“Our goal is to help our dog owner establish a good, healthy relationship with their dog,” said Angie Pickren, founder and owner of Canine Cabana, just off of Boyette Rd. in Riverview. “We want to help teach them the tools and techniques in order to have that dog be a lifetime part of their family.”
The training programs are completed over the course of five-day intervals along with a daycare stay or a minimum of three full days with lodging per week of training. Each day includes a rotation of playtimes and private training sessions. At the end of the training, an hour-long consultation is scheduled to demonstrate learned behaviors and to practice behaviors with the family, and to answer any questions.
Owners’ goals for their dogs are discussed as well. A puppy social week is offered, as well as three weeks of training. Canine Cabana is open 365 days a year.
The puppy social program is great for puppies up to six months. Puppies are taught leash walking, crate training, bathroom habits, socialization with other dogs and being around new people, and environmental desensitization. They will also be offering a Canine Citizen Program, where they will provide training and testing for dogs who are taught how to be therapy dogs.
Week one goes over relaxation and sit/stay, leash walking and polite greeting (on leash); week two focuses on door manners, “bed/place,” down/stay and polite greetings (off leash); week three deals with recall, drop it (objects) and leave it (objects and food).
“At Canine Cabana, we use positive, reward-based training techniques to encourage your dog to become a well-mannered part of the family,” Pickren said. “We work to establish guidelines for your dog, and give you the tools and knowledge to continue working on your dog’s skills at home.”
Canine Cabana has three full-time trainers, Kristin Lemonde, who has been promoted to Supervisor of Behavior and is a certified trainer, Jenna Ivey who has worked with Canine Cabana for over two years and has mentored as a trainer, and Yezmin Feliciano who is going to be a certified evaluator for the CGC exam to train and test therapy dogs.
Canine Cabana is a licensed dog training business in Hillsborough County. This is a new requirement from an ordinance, passed last year and effective this year, that requires all dog trainers and dog training businesses to be licensed in Hillsborough County.
For more information, you can visit CanineCabana.biz.
