Welcome Dog Lovers

We are Vancouver Island’s
Premier Dog Trainer

CONNECTING DOGS AND PEOPLE

CommuniCanine offers fun, effective dog training classes and lessons for the Saanich Peninsula and Greater Victoria, BC area. Private lessons and group classes are led by Darcie Jennings, veteran dog trainer and behaviour expert, and her staff.

Not on Vancouver Island? No Problem.
We also offer a range of Online Classes.

Voted Best Dog Training Company in Greater Victoria in 2022 & 2023

Imagine…

…taking your dog out for a nice, relaxing walk and coming home feeling good about it.

…letting him off leash at the park and feeling confident that he will come back when you call him.

…knowing you can trust your dog to make good choices when he’s socializing with others.

Those aren’t just dreams.

That’s what good training can do for you.

If you’re struggling to find balance in your relationship with your dog, solutions to problems bigger than you know how to handle on your own or just an inviting place to learn how to teach them the fundamentals of sit, down, come and stay, then we invite you to explore our website and let us help make those dreams your reality.

Imagine…

…taking your dog out for a nice, relaxing walk and coming home feeling good about it.

…letting him off leash at the park and feeling confident that he will come back when you call him.

…knowing you can trust your dog to make good choices when he’s socializing with others.

Those aren’t just dreams.

That’s what good training can do for you.

If you’re struggling to find balance in your relationship with your dog, solutions to problems bigger than you know how to handle on your own or just an inviting place to learn how to teach them the fundamentals of sit, down, come and stay, then we invite you to explore our website and let us help make those dreams your reality.

What Our Students Say

What we offer:

Group Classes

In-person group obedience and specialty classes for any skill level.

Behavioural Counselling

Discover areas of improvement with specialized training.

Private Classes

Specialized canine tutoring just for your and your pup.

Board and Train

Send them to us and let us do all the work for you!

Online Programs

Our signature dog training but in the comfort of your own home.

Free Resources to Explore

CommuniCanine wants to give you all the tools you need to have a healthy and happy relationship with your dog.

Our Dog Blog is filled with great advice, tips & tricks, yummy dog recipes, product reviews and more!

