Canine Country

I have known Shawn and "The Dog Way" training for quite some time now and I am truly impressed with him and the heart he puts into his work. When I first met Shawn, I had 2 schnauzers and I brought them both to Canine Country to get help with their barking and not consistently listening to me. After working with Shawn and learning the process that he has developed (The dog way), my boys no longer were barking at people walking by my house and especially no longer barking at the neighbor’s dog. I learned the importance of being clear on what the rules are and making sure we both followed them. Establishing rules and then being consistent with them helped me to have healthy dogs who no longer were anxious and now listened to me. Shawn’s method is about consistency, so it seems simple. However, it is a lot of work from the owners. If you put the work into it, the results are amazing… Now, a few years later, I only have one of my schnauzers, I lost one to cancer. I still bring him to Shawn’s facility and he loves it. He trusts Shawn and always knows what to expect while there and exactly what Shawn expects from him. It is a great opportunity for him to hang out with other dogs in a large outdoor, happy, safe and structured environment where all the dogs are taught and expected to follow the same rules. And it is a very nice change from being inside. Shawn consistently goes above and beyond to make sure the owners and dogs are taken care of. The dogs that visit his facility are not just dogs to him, they are part of his family. He knows each one and their personalities and behaviors and always treats them as if they were his own. If you are in the market for training for you and your dog, I highly recommend calling Shawn and experiencing "The Dog Way"

In 2005, I boarded my dog at Canine Country in Tualatin, Oregon. The owner, Shawn Riley, told me that, during her stay, my Pit Bull began to act agressively toward the other dogs (all the dogs are kept in one large enclosure at this place — bad idea). Instead of simply separating her from the others, he opted to use a shock collar on her. This was done without my permission. The shock collar caused a serious injury. When we retrieved our dog from Canine Country, she was bleeding profusely from the puncture wounds caused by the collar’s prongs and required immediate veterinary care. The prongs on the inside of this barbaric training aid caused the punctures. Our vet would later testify that the wounds had gone untreated for too long and had become infected. His assessment was that the collar had been left on for a prolonged period of time, contributing further to the extent of the injuries. Thanks to Shawn Riley, our dog endured unnecessary pain and suffering during her visit to Canine Country. To make matters worse, Riley refused to cover the cost of treating the injuries he inflicted. Fortunately, I prevailed against him in small claims court. And when he failed to pay the judgement, I successfully recovered the funds from his bank. More importantly, our beloved dog eventually healed. This was a while ago but I just got a call based on a review I left years ago on Yelp by another victim of Canine Country. That story sounded WAY too familiar. To see photos visit [*** Link removed ***]

The visit didn't start off very positively, as Shawn chided us for forgetting to bring the gate code, even after I apologized. Shawn's approach to dog training is focused on maintaining absolute alpha status over your dog. (His personality is 180 degrees different from Victoria Stilwell's.) Even though Shawn had explained at length his approach in an introductory phone call a few days before, we still were required to sit on the couch and be lectured to, with handouts and questioning by Shawn, for 90 minutes. He has firm opinions on allowable dog behavior and care; for instance, dogs should never bark, they should be fed only once a day, and they should not be allowed to sniff on walks. Shawn spent 20-30 minutes outside working with us and our dog. While we walked our dog around the yard, Shawn told us about a terrific collar, the Martingale collar. (We bought one from Chewy.com and we love it.) Also, I learned to push down on my dog's rear end as I pull up on on her neck, when she resists the "Sit" command. I learned that it's OK to use a firm, not-necessarily-positive, tone of voice with my dog sometimes. Our dog's behavior has improved as a result of these simple lessons. When it was all over, I owed Shawn $300. About $25 of this was for the purchase of good nail clippers and a nail file. $25 was for a follow-up call for consultation and advice. We felt that too much time was spent being talked at, and not enough time was spent working with the dog. I understand that Shawn has very definite ideas about dog training, but we did not have a good feeling after the visit to Canine Country. I won't be using the follow-up call and I would not consider leaving my dog with him.

We rescued our dog from the humane society just a couple of months ago. He is a sweet-natured 4yo golden retrienver with lots of energy and no sense of boundaries. He also seemed poorly socialized with other dogs and was intrusive and aggressive on the leash. Our homelife was pretty choatic with him, and walks were stressful. We had worked with another trainer who was reward-focused--- those techniques had brought some results, but we were helpless without the treats and frankly they were useless in situations with other dogs. Shawn took him for 2 days prior to beginning the training. During that time he was evaluating our dog and picked up on many of his probematic behaviors. He also spent many hours with him introducing core behavioral principles which were almost completely lacking. He accepts nothing less from the dog except 100% adherence and mastery of these basics behaviors, and that seems to be key to his success as a trainer and boarder. Unlike other faiclities, CC is not a loud, choatic place. The dogs play and are very active, but without wreaking havoc on the humans' environment. No earplugs neccessary! The reason is because Sean takes the time with all of the dogs to firmly instill structure and rules. He does use corrective techniques, which was different from our first trainer, but they are appropriate and do not invovle meanness or anger ever (he is very clear about that)-- leash corrections, time-outs and mild hands-on corrective techniques. These choices are consistent with his overall philosophy of how dogs learn and operate in a pack. Long story short, our dog responded very quickly to Shawn's work. He had a great time boarding there- was EXHAUSTED- and has been an easier dog to live with. We walk together with a relaxed leash, no pulling or lunging even at squirells- a miracle! And his behavior toward other dogs is improving. Shawn helped us see great potential in our dog and we are enjoying it immensely. Other sites have commented that Shawn is diffiuclt to work with or talk to, unclear about his methods etc. I agree that he is talkative and sometimes talks at length. I completely disagree with opinions that he is difficult to work with or unwilling-- he spent 2.5 hours with us after the overnight sessions and reviewed his methods extensively, making sure we understood and could properly replicate the techniques at home. He answered a myraid of questions about scenarios that come up in our home. We will continue to work with Shawn and I trust him. The training is expensive, but Shawn has high standards for his results and will spend hours on end with the dogs. An equivalent amount of time in "private trianing" would be $80-100/hr so probably no less expensive. He also gave us a discount for rescuing our dog.

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I got a very cute 4 week old black lab from the shelter. He was the personal companion I needed and we bonded immediately. I was not, however, prepared for a 93 lb. hunter who loved to run, no matter how beautiful he was! Nor had I been smart in the fact that I NO back yard, so walks began to be difficult whe he discovered squirrels and cats!!! I spent more time chansing him down than walking. I contacted Shawn at Canine Country and shared my problem. Shawn took him for several days and had him under control. What we didn't anticipate was that I was incapable of being the Alpa dog. One cat and 2 squirrels later I had to make the heartbreaking decison that Mick needed to have a place to run and a family that loved him like I do. Shawn took Mick to Board while we placed ads He worked with Mick on outside and inside behaviors while helping us to screen owners. Shawn made me be patient to get the right combination and we think we have that now. I own Shawn and Jen forever for their conmnitment to Mick. I could go on but if I can share any more information with you, just ask Shawn for my phone number or e-mail address. No matter what your circumstance, it can work with Canine Country in your corner!!