Dogma Training - Killarney - trusted service provider at WicWac

Our story begins in 2002 when Founder, Megan Stanley, adopted her first dog, Guinniss. She quickly learned that the sweet and affectionate boy at home became a scary and reactive dog once out in the real world. Guinniss was terrified of our urban environment and demonstrated his fear through over-the-top reactions. Megan knew that through patience and the right training approach, she could teach Guinniss that the world was safe and help him integrate successfully into the busy human environment. Guinniss was Megan’s best teacher and is credited as being Dogma’s Canine Co-Founder. Through her work with Guinniss, Megan learned that there were limited options for dogs with reactivity and fear concerns. All options available utilized punishment, which Megan knew put Guinniss at risk to become a dangerous dog due to the behavioural fallout from such harsh methods. Existing facilities at the time were operated by well-intentioned dog owners who put far too many dogs in groups with only one or two inexperienced supervisors with little to no education on canine behaviour. She knew then that she needed to create an organization to set the standard for care and training and advocate for improving the lives of dogs and the people who love them. Dogma opened its doors in 2008 and quickly became the go-to place to visit for complete dog education, day school and training. At Dogma, we know that successful dog training is about relationship building. It's about communicating with your four-legged companion, building a relationship based on mutual respect and learning together. It's positive, it's peaceful and, yes, it's productive. As part of the Dogma Difference, we are the only facility to offer a variety of education programs ran entirely by reward-based certified dog trainers. Dogma was the first to have only certified trainers conduct training, segregate play groups based on size and play style, mandate an assessment before dogs were allowed to attend day school, maintain strict capacity numbers, ensure a low staff-dog ratio, and provide rubber-flooring and solid, high walls to ensure each dogs’ safety. We maintain the highest standards of excellence through staff training, 100% supervision, the lowest staff-dog ratio, facility design, equipment used, and we make every decision to ensure the emotional, physical, and behavioural well-being of each dog in our care. We continue to innovate dog training to ensure training is easy and accessible. We have training to fit every budget and schedule and work with any breed or behaviour. Community and giving back are extremely important to Dogma. We provide free education and training to many rescue groups around Calgary, conduct regular fundraising initiatives, and do our part to help elevate the industry and its future leaders.