Canine Country

We came to Shawn after a recommendation from another trainer because our extremely fear aggressive border collie allows nobody to touch him but us. Shawn took control immediately and now they are best friends. Our dog loves Shawn and never shows any aggression toward him because Shawn knows how to handle dogs with behavior issues. Canine Country is the only place our dog can stay while we are out of town. He comes home exhausted because he gets to run and play all day.

I had a troubled animal that had suffered years of neglect and abuse that I adopted. This made this beautiful animal incredibly aggressive. I was at the point were I was planning on getting rid of the animal and that was breaking my heart. THANK GOD for Shawn. After only a couple of days of training our dog Frannie’s behavior became 180 degrees better! He also taught me how to discipline my dog in a humane yet firm manner which allowed all of us in my family to have a harmonious relationship with the poor beast. Now Frannie is fully integrated into our pack (family) and I couldn’t have had this joyous outcome without Shawn’s aid. I cannot recommend this gentleman highly enough!

Shawn knows dogs and is an expert at conveying what is acceptable and expected, eliciting appropriate behavior from his students. Clearly his students are not just the dogs but also their handlers. He has a philosophy of dog training that he is generous enough to share. No magic. Clear communication, consistency and partnership result in a dog that is well behaved and can safely move into any environment.
The initial assessment reassured me that the rescue dog I brought to him did not have an aggressive nature. After a few days in boarding, socializing with other dogs, he went home with an adoptive family. The adopters have access to Shawn’s support and guidance as needed. Once you are a client, you can always call. What a sense of comfort and security to have a professional on your team!
It is easy for me to recommend Canine Country training and boarding facility. Shawn has a structure that works; a philosophy based on years of experience, and he was surprisingly sweet and gentle with my dog. He gave the dog something that I could not. I may have rescued the dog but in just a few days, Shawn saved his life.
I think the difference between my assessment and others here is that I did not have a preconceived notion of what would be good for my dog. I needed help and that is what I got. As a result, a dog that might have otherwise been put down has a happy life ahead of him.

Bottom line here is: save yourself $ 550 dollars and go spend $ 25 on a Cesar Milan DVD or book, you will get waaaay more out it.
I’m so glad to see all of these bad reviews on here, I’ve seen some reviews for Canine Country on other sites and his wife /​co-​worker goes on there and defends all of the negative review with some pc response, and really I find it to be a total joke.
What Theresa said about the «free phone consult» is spot on, he babbles on and on, doesn’t let you talk and dodges every single question you ask him. So then you go meet with him and he convinces what a great training program and facility he has but before any training he has to do an evaluation (an extra $ 99 on top of the lifetime training course), which consists of leaving your dog with him for a 24 hour period, while he observes the dogs behavior and does some basic training with the dog.
What Sean does in this evaluation seems to be very sketchy, he says that he takes your dog into his backyard with all of the other dogs, and basically leaves them there for a few hours to observe behavior around other dogs, and by then your dog is so freaking exhausted that it doesn’t want to do anything except lie around. Then he does some blanket training and who knows what else.
So the next day you go to pick up your dog and she is sitting cowering in a crate inside of his garage, I’m not sure if the dog sleeps outside or inside of a crate (he says they are outside always but does crate training as well). But he sits you down and goes over all of his observations. Then he tells you that the first steps to start the training are all about correcting your dog and being the pack leader, which I agree is a important thing. He then tells you that he will explain the first steps of this training, and it is literally the exact same things he says in the free phone consultation.
So he shows you the proper way to get your dog in the car, then sends you on your way, and says «call me anytime, if you have ANY questions.» He doesn’t say anything about phases of training, specific methods and steps, he just says to go home and give it a couple weeks working on blanket work and correcting your dog.
Now the whole reason my wife and I did this was because our lab was having some food aggression issues, and she was a hi-​energy puppy. So my wife and I mentioned the food aggression thing SEVERAL times from the start, it seemed like he would never answer the question and kept saying its all about being the pack leader and he saw no aggression issues with her when he did his evaluation. So for about 2 – 3 weeks my wife and I tried what he said which was correcting her every time, especially when she showed aggression after eating. We began to get frustrated and called Sean to talk about it, after my wife became irritated with him dodging the question on the phone he finally agreed to have another meeting with us.
My wife and I took our dog to meet him one morning. He sat down and began lecturing us saying the EXACT same things he said in the ‘free phone consultation.’ I cannot tell you how many times Sean told us «ITS NOT THE DOG, IS YOU!» Okay maybe it partially was our fault, but I can’t correct something if I can’t figure out why its happening. I kept asking him the question, «okay you said she showed no aggression to you but why is she doing it to my wife and I even after we correct her?» I asked him several times and he wouldn’t answer me so i finally got irritated and raised my voice at him, all I could get him to say was that it is anxiety, which makes sense. So my wife and I need to find a way to help our dog not become anxious before feeding her, and correcting her when she growled after eating wasn’t working, she bit me several times.
After the second face-​to-​face meeting with Sean, my wife and I we gave up, we decided not to call him anymore because its a waste. He is very knowledgeable with dogs, but I think that his methods were not meant for everyone, and his repeated dodging of questions and blaming the owner rather than the dog got old really quick. Sean is just a sketchy looking person in general.
Again to reiterate, Sean Riley’s Canine Country is just a waste of $ 550, just send an email to Cesar or buy one of his DVD’s. There are also other stories around the internet of his questionable methods, I wish we would’ve done more research before paying this scam artist, but someone from our vet recommended him and we took their word.
Sean also says there is a ‘moneyback guarantee’ if you aren’t satisfied, what he doesn’t tell you until after you pay, is that you have to ‘complete’ the training course before he will refund your money, but there are no set guidelines, it is up to his discretion at what stage you are at in the training. So if you sign up, and don’t like his methods, too bad, you are screwed.

