Rise & Resolution Dog Training

08/24/2026

PUPPY & AGILITY CLASSES

I am offering two 4-week classes at a brand new facility in Val-Des-Monts! One Puppy & one Intro to Agility. Come join us and try something new.

https://centrecaninvdm-fr.square.site/nos-cours?fbclid=IwY2xjawT5RoVwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMVhLOTBNSlJlem91dmczaldzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEerNME4GkvU8Se7W9ADGIdvVGcZFYYoHMnpadoytSw5dhcJ1GOdFak8CCMyus_aem_Db4hj2WGLtJesqq-Zaop1Q

08/23/2026

Fall Seminars 🍂

We've got space for 2 more seminars and we're on the fence about what topics to do. Should we do another Wicked Weaves? Running A-Frame Intros? Reactive Dog seminar? Tell us what you want to see in the comments below!

08/21/2026

Calling all puppies! We are 50% full already. 🐶

08/03/2026

"I want a high drive dog!"

We hear this all the time. People usually have a dog that disconnects with them to go sniff, or doesn’t want to keep working, or shuts down easily. So they ask for a high drive dog, because what they really want is a dog that keeps working for them, doesn’t run off, and likes food and toys.

Here’s the thing, what most of these people really want is a medium drive dog with good handler focus. So what is drive?

Drive in a dog means an inborn, biological urge or high motivation to perform a specific behavior, such as chasing, hunting, or defending. It is the focused energy a dog uses to reach a clear goal.

Common Types of Drive for Dog Sports

* Prey Drive: The natural instinct to track, chase, and catch moving items like small animals, balls, or toys.
* Pack or Social Drive: The inner desire to fit in, follow a leader, or work closely with a group or human.
* Food/Hunt Drive: The profound motivation to search for and acquire food or use scenting skills.

To further confuse things, drive and energy are not the same thing.

Drive vs. General Energy
* Energy: The physical stamina a dog posesses
* Drive: How the dog purposefully channels that energy into a specific task or target.

There are a lot of dogs with high energy and low drive. These dogs appear to be constantly in motion but can’t stay focused on anything for long. There are also dogs with high drive and low energy. These are the quiet dogs that will sit and focus on a chipmunk for hours, waiting for it to escape it’s hole only to pounce on it and grab it in a quick second when the time is right. High energy and high drive dogs are like having a Ferrari, and if you plan on only taking it for a drive around town and are a novice driver you are going to have a hard time learning how to drive with it. High drive dogs tend to fixate on things when they don’t get their needs met and expect you to be clear and fair in your training. They WANT to work, and when work itself is the reward you better be ready to give boundaries and well timed rewards or you’ll end up with a dog that bites and barks at you in frustration and leaves you to go work on it’s own if you’re too slow. If you are still missing the connection and engagement piece, a high drive dog can turn into an absolute nightmare.

For most of us, what we want is a medium energy, medium drive dog with good handler focus. These dogs tend to be forgiving of mistakes, willing to work for you, and can handle ill timed handling and rewards without taking it personally. You’ll still need to work on keeping them engaged and wanting to work with you, but dogs like this make the best partnership for those wanting to train and compete. Save the high drive dogs for the handlers that want ‘more’, are super competitive, or are very skilled at their chosen sport and can handle a dog with intense needs. For both of us, myself (Lynda) prefers medium drive dogs while Catherine who does mainly flyball prefers high drive dogs. In our chosen sports, we both get what we need by having different kinds of dogs.

06/02/2026

Puppies - There's so much to train, where do you start?

For us, it's more about building how they feel about things vs actually training things. You can always train precision, in fact, it's one of the first things to go when you stop practicing. However, training how puppies FEEL about things takes much longer and will set you up for a lifetime of success, and unlike precision, this takes longer to undo.

We teach puppies how to feel excited and confident about learning new things, how to keep fighting for the reward when they make a mistake, how to feel connected to their handler when working, how to carry themselves in new environments, how to relax in a crate or x pen, how to handle things they are scared of, and so much more. When the foundations are laid out, you can train your dog for precision once they are old enough. You need to build the engine before the breaks in the world of dog sports.

05/07/2026

This is something I’ve been thinking a lot about too! When I was looking for my first puppy I had a VERY strict list of exactly what I was looking for personality wise. Many dogs later, I have learned to simply enjoy the experience of training each individual dog and figuring out their personalities. Instead of trying to turn each and every dog into my most ‘successful’ dog, I now take my time and take each lesson each new dog gives me. And you know what? It’s going pretty well regardless. ❤️

Something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately with my own dogs…

Learning to actually see them for who they are.

Not who I expected.
Not who I wish they were.
Not what someone else’s dog looks like.

Each dog has their own strengths, struggles, quirks — and if you don’t take the time to understand that, you end up working against them without even realizing it.

I still catch myself doing it.

But when you slow down and really look at the dog in front of you, things start to make more sense.

You can meet their needs better.
Find outlets they actually enjoy.
And guide them through the harder stuff in a way that’s fair.

That’s a big part of what I focus on with clients too — understanding the dog first, so we’re not forcing a one-size-fits-all approach.

That’s where everything starts.

Understanding first. Everything else builds from there.

📸

04/23/2026

Puzzle toys are great for building frustration and food drive in dogs and puppies. It’s also a great way to teach the dog to put in effort that will be rewarded almost instantly. However, this puppy is a terrier mix and his breed tends to end up on the side of over arousal vs low drive, so going forward we’ll need to also add a bit of patience and thoughtfulness to his training program, now that food drive is no longer a concern.

Can you see in this video how puzzle toys are not always a good replacement for exercise?

04/15/2026

Raising Puppies - Not Every Action Requires a Reaction

I see so many people who expect their puppies to be absolutely perfect in every way, and those who have puppies being held back to breed someday are always under extra scrutiny from the public eye. But puppies, of all breeds and personality types, are constantly changing from day to day as they figure out the world around them. At some point, your puppy will give you a behaviour that is less than desirable. Some may resource guard, some may panic and p*e themselves after seeing something, some may act aggressive to another puppy or dog, or bark or growl at a human. It's important to observe the dog as a whole. Is this an ongoing problem or a one-off? If it's the first time you are seeing this, it may not even be an issue, but if you zero in on it and obsess over it for the next few weeks, bringing attention to it can often make things much much worse. My suggestion would be to deal with it in the moment, in whatever way helps you get the best outcome, then leave it alone. If it continues to come up, then you can work towards fixing it. I have seen many cautious dogs get worse by having their owner point out and reward every single thing that may be scary, instead of letting the dog sit with it and process their feelings about it. Puppies are allowed to be scared of things, or have big feelings about stuff, letting them simply observe things without pressure, and time and consistency, is often the best remedy.

03/23/2026

We hadn't advertised this previously as it was full however we have ONE working spot left for our Trial Prep this Saturday!

If you're struggling to get through an entire run OR you are looking to prepare your dog for rally or obedience (Or higher Rally levels without rewards) you won't want to miss this!

03/09/2026

Sunday the 15th, not Saturday! There are still spaces left.

It's no secret that it's hard to find beginner agility classes here in Ottawa/Gatineau area. With the lack of foundation agility classes available we have decided to offer more 'niche' seminars to help newcomers to agility to hone their individual skills! These seminars are perfect for those who want to do something while they wait for a class spot or for those already in classes at any level looking to polish their skills.

Our first AAC Gamble Skills seminar filled with a wait list so we're offering another one. All levels are welcome however we ask that your dog is confidently going over jumps and through tunnels at a reasonable distance without too much help from the handler.
Email [email protected] to sign up.

If you are looking to host one of these seminars for your students feel free to reach out!