by The Crunchy Canine | Dec 17, 2023 | TESTIMONIALS
“I highly recommend Katherine and her team at The Crunchy Canine. Training is tactful and effective, for both humans and doggies. Big bonus if you can also tap into puppy socialization.
As a first-time dog owner, I gained confidence in how to handle all sorts of dog situations, and can take Benji with me to many places now. He walks beside me nicely, doesn’t snarl at other dogs across the street and has even grown to like the cat.
All through the guidance and education from The Crunchy Canine. Thank you.”
Karen with Benji in Hamilton, Ontario
by The Crunchy Canine | Nov 30, 2023 | Puppy Training
Did you know that every dog breed was originally developed for a specific purpose?
From herding livestock to guarding property or retrieving game, dogs weren’t bred randomly—they were designed to perform specific jobs. And those instincts don’t just disappear because a dog becomes a pet.
One of the biggest mistakes dog owners make is choosing a dog based on looks or a limited experience with the breed, without understanding what that dog was bred to do.
The result? Frustration—when the dog starts displaying completely natural behaviors that the owner wasn’t prepared for.
Why Breed Purpose Matters
Many of the behavior issues people struggle with are not “bad behavior”—they are simply natural instincts.
For example:
- A dog that pulls on leash may be bred to cover long distances
- A dog that chases everything may have strong prey drive
- A dog that is wary of strangers may be a natural guardian
These behaviors are not random—they are deeply rooted in genetics.
It is not the dog’s responsibility to suppress those instincts. It is the owner’s responsibility to understand them and provide proper guidance, structure, and outlets.
It’s Not Too Late to Learn
If you already have a dog and didn’t research the breed beforehand, don’t worry—you’re not alone.
We see owners learn, adapt, and completely transform their relationship with their dog all the time.
The key question is: Are you willing to understand your dog and meet their needs?
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Common Dog Breeds and What They Were Bred For
Here are some of the most common breeds (and breed groups) we see in pet homes, along with the behaviors they were bred for:
1. German Shepherds
Bred for herding and guarding sheep. Highly athletic and intelligent, with natural protective instincts. Often wary of strangers.
2. Retrievers (Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, Poodles)
Bred to retrieve game for hunters. Love water, enjoy carrying objects, and have a strong desire to work.
3. Hounds (Beagles, Dachshunds, Coonhounds)
Bred to follow scent trails. Their nose often overrides commands. Independent and driven to track.
4. Mastiffs (Cane Corso, Bullmastiff, Dogo Argentino)
Bred to guard property and protect against large threats. Strong protective instincts and territorial behavior.
5. Rottweilers
Bred to guard livestock and property. Naturally confident and often reserved with strangers.
6. Dobermans
Bred specifically for protection work. Loyal, alert, and naturally suspicious of unfamiliar people.
7. Terriers (Jack Russell, Yorkshire, Wheaten)
Bred to hunt and kill small animals. High prey drive, intense energy, and persistent behavior.
8. Boxers
Bred for guarding and hunting. Energetic, playful, and protective.
9. Pointers (Weimaraner, Vizsla, German Shorthaired Pointer)
Bred to locate and point game. High energy, strong hunting drive, and need for activity.
10. Border Collies & Australian Shepherds
Bred for herding livestock. Strong instinct to control movement—often seen as chasing, nipping, or herding people.
11. Bernese Mountain Dogs
Bred for pulling carts and working livestock. Strong, steady, and capable working dogs.
12. Doodles
A mix of retriever and another breed. Behavior can vary widely—sometimes combining traits from both parents.
13. Spaniels (Cocker, Springer, Brittany)
Bred to flush out game. Energetic, social, and often love water and retrieving.
14. Schnauzers
Bred to hunt vermin and guard property. Alert, energetic, and protective.
15. Huskies & Malamutes
Bred to pull sleds over long distances. Extremely energetic, independent, and driven to run.
16. Understanding Your Dog Changes Everything
When you understand what your dog was bred to do, their behavior starts to make sense.
