Cedar Ridge Farm: Welcome

Cedar Ridge Complete Canine Care is expanding and now looking for an Experienced Dog Trainer. Should have a good working knowledge of Leadership skills, reading body language & how to spot & deal with behavioural problems as well as teaching obedience. Knowledge of Agility an assest.

Sabrina's experience:

Professional Dog Trainers Program 2005

St John Therapy Dog Certified Handler (has had 4 certified therapy dogs)

Training her own dogs & rescue dogs for 14 years

Training/handling horses for 14 years

Knowledge on pack behaviour, how dog's think, problem behaviours (behaviour modification)

Does your dog bark excessively, jump on you, whine, pee on your carpet, knock your kids over, lunge aggressively on the leash, drag you down the road etc etc? If you answered yes to any of these you need to gain respect from your dog! No problem behaviour is too minor or too major-they need to be solved before they escalate into further problems.

Sabrina does LEADERSHIP training. She will teach you how to become the leader & maintain this role which will develop a respectful relationship.

Dogs descended from wolves, and deep within the psyche of your dog lies instincts they have retained from their wild ancestors. In order to live with and communicate with your dog you need to understand why you must maintain Alpha position in the "pack." Each year over 5 million dogs are given up by owners, killed on the streets, or euthanized due to behavior problems. The reason is usually a lack of understanding between dog and their owners. Most of the dogs given up each year were puppies that were not socialized correctly or taught how to fit into our domestic world.

Maplewood Studio Photography

Sabrina will train YOU to train your dog. This style of "training" is for LIFE. It is not a quick fix. It takes commitment, consistency & hard work from YOU.

Our training is a life changing commitment-many people allow their dogs to conduct unruly behaviour such as jumping up, simply because they are not in tune with their own body language and how it is portrayed by their dog. Our methods will teach you to live in harmony with your companion through body language, pack order & simple commands. As a dog owner you must be willing to adapt your lifestyle in order to let your dog live in peace by having him give up his leadership status. Training does not end when you leave the training session!

Private one-on-one training sessions

Our farm offers a wide range of stimulating activity to socialize your dog such as many other dogs, a 5 year old boy (who loves to be in on training when needed!), tractors & other farm equipment, people coming in and out etc. Your dog will gain more from this than going to the same place with the same dogs for obedience/group classes. A more controlled setting.

Offering

2 sessions: Leadership Skills 101 $160

(only for those with an already well mannered dog needing a brush up)

4 sessions: Leadership skills wrapped around basic obedience $255

(the popular choice)

Semi-private 4 sessions: Same as private 4 sessions for Max. 4 dogs per group $212

(Groups are held throughout the year-groups will only be formed if the dogs are behaviourally well matched)

6 sessions: Leadership/obedience $370

(for the Aggressive/Extremely fearful dog)

*All training is non-refundable and must be used within 4 months from start date-we want to see commitment and consistency for the dog*

Photo above by Paul Anderson

All above photos showing dogs holding off leash "downs" & "Sits" with heavy distraction

Puppy/Dog matching consultations

Whether you are planning on buying a puppy from a breeder or adopting from a rescue you should really know which puppy is right for you & your family. All puppies establish a pecking order right away-some people are more suited to the more dominant in the litter and others to the more passive. Choosing the right dog can solve a lot of problems in the future. Sabrina can tell you which puppy/dog is right for you, your lifestyle and activity level.

Training in your home (if in the Duncan area)

Training in your home is generally done only if the problem can not be solved by receiving training on our farm. It is rare that the issues can not be solved outside of the home if you apply the training to every day life but we do offer this option for certain cases.

Every dog is an individual-when we train we take this into consideration-we will be using the same leadership methods with all dogs that come for training but for obedience training some dogs work wonderfully for praise, some for food reward and yet others may need a more firm approach-no free lunch lifestyle. Obedience will always be introduced after respect has been gained for the owner-if there is no respect from your dog you will not have a solid relationship. Training equipment (ie collars) also depend on the dog.

Problem Behavior is typically the number one reason why owners give up there dogs. Disturbingly, they are usually problems that can be eliminated easily. Some displayed common problem behaviors are:

Nuisance Barking

Digging

Chewing

Stealing or begging for food

Jumping

Bolting

Nipping & Mouthing

Separation Anxiety

and more!

It is quite natural for people to make excuses for their dogs, but all dogs are capable of causing serious harm. The sooner you seek help, the easier it will be to help your dog and you live a harmonious life.

Aggression issues seen in dogs need to be dealt with before they escalate. Most aggression issues ARE “fixable” but do take time and commitment from the owners. Sabrina can help you deal with these issues.

