.
2. Learn How To Speak Dog Clearly
Learning basic dog psychology and learning theory is key if you ant to be an effective communicator with your dog. It is so easy to blame the dog, get frustrated and settle for a frustrating life with your pet under the guise of “Wel… He’s juts stubborn”. Understanding your dog’s temperament, genetics (you can’t fight DNA – more on this in another article) drives and thresholds will take you a lot further in goals as a dog trainer. I work with many dogs each year who were labelled as stubborn or untrainable by not only their owners but even by other dog trainers when the reality is that the training was not done in a clear and logical way. Ouspi, a young Labradoodle is a prime example of this. His owners worked with a trainer prior to coming to Family K9 Dog Training. That trainer called him stubborn and dumb. Thanksfully they looked further into training for their pet and he is a wonderful dog and very capable of excellent behaviour.
Positive reinforcement is an effective training method. Reward your dog with praise, treats, or playtime when they exhibit the desired behavior. This will motivate them to repeat the action in the future.
4. Socialize Your Dog
Socialization is crucial for a well-behaved dog. Expose your canine companion to different environments, people, and other animals in Montreal and all over as much as possible. I often feed & play with my puppy in new environments, bring him into local shops and allow people to interact with him in proper, controlled interactions in order to help shape his view of the world. This will help them become comfortable and confident in various situations.
5. Seek Professional Help
If you’re having difficulty with your dog’s training, don’t hesitate to seek professional help. Family K9 Dog Training has a 30 year track record of helping Montreal area dog owners and can provide expert guidance and tailor training programs to suit your dog’s specific needs.
6. Be Patient and Persistent – Set Realistic Expectations
Training a dog takes time and patience. Be persistent in your efforts, even if progress seems slow at times. Consistent training sessions and positive reinforcement will yield positive results over time.
7. Stay Updated with Training Techniques
Stay informed about the latest training techniques and methodologies. Attend workshops, read books or articles, and consult reputableonline resources to enhance your knowledge and improve your training approach.
Over the years, I’ve trained some dogs who have had really unique names that stand out. Here’s a small gathering of some of my favourite unique dog names.
Malamute Passion Fruit – nicknamed “Dan”
Passion fruit is a large malamute mix whose owners contacted me because he had aggression issues towards dogs and some humans. He was wonderful to train with as was his owner Anne. Here are a couple of videos, both showing him in training with me, and then working with his owner for the first time. I know they explained it to me, but I still can’t quite comprehend, how a dog named passion fruit called Dan?
Rescue dog mixed breed Fig Newton
Fig is a rescue dog who came for a consultation with his owners last year, and it was clear that he’s a very sweet and nervous dog who needed help to control his reactivity.
He’s got a very dedicated team and has done great in training. I can confidently say he’s the one and only Fig Newton that I’ve trained in my 30+ year career training, dogs.
Fig Newton and his Crew
French Bulldogs Banksy & Basquiat
Banksy and basquiat are two French bulldogs both named after artists.
Each of them are wonderful dogs with big personalities and I remember them as my French bulldog artistes!
Banksy and Cow doing place in tandem
Mochi Shiba Inu
I trained Mochi towards the end of 2022. Her owners contacted me due to her reactivity towards other dogs – which would result in her, turning and biting her owners out of sheer panic and frustration. She’s definitely a Shiba Inu, meaning a dog with very unique characteristics who doesn’t give her self away socially to just anybody and doesn’t work in obedience for free. Shiba’s are a very unique breed, and I enjoy training them very much because of their strong and unique personalities. This picture of her was taken on her first day in the kennel when she snuggled up on her bed and I wrapped her up in her blanket. Later that week, when I was shopping, I saw a box of Mochi and thought of that photo immediately.
Mochi’s first day in for training
Cow English Bulldog
What can I say about my cow?
I can’t take credit for the name. Her breeder named her and at first I thought it was a ridiculous. We had actually named her Clara after Clara Hughes the Canadian Olympian (speed skating/cycling). In time we started to grow fond of the name and alternate between calling her Cow or Clara and she’s happy to answer to both
Living with Cow was such a shift for me mentally after spending decades with working bred shepherds, all of whom carried a level of intensity most people will never experience.
Cow is a hang out on the couch, stay by your side/wake me up for dinner type dog. She is a silly, soft dog who just wants to be near you and be loved all the time.
