Canine Connection Training - Comox Valley Branch

I am not normally one to write reviews but when it comes to Annika, I felt compelled to do so because she has had such a significant impact on our life with our dogs. If you don’t have time to read the rest of what I have to say, the bottom line from my perspective is, if you want a great dog trainer, Annika is your person. I am so impressed with her knowledge of dogs and dog behaviour, her commitment to supporting people and their dogs, her professionalism as well as her kindness and compassion. Truly exceptional.
I am 59 years old as I write this and have lived with dogs the vast majority of my life and also have a considerable level of knowledge & understanding, or so I thought, about dogs, dog behaviour and being a supportive dog owner in terms of setting them up for success to live within human society.
We were referred to Annika in June 2022 during the most challenging dog experience our family has ever had to deal with. We have two male dogs and, after them living with us and each other for over a year, we started to experience some significant inter-dog aggression that we were unable to manage. And, one of our dogs had bitten us on several occasions. We hired Annika to support us because the behaviour was escalating and we did not understand why, nor how to resolve it. Because of the severity of the situation, we chose to hire Annika for private sessions with our dogs. I remember feeling like the fee felt high to me initially, I had never paid this much for a dog trainer before. However, once we started working with Annika, I realized that it was actually a bargain for so many reasons.
Annika is highly committed to the people & dogs she supports. We met either through Zoom or in person several times which was always amazing and, she offered us so much support beyond these meetings – sending us links to helpful You Tube videos and written ideas/instructions. Not only is Annika a wealth of information, she is incredible compassionate and understanding, both of us as pet owners and our dogs. She helped us to understand what was happening with our dogs and their relationship so that we could work to resolve the problem behaviours and set them up for success in the future. Given the severity of our one dogs biting behaviour, we were quite concerned about his future. However, thanks to Annika, I am so happy to report that he is now calm and thriving and, our dogs are able to live together again peacefully – which felt unattainable for quite some time. We learned through Annika how to notice our dogs’ behavioural cues letting us know that they are feeling stressed and then make changes to mitigate this. We learned what causes them stress in their living environment so that we could make changes and create a calm environment for them.
I have to say that, overall, the biggest thing I learned through working with Annika is that it is very hard for dogs to live in human society – it is not their culture and, we expect a lot of them given they are dogs, not humans. I also learned that, dogs are highly sensitive to how their owners are doing – and that, if I am okay, they will be okay. I have so much gratitude for how Annika has changed our relationship with our dogs and allowed us to really learn how to support them to be successful in human society.

Annika is amazing! She is one of the best trainers around. Her compassion and big heart have guided us through our rescue pup’s training and she’s been a huge support to us. Cannot say enough about how quickly she can understand the root of the problem, she just gets it. And the group classes are great, fun, easy to follow and really enjoyable for pups and people! 💕

Anything I write here won't do justice to how wonderful Annika and her team at canine connections are (Dan!).

I adopted an adult bully breed mix, found as a stray covered with scars. She was scared of most things, and reactive on the leash, so it was hard to convince people what an amazing dog she really is! Annika has such compassion, empathy, and respect for owners dedicated to supporting their dogs struggling with BIG emotions.

Since working with this team, I'm no longer anxious on walks, as we can pass other dogs without losing our minds; I can read my girl's body language to avoid situations that are too much for her; and I know how to create a safe space for slow, positive dog introductions! (We now have 6 safe dog friends!)

I truly can't recommend this team enough!

Both Bunnie and I from the bottom of our hearts have endless thanks 🙏 to Annika. I've always loved my dog but I enjoy him much more now (I can’t speak for Bunnie but I’m sure he feels the same way) especially after the intuitive coaching session, I have a deeper appreciation for Bunnie for being himself. I highly recommend the puppy and basic manners training to build a good foundation before starting intuitive coaching which enables you to establish a deeper level of connection with your furry pal. P.S. Annika speaks dog.

Cannot say enough great things about Annika and her team with Canine Connection. I was a long time follower of her dog training content. When I got my puppy, I finally got a sought after appointment and the rest was history. Annika taught me so much about dog behaviour, their movements and what they mean, their psychology and what they are trying to tell us. She gave us small goals to work towards and lots of resources to use. She is a natural at this, truly her calling in life. She gets dogs and they get her - she in turns gets you to understand your furry best friend. Wouldn’t go to anyone else in the future! Plus she’s pretty funny and a delight to be around, not to mention her handsome doggo Cedar. Okay, enough bragging - I think you get the picture.