You and your dog are unique. Your relationship should also be one of a kind. Yet most trainers and classes offer only a cookie-cutter generalized approach based on what the trainer thinks your dog needs to know.
Shouldn’t the training reflect the relationship you desire with your dog?
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16 customer reviews
Kelly Jaskow
Dog Training
Very professional trainer and easy-going. No stress for either me or my dog. Training sessions at my home are a perfect length of time and my dog reacts positively. Homework notes are provided and easy to continue daily training sessions. More...
Dane Siebens
Dog Training
Phillip is an excellent dog trainer. He was always timely, professional, and very knowledgeable. He answered all of our questions about training our Pyrenees clearly and showed a broad understanding of dog behaviour and training techniques. We really appreciate how easy he was to work with and would highly recommend him to anyone looking for a skilled and professional trainer. More...
Shelly & Wayne Mcinnis
We recently had the opportunity to work with Phillip from Custom Canine with our six month old puppy. Phillip sought our input and feedback towards our goals to work on for our puppy and provided us with a structured six week plan for us to work together on throughout that timeframe.
In the six weeks we worked together, we saw so much progress from our puppy, which centred around our goals, from simple recall to more complex emergency recall, which was very important to us from a safety perspective, taught us and our puppy obedience cues and many strategies to develop effective approaches and successful outcomes. We received feedback from Phillip on a regular basis in order to support us to be more effective training our puppy as well as where we were doing well with success. Phillip also sought feedback to ensure we were getting what we hoped for from the training and always welcomed questions. All training was designed and implemented with fun activities and Phillip was a great resource who offered us countless tips and additional puppy/dog resources for our use. We completely enjoyed our time with Phillip and would highly recommend him for dog training. He has a wealth of experiences with a variety of dogs that he has trained. Thanks Phillip for setting us and Hazel up for success!
Shelly and Wayne
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Tamara Heppner
Dog Training
Definitely solved my issue. A great resource!
Rianne Andrews
Dog Training
Phillip was such a good trainer for my puppy with anxiety. My puppy was terrified to go outside, and in the 6 sessions we had he made so much progress and is now starting to enjoy walking/exploring. Phillip’s approach to training is very helpful, he teaches you how to train your dog versus training them solely himself. The notes after each lesson were helpful for continued training with my pup. I would highly recommend Phillip to anyone needing dog training! More...
Mila Just
We were thrilled to discover Phillip at Custom Canine, thanks to a strong recommendation from our breeder.
His training style strikes the perfect balance, disciplined and thorough, yet always fun and engaging for both dog and as owners.
With our high-energy Weimaraner, Pascal, we faced some unique challenges: pulling on walks, jumping up and and selective listening. Phillip took the time to truly understand our specific needs and tailored his approach accordingly. The results have been outstanding, Pascal is now much more focused, responsive and manageable in everyday situations.
What truly set Phillip apart was his availabity to answer our many questions and his generosity with his knowledge.
Beyond the hands-on training sessions, he shared a wealth of practical advice weekly, as well as tips and resources that helped us to continue building on our progress at home.
It's clear he genuinely cares about long-term success for dogs and their families.
Highly recommend Phillip at Custom Canine to anyone, especially those with energetic or strong willed breeds like Weimaraners.
Mila & Pascal
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Sheila Anderson
Dog Training
Phillip was an absolute gem to work with! His knowledge, understanding and especially his methods were incredible. I loved that he started simple and built each week on the training, making it all make sense. Also, the fact that he would check in to see how our week was going was so nice and reassuring. Highly recommend! More...
Tia & Danny
Dog Training
We have had such a wonderful time working with Philip and look forward to future training sessions with him, we started to notice a difference in our dog very quickly and we continue to follow his training routine we are so happy with the positive change we have seen in our large stubborn rescue pitty! ! Philip has such a calm kind nature and our pups are so excited when they see him coming! Highly recommend for any of your training needs we cannot say enough great things about him! More...
Teodora Melling
Philip was great to work with and always available for check-ins via text and phone call. He addressed all of our concerns and gave us written overviews of each session so that we had them to refer back to any time. We’ve seen improvement in our dog’s reactive behaviour and are continuing to work on the exercises Philip taught us. We would highly recommend Custom Canine to anyone who needs a little (or a lot of) help getting their pup on track! More...
Chantelle and Chris
Dog Training
Phillip was great with our dog Cedar, he understood the needs of a high energy dog and made us feel confident that we could handle it as well! Phillip has so many great tips and tricks and keeps you accountable to your training! highly recommended More...
Ashley
Dog Training
We would highly recommend Phillip from Custom Canine! We signed up our 7 month old highly energetic puppy in the 6 week training program and we cannot say enough good things about our experience! The sessions were tailored to our needs and well planned out. Our pup is a completely different dog than when we started 6 weeks ago and we feel completely confident taking her out into the world! More...
