The Durable Dog

Matt helped turn things around with my three year heeler, Luna -- pulling on leash, resource guarding, mouthing and biting to control situations... you name it. In her 5 weeks of boarding, he invested so much to understand her motivations and drive, and I now have a framework that works which encourages obedience, keeps Luna engaged, and ultimately enables me to go and do things with her I was hesitant to before.Matt kept us updated regularly with Luna's progress, and while in his care he consulted me before making any significant change-ups with the training. With a combination of reinforcement and corrections, I found Matt's style to align well with the guidance Luna needed.Before ending graduation, Matt made sure I had the tools and more importantly the confidence to continue working with Luna. Things don't end at the graduation and it is a continued work to maintain and extend the groundwork Matt has done. And he made sure I was equipped with the knowledge and exercises to do that.I will not hesitate to recommend Matt for anyone. And I know Luna would be running circles of joy when she goes out there again.

Our fur baby boxer Hendrix began having leash aggression and pulling shortly after being neutered. It became so bad our kids could no longer walk him. After researching extensively and speaking to a number of board and trainers on the Island and lower mainland, a client of ours recommended Matt with The Durable Dog. We contacted Matt and made an appointment to visit him along with our dog. Within about five minutes my husband and I were convinced this was the right choice. We contacted him on the way home and scheduled our 4 week board and train. To say Matt has changed our lives is an understatement! His training and follow up along with his commitment to ensuring we have an obedient and happy pup has been inspiring. Our young kids happily and effortlessly walk their dog and in our home he has become the confident and we’ll mannered dog of our dreams! We can NOT recommend Durable Dog enough and in fact have done so for two others that have enlisted Matt’s services for their pups! As an extra bonus, we are also able to Kennel our dog with Matt and his family when we are away for a weekend or on Vacation! We just left our pup for 13 days while away on vacation and not only was he exceptionally well cared for….Matt spent extra time fine tuning Hendrix’s skills and teaching him some additional ones! 100% recommend this incredible “dog whisperer “ thanks for everything you’ve done for our Family Matt & Jess

What a difference Matt made in our lives. Titan - our dog is now a perfect gentle giant! Thank you so much!

Thanks to Matt we finally enjoy walking our dog, Sierra. We worked on training daily with our dog and yet we were still having problems with leash aggression and pulling. We did a one month board and train with Matt and her heeling, recall, and behaviour around other dogs greatly improved. She is a very stubborn girl, so having free tune ups is a huge bonus, and made it possible to continue our progress. Matt has also supported us in our independent effort to train her with the e-collar and is always happy to provide additional tips and guidance. He clearly has a passion for what he does and is genuinely invested in our success with Sierra. Any board and train is expensive, but Matt was worth every penny.