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Perfect Companion K9

Dog Behaviour Rehabilitation & Obedience Training

Me and a reactive GSD

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Transforming Challenging Dogs into Perfect Companions since 1996

Me and a Reactive GSD

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Richard Chan

Sep 25, 2019
1 min

The earth is flat, it really is!!!

There are many people who are against balanced training. They are addicted to promoting positive reinforcement and they cannot stop attacking anyone who does not train like them. To all my clients who have experienced this (get stopped in the street, being harassed on the Internet...), l want to give you a piece of advice. Don’t acknowledge them. What will you do if you are stopped by a stranger on your way to work who keeps trying to convince you that the earth is flat? I lo

Richard Chan

Aug 21, 2019
4 min

Structure is impossible!

A lot of people look confused when l tell them to implement structures in their life. They think it is very odd that they should put the dog in commands all the time. (Who does that?) They can not comprehend why they should not give their dog excessive affection (isn’t that why we have dogs?) And they cannot imagine how to tire out their dogs if they do not go to dog parks (l need to let my dog play to tire him out or else he won’t sleep!) When l told them not to let other pe

Richard Chan

Jun 24, 2019
4 min

Be an allocator

Is leadership about being dominance? You can actually be a leader rather easily. Read on...

Richard Chan

Dec 15, 2018
2 min

Crate is not just for when you are gone

Crate is a great training tool that is very underrated. It also has a very negative association because people humanize their dogs (e.g. the dog looks sad inside a jail cell) and many use it for the wrong purpose (e.g. time out). Crate is a great training tool when it is being used properly to nurture a much more balanced mindset. Many dogs do not respect/trust/ or listen to their human owners because of a lack or misuse of crate training. Crate training is not just about

Richard Chan

Nov 2, 2018
1 min

My dog's best friend is me

"My dog needs a best friend. That is why I take him to the dog park." Your dog's best friend should be YOU; it should not be your neighbor's dog, the dog he grew up with, or the dog he met at the dog park. Dogs crave for an intimate relationship with you. They want to have you lead them, inspire them, direct them, and protect them. They crave for a relationship whereas they can lean on you, follow you, and be one with you. Please honor that. "Who is your dog's best friend?" "

Richard Chan

Oct 7, 2018
1 min

Love and freedom are not the answers

A dog can become reactive with too much love and freedom. A lot of dogs ended up in the shelter because they were given nothing but love and freedom by their owners (should say ex owners). Freedom is not a good thing for a dog when the dog has no idea what to do with it. Love without guidance is not going to make the dog stronger or happier. Lots and lots of misplaced love and freedom will result in lots and lots of entitlement, confusion, and anxiety, which are what dr

Richard Chan

Sep 5, 2018
2 min

No “but..”, just don’t do it and thank me later.

Dogs are being rehomed or put down daily because of behavioural issues. This is a fact. It is also a fact that many of these dogs were once little puppies who were very loved by their owners. What happened? One common mistake l have seen new owners (or even experienced dog people) make over and over again is their misunderstanding on “socialization”. For some reason, many people mistakenly believe they need to find some doggie friends for their puppies, and they believe t

Richard Chan

Jul 25, 2018
4 min

The power of “no” and the power to protect

Harley just went back to Whistler BC after finishing his boarding here. We just finished a lesson with his lovely owners, who came here after an epic flight back from Europe. We went over something in the lesson that l like to talk a little bit about here. In order for Harley to feel safe and stop reacting, he needs to believe that his human can absolutely take care of the situations for him. This is about trust. There is a part of trust that is not often talked about

Richard Chan

Jul 13, 2018
3 min

A turning point in my career

Many owners were told they should use desensitization and counter conditioning when they have a reactive dog. They were told they should never use correction, they were told they should never punish the dog for reacting, they were told they should never make the dog uncomfortable. I was one of those people years ago. We were told we had to keep the bar opened so to speak whenever a dog appeared. We were told to pour high value treats onto a dog when another dog appeared

Richard Chan

Jun 14, 2018
1 min

Quality time

Q: l spend awesome quality time with my dog when we snuggle on the sofa watching tv together. Other than that, what else do you recommend l do with my dog? A: Spending quality time with your dog is not the same as coddling or snuggling with your dog. When l think of quality time, l think of spending time to train my dog, walk my dog, and play with my dog. These activities can challenge my dog, educate my dog, and encourage my dog. They are “quality” because they can e

Richard Chan

Apr 6, 2018
2 min

How do l make lots of money training dogs?

