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!

You Have To Listen To Be Heard Continuing from last weeks video, here is another simple but powerful exercise that will impact your relationship with your dog (and everyone else) in a positive way without having to do any training with your dog. It all starts with... (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 How To Measure Progress How To Measure  Progress Success is not a straight road to the finish. It’s got ups and downs and often times setbacks along the way. One of the best ways to measure progress is by gauging where you were at at your starting... (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 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 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 Teaching Your Dog to Drop A Toy Now, be honest. How many times has your dog picked something up that he shouldn't have or stolen a ball from another dog at the park and then, for the life of you, you couldn't get it back from him?... (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 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 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 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 Choosing a Great Breeder Once you decide on the right breed of dog for you and your family, choosing a great breeder to get your puppy from is the next most important step. Here I share a few benefits to purchasing from a reputable... (continued) Continue Reading Dogs Still Need to Be Dogs
I recently worked with the sweetest,... (continued)
Continue Reading
Teach Your Dog To 'Get Dressed' Does your dog play keep away when you want to put his collar, harness or head halter on? Here’s a simple hack: teach them how to co-operatively suit up to make heading out the door a hundred times easier.Please note:... (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 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 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 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 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 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 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 {{title}} {{content:words:40}}... (continued) Continue Reading Freedom is Earned, It's Not a Right I know how important it is to you to be able to give your dog(s) off leash freedom. And as a trainer, I want nothing more than to help you teach them to listen reliably when they are off leash. You... (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 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 How to Safely Introduce Two Dogs On Leash The way dogs meet and greet each other when they are on leash can make or break their relationship and how much they like each other from the start. In this video, I share a really simple exercise to safely... (continued) Continue Reading Because Of A Dog My first dog was a black and white Springer Spaniel. A very regal and handsome looking boy who was more like a stately gentleman than a dog. When he and I were out together, people used to come up to me... (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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 What You Believe, You Can Achieve If you can't imagine your dog behaving well, or even what it would look like if he did, getting the results you want from your training will be much more difficult and in some cases, impossible. Here I teach you... (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 "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 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 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 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

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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.

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.