Get to know more about Shannon Malmberg
As an avid runner, Shannon began her dog training journey in 1988 by volunteering with Project Safe Run, a personal protection-dog organization for women athletes, while she completed degrees in journalism and political science at the University of Oregon.
Upon graduation Shannon moved to Vancouver and worked as a civilian decoy with the Vancouver Police Dog Squad from 1991 until 2003: a “hired bad-guy” to assist in the training of young patrol dogs in tracking and criminal apprehension. Hiding in dumpsters, running down dark alleyways, and getting bitten by German Shepherds gave her an insight into working with high drive dogs and dog aggression.
It was here Shannon truly got the dog training bug.
She founded her company Zen Dog Canine Training Ltd. in 2002, teaching dogs and their people across Vancouver and the lower mainland. To date she has worked with close to 10,000 clients on a broad range of issues from puppy raising to behavioural cases, and all things in between.
As a professional dog coach, Shannon is enthusiastic and creative, committed to teaching in a way that is positive for both humans and dogs. She has a gift for bringing dogs and their people closer together while meeting the needs of each client she works with. Shannon stays current with science-based methods and is a lifelong student in all things dog.
My Great Dog Story
She tirelessly attends multiple seminars and on-line coursework a year, getting the opportunity to work with some of the world's leading dog trainers in developing her own craft. Shannon is driven by her passion to learn more and do better by the dogs she lives and works with. She also has a keen interest in building relationships through toy/tug play, and understanding canine nutrition, fitness and body conditioning, rounding out her understanding of dogs' needs.
Shannon is recommended by breeders, veterinarians, rescue organizations and related industry peers for the work she does. She currently shares her life with two amazing border collies and can be found in the agility ring or out in nature.
About the company
The company targets specific classes and personal coaching for rescue dogs, as well as reactive dogs, puppies, adolescent and adult dogs, honouring their unique stages and transitions in life. Zen Dog is committed to positive reinforcement-based strategies when working with clients and their dogs and seeks to engage the learner with effective game-based methods so that learning is fun for all.
What do Dog Owners think?
Zen dog classes are amazing! They really challenged our dog and taught him practical and fun skills to take out into the world. Would highly recommend the classes, especially if you have an active dog!
Wonderful Training Experience with ZenDog
I adopted Benny, a rescue Husky-Border Collie mix, when he was about a year old, and as my first big dog, I knew I needed support. Working with Shannon and Isabelle at ZenDog has been such a gift. They are incredibly knowledgeable, patient, and kind, offering thoughtful guidance not only for dogs but also for people learning how to support them. They’ve helped me learn how to communicate clearly with Benny, set healthy boundaries, and reinforce positive behaviours in ways that really work for both of us. I’ve gained so much confidence as a dog guardian thanks to their guidance. Right now, we’re taking their Rally-O classes, which are so much fun, not just for Benny but for me too. I highly recommend ZenDog to anyone who wants to build a stronger, more connected relationship with their dog.
Shannon is an exceptional trainer. She was able to observe some of our puppy’s tricky behaviour and recommend clear and accessible positive reinforcement strategies. Our high energy and persistent puppy is so much easier to manage now that we’ve done group puppy classes and 1:1 training with Shannon. I highly recommend her, both for puppy classes or private training sessions.
We did Puppy Kindergarten and Grade 1 with Shannon at Zen Dog Training. Kindergarten was really fun and informative. It is more focused on training skills than socialization. We learned some key skills like sit, middle, heel, down, on your mat and touch. We also learned more important life skills such as practicing holds for when we go to the vet, learning back foot awarness, and leaving food alone if its on the floor. Overall it was a really great way to bond with our lab puppy and learn together.Grade 1 was outside at PW Mini School. There was about 7 other dogs in the class. We worked on recalls, loose leash walking, and built on some of the skills we learned in Kindergarten. It was so fun being outside and continuing to learn with some of the dogs from Kindergarten. All us dog parents connected and are in a group chat sharing the highs and lows of puppyhood.Overall, Shannon is incredibly knowledgable. She has a really great approach to training that is focused on connection with your puppy over discipline. She shows how practice, dedication and repetitive training can lead to a calm well behaved pet.Our puppy is almost 7 months old now and he is happy to come with us to park hangs, walks well on his leash, plays well with other dogs and is very bonded with us! Overall 10/10 would recommend Shannon and Zen Dog Training, you need to be ready to work hard!
The "kindergarten" is an excellent course: thoughtfully designed, thoroughly prepared, and effectively delivered. Our puppy learned a lot while enjoying herself beyond belief. We did too, because Shannon teaches the owners how to work with their dogs. We will absolutely take our puppy to other courses offered by Shannon.
Overwhelming positive experience
Very thankful for Shawn Housman’s/Zen Paws behavioral training with Lillie. We can now take her for extended walks without confrontational behavior. If you’re looking for someone to train your dog, I would highly recommend Shawn. I would without a doubt use her services again if necessary.
Shannon is amazing! Gave us a real insight into the what and why with our 16 month old Aussidoodle Murphy and how we as puppy parents could adjust to make us love him even more! ❤️ Thanks again Shannon! Mike, Murphy & Ryan
Shannon is hands down THE BEST! We just completed Puppy Grade 1 - not only was it fun but we learned a ton of tricks to keep our pup safe and engaged! This is the third class we have taken with Shannon (two different dogs!) and we just love her practical approach to training - 10/10 highly recommend. Archie agrees!
I was really impressed by the depth and breadth of knowledge by Shannon and her assistant Isabelle. They really covered all the bases and were awesome in keeping calm in the class (hard with so many puppies around!) and Mugi (@pekoe_and_mugi) really benefited from every class. We took the Puppy Kindergarten, and we're definitely going to take Grade One! (and likely Grade Two, and further). Built an excellent foundation for him to become a better pup. My only qualm is the size of class (with all the humans too!) in the size of the where the course takes place, but the pet store (Simply Natural Raw Pet Foods) have experts in dog nutrition and it was awesome to get their feedback about food from them throughout the course. So a pro and a con for this, and it's up to the handlers to decide if that'll impact their experience. Made for keeping our pup under control but it's also good training for him.
Had such a wonderful experience with the first couple of lessons we started with Shannon and our new rescue puppy. She definitely catered the training to exactly what she felt my dog needed and was extremely realistic and understanding with him. We will be looking to continue more in the warmer months, as well as attending group classes!
I have been taking my feisty young terrier mix dog to Shannon's Saturday morning Skills & Drills Power Hour for the past few months and it has been a game changer for us. He went from being unable to be close to the other dogs and having to do the exercises 20 feet away from the group, to being able to walk past dogs, in between dogs, towards dogs, all a couple of feet away from him with no issues. This class was exactly what we needed for him to feel more comfortable around other dogs and I am so grateful for Shannon's knowledge and encouragement. Shannon has years and years of dog training experience and it shows!! Sylvie Fefer
Shannon was kind, extremely knowledgeable and very easy to work with! She always got back to me quickly when I had questions and provided excellent resources to help with training. Heidi and I couldn’t be more appreciative for all the help and support!
