InSync Canines
509 Guelph Street L7G4B6 Georgetown, ON, Canada

What a great resource- read along for an easy to understand explanation of a reinforcement history and why it's important in positive reinforcement training!

Don't miss out on our back to school sale- this week only!

Hunter says: "But mom, when do my friends get here?" We continue to provide a thoroughly sanitized classroom and socially distanced class arrangement as we welcome back students this week. We can't wait to see everyone!

If you're tired of hearing the 'songs of their people', we can help! www.insynccanines.com

We have just loved working with "Team Charlotte"! If you've seen this family work together, you'll appreciate that they truly are a team. Their diligent work in doing their homework using fun, positive reinforcement, game-based training is really paying off. Charlotte responds quickly and happily to their requests, all while wagging her tail. Learning can be- and should be- fun for those on both ends of the leash! This team exemplifies that and starting while Charlotte is a ...puppy sets the stage for years of enjoying a happy, willing companion. Thank you for choosing InSync Canines, we can't wait to see "Team Charlotte" continue to develop in the future.

Charlotte the cavalier puppy demonstrates her 'go to bed' and call off distraction skills with ease (and the most adorable tail wag!). Practicing these skills outside the home by practicing them at ISC is a great first progression in helping Charlotte generalize these behaviours across all situations. Great work, Team Charlotte!

Need help with your dog's nuisance barking? We can help!

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In this video, Hunter is moving across the cavalettis, independently, to a machine that dispenses treats (via remote) at each end when he correctly completes the exercise (because Hunter is experienced, he's expected not to hit the bars and complete all of the cavalletis without 'cheating' to earn his reward). This skill was built by shaping, a style of teaching we use at InSync Canines to teach dogs to become an active part of the learning experience. Shaping teaches the dog... that their behaviour can influence their rewards, encouraging them to offer behaviours (not just wait to be told what to do) to earn a reward. We start by rewarding approximations of the behaviour, slowly raising our criteria until we get to the final end behaviour. And we get there without begging, pleading, or luring our dogs with cookies. So why is this important? You might not need your dog to run across cavalettis (but hey, it sure is a convenient way to have your dog burn of some mental and physical energy while you enjoy a warm cup of coffee on the couch!), but you probably DO want to have a dog that understands how to think for themselves and actively seeks to offer the right behaviour in their daily lives in order to earn their reward (which sometimes might just be praise!). I think one of my favourite things about shaping is that it empowers dogs to control their outcomes. This helps teach them the power of choice and reinforces to them that they can make good things happen by offering good behaviours! This is so important in day to day life because it results in a dog that WANTS to work with you and provide the behaviour you are looking for. Being "InSync" with our dogs is all about being partnership focused and we love using the power of shaping as one of several important building bricks to develop that bond.

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It's National Black Dog day! Do you have a black dog in your life that you just love?It's National Black Dog day! Do you have a black dog in your life that you just love?

How are you keep your dogs busy on this very rainy day? Our level 2 students are keeping their dogs mentally stimulated by working on loose leash walking and attention with distractions.

This is what it's all about- letting every team live up to their potential based on their goals and on their own timeline. The only other team you should compare yourself to is the team you were when you first started.

Snow!! Did your dog wake up to snow this weekend? Show us their 'snow faces'!Snow!! Did your dog wake up to snow this weekend? Show us their 'snow faces'!

Oh hi, didn't notice you there !

In one simple exercise, this puppy is learning: 1. Body awareness (being able to stay on the plank) 2. To approach new obstacles with confidence 3. How to work together with their handler to receive a reward

Graduating students brings mixed emotions for us- we're so happy to have shared in their success and yet sad to see them go. Lucky for us, many of our students return to take the next level, and we get to see their smiling face and wagging tails again soon!

Update: class is now FULL! Dueto last minute cancellations, TWO spots have opened up in our Senior Puppy class starting tomorrow, Wed Oct 28th from 8:30pm-9:25pm. With COVID-19 safeguards in place, our classes are small and almost always full...and yet, puppies need to attend classes now more than ever to ensure their successful socialization.... Visit our website (www.insynccanines.com) or message us to save your spot!

Name three different skills you think this puppy might be learning in this photo.

Charlotte, the 10 week old calvalier, says, "You mean some puppies don't get to attend puppy class? But it's such a fun place where we get to learn new things!" What is your favourite thing about bringing your puppy to puppy class?

It's Monday and my dog is...It's Monday and my dog is...

Being efficient with your training is key to ensuring you get the most out of your investment. In a single class, we cover multiple skills, introducing new ones and challenging the difficulty of known ones.

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Love this photo that's been making the rounds recently. Break your dog training goals into small, incremental steps. Not only does this help you get where you need to go faster, it makes the process less overwhelming and gives you more milestones to look back on to measure your progress to date.

From the time students enter our school to the time they leave, every moment is an opportunity to teach their dogs which behaviours they like and to reward them!

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Some of the best training is, well, simple! This sport puppy student is learning several important skills for sport in one single exercise: -Loose leash walking or beginning of a heel... -Attention to handler -Body awareness (circle left/right and over disc) -Confidence (walking over disc...no big deal!) See more

This is math I can understand!

What if I told you...proper socialization doesn't mean your puppy gets to meet and play with every dog it sees? While playing with other puppies or safe, well matched adult dogs that you know is important to helping your puppy practice its social skills, there can definitely be too much of a good thing. We want our puppies to learn from a young age that, for the most part, they won't get to greet or play with every dog they see. In fact, we often will expect them to quitely w...alk by or work off leash in a class environment without interacting with other dogs. This is an important but sometimes forgotten aspect of socialization. Socialization doesn't mean interact with everything in the environment- it should mean exist confidently in new spaces without the desire to interact (or react) all the time. By introducing this concept early- and rewarding our puppies heavily for offering us focus and attention- we can help create confident dogs that don't feel the need to interact or don't become overaroused in the presence of other dogs. For young puppies, being selective about their playmates and practicing calmly and confidently ignoring dogs (in exchange for yummy treats!) also helps reduce the likelihood your dog will experience an unpleasant interaction with a dog that might lead to reactivity, fear, and/or overarousal in the future.

You know your dog is having fun learning when they add their own sense of humour and personality to the training exercise!

If only we could reason with them!

From puppy to achieving her Field Dog Junior title! Congrats to Phoebe and her mom for all their hard work. No matter what you want to achieve with your puppy- the perfect family pet or a future competition dog, we can help get you off on the right foot. www.insynccanines.com

Can you guess what InSync Canines students Phoebe and her mom are up to now?