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?
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 the best trainer there is! Just finished the second series of classes and it’s truly amazing! Also have done some private training sessions at home with her as well. She uses positive reinforcement snd it’s so astounding what you can get your puppy to do with her showing you what to do! What a difference an amazing trainer makes!!!
Wonderful positive reinforcement instructor. I have taken puppy classes and all the way to rally obedience with Shannon and my pup and I have enjoyed it so much!
We really love Shannon’s dog classes! We were referred by a friend since we were looking for something that was the right amount of a challenge that tested our pup’s obedience in more complex settings, and this was exactly that! Working in a group class outside with different dogs and smells has helped to refine our dog’s obedience. Shannon also does a great job giving out personal pointers as well as generalized tips, and adjusts the class seamlessly to cater to the vibe and level each week! If you’re looking for good and fun group classes with an experienced trainer, we recommend this one :)
My husband and I recently had the pleasure of working with Shannon at Zen Dog Training to help our dog Apollo with reactivity issues and making better choices. Her experience was transformative.Shannon provided us with a set of practical and effective tools that have made a significant difference in Apollo’s behavior. She took the time to understand the specific challenges we were facing and tailored her approach to suit our needs. Her expertise and patience were evident throughout the training sessions.One of the most valuable aspects of Shannon's training was her focus on positive reinforcement and clear communication. She taught us how to create a structured environment where our dog could thrive and learn to make good choices independently. The techniques were easy to understand and implement, and we have seen immediate improvements.Shannon’s guidance has been invaluable, and we feel more equipped to handle any challenges that come our way.We highly recommend Shannon at Zen Dog Training to anyone looking for a knowledgeable and compassionate dog trainer.
Shannon and the team are fantastic! Highly recommend for every dog owner.
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!
We loved Shannon's Puppy Kindergarten and Puppy Grade 1 classes, and also adored her assistant Isabelle! Learned a lot and practiced a ton of socialization. Definitely stressful as first time puppy owners to try to handle your pup around other dogs in a class setting, but ultimately I think it made a huge difference in giving us great exposure and better tools to do so! Every time we doubted a command or trick and wondered if we'd use it, we'd end up realizing how right Shannon was a week or two later haha. Hope to continue taking her classes and have heard folks sing her praises around Vancouver for good reason! She's the best
I have known Shannon for years, she helped with training of Roxy, my first black lab.Did amazing job. When I moved down the street from Simply Natural, found out she was doing puppy classes there.So after I found Marli, female black lab puppy, I did not hesitate to take her puppy classes. Thing I love about Shannon, she constantly on top of new training ideas. Still has the great touch with dogs.Positive training. Made huge difference with Marli. 2 paws up from Marli & Terry
Shannon had amazing tips for my 9 month old mini Aussie! Highly recommend working with her. Every time we met it was simple things I could implement with daily training. She made big progress towards loose leash walking. It was also super helpful to know what was normal puppy behaviour ☺️
Zen Dog Canine Training is one of the best I experienced with my reactive dog. Shannon is a great trainer, knowledgeable, patient, and very supportive. Her classes are always fun for dogs and their people. I learned a lot from the training sessions as well as from the private classes. . I can always count on the constructive feedback from Shannon, and support in sometimes hard reality owning a reactive dog. I am very happy that I found the Zen Dog Canine Training and will continue to work with Shannon.
Shannon has been such a pleasure to work with! For context, I have a Shiba Inu who was reactive, especially around resource guarding. After opting for the “Growl” training package, I find that he has calmed down, is less aggressive, and hasn’t exhibited any resource guarding (fingers crossed this lasts!). Shannon is super knowledgeable and really takes the time to get to understand your concerns and provides relevant training for you to work on with your dog. I’d definitely recommend this to anyone who is considering training!
