About Unleashed Niagara

Your Training Team

Candice Shute CPDT-KA

Owner/Trainer

In 2007 a little spit fire named Kuna came into my life and everything changed. As most people do, I adopted this dog thinking my natural skill set would be able to create this perfect little fluff ball of a dog that would be perfectly poised, easy, and my partner in crime every where I went. I was very wrong. She was smart, high energy, dog snappy and very quickly out of control. So I reached out for some help, and the love affair with guiding any dog to be their best self began.

Fast forward to 2017, training 2 more personal rescue dogs, 4.5 years of rescue work, and 33 "unadoptable" fosters in my home, my wealth of knowledge had evolved to the point of offering my services to others.

I've since been on a spay and neuter mission in Thailand, passed my CPDT-KA certification and trialed my own dogs in Rally Obedience, Rally-FrEe, Scent Detection and Tricks.

I pride myself in continuing my own education and evolving my style and curriculum to always suit the latest research, science and development. Dog training is just like our education, it needs to grow and evolve to accommodate this ever changing world we are in.
Breaking away from prong collars and over powering our dogs into submission, I much prefer to take the time to help the positive traits and qualities in each dog develop as we come to get to know each other. There is never one right answer to resolving issues at home, the only thing that will always remain the same is that I will never give up on you. Even if I don't know the right answer, we will work together to find it. As long as you're willing to put in the effort I will always be right there with you.

Let's get away from prong collars and aversion training and have some actual fun!

Judith Keenan CPDT-KA CTDI

Certified Instructor

The first chapters of my professional career lent me the ability to work with people in an incredibly wide range of situations, both delightful and challenging. People who learn by doing, by watching, by talking, by thinking things through. People who are bold and energetic, those who prefer to be behind the scenes, those whose calm hides an explosion of talent. Sounds a lot like our dogs too, right?

For the last many years, I have translated that ability to interpret word and action into teaching, specifically in the realm of pet care, and joyfully into dog training.

I have fostered and rehabilitated more than one hundred dogs. I have boarded dogs in my home for more than five years while also employed in the retail pet care industry. With the Knowledge Assessed Certification of Professional Dog Trainers, I added science-based education to the mix, a commitment that demands staying up to date with the most current research and developments.

Personally, I have taken great delight in coaching my chihuahua McGee in his adventures on stage and television, earned Trick titles and his Canine Good Neighbour Certification. Jill the Pom-Chi and Gucci the toothless chihuahua keep me laughing and cuddling. I am currently working with my high energy rescued Min Pin Stella on her advanced Trick titles, Flyball and whatever other dog sports she is willing to try with me. I am very grateful to Candice for her mentorship and patience and credit her greatly for our successes to date.

Dog Training as a profession is some-what mis-labeled. Yes of course it's literally about guiding dogs to be compatible companions in our human-oriented world. Being good humans to these sentient creatures, creatures that chose to be our companion some 3000 years ago, is a responsibility taken with the utmost respect. In my opinion, to be an effective trainer of dogs means also being an empathetic coach to the PEOPLE who own dogs.

About The School

Our facility is a 1500 square foot open space. The space is fully covered with non slip, padded agility matting to ensure 100% safety no matter what class you are taking part in. We are ready for puppy social play time, Flyball or just a rainy day. Our facility is climate controlled to ensure the comfort of our dogs at all times during extreme heat or cold.

About the Students

Unleashed Niagara's success and future would not be possible without the amazing students. Some students surpass all the levels of obedience and dabble in all the sports, some come for a few sessions and have all of their needs filled. Every one of them are fantastic dog owners, who love teaching and working with their dogs.
The people that come to classes are so friendly and supportive of one another, whether you have done training for years or it’s your first class. Our students make each other feel so welcome and help each other out. It's amazing to see.

Our class sizes are small, so we can support the individual needs of the dog and the family.

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