Instead of trying to “stop” natural instincts, you can redirect them in a healthy and productive way.
This leads to:
- Less frustration
- Better communication
- A calmer, more balanced dog
Need Help With Your Dog’s Behavior?
If you’re struggling with your dog’s behavior, professional guidance can make all the difference.
We offer dog training in Hamilton and puppy training in Hamilton to help you better understand and manage your dog.
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by The Crunchy Canine | Oct 11, 2020 | Puppy Training
Is Obedience Training Enough for Your Dog?
Obedience is one of the most common focuses in dog training. Sit, stay, down—many owners believe that if their dog listens well enough, most problems will disappear.
But here’s the reality: obedience alone is not the solution to most behaviour issues.
Dogs are not robots. They are sentient beings with emotions, experiences, and reactions. If we focus only on control, we often ignore how the dog actually feels in a situation.
Why Obedience Alone Isn’t Enough
1. Obedience Does Not Change Emotions
Take a leash-reactive dog driven by fear. You may ask for eye contact or a “sit” when another dog passes. The dog may comply—but internally, nothing has changed.
The dog is still anxious or afraid. You’ve simply redirected the behaviour, not addressed the emotion behind it.
This is often called teaching an “incompatible behaviour”—asking the dog to do something else so it cannot perform the unwanted behaviour. While useful for management, it does not solve the root issue.
2. Control Should Not Be the Only Goal
There’s nothing wrong with teaching commands like sit or down. The real question is: why does the dog need to perform them?
Commands should serve a purpose—safety, clarity, or communication—not just control for the sake of control.
For example, cues like “come” or “wait” can be life-saving. But requiring obedience in every situation without purpose can create unnecessary pressure and confusion.
3. Obedience Can Replace Choice With Compliance
When dogs rely entirely on commands, they may struggle to make good decisions on their own. If a dog only behaves when told what to do, what happens when guidance isn’t there?
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True training should help dogs develop the ability to remain calm, make better choices, and adapt to situations without constant direction.
Otherwise, we risk micromanaging behaviour instead of actually teaching it.
What Matters More Than Obedience
Instead of focusing only on obedience, effective training should include:
- Building a strong relationship with your dog
- Improving emotional responses to triggers
- Encouraging calm and neutral behaviour
- Reinforcing good choices, not just commands
Obedience still has its place—but it should support training, not define it.
The goal isn’t to control your dog—it’s to guide them. When we shift our focus from obedience alone to understanding behaviour and emotion, we create dogs that are not just compliant, but confident and balanced.
In the end, better behaviour comes from better understanding—not just better commands.
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How to Fix Leash Reactivity
by The Crunchy Canine | Jan 19, 2016 | Puppy Training
When training your puppy or dog, the tool you use should be efficient and effective. The way you use the tool should be clear, consistent, and humane. While I am not going to discuss any one specific tool, know that we use a variety of training collars when training a dog. The only tools we do not use are harnesses (of any type), or regular flat buckle collars. Of course we do have our preferences, but that is not the point of this post.
When training your dog you should be using your leash and training collar to provide the dog with information. How clear the information is will depending on the tool, and your skills and timing. There are some people with many years of experience around dogs who can use a piece of fishing line to train a dog. However, they are few and far between. Now take for example if you were to try to build a wooden box. You have a table saw and a drill, or you have a dull hand saw, some nails and a rock. Now you can probably still get the job done with the dull hand saw, nails and rock. You can cut the wood with the hand saw, but it will be slow and a little messy. You can use the rock to pound the nails into the wood. Now, the job can get done, but it wasn’t efficient or effective and the end results aren’t as great as they could be. Next, let’s look at the table saw and drill. You can cut perfectly straight lines and you can put it together quickly with the drill. Both get the job done (kind of), but one is far better than the other.
