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!
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!
I have worked with Shannon for 13 years! From help with my reactive rescue GSD, to my baby GSD boy ( now 10 years old!) and my rehomed to me at 5 months old Belgian Malinios girl. Currently taking Rally-O classes with my 10 year old GSD. He is loving it! Lots of incredible feedback. Highly recommend Zen Dogs Canine Training
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!
Shannon is a fantastic instructor with the experience and resources to help puppies truly thrive. As first-time puppy owners, her support and willingness to answer questions outside of class has been invaluable. We started with a private session, continued into Kindergarten, and are now beginning our third course with her. We can’t imagine training our puppy without Shannon!
Shannon is the best! More than 12 years ago, I was searching out a dog trainer, after purchasing a 'wild child' 6 month old German Shepherd puppy. Lucky for us, we found Zen Dog Training and Shannon has been with us every step of the last 12 years! We still do training as often as possible and keep learning all the time! Thanks to Shannon's gentle guidance and coaching, we are a great team!
Shannon was an amazing trainer for me and my rescue pup Rosie, my pup and I were both anxious and Rosie was very reactive with other dogs. Shannon taught me how to deal with stressful situations and create a positive environment for Rosie to be more comfortable / relaxed on our walks when encountering other dogs. She has a wealth of knowledge and is great at passing it on during sessions as well as following up by sending really helpful training exercises to work on at home. I recommend Shannon for anyone looking for help creating a more harmonious relationship with their dog.
Very happy with the training, tools and help that Shannon provided during our one on one sessions. She gave me so much info on behaviour and was very patient with every question we had. I feel like I have so much more confidence with my reactive Daisy , and slowly we will be able to influence and correct her behaviour issues. Highly recommend , her follow-up with emails/ videos and website were all excellent . Thanks Shannon!
I had the good fortune of attending Shannon's classes and also had multiple private sessions. Shannon is extremely knowledgable and passionate about dogs/dog training. She is first class!
Shannon is a professional, understanding and extremely knowledgeable trainer! I’ve had dogs my whole life but didn’t realize that there was so much more to learn about bringing up a well behaved and happy dog. My dog has learnt many useful habits from her class and he loved every second of it. Highly highly recommend!
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!
Absolute gem of a class. Shannon goes above and beyond basic training with dogs. She truly understands the behavior and communication that's crucial in developing a good relationship with your pup. This is our second dog with her and we are never disappointed with our experience!
