success stories
5/5
About a year ago, my girlfriend and I adopted a large Pyrenees blue heeler mix named Lua. Upon bringing her home, we realized she had severe reactivity to bikes, people, runners, dogs and animals and basically anything that moved. In addition to her reactivity, she was highly anxious; leaving the apartment was a battle, and as two full-time students, we began to struggle. Going anywhere became impossible, and we started to take Lua out at odd hours to avoid anything that could set her off. We found ourselves at a dead-end, and after trying countless strategies, we decided to call Nurtured Canine. Melissa recommended the travel and train program for Lua. Melissa worked with Lua and ourselves over the next couple of months, and the results have been life-changing. Melissa is an exceptional individual who clearly cares about her clients and their customers. Melissa was extremely easy to get along with and was clear in her directions and training. In addition to her training skills, Melissa was compassionate towards our concerns and towards Lua’s anxiety and reactivity. Our questions via text were promptly answered, and she was always flexible with appointments. We used to spend our weekends locked up in our apartment, keeping Lua away from any triggers, but now we spend our weekends taking Lua to the markets, coffee shops and travelling to Tofino with her. We are incredibly grateful for Melissa and the way she worked with Lua and ourselves. Nurtured Canine is worth every penny and is the place to bring your furry friend. Thank you, Melissa and the Nurtured Canine team.
Cole Donner
Damon and Melissa saved our life! We hired Melissa and Damon to board and train our 1 year old Goldendoodle who mad major socialization issues with new people and anxiety. We were at a point where we were either going to have give our dog away or hire somebody to SERIOUSLY HELP. Our dog would lunge, bark and growl at anybody new who would come into our house or reach towards him on a walk or at the dog park. Additionally, we had issues with him listening to commands, barking, recall, not being able to relax or settle down, pulling when walking, and chewing the leash.
Although it was a very tough decision to send him away with Damon and Melissa for 6 weeks, they immediately made us feel comfortable and confident in our decision. It was the best decision we ever made! Throughout the six weeks of him being away with them, they continuously sent us videos and pictures of him so that we could see his progress and would be able to see how far along he had come.
Our dog came back a changed boy. We can now have people come in and out of our house without having to worry about him lunging and viciously barking at them. Also, we can now walk our dog with him right beside us and not pulling us around or biting the leash. They have trained him to listen to all our commands and overall, he is so much calmer and more relaxed because his anxiety is being dealt with now. They have continued to provide us with support and be there for any questions we have even after the six weeks. If you are looking for dog trainers for a puppy or grown dog, we would 100% recommend Nurtured Canine. They were amazing to work with and completely changed our life. Thank you so much guys!
Bailey Ference
I called Melissa when I was unsure what to do with my 2 yr old dog. He was much more social pre C19. She came to do an in person assessment and identified areas I hadn't noticed because we hadn't been around many people. He is a whooooole new dog and I can do things with him and take him for walks - off leash - which is something I didn't think would EVER happen. He was too stubborn and didn't listen. Even my family thinks he seems more comfortable in his own skin. She treated us both so well, and my dog is like my fur baby. I trusted her 110% with Eddie and couldn't imagine not having her help!!!! BEST INVESTMENT I'VE EVER MADE!!!
Heather Windsor
I worked with Melissa this summer with my dog Parker and was extremely happy with the outcome. Melissa was very attentive to my needs as far as what I was looking to accomplish with Parker and as a result I was able to get him tested and certified as a Therapy Dog. I fully intend to continue training Parker and will not hesitate to do so again with Melissa. If you are committed to training your pet I would highly recommend Nutured Canine to anyone.
Dianne Harnois
I have two Portuguese water dogs. Anyone who has a porty knows they are not an easy breed to work with. Melissa was amazing at helping me work through a number of issues (lunging and recall being the prioity issues). I now have two dogs who come when I call and do not lunge at other dogs on our walks. I would (and have) recommend Melissa without reservation.
Heather Kanuka
I can honestly say our experience with you has been life changing. When we first met, I was hesitant because I had been training our dog since he was 4 months old, and had little to show for it. He had been labelled as aggressive and reactive by others, and many trainers couldn’t see past that. We literally must have worked with 7 trainers and still couldn’t walk our dog without him lunging and barking at every car, bike, person, dog, or child who walked by. He was hyper around our house, would jump up and try to nip our kids, and would bark whenever anyone would walk up to our house. We could not have anybody over, and he wouldn’t let us put anything over his head. After a few in person sessions, and the board and train he is a different dog. He is calm around everyone in our family, and we can go for beautiful long walks. My kids can feel confident they are not going to be jumped on, and he rarely barks without a reason. We finally have the family dog we knew he was. I was so relieved when we were able to throw out his medication. Deep down I always knew he was capable of being well behaved, I just didn’t know how to help him.
Thank you for helping him learn to live with our busy family… we really feel so lucky to have found you and your team (Cassidy and Damon)… and your dog Kevin too:). You truly have an incredible training program, and I am recommending you to all my friends and family.
Simi Soin