Dog training tools can be viewed the same way. The wrong tool is the dull saw and the rock. The right tool, table saw and drill. Now, for those concerned with some of the tools that might look torture devices (prime example is the prong collar), note that a table saw and drill can be used incorrectly or even with intent to cause pain. BUT when used properly they can help you build beautiful works of art! Just like the saw and drill, dog training collars can be used incorrectly, or even with the intent to cause pain. However, that comes down to the person holding the leash not the tool itself.
So, if the tool you are using is giving you the results that a dull saw and rock would give you, you might want to reconsider and try something else!
Happy Training!
Katherine Vooys-McDonald
Canines In Balance
Hamilton, Ontario
Dog training Collars
by The Crunchy Canine | Jan 15, 2016 | Puppy Training
Puppy Socialization
What is puppy socialization? Recently I shared an article explaining my hate for dog parks. OK, hate might be a strong word…more like my strong dislike for dog parks. If you read the article you will understand why I dislike them so much (if you did not read it here it is http://www.kdmathews.com/-bark-blog/just-say-noto-dogparks).
When people get a new puppy or dog, everyone says “oh you have to socialize them right away”. Somehow, somewhere the definition of socialization turned into taking your dog to the dog park to be around as many dogs as possible regardless of their temperament or disposition. Don’t get me wrong, I love the IDEA of the dog park. Dogs, off leash, enjoying the company of other dogs and people. Sounds lovely doesn’t it? Unfortunately too many dogs who shouldn’t be at the dog park frequent on a daily basis. Unfortunately, most dog owners have no idea what to look for in a dog who should or should not be freely socializing with other dogs. Unfortunately, not enough people are advocating for their dogs (and maybe they just don’t know how or that they should). Unfortunately, this leads to dogs being bullied, dog fights, and dogs who were once confident around other dogs leaving fearful and insecure. Just last week we were training our dogs outside of the Grimsby Dog Park and saw a dog fight break out within 10 seconds of one dog entering the park…not to mention the over adrenalized dogs running around in pure chaos, the humping (ohhhh the humping…non stop humping), and owners off in their own little world chatting or on their phones.
So now that we’ve cleared up with a brief overview as to why I do not like dog parks and why they should not be your “go to” for socializing your puppy or dog…you’re probably still wondering what the heck you CAN do to socialize your dog! Socialization needs to be productive and positive. Yes, getting your puppy around other dogs is important but it needs to be around the right dogs. One bad experience can affect your puppy for the rest of their lives. Most dogs who are reactive or dog aggressive were not born that way. More often than not, there was at least one bad experience that caused the behaviour and many owners can pin point that experience. The risk of taking your puppy or dog to the dog park is far too great and is not worth the potential consequences. Take your puppy or dog to group training, find a trainer who holds socialization classes, or find some friends or family with a nice balanced dog. However, getting your puppy or dog around other dogs is not the only component to socialization. Most behavioural issues come from fear, lack of confidence, lack of trust in handler, and not learning to follow. More important than letting your dog play with other dogs, is to expose them to as many positive experiences as possible in a variety of different ways. If you want to ensure you have a confident and happy dog who can go places with you then you need to take your dog to different places, let them explore different sounds and smells, touch and feel all kinds of surfaces. Here are some examples of what you can do:
- Take your dog to different dog friendly stores (most banks, Lowes, TSC, Rona, and many more).
- Using a long line (or off leash if your dog has a solid recall), allow your dog explore parks, trails, fields etc.
- Find any unique surface and encourage your dog to explore it (bridges, jungle gyms, tarps etc).
The benefits of giving your dog plenty of exposure to these different situations will in turn produce a confident dog who can handle most of what life throws it’s way. If you only take your dog to the dog park for socialization, you can expect the one time you decide to bring your dog into a new situation he will be anxious, misbehaved, and it will not be enjoyable for either of you.
If you need help socializing your puppy or dog please contact us for a FREE evaluation at 905-869-1170!
Happy Training
Katherine Vooys
Canines In Balance
Hamilton, Ontario
puppy socialization
Puppy socialization