I went from racing F1 cars to sitting in traffic on a bus dog temperament wise. She’s a sweetheart the sound of her snoring is oddly comforting to me and our family dotes on her.
Cow’s 1st Birthday
El Guapo Chihuahua
Loosely translated, it means the handsome one.
I trained Guapo from a little puppy and his owners went on to do obedience training, and we have since trained many dogs together.
Guapo without his booster seat in the bag.
Bugsy Jack Russel Terrier
Now we’re going back deep into the 90’s. Close to 30 years ago in fact. This little jack Russell ruled the roost in his home and like most Jack Russells had a giant personality. He was an awesome dog, big character, and you could train him sun up to sundow with the amount of energy and drive he had. I always assumed he was named after Bugsy Siegel the gangster.
Bugsy
Bones the Pitbull
Bones’ owner brought him to me at eight or nine years old for training and he’s nothing short of a total sweetheart. I love the name bones and the juxtaposition given his large muscular stature. I spent many a lunch/coffee break, hanging out with him in his kennel and we would just chill out together.He was one of the most easy-going, affectionate and chilled out dogs I have ever met.
Bones’ deep, soft eyes
Tuba Chocolate Labrador Retriever
Tuba the chocolate lab was a one of a kind! He would board with me regularly, and at the first meeting with his owners, they explain to me that he would not go out to relieve himself first thing in the morning, unless he first was given his breakfast.Of course, this peak my interest because I had not come across a dog like this before and I was curious to see if he would do the same thing with.So naturally, his first morning in residence at the kennel, I open his kennel door to let him out with the other dogs (who are all looking at me like “hurry up, Nick, I got to go to the bathroom”) And sure enough tuba backed up deeper into his kennel making it clear to me that he’s not ready to go out yet because breakfast has not been served.What a character! As soon as he inhaled his 2 cups of food, (took him all of five seconds, maybe) he walked out of his kennel, went outside and did what he had to do and went on with his morning.
Post breakfast outing for Tuba
Hypertension Dutch Shepherd
Hyper was my dog. He was my training partner, my buddy.We spent countless hours together both in and out of training and I miss him every day since he passed in 2014.Hyper was a Dutch shepherd and a working bread one I thoughtThere’s a special bond between a trainer and a dog, especially a working bread dog because once you ignite the working side of the dog bones, do you like nothing you can understand unless you’ve lived it.He would sit at the door when I went into the kennel or position, himself somewhere by a window, trying to get a vantage point of watching me train other dogs and shaking cry the whole time until he had a chance to be with dad.
Picking Hyper up @ the airport. March 3, 2001.Fetching an SUV tire!
These clips are quite old so the video quality is not great – but they are a testament to countless hours of work, bonding and the human K9 connection. And for those wondering – Hype got to eat the cheeseburgers once the clip was finished:-)
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Hyper's Cheeseburger torture - familyk9.com
www.familyk9.com - more Hyper clips!
www.familyk9.com - Hyper plays basketball
www.familyk9.com - Nick Zevgolis & Hyper the Dutch Shepherd
www.familyk9.com - Object guard
www.familyk9.com - Hyper's defense
Family K9 Dog Training - Nick Zevgolis and Hyper @ work
Family K9 Dog Training
Family K9 Dog Training - Nick and Hyper
Environmentally conscious dog and dog trainer
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Bacon – English Bulldog
I’ve got a hand it to bulldog owners. It seems like many of them come up with really unique important names.Bacon came in for training as a very young puppy, and he was relentless in his mouth penis.In fact, this was his families, biggest concern as they had young children and bacon would chew on them relentlessly.Understand that this was nothing more than just play for bacon and here are a couple of videos of bacon in training.The first one highlights his very first day, in fact even his first moments with me at the kennel and I’m trying to orient him towards playing with a toy.At one point you can see he removed my shoe.Talk about skill! I continue to redirect them towards a toy and overtime refine this so that he understood playing with his mouth was fine as long as it’s on a toy rather than our body parts or clothing.The second video shows him about a week later, working on some obedience skills that we were developing for a few days.Such a happy, silly and playful dog he was an absolute joy to train.
Young Bacon in training
Sherpa West Highland White Terrier
I trained with Michèle and Sherpa in the early 2000s. Sherpa was a very special and wonderful example of a west highland white terrier. We have since gone on to train Gaspard another great example of the breed.
