Best Dog Training Academy

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Riley Owens

I don't think we've ever had a better boarding and training experience nor facility. Moving back to the Northwest after several years across the U.S. due to a military lifestyle, we were fortunate to find this fantastic place. Love the setup and appreciate that dogs are evaluated (and trained) prior to joining the group setting. Been going since 2019 and have no plans on using anyone else!

Tim Reardon

While Eddie and I are relatively new students to Canine Country, I am very excited about the progress that Shawn has helped us achieve in such a short time. With over 35 years of training experience, you can be assured that Shawn knows his craft. With proven training techniques, you will see immediate results. Shawn will custom design a program that best fits the needs of you and your dog. And once in the program, Shawn is always available when questions come up. I’m excited to see continued progress from Eddie with Shawn’s help. Canine Country is a fabulous facility for your dog. If you want the best for your pup, this is the place. Shawn has built a fabulous facility. It is spotless and the dogs have a great time here. 5 Stars from me!

Teri Leitzke

Updated review 3/9/2020: I have known Shawn and "The Dog Way" training for quite some time now and I am truly impressed with him and the heart he puts into his work. When I first met Shawn, I had 2 schnauzers and I brought them both to Canine Country to get help with their barking and not consistently listening to me. After working with Shawn and learning the process that he has developed (The dog way), my boys no longer were barking at people walking by my house and especially no longer barking at the neighbor’s dog. I learned the importance of being clear on what the rules are and making sure we both followed them. Establishing rules and then being consistent with them helped me to have healthy dogs who no longer were anxious and now listened to me. Shawn’s method is about consistency, so it seems simple. However, it is a lot of work from the owners. If you put the work into it, the results are amazing… Now, a few years later, I only have one of my schnauzers, I lost one to cancer. I still bring him to Shawn’s facility and he loves it. He trusts Shawn and always knows what to expect while there and exactly what Shawn expects from him. It is a great opportunity for him to hang out with other dogs in a large outdoor, happy, safe and structured environment where all the dogs are taught and expected to follow the same rules. And it is a very nice change from being inside. Shawn consistently goes above and beyond to make sure the owners and dogs are taken care of. The dogs that visit his facility are not just dogs to him, they are part of his family. He knows each one and their personalities and behaviors and always treats them as if they were his own. If you are in the market for training for you and your dog, I highly recommend calling Shawn and experiencing "The Dog Way"

Diane Wiser

I’m sitting here looking at my calm, submissive, affectionate, 23 month old Rottweiler, Ivy. She is a joy now but this wasn’t how I felt about her 19 months ago, before my husband and I took her to Shawn at Canine Country. She is our 4th Rottweiler and by far the most challenging. She was a confident and fearless 10 wk old puppy when we got her from the breeder. She quickly showed signs of aggression, biting us when we tried to take something away from her or make her do ANYTHING she didn’t want to do. I knew I was in over my head with this one. None of my training methods used on my other dogs were remotely effective and she was getting worse by the week. Biting our granddaughter on the thigh when she tried to take a sock out of her mouth was the last straw. As I was picking up the phone to let her breeder know we were sending her back, my husband suggested we take her to Shawn who was highly recommended by our neighbor. My first conversation with Shawn was over the phone. I could sense his passion and conviction for his tried and true philosophy. He spent 20 minutes pouring as much information about this philosophy in my ear like a fire hose. Everything he said made sense as his methods come from the perspective of how dogs learn in the pack. Our brains needed rewiring and I knew he would be a good teacher and coach for us. When we showed up to his beautiful and well maintained facility for our first training he greeted us warmly and sat a while on the tailgate of our SUV while getting to know us and mainly our puppy. Training began with her the moment he took her by the leash. She immediately responded well to his Alphaness. It really took less time to train her than it did us. We needed the most work. When we did things Shawn’s way, establishing our rules and consistently, firmly following through, our relationship with Ivy improved immensely. When we got lazy and fell back into our old ways of dealing with her, we lost her respect for us as leader. Shawn is strong for us because he knows how much we stand to lose and how serious the consequences can be to live with an aggressive, disrespectful dog. He is passionate about helping humans and canines live in harmony together. We gave up on taking our dogs to dog parks to play after a couple of past bad experiences with aggressive dogs. So we are so glad we can safely board Ivy twice a week for the day knowing that Shawn only allows dogs trained by him in the fenced property to roam freely together. They are monitored closely and trained not to bite or growl during play and NO aggressive behavior is tolerated. Ivy loves it and the regular socialization and training has helped her behave well with family and friends dogs who come to our home. As a teacher, I have adopted his philosophy of balancing firmness and authority with love and speaking belief into my students. I have gained more respect than ever from even my most challenging students and there is a great spirit of joy in the classroom as my students are clear about expectations and consequences. None of our previous Rottweilers were as well behaved at such a young age. Ivy is confident and happy. So are we. We highly recommend Shawn to anyone.