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?
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 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.
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!!!
It was so calming for my dog!
I can't say enough about Zen Dog training and Shannon herself. She really exudes sheer knowledge, wrapped in a comforting layer of reassurance and fun. My dog now behaves so well and is so much calmer in situations that used to be stressful. Thanks so much!
I am so happy we chose Zen Dog Training with Shannon!! We did the puppy classes, grade one, grade two and now we are moving to skills and drills! It’s so exciting to see where my pup started and where we are now. Shannon is very knowledgeable and she does not only teach commands and obedience, but also how to bond with your dog. Not only I really enjoy the classes, but I feel supported as a first time dog owner. Thank you 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!
Shannon is the BEST trainer I have ever had the pleasure working with. Thanks to Shannon, I finally feel confident when it comes to understanding and working with my dogs. For the last three years, Shannon has been an immense help in training my Border Aussie through puppy classes, Rally-O, Skills & Drills, and private sessions. These classes have been fabulous socialization opportunities for my dog who sadly became reactive after a traumatic experience as a puppy. Thanks to Shannon's help and classes, she now also has more ease around other dogs. Shannon is like a human encyclopedia when it comes to doggie knowledge, is extremely patient, encouraging, and one of my dog's favourite humans. After working with Shannon, I am a better dog owner! Highly recommend her as an amazing dog trainer!!
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
Absolutely cannot say enough great things about Shannon! She’ll work magic with your dog and teach you how to do the same.Her Rally-O classes are a nice addition to regular obedience training. My dog absolutely loves the fun brain game aspect of it, not to mention it’s social and fun for the humans too! 10/10 recommend and will be returning for more Rally-O
Shannon was such a pleasure to work with. We had a reactive and very stubborn Shiba, and after three sessions we saw noticeable improvement. Shannon was knowledgeable and flexible to our schedule and being able to meet at home was a huge plus. Will gladly work with Zen Dog Training for all future needs.
I had the opportunity to take puppy kindergarten classes with Shannon several years ago with my border collie Savvy. The class was well structured and the content was very informative. We got to learn basic obedience, tricks, even a little obstacle course all while interacting carefully with other puppies. We learned about nutrition and grooming and got some cool goody bags. Would definitely recommend this class!! I actually drove over an hour from Langley to attend this class every week and it was well worth it!!
Shannon is the best! My dog Ram and I did the life skills 1 class this spring and had a blast! Shannon is fantastic at explaining exercises in an easy to understand way. I really liked getting real time feedback about how to hold the leash, body position for different exercise and how to clearly communicate with Ram. Ram was engaged for the full hour each week and he was super excited every time we pulled up to Carnavon school. His loose leash walking improved a ton and have made walks much more enjoyable. The detailed homework exersice descriptions Shannon sent out each week helped to keep us on track between classes. Totally recommend!