Alex Campbell
Phillip was great with our Australian Terrier (terror) named Oz. We inherited Oz in the passing of my father who didn't do much, if any formal training with him.
Even at 4 years old, with a strong personality we have seen immense changes in behaviour and emotional stability.
Would recommend Phillip to anyone looking.
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Robyn Heath
Dog Training
As a first time puppy parent, I wanted to make sure I was providing the best start to my pup, JIMI’s life as possible. I felt that I could get better direct feedback to improve working 1:1 vs in a group setting.
Phil gave me clear and impactful tips because of this 1:1 interaction. Like using the right tone of voice and focusing on practicing to get the building blocks in place. The tips for creating a routine for JIMI and being available for questions were also very valuable.
There is so much info overload online about puppies - and having a pro like Phil to help me really helped build some great foundational habits with JIMI - while building trust with him and having fun!
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Mairi Bosomworth
Phillip helped us train our energetic, strong English Lab, Teddy. Phillip’s approach to training centred on focus techniques, loose leash walking and things we can do at the house to help us help our pup. Acknowledging that training is not a linear process we have seen an overall improvement in Teddy’s day-to-day behaviours. Phillip developed a program that was tailored to fit our needs and worked with our schedules so it was easy to stay on top of it - and the check-ins ensured we were held accountable. Phillip’s knowledge, ability to not only train Teddy but to teach us how to train Teddy (and not to mention those pep talks on our most frustrating days) made for a great experience and a perfect fit for us and our family! We would recommend Phillip to anyone and everyone! More...
Sarah
Dog Training
My 2-year-old Shih Tzu Bichon, Dean, has always been an overall great dog but sometimes a little yappy when strangers came to the door.
He was unfortunately kicked by someone who entered the property unannounced. This incident left him traumatized and led to him proactively biting unknown men on and off property in fear of being kicked again. We reached out to Phillip at Custom Canine for some professional help and he really came through for us.
Not only have we been able to overcome his biting and fear of strangers (he just
allowed a complete stranger to pet him at a store yesterday!) the reactivity
training he received included connected issues such as leash and door manners.
He is a lot less barky, has increased focus and is much calmer & more
confident overall.
Phillip created a personalized training package to work with Dean, and he taught me the
techniques and step-by-step process to help Dean get comfortable around
strangers and offer alternate behaviours instead of being fearful and
defensive. I really appreciated the way Phillip made himself available in between our sessions and was always willing to answer any questions in addition to following up on the
homework he gave us. He was professional and enjoyable to work with. I would
highly recommend Custom Canine to anyone who is interested in dog training or
overcoming behavioural challenges. With his personalized plans, you can have
him work on whatever issues you wish to address with your dog. It was a 100%
worthwhile experience. My dog is doing better than he ever. I am confident Imade the right choice choosing to work with him
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Radhika Nair
Phil was very organized and had a plan for every session. The sessions were customized to our dog’s needs. He checked in regularly between sessions and advised us as required, which was very helpful. Phil was very patient with us, but most importantly Pluto loves him and has shown great progress. We highly recommend Custom Canine! More...
What do you love most about your job?
Helping people & their dogs develop their best relationship to enjoy their lives together.
What inspired you to start your own business?
I have many years of experience training dogs and decided I was now at a time in my life when I could do it professionally.
Why should our clients choose you?
If training is about you & your dog together, then it's important that your trainer is equally skilled at teaching, motivating and coaching people in addition to training dogs. Phillip Rubel is one such person. When it comes to the people side of the equation, Phillip has led a successful career in international business all based on understanding and motivating human behaviour. He was also an adjunct professor and executive-in-residence at the University of Victoria’s Gustavson School of Business.
As for training dogs, Phillip has a lifetime of experience owning, working with and training a widely diverse range of dogs. He is a professional certified trainer who graduated with honors from Animal Behaviour College and has spent considerable time in mentorships and observing trainers with differing styles and techniques. Phillip has further supplemented his learning with specialized courses on reactivity and other behavioural problems. He is able to draw upon a deep and varied knowledge base to work with you and your dog to master skills and to solve problems. Lastly, Phillip gives back to the community by volunteering with the SPCA.
Can you provide your services online or remotely? If so, please add details.
I can provide services online, depending on the nature of the training needed.
What changes have you made to keep your customers safe from Covid-19?
Fully vaccinated and most of the training occurs outdoors.
Dog training and behaviour modification
We work with puppies, adolescents and adult dogs including: socialization, crate training, manners, obedience, loose leash waking, recall, reactivity and problem behaviours.
