Canine Connection Training

WE LOVE ANNIKA!!!Annika helped us with our very anxious and reactive 2-year-old sweet girl Nova.We took her online course and 3 private sessions. From the first meeting we started to see a huge improvement in her behavior and our ability to communicate with her and control her.She taught us with great humor, kindness encouragement and support how to communicate, teach and help our dog be calmer, more trusting and happy. We now understand that it’s a journey and our dog is not going to be “perfect “tomorrow but we have the tools to improve every day and enjoy our time with Nova.We are so happy we met Annika and had a chance to work with her and would highly recommend her to anyone that wants to be the best dog owner they can be and have a happier dog.

Annika is the absolute best! She brings smarts, heart, and enthusiasm to her work and has the ability to connect with dogs and humans alike :) She greatly helped us understand our dog and incorporate a training process that makes sense. We couldn't recommend her more highly, both you and your animal will be in good hands.

Annika has helped me with our 2 1/2 yr. old ShiTsu/Maltese dog who is hypersensitive and reactive to other dogs especially on leash. Her in-person training is easy to follow and her videos are so helpful for issues around jumping up on people, reactivity when out walking and techniques for redirecting my dogs attention. This all takes time and understanding what’s going on in my dogs head is critical for building his esteem and making me feel in control.

Annika is amazing!! She truly cares about the wellbeing of you and your dog. She gets down to the root cause of any behavioural issues and will give you real, sustainable, long term solutions rather than a quick bandaid fix. After only 4 weeks of online zoom classes we have a calmer, quieter and more relaxed pup and we have Annika's tools and training to thank for that (and so do our neighbours).We have also been watching Annika's videos online since the day that we brought Bailey home. So she has been helping us raise a good girl more than she even knows!

If you have a pup - you should ONLY call Annika at Canine Connections! Spend the money, cuz it will pay you dividends down the road & create that relationship you always wanted between you and your new best friend :)I cannot stress how valuable she is when training my wife & I (yes, it's not just about training your dog). We managed to take an anxious, highly-intelligent German Sheppard and turn him into a huge, gentle, caring, leader who, still to this minute, I marvel at how far we have come in ONE MONTH!!! UnbelievableAnnika will arrive on time, gauge the dog & owner, make assessments and protocols depending, allow you to record video and follows-up same day with detailed notes.I now teach what I've learned to not-so-opportunistic lovely dog owners who battle with their furry little frenzies, Annika's wisdom and now, I see positive results in others' training & dog behavior.I can't recommend her enough!

5 (million) stars. Working with Annika is a total game changer, and I don’t doubt the other trainers on her team are the same. She is SO knowledgeable, realistic, gentle, and helped us immensely with our new rescue dog. She always makes the most of the training session, filling the whole hour start to finish. Highly recommend!!

If you are considering booking Annika for private sessions... don't overthink it! JUST DO IT!!We started seeing Annika for our almost 2 year old labradoodle, who is socially conflicted, and overstimulated by almost everything outside and in new environments. When our pup was 1, we actually tried a private session with a different (balanced) trainer, whom we only met once. It was a completely different experience (she tried to get our pup to sit still which she could not do and we felt like complete failures). If we had only gone to Annika instead when she was that young, I can only imagine the place we’d be at today!Annika has given us SO many helpful tips and tricks that really work for our pup. She never once showed any judgement towards us or our pup, which is so appreciated when you are already dealing with the stresses of managing a hyper, reactive pup. It was really hard for me to accept help and invest the time and money into proper training, especially given the economy we are currently in, but I am kicking myself for not reaching out to Annika sooner. Our pup has already made so much progress (it really is never too late!!) and we are so thankful for everything Annika has taught us so far. We are excited for the future and to see all our efforts come to fruition! Thank you Annika!!! <3

We have taken Annika's puppy classes since our pup was just 9 weeks old - both 'Puppy Social Class' and 'Basic Obedience Class', and honestly couldn't the classes and Annika more. Her philosophy about understanding your dogs behaviour, instilling confidence, and prioritizing your relationships with your dog have really shaped our puppy Tilly and how we operate as a family!These training classes have set us up to work preventatively with Tilly so GOOD behaviors develop before unwanted ones get the chance.She is always ready to answer questions THOUROUGHLY, not just quicks fixes but understanding how to really help in the long term (though she will offer advice on how to get through the day too if you need it!)I know some people may be put off by the Zoom format but we find it really helps. We are more able to take notes, ask questions and focus on what we want to get out of the session. When Annika teaches a skill - she will teach an easy version first and then show you all of the progressions. This means everyone can work on the skill at the level you are at, AND you always know what the next level is so you can keep leveling up with your pup when the class is done.Obviously this class isn't set up for socialization the same way as an in person class.. but even better Annika encourages classmates to set up play dates for the pups. We loved this because it means your pup is playing with really like minded dog owners who follow the same rules and commands. It also means you are training when you're paying.. and then puppy play is bonus fun later :)Puppy class is the highlight of my week at the moment - maybe 30% because it keeps us on track with Tillys training and 70% because I love getting together and laughing at all the wacky stuff our doggos do.This was a LONG review, all to say we LOVE Annika and Canine Connection training, and hope to have a relationship with them throughout our puppys life :)

I was overwhelmed with the number of dog trainers and variety of training styles when I started researching. Luckily, I emailed Annika, and after she answered my questions, I signed up for her Zoom puppy classes with my 10-week old pup, Ginny.I’ll admit I was hesitant about how zoom classes would work, but by the end of the first class I was reassured. Her classes covered so much more than the standard sit, stay, lay down etc. She teaches the basics of positive reinforcement training, so that they can be applied to a wide variety of skills and situations. I’ve used what I learned during these classes to train tricks, teach skills, and limit/prevent less “desirable” behaviours. I enjoyed the first set of classes so much that we followed up with Annika’s “mind your manners” set, too.Using Zoom was actually advantageous, as it allows you to rewatch, attend on your own time, take notes, and worry less about corralling a puppy and learning simultaneously. During classes, we worked on some skills, had LOTS of time for questions, and had so many laughs. Several of the puppies/owners in our classes are still friends that we meet up with a year later.I owe Annika so much and I can’t recommend her enough. She taught me to understand and communicate with my dog. She prioritized relationship and confidence building. She is knowledgeable, sympathetic, very responsive, honest, and pretty funny, too. And while Ginny and I are far from perfect, we are confident going out in public, exploring off-leash, conquering day-to-day life, and we have the skills and knowledge to continue our adventures together.

Being a single dog parent and having done all the training myself, I booked with Annika specifically for her knowledge and professional experience with sled dogs. Annika was the extra help we needed to polish a few of our skills and to better understand some behaviours/signals. She thoroughly went through all of our training goals, gave us drills to practice, and afterwards sent a thoroughly written summary of everything we discussed; with additionally resources, because we covered A LOT in only one hour! She was also very reassuring and gave us both the positive reinforcement we needed! If you’re thinking about booking, just do it! We left the session feeling so good about where we are at and with a clear plan on how to move forward. We highly recommend Canine Connection Training!!