Zoe the boxer: Uses daycare, boarding & training at Cedar Ridge. Zoe started showing signs of insecure dominance (common in dogs these days) in daycare very early on but we nipped it in the bud pretty quick and she was able to continue attending daycare. Her people did 4 sessions of training with us. Her owner, David, wrote two versions of Zoe's story-very cute!....

Boxer Zoe was slipping into the darkness of bad manners when she met Sabrina. She was confused, unsure of her role in life and was starting to crack. An aggressive growl here, an angry box there, rudeness and disregard was threatening to shatter her domestic life. In four easy sessions and with a bit of coaxing from her masters, Sabrina laid out a shiny new path for the little boxer and within months Zoe was happy and content. Now, she sniffs bums and stays away from the bad crowd, she sits and lies on command and she is true example for other lost boxers in the world. Thanks Sabrina!

Sabrina was a life saver - I have a boxer, Zoe, that started life as a show dog and didn't have much socialization. Sabrina taught Zoe how to interact with other dogs and people and just as important, taught me how to interact with Zoe. It was an intensive two month process, but Sabrina's leadership and skill with dogs made it fairly painless. Zoe and I say thanks - ruff ruff.

Junior-Young adult Bull Terrier rescued from the streets of Texas was dominant with his owner & displaying territorial aggression towards other dogs when behind the fence. Junior showed great improvement after just 3 sessions, his owner just needed guidance in showing Junior who runs the household!:

"It's all been so helpful because its more basic behavior -- when we go to the car he would always wait inside very patiently, even with the door open, until i said ok but now he walks behind me. This is without a leash (it's a short distance, but still!), he's very good at it. Sometimes when I take him on the leash to the road, as soon as I stop he sits without me saying anything. Thank you we will continue to work on him while we are in Texas for 6 months."

Abby-6 yr old Humane Society adoption was highly dog aggressive & dominant with many people. Abby was a tough girl to get through to, but after just 6 sessions she was able to walk through a pack without attacking another dog:

"Hey Sabrina,

I just wanted to thank you for all your help with Abby, she is staying in a house with two other dogs and three cats and is having no problems. We move into our new place on Saturday and given a little time I think she will gain a friend out of Ella the lab that is already there...Without your help and guidance, I would not have been able to give Abby the leadership she needed to put her on a path to a better life... just wanted to give you another update on Abby's progress. She is doing wonderfully with her new roommate Ella, and seems to have learned the difference between the playful growls and the threatening ones. She and Ella play together quite a bit and most of the time Abby seems fine with that. She still has the occasional problem with outside dogs but I think the socialization she is getting will greatly help. It's too bad I don't live on the island as I mention you to anyone I get into a conversation about training with, and I'm sure you would get referrals. I will keep in touch to let you know about Abby in the future"

Thanks,
Dave in Bellingham, WA

It all started for me about 2 years when I needed to find a new groomer for my 2 Keeshonden (Kobi and Keesha) as their current groomer could no longer groom them because of the strain on her shoulder with all their fur. So I went looking and found Sabrina and Rob at Cedar Ridge Complete Canine Care. From grooming we expanded to a number of their other services that they provide, daycare sessions for social mingling, some longer term kennel stays...Sadly Keesha had to be put to rest leaving a grieving owner and sister pack mate, which brought new issues.

Kobi started acting out 2 months after Keesha was put down, she no longer would listen to me, would constantly test and would no longer come to me when I called, and would become super stressed and neurotic, very frustrating to deal with. The best thing I did was to talk to Sabrina about the problems and decided on a course of action of one on one training sessions. The training was not only for Kobi but for me too, I needed to learn just as much and change the things I was doing wrong and learn how to deal with only one dog now not two. Kobi and I went for 4 training sessions and we practiced in between the sessions and it has made all the difference. It was hard because we were trying to change some things that I had done and accepted from her for 10 years. It was a learning curve for me as much as it was for Kobi. Kobi is 100% better than she was before – not saying she is perfect, she isn’t, but at 10 years old when we started her training sessions she has done really well. So for those that say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, I say yes you can! Kobi can now be let off her leash and when I call her she stops and comes back. She will now stay and hold either in a sit or down position for more than 5 to 10 minutes if instructed. She still gets a bit distracted at times but life is so much better for the both of us. The training sessions were the best thing I ever did.

From someone that has utilized a number of the services that Cedar Ridge provides I couldn’t be happier with the treatment both my dogs and I have received over the years.

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Ty-9 month old Cocker Spaniel was too hyper, jumping up, pulling on leash, not listening: did in-home training:

"Just wanted to thank you again. Ty is a different dog. Everyone has noticed. He is doing really well and makes it so much easier on me.I think that you are great, and I am so glad that I found you on the web. I was bragging to the neighbour about Ty. Dale's family was down, and they thought Ty was very well behaved. The daycare kids came back from spring break, and he was great with them." Debbie in Duncan.