Housetraining 101 While there are no shortcuts to housetraining a dog or puppy, there are plenty of things you need to do to ensure the process doesn't take an unnecessarily long amount of time. Whether it's a puppy I am raising or... (continued) Continue Reading Calm at the Coffee Shop Imagine yourself sitting outside on the patio of your favourite coffee shop, enjoying a Double Double with a good friend, your dog lying quietly by your feet calmly ignoring the people and dogs going by. If not, then this exercise... (continued) Continue Reading Four Simple Ways to Stuff a Kong I am ALL about problem behaviour prevention. After all, it's usually easier to prevent them than to fix them. Giving your dog something productive to focus on, like chewing on a well stuffed Kong, is one way to keep them... (continued) Continue Reading Halloween Safety Tips ????Happy Halloween!!???? Although tonight is going to be a fun night for most of the kiddos, for many dogs it’s going to involve a lot more stress. People moving around in strange looking costumes, non-stop strangers at the door and, the... (continued) Continue Reading Tips For Safe Playtime Something I have been seeing quite a bit of lately are dogs who are getting really aggressive with their owners when they are playing with them or refusing to play altogether. A case in point was a puppy I... (continued) Continue Reading "Why?" And Other Questions To Ask When Training Your Dog As a society, we are usually taught to follow what others tell us. Following the rules as they are laid out is favoured to critical thinking. When we're told that drinking two cups of milk every day is necessary for... (continued) Continue Reading From Alpha to Understanding: A Dog Trainer's Journey I used to be one of those trainers who taught using dominance as my base for all behaviour. Even after I transitioned into positive training, when a dog would act up I would still use that as my behavioural model,... (continued) Continue Reading Week Six: A Wrap-up and Review at the Park In week six of our training series with reporter Maggie of A-channel’s Breakfast Television and her 7 month old Labradoodle, Lucy, we wrap up our lessons with a quick overview of what we covered, a demo of Maggie's now excellent... (continued) Continue Reading Lessons From a Dog Trainer: How I Got in My Own Way Some days when I am out with my dog, Cricket, I act like anything BUT a dog trainer. I repeat commands, I get angry and irritated and I lose all sense and reason.There have even been days when I've felt... (continued) Continue Reading Five Tips to Stop Your Puppy From Biting We all know that puppies have sharp teeth, but how do we teach them to be more gentle with them?? Here are 5 strategies to help you get through that nasty puppy mouthing stage without turning yourself into a human... (continued) Continue Reading {{title}} {{content:words:40}}... (continued) Continue Reading Positive change to positive training Thanks for all your help with Charli and being so patient with us (mostly me!) as we transition to this new style of training. I found your advice really helpful, and we both saw the wisdom in it. We're both... (continued) Continue Reading Should All Dogs Be Saved? Telling someone that they need to euthanize their dog is the shittiest part of my job. I entered this career to help fix them, not to kill them, but once you’ve been in this career long enough you realize that... (continued) Continue Reading Teaching Your Dog To "Find It" It's that time of year where the weather is starting to become cold and gross, making the temptation to shorten your walks or cut the odd one out all together really high. But your dog still needs to exercise his... (continued) Continue Reading Walking Made Easy: Teaching Your Dog To Wear A Head Halter If you have a hard time walking your dog on a leash due to mobility issues or you have a dog that is far too powerful to be walked on a leash with a collar or harness, this video is... (continued) Continue Reading Why Visiting The Vet May Solve Your Dogs Problem Behaviour Behaviour problems can have many root causes. Many years ago when I worked as a veterinary technician, a client brought in a new dog who hadn't been to a vet in many years. She was 7 years old, growled at... (continued) Continue Reading Balance in Exercise Lately, I have been spending a lot of time telling people to change how they exercise their dogs. It is a common misconception - and one that I, myself, used to perpetuate - that dogs need a good hour or... (continued) Continue Reading Preparing Your Dog Before Your First Baby Arrives For some dogs, transitioning into life with a new baby is effortless. For others? Not so much. So I'm sharing with you some of the most important things to start teaching your dog NOW, before that baby arrives, that will... (continued) Continue Reading Six Holiday Safety Tips Since many of my friends, clients and relatives already have their Christmas decorations up, I wanted to share some simple safety tips for the holiday season to help keep your dogs safe, healthy and out of the emergency vet this... (continued) Continue Reading No more biting issues! Charlie is doing great! The biting/mouthing is not really an issue any more. If it does happen, it ends pretty quickly without any drama- it’s great! I bought a 20ft rope which I let him drag around in the yard... (continued) Continue Reading Should Dogs Be Left To 'Work It Out' On Their Own? How many times have you heard someone say to you 'Let them work it out' when two dogs are in a disagreement with one another? This is not only terrible advice, it could potentially have serious consequences for one or... (continued) Continue Reading Dogs and Calculus When we raise our children from babies, it is understood and expected that they won’t understand our language or know our rules. We know that it will be our job to teach them, step by step, and then to remind... (continued) Continue Reading How To Resolve Fence Fighting Fence fighting is what happens when dogs on opposite sides of a fence or other barrier act in a barking, aggressive frenzy when they see one another. This barking can start off friendly enough but over time the frustration of... (continued) Continue Reading When Is Rehoming Your Dog The Best Option? Rehoming a dog is a very taboo subject. After all, dogs are for life, no? For me that’s a definite yes……but…..sometimes circumstances dictate that rehoming is actually in the best interest of everyone involved, especially the dog, and we’d be... (continued) Continue Reading The Key to Motivating Your Dog If you find your dogs response to commands, especially around distractions, is lack luster at best, than take a look at what you're using for motivation. The type of rewards you use in training can make the difference between a... (continued) Continue Reading Building Comfort Around Your Dogs Food Bowl True or False: You need to take your dogs food away from him while he's eating to teach him that you're allowed to do that. This video answers that and gives you a two-part exercise on how to a) teach a... (continued) Continue Reading On Grief and Losing a Loved One A very special client emailed me today letting me know her dog had recently passed. Even though she had lost several dogs before, she was really struggling with this particular loss and asked if I had any words of wisdom... (continued) Continue Reading Dog Park Etiquette: Are We Having Fun Yet? Understanding Body Language in Play Let’s talk about play. What’s normal and what’s not? What’s okay and what’s pushing the limit of appropriate? How do I know if my dog is being too aggressive or if he is feeling uncomfortable? Everyone you ask will have a... (continued) Continue Reading Socialization Myths: Part 1 There are so many myths about socializing dogs, that it inspired me to create a 3 part video series to bust some of the most common ones I hear. Tune in for Part 2 this week! Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRYxouBpEFc In this... (continued) Continue Reading How To Stop A Dog Attack Have you ever been charged at by an aggressive dog? If it ever happened to you, would you know what to do? Yesterday, my own dog was attacked. Well, almost attacked. But only because I knew how to stop it from... (continued) Continue Reading The Journey Is the Destination I was talking to a client after class the other night about some of the challenges he’d been having with his young pup, the biggest of which being that she wouldn’t come when he called her. He mentioned that he’d... (continued) Continue Reading Getting the right focus As I have a high drive dog, I have had many challenges curbing her energy and focusing her on a goal that is mine, not hers. Darcie is right on top of Sam's every move, never missing a prick of... (continued) Continue Reading Come Command Do's and Don't's 'Come' is the one command that almost everyone struggle's with at some point and, for some of you, that struggle is a daily occurrence. Let's be honest, most of us (yes, even me) have had the experience of being left... (continued) Continue Reading How to Get the Perfect Dog (As posted in Monday Magazine February 2014) Imagine taking your dog to the park or on a hike, letting him off leash and trusting him to come back when you call him? Or bringing him on your next family trip with... (continued) Continue Reading Is Your Dog's Collar Too Tight or Just Right? Did you know…. ....that a dog's neck can expand when they get hot? ???????? It can! Just like your feet, ankles and hands swell when your temperature goes up, your dogs neck can, too. When blood flow increases to the large veins (like... (continued) Continue Reading Teaching "Go Potty" on Command This week I'm sharing with you one of my FAVOURITE life hacks - how to teach your dog to go to the bathroom on command! This has saved me so much time in waiting for busy or distracted dogs that... (continued) Continue Reading Trail Etiquette: 5 Ways to Share the Trails We undoubtedly live in one of THE. BEST. places to walk our dogs in all of Canada, but sometimes we share very different views on how to best share our walking spaces. Here are 5 simple etiquette tips for you... (continued) Continue Reading Bark Box Halloween Fun If you haven't heard of Bark Box, it's a monthly subscription of dog products that are sent directly to your door. Each box is full of toys and treats customised to your dogs size and each month offers a unique... (continued) Continue Reading Teaching Your Dog To Be Calm Do you have a dog that can’t settle down, especially when there is a lot of activity going on around them? Or a dog who prefers to constantly play or be busy instead of calm and relaxed, regardless of how... (continued) Continue Reading Quality Canadian Dog Collars and Tags If you're anything like me, you want sustainable products for your dog that you know will do the job, last a long time and make a positive impact. As a dog trainer for well over two decades, I have run... (continued) Continue Reading How Taking Advice From Other Dog Owners Can Harm Your Dog It doesn’t matter who you talk to, nearly every dog owner you meet is happy to give you training and behaviour advice about your dogs, even if you didn’t ask for it. While everyone is well intentioned in doing so, the... (continued) Continue Reading Introducing a New Dog Into Your Home It's SO EXCITING bringing home a new dog, right?! And we all hope that the new dog will get along beautifully with the dogs we already have, but that isn't always what happens. So to increase the chances of getting... (continued) Continue Reading Overcoming Fear of Noises A few years back I got a toaster. When I first brought it out of the box, it had to be run three times in a row to get rid of any chemical residue left over from the factory. I... (continued) Continue Reading Bringing Home a Rescue Dog Adopting a rescue dog can be incredibly rewarding, but many people don't realize that many dogs don't come "move in ready." Here I share three important things to know about your new rescue, a common mistake I see people make... (continued) Continue Reading The Key to Successfully Training Your Dog We all admire those well trained dogs at the park or out walking with their owners and wish ours listened like that, too. Well, yours CAN listen like that and all it takes is doing this one simple step. Until next... (continued) Continue Reading Five Tips for Sending Your Dog to the Sitter Most of us leave our dog sitters with a pretty comprehensive list of our dogs care instructions. In addition to that, here are 5 simple things you can do to minimize everyone's stress while you are away, especially in the... (continued) Continue Reading Week One: Learning Loose Leash Walking In week one of our training series with reporter Maggie of A-channel’s Breakfast Television, we introduce Maggie, her 7 month old Labradoodle, and teach the fundamentals of loose leash walking. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yV5M82V5cJk Additional Lessons: Week 2 – Learning the “Come” Command Week... (continued) Continue Reading My Top 6 Must Read Dog Books As winter approaches, there's no better time then the present to curl up on your couch with a warm blanket, hot cup of tea and a great book to learn more about the dogs you love and share your life... (continued) Continue Reading Week Five: Teaching a Dog Not to Jump Up In week five of our training series with reporter Maggie of A-channel’s Breakfast Television and her 7 month old Labradoodle, Lucy, we not only talk about how to discourage your dog from jumping up on you when you come home... (continued) Continue Reading Is Your Dog A Strong Puller? Try This Head halters can be a really useful tool, especially if you have a powerful puller or a dog that is reactive when out on walks, as they give you way more control. The downside is very few dogs take to... (continued) Continue Reading

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Our Youtube Channel is all about expertise and advice surrounding common canine issues and behavioral training.

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Our Youtube Channel is all about expertise and advice surrounding common canine issues and behavioral training.

Join our Facebook page and stay up to date on all the latest canine news, including new program dates and specials.