About us
WHO ARE WE?
MAX Potential Dog Training is a Canadian based dog obedience training business
We aim to help owners understand their dogs with a target of teaching their pups to WANT to work for them
MEET THE TRAINER
Hi, I'm Ryan
I am a trainer based out of Elmsdale, Nova Scotia, Canada and own three wonderful rescue dogs
I am married to a wonderful, supportive partner and have a lovely, happy son
· Meet The Pack ·
Zeus
Zeus, a rescue from Québec, was born in January 2014 and we believe him to be an American Staffordshire Terrier mixed with Bullmastiff
Nova
Nova is a rescue from Nova Scotia, born in July 2015. We rescued her at 8 weeks old from the SPCA. Nova is believed to be an American Staffordshire Terrier
Crash
Crash is a rescue from a kill shelter in San Diego, California. His birthday is estimated to be in December 2014 and we believe him to be a Rat Terrier mix
MAX Potential Dog Training opened in January 2017 on a hope to educate pet owners all about their dogs and what they do
Our goal is to reduce the number of pets that are surrendered to shelters
In 2020, due to inspiration to 'think differently' brought on by COVID-19, we have opened up our program to an online audience
We are among the first trainers to implement a program like this
I’ve had a love for dogs and training/behaviour modification literally as long as I can remember
Dogs have always played a major role in my life; as a child, my family had a wonderful chocolate lab named Max
I can remember having no idea what to do regarding training him when I was small, but will always remember how rewarding it was to encourage an animal to want to work with and for me
When I decided to start this business, I named the business after Max in his memory
Fast forward a number of years, I found myself in a position to learn the basics in the dog training world from one of the best in a shadowing capacity in Dartmouth, NS
It was around this time that I became more involved in dog rescue and fostering and learned very quickly that I really needed to hone my skills with behaviour modification as I had recently adopted one of my fosters, Zeus
Zeus, at the time, was an 8 month old American Staffordshire Terrier Bullmastiff mix that was born in a kill shelter and had zero direction, obedience, socialization or sense in how to manage himself around new people without trying to ‘dominate’ or claim them
He especially despised new dogs, treating them as threats… Basically, Zeus was a massive jerk
Within one year (and many, many hours of positive reinforcement training), Zeus became certified as a therapy dog through St. John Ambulance
Another year after that he was given the designation ‘Specific Needs’ therapy dog and works with children, vulnerable adults or anyone that wants some good old fashioned puppy love
Zeus provided his therapy at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport every Friday
These days, Zeus also has many dog friends and will get along with any dog after a proper, controlled introduction
Zeus retired from the therapy program in 2019
Today, I have three dogs… Zeus (January 2014), Nova (American Staffordshire Terrier, July 2015) and Crash (Rat Terrier mix, December 2014)
All are rescues that have come with their own challenges that I have been able to work around
Nova is also a retired therapy dog with St. John Ambulance and made her rounds at long term care facilities
I also have a cat named Bruce… He was the first pet I had as an adult
He will sit and shake paw for anyone
I am still involved in dog rescue; fostering, working with rescue groups to provide training at no cost when necessary, transporting rescues to new homes and I am also an approved trainer with the SPCA Provincial Animal Shelter in Dartmouth, NS
Many of my clients will tell you that I can speak dog and while that would be a very cool claim to own, I'm not that good
What I am able to do is read body language, energy and intent and effectively communicate to you why your dog is doing/not doing something
This lets you understand a little bit of dog psychology to help you reach your training goals
I am a big believer that practice makes progress and with dogs, everything you do creates progress; nothing is ever perfect in the dog world, there is always room for learning, growth, development and education
My specialty lies with reactive dogs; Many will coin the term aggressive when describing a reactive dog’s behaviours
I enjoy working with high-energy, stubborn dogs that pose a significant challenge… These are my favourite success stories
All my of my training techniques take advantage of varying levels of positive reinforcement in order to shape and correct what you are looking for from your pup
There is nothing more satisfying than teaching and training a dog to WANT to work for you based on a relationship built from a foundation of care, love and mutual respect
If I were to describe a mission, it is to educate more pet owners before they give up on their dogs and give them up to shelters/local rescues
Unfortunately, many of these facilities euthanize animals once they reach capacity to make room for new animals
If I can somehow play a part in more dogs having homes and living long, happy lives, I will consider the mission a success
If you have a new puppy, or a new to you rescue, please reach out to me regarding online or group classes
Classes are fun, you and your new best friend will learn all of the essential elements that create a happy, obedient companion in a distraction filled environment
I also want to make a special acknowledgement to my wife and partner, Stephanie
Without your support, this business would not exist
Without you, I would have far fewer laughs and significantly less happiness
Thank you, for just, everything
To Simon; I hope daddy makes you proud
Grow up big and strong little man
Love you both
