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?
Our Jack Russell Sandy has been having some territorial reactivity and struggles with impulse control. After a few sessions with Shannon we have already seen improvement. She has given us the tools to understand and help our dog through these challenges in a fun and positive way!
Excellent, highly knowledgeable trainer that constantly stays on top of current research in dog training. Highly recommend
Just completed a Rally O class with my 10 month old terrier. It was so much fun! We experienced challenging courses, constructive training and great support from Shannon. I would highly recommend this course to dog owners with good training basics.
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!
Game Changer
Shannon is amazing and has been KEY in the behavioural success of my rescue dog Freya (GSD/Rottie/Presa mix). With the help of her growl program and numerous behavioural consultations, Freya’s reactivity levels have become completely manageable. I am now more than confident handling anything my teenage tyrant pup throws my way. Thank you Shannon!!!
Shannon at Zen Dog has been amazing helping me train my young black lab. She’s so thoughtful and really took the time to understand my pup’s needs. It can be tough sorting through all the online training advice, but Shannon made everything so clear and easy to follow. The 1-on-1 sessions were super helpful, and the Saturday group classes have been a great way to keep building on our progress. I’m so grateful for her guidance and highly recommend her to anyone looking for a kind, knowledgeable trainer!
We had a great experience training our nearly 1.5 year old golden retriever with Shannon. She was super informative and we saw immediate progress using the tips she shared, right from our very first session.
I have a working line German Shepherd puppy. I know it will be lots of work but I love this breed. I took this challenge and decided to set him up for success. Zen Dog Canine Training is the only one I will go to. Shannon has extensive knowledges and experiences in dog training. Her efforts and dedications helping us with my pass dog and the puppy I have now is way beyond just providing a standard dog training service. Shannon is a good listener, she effectively communicates with us, really really understand the perspective on our situation fully. Shannon’s Puppy Kindergarten Class was one of the best experiences ever. My puppy loved the class and I left with ton of helpful information and education that improved my skills. I would definitely sign up for another classes in the future. I highly recommend Zen Dog Canine Training.
We have a rare breed, a Thai Ridgeback, which is known to be a challenging breed. But our Cooper is just like any pup, friendly interactive and now well trained. Shannon and Jen that we have worked in private and in classwork are extremely knowledgeable and use most current and best practice in their training methods. Highly recommend.
We had a great training experience with Shannon! Our focus was to work on mild reactivity, focus and recall, and most of all to build a stronger bond with our rescue dog and explore awesome things we can do together. She taught us what we needed and more, is very thorough and a wonderful teacher! Highly recommend
Shannons Saturday morning group classes are engaging & fun & i find the exposure to other dogs in this controlled environment are really helping my reactive dog. He is becoming calmer, more focused & happy & I’m confident Shannon’s training methods & exercises we do are helping to achieve this.
We can’t say enough about Shannon and Zen Dog training. Earl of Oxford has successfully completed Puppy Kindergarten and we have now moved outside for more in Puppy Grade 1. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, patience and tips with us. The other added bonus of working with Shannon for puppy school was you get access to the Simply Natural shop and the expertise from Charmaine, Elizabeth and Caroline. We had first hand thoughts and tips on nutrition, grooming, vet visits and more. All made easier if you needed anything after the class from what we had learned, you could buy before heading home. Win Win. Shout out to all! Earl has many more classes ahead, as we - thanks!
