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!

Three Steps to Living With a Problem Free Dog We all want live with a dog that has no issues. While there's no such thing as the perfect dog, there are 3 simple things you can do to ensure that your puppy or adult dog develops into one you... (continued) Continue Reading Puppy Socialization Tips While Social Distancing If you’ve just brought a puppy home, you may be stressing out about how to socialize them right now with our current social distancing requirements. The good news is your pup doesn’t need to meet hundreds of people and dogs... (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 Dogs Still Need to Be Dogs
I recently worked with the sweetest,... (continued)
Continue Reading
Who's the Boss? No, I’m not talking about the 80’s TV show. I’m talking about the question I regularly get asked by my clients about my dogs’ relationships to one another. My answer? All of them are. Contrary to what some dog trainers might have... (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 Picking the Right Dog Stay connected with me on Facebook and Twitter. We all go into purchasing or adopting a new dog with high hopes and expectations, but it doesn't always work out for the best. Here I explain how to determine what the best... (continued) Continue Reading How to Fade the Food Lure Having a dog that "only works for food" or "only listens if he knows I have a cookie" is one of the most common complaints I hear. So today I want to teach you how to eliminate the food lure... (continued) Continue Reading Cleaning Dirty Paws Made Easy With terrible weather comes the need to wipe a lot of wet, muddy paws. A lot of people have trouble wiping their dogs feet because either the dog won't stand still or constantly pulls their feet away while you are... (continued) Continue Reading Week Two: Learning the Come Command In week two of our training series with reporter Maggie and 7 month old, Lucy, of A-channel's Breakfast Television, we reviewed last weeks loose leash walking lesson with and introduced the come command. Plus, we talked about the importance of... (continued) Continue Reading Week Four: Road Test – Taking Our Leash Manners to the City In week four of our training series with reporter Maggie of A-channel’s Breakfast Television and her 7 month old Labradoodle, Lucy, we take the show on the road and do our lesson in downtown Sidney. We talk about how to... (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 What's Your Dog's "Type"? A friend messaged me the other day saying he noticed that one of his dogs seemed to have a preference for playing with little white fluffy dogs, both male and female, and he wondered if this was normal? Dogs, like... (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 Thank You Communicanine! Thank you so much for taking on the challenge of training our little girl, Tia. You are the only one we had total trust and confidence in. Ulla, Doug & Tia the Soft Coated Wheaton Terrier, 5 1/2 months old.... (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 {{title}} {{content:words:40}}... (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 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 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 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 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 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 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 Tuna Fudge Training Treats These are healthy, easy to make training treats that appeal to even the fussiest of palates and can cater to dogs with food allergies. They also taste good enough that if you get hungry while you’re training, you can snack... (continued) Continue Reading Socialization Myths: Part 2 This is part 2 of the series uncovering some of the more common misunderstandings about how and why to socialize your dog. This video will explain: ~ the behaviour changes you can expect as your dog grows up from a puppy... (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 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 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 "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 Three Easy Ways to Make Training Fun Have you ever noticed that when you're having fun learning something, not only do you learn it faster, but you can't wait to do it again? Dog training is exactly the same - if either you or your dog are... (continued) Continue Reading Dog-to-Dog Introductions: The Fearful Dog When you have a fearful dog, introducing it to other dogs isn't as simple as it is for an outgoing dog. Here I teach you a really simple approach to help give your dog exposure to other dogs without stressing... (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 Teaching Your Dog To Love Being Caught If you have a dog who refuses to be caught when he is off leash, always running away every time you reach for him, this video is for you. For some dogs, playing the Gotcha Game alone has completely curbed... (continued) Continue Reading Getting Your Dog Comfortable Being Brushed For some dogs, regular brushing is a must, but often avoided because the dog is un-cooperative. Regular brushing not only helps to get rid of dead hair and skin cells, it keeps your house cleaner and also makes your groomers... (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 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 Teaching a Release Cue As important as it is to teach your dog what sit and down mean, it's equally as important to teach them a release cue so that they know when those tasks are complete. Otherwise, how would they know when they... (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 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 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 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 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 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 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 Fun with Tricks: Teaching the 'Leg Weave' Keeping your dog mentally and physically stimulated can be really challenging, especially if you have a high energy dog or one that is recovering from an injury. Teaching tricks is a great way to combat boredom while building a better... (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 Get Your Socks On!! This post is a little different than my others because it's a giveaway! Ever wanted to put your dog on a pair of socks? Now's your chance, but only if you act quickly! The first 10 people to follow the steps below... (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

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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.