Someone said to me “l want to be a dog trainer. I want to make lots of money. What do you think l need?” First of all, l am not making a lot of money. So, I am really not in the position to offer anyone business advice on how to make lots of money. All l can say is this: I think you need to be very passionate about what you do. In order to be good at something, you need to really love doing it. I really love talking to clients. I can go on for hours. Those who hav

Richard Chan

Oct 19, 2017
3 min

My puppy is out of control!

Puppy owners often told me they could not get their puppies to calm down until they have given the puppies lots of exercise. This is a common problem with puppy owners. A lot of it has to do with the energy and behaviour of the people around the puppy. It is largely about how they live with the puppy. If they are always showing excitement (o look at him, come to me, l miss you so much, give me a kiss...) and rewarding the puppy with attention and affection whenever the pu

Richard Chan

Aug 18, 2017
2 min

Do you want to work in an organized office or a messy garage?

Many people feel bad about implementing structure for their dogs. But structure is not a bad thing. It is good for your dogs. Dogs love structure. Structure clarifies the confusion for a dog who may find our world intimidating, and it gives the dog a sense of security and stability as he/she knows what to expect so he/she does not need to guess and worry. Structure is a life style. A structural life style for a dog is like working in a very organized office - you kn

He bites the hands that feeds him!

Richard Chan

Nov 16, 2016
3 min

He bites the hands that feeds him!

"Why did my dog bite me? I am so nice to him!" Many owners feel very puzzled, frustrated, and even betrayed, by aggressive behaviour from their own dogs. This German Shepherd in the picture used to attack anyone who came close to her crate, her owner, her house..,etc. It was a perception and relationship issue. Since l had Anja, she never showed any aggression even once about anything. Nothing at all. She is a very gentle, sweet, easy going dog. I developed a mutually respect

Out of control dogs

Richard Chan

Oct 14, 2016
2 min

Out of control dogs

When you have a dog that you cannot take out on a walk because he is just ridiculously out of control, you most certainly have a dog who is also ridiculously out of control inside your home. To have a well behaved dog, training has to start from inside your home. A lot of people just let their dogs run free in their homes. They struggle with the concept of leashing their dogs inside; they do not want to crate their dogs; they do not spend time training their dogs inside their

Impulse Control

Richard Chan

Oct 2, 2016
2 min

Impulse Control

Very often we let our dogs experience lots of excitement around other dogs; but once our dogs become a bit calmer, we try to ramp them up to play some more or we take them home. This will, overtime, create a dog with a single response whenever he/she sees another dog - extreme arousal. In the human world, we have more than one response in front of others- we can be very attentive (e.g. work, classroom), very active (e.g. sports), very aloof and quiet (e.g. library); we may no

You touch fire, you get burnt.

Richard Chan

Sep 23, 2016
2 min

You touch fire, you get burnt.

Sadie used to love chasing squirrels, skunks, cats, rabbits, and racoons. She had pinned a cat down and almost killed the cat when l first got her. I almost lost my finger when she took off after a cat on the street. I recently have adopted a cat in my house, and l walk my dogs around lots of squirrels multiple times daily. We walk past many squirrels when l and my dogs walk my kids to school every morning. We can't have a big powerful mastiff going after squirrels with a bun

Richard Chan

Aug 14, 2016
3 min

How to keep it up...

After sending an aggressive, reactive, or anxious dogs to a board and train for a few weeks, the dog is now back home acting like a different dog. He is much calmer and much better behaved. Will the training stay? Will the dog revert back? What should the owner do to keep things on track? The followings are what l would like my clients to do. Firstly, l want you to learn my training system and train your dog multiple times daily. My marker system is very simple (yes, no, good

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