Wag The Dog (Lower Mainland)

My family had a great experience with Wag the Dog and Trainer Carol. We had many sessions with our dog and our full family so that we were all on the same page with his training. Carol was extremely nice, experienced and knew all about training research. We are happy to now have a dog that is able to go to work with my mom, walk off leash, and has many tricks up his sleeves. If we have any new concerns, we always go back and have a session. I would recommend everyone with a dog, especially a new puppy to book a session as soon as they can.

Carol is amazing. She understands dogs and how they respond. I would highly recommend her for service dog training and to have a happy balanced pet. We have two rescues (both from bad situations) and she's helping one become a service dog and the other just be a dog. Cannot say how much we appreciate Carol!

Met with Carol today to have our first training session with our 16 week old puppy. Carol was amazing with the dog and taught us a lot too. We will definitely be booking more sessions.

Excellent facility, friendly staff that care and love dogs. My dog enjoyed his time so much and was Tuckered when he got home. They have great pet products too and are walkable to Rocky point. Super convenient.

So, the Session was very informative and positive. however i was expecting more of one on one training other than someone telling me what to do. i mean with the internet you can find lot of the information and do and donts. i was looking for someone and work on something specific with my dog and then explain it to me so i could follow up and continue the training. what im trying to say is that, some of my friends in Estates, had someone as a trainer who for example trained the dog to sit/ stay/ speak in 1 session! with Wag the Dog, i was told what to do, which dont get me wrong was helpful but not effective with my busy schedule.

I contacted Carol on advice of my prior school for my dog to become a service dog. It’s very hard to find a personal trainer when you have a dog and want to certify it yourself. I paid the initial fee and that did not bother me because I’ve been in the cat business for years and I find people wasting time of great trainers just because they can. Carol came on time and evaluated my dog. My dog was 8 month old and Carol said she thinks we can work together. We had about once a month training sessions in the public places - we started with evaluation exam and went thru things my dog did not do right or mostly which I did not do right. Also a routine “working dog” work which has to happen on regular basis. Carol gave me a multitude of great suggestions and advices. This included but not limited to watching that my dog is happy doing her job and is not stressed, watch for signs of overstimulation, pointers for improving her ability to heel, pointers for looking for “happy trot” versus stressed dog walk, help with doing specified tasks my dog will perform when she certifies. As a preparation for the test we took a week long trip where my dog had to take public transport, 2 flights and train and rental car and pass security in the airport and we also stayed in the hotels and ate out for a week as well as went to highly public places. We did it after we applied for exam but I wanted to make sure my dog is ready. We did great with minor glitches and I can’t thank Carol enough for preparing us for this trip. The highlight of the trip was when TSA security person was afraid of dogs and my dog performed a perfect down/stay in the busy airport without any harness while I was tested for chemicals than did a perfect recall thru the security gates towards me and sat in front of the security agent and gave her a paw to shake. The flight attendants did not even notice my dog. I give Carol thumbs up - she definitely speaks “dog” the best way. It’s a hard work and trainer like Carol who is not micro managing is great for me. I have experience with dogs but I need guidance. Carol is friendly, well spoken, knowledgeable and can speak dog.

We needed to train a dog to be a service dog on our own. Wag the dog supported us from selecting the right dog for our needs to continuing to keep the dog trained and up to date. Our dog Pepper is fully certified and now getting ready for her two year recertification test.

Carol was knowledgeable, experienced and pleasure to learn about the Service Dog industry. I experienced a traumatic brain injury 1 1/2 yrs ago and a new addition to the family, our beloved dog Lucy, who I did not realize would be so important in our lives. She signaled my spouse when I was low in energy and not feeling well at a time I could not communicate, retrieved items when I could not, reminded me to take my medications, I truly do not know what I would have done without her. Now Carol is assisting us to communicate better with each other and I am eternally grateful. Looking forward to our next lesson Carol!

This experience was such an incredibly positive one for my whole family and our puppy. Carol was super friendly and knowledgeable. By the time she was ready to leave, we had such a better understanding of what and how to train our dog. She even knew some new tricks! Thanks Carol!!