Guided Practices

There is never too much practicing when it comes to obedience. Practices will include working the basic commands such as; sit, down, stand, stay and walking on leash to ensure that your dog continues to be well mannered and obedient!

The socialization period of a puppy is from 8-12 weeks of age, it’s time to make the most out of those moments! Bring your puppy for a supervised playdate with other puppies and one of our instructors. The puppies will play, take moments to relax and practice basic commands to ensure a sane and healthy play!

Adolescent playdates are a way for owners to allow their adolescent pups to play while being supervised and having help from an instructor. Sane and safe play are very important for adolescent dogs, we will help you see signals, interrupt play and reward the right behaviors

Enjoy walking in our trails while working your dogs, getting them used to being loose or on a long lead all the while practicing basic commands, recalls, enjoying short play sessions and introducing them to new objects or areas.

Time to venture out! Most dogs arrive at Guides Canins ready to work but when it comes to real life situations it’s a very different thing. We will practice in different areas of Saint-Lazare; Bédard park, the IGA, on the sidewalks, etc to help dogs generalize the appropriate behaviors pertaining to walking on leash, meeting strangers, crossing dogs and basic obedience.

This directed practice is for all levels of teams wanting to work on their competition obedience. Whether you are polishing to be ring ready or building your exercises as you progress, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to work through your challenges and proof your skills.

Obedience for competition is advanced obedience that focuses solely on what is necessary and performed in the obedience ring during competitions such as; heeling, stand for exam, recall, stays., training of the open routine, down on recall, retrieve, jumps, out of sight stays, utility exercises such as directional jumping and go back.

Rally is an advanced obedience sport in which a dog and human team go through a course in heel position while performing certain behaviors at various signs located along the set path.

Conformation is the sport of presenting a dog for evaluation of his or her breeding qualities. Appearance, structure, movements and temperament are indications of a dog’s quality for producing puppies. Practice will give you the opportunity to work your dog in a show-like environment.

Whether you and your dog are alone at the park or at a competition with lots of friends, this exciting and sometimes spectacular sport will spice up your training and daily outings. Whether you’ve set your sights on competing or simply want to play Frisbee® for fun, it’s an excellent way to work on your dog’s attention and motivation. The practice will give you the opportunity to practice your throws, your dog’s catches, choreography or your new freestyle moves. Practices will be held according to your goals and expectations and based on performances you want to achieve next season.

Rat Sports are based on hunting and teamwork skills. The purpose of the Barn Hunt and the Brush Hunt events are to demonstrate teamwork between the handler and his dog. The dog must display his vermin hunting ability by finding and marking rats in a barn-like or field-like setting in which straw/hay bales are used. The handler must display his ability to read the dog’s signal.

Sporting Scent Detection is the fun and competitive version of scent detection for narcotics, termites or explosives. The dog must locate a hidden target scent within an area and alert his handler to its whereabouts – this sport relies entirely on partnership and is a great way to learn how to read your dog.

Cadaver searching is the art of scent detection for bodies, either fresh or decomposing. The dog must locate the cadaver part, indicate and run back to the owner to alert them to their find. The dog must first have followed a cadaver workshop (given by Kim Cooper) in order to be able to take part in the cadaver practices.

Tracking is a natural activity that we don’t need to teach to our dogs! Using his awesome sense of smell, we just have to work on motivation and provide some guidance and framework for the dog to orientate his search. The practices are offered for those who have followed a tracking class before.

Smoke detection is the art of using your dogs nose to alert for smoke and fire in your home – at least one minute before a technical smoke alarm device. This training is spreading around the world and is becoming more and more popular. It is fun and easy for your dog and it is extremely effective. Although we hope that this is a skill your dog will never have to use, it is better as they say “safe than sorry”. Dogs must have followed the smoke detection class in order to participate.