His «free phone consultation» is everything on his website said by him in a very loud voice without letting you speak.
I didn’t want to call to hear about how other trainers «are doing it wrong.» It was nice of him that he was giving us some of his time by talking with us over the phone, but did not touch on any points relating to our situation.
He did not say what this training was, only what it wasn’t.
At no point did he say what kinds of things we COULD do or give any kind of direction other than pay him money for mystery training that «isn’t like those other guys» to have my dog roam around with a bunch of other dogs.

I used this establishment for training and boarding. With hindsight, training methods are borderline cruel. Training methods, however, are nothing compared to problems when it comes to boarding.
The website says no clickers, training collars, etc. What a joke. When my dog was boarded there she was (supposedly) acting aggressive toward other dogs. As all dogs are boarded together in one large enclosure this can be a problem. Shawn’s solution? A shock collar — which I never gave him permission to use.
When my wife picked my dog up she was a bloody mess and had to go directly to the vet where she was treated for puncture wounds caused by the shock collar. According to my vet, the wounds were infected, which indicated that the collar had been on for a few days.
If you care to see photos and read more about the ordeal check out
.
Worse still, the owner wouldn’t even do the right thing and cover my vet bills. I had to take him to small claims court (where I won my case).
Even though this happened a few years ago I remain furious and think it’s important other dog owners know the real deal about this place.
Update: as for the nonsense in the «partner’s» reply below (a reply from someone who I’ve never met and who wasn’t involved in the lawsuit) follow the link above and look at the vet photos to see what a liar’s definition of «slight redness» is. I NEVER gave permission to use a shock collar. Even if I had, proper use of a shock collar doesn’t result in puncture wounds and infection. You might not have thought Shawn was negligent, but the judge sure did.

Canine Country is operated on the owners private property, this would explain the strict guidelines for going to the facility. From the introduction tour I received it lead me to believe Canine Country is more geared towards training than boarding.
The owner seems knowledgeable about training and handling dogs. He made it perfectly clear that he prefers one on one training with the owner and dog than large groups, but he is open to training groups if necessary.
His teaching style is a little too X type management style for me, from the what I got from his speech to the group. I will not be using this company to train my dog. As I mentioned earlier he appears to understand dog behavior and training. I’ll leave his dog training ability to another reviewer, I’m going to focus on the boarding aspect of the company (even though I did not have my dog stay there).
My concern was that the entrance to Canine Country is off of a major road with fast moving traffic and the dogs are allowed to roam throughout the area. The kennels are behind the house so I’m assuming the dogs would be kept in the back yard away from the road (he claims the dogs have full run of the yard when the gate is closed).
With that said, the kennel appears to be aimed more at large dogs than smaller and medium size dogs. Take a look at the websites photo album and it will give you a feel for the boarding, the types of dogs that should stay here and the area they get to roam around at.
As I mentioned earlier I can’t really speak to how the owner is as a trainer because I haven’t put my dog through a training course with him, so I’ll leave that to other reviewers. For boarding, I can’t speak to it because I never boarded my dog there. Yard is nice, the kennels I saw were outside. The company is within the owners home.
Update: Upon further consideration and experience of others I personally know, who have been to canine county I couldn’t in good conscience keep an okay rating hence the one star rating.

3-​17-​2012. Both owners at CC wrote 5 star reviews on Unilocal (& were removed for violation of content) claiming they were customers (scroll, see filter). Same on their website.
CC was awful. Wish I could give them ZERO stars.
Immature w/​control issues is the best way to describe «dog trainer» Shawn Riley. Not the description I would want looking after my puppy.
Shawn said to train there you had to drop off your dog for 24 hrs. What about it being the PERSON who needs the training?
Canine Country:
dog boarding, training in Tualatin, OR off I-​5 on SW Tualatin Rd. Is at the trainers house w/​single fence & keypad to open gate. Dogs stay outdoors ²⁴⁄₇ & exercise by being given run of the property. Kennels seen in website pics (in 2011). Fencing is mostly cyclone, but 1 length is goat & sheep fencing w 4×4 in squares (ie: puppies can crawl thru).
Email from Shawn on address, gate, collar to wear primed me for the confusion that would follow once we all met face to face.
5-​1-​2011: Our sm dog meetup group went to see abt partnering w this trainer (Jenny N. contacted us). The idea: our group of 9 humans & 9 dogs shows up, the dogs play & those who gravitate towards trainer do. All else? Have fun like at our other meetup groups at Hazelia Dog Park.
Several+ of us talked later w/​same conclusion: boarding facility was not good for sm dogs, uncomfortable meeting, ?‘s to the trainer either went unanswered or answers were not applicable. ½ wanted to leave early.
1 person said they got helpful info, but agreed w above.
Shawn said he has had «only had 7 dogs escape» & «only 1 dog has died».
It is not clear how long he has been in business, said he has been training since age 5.
An impromptu training by a trainer I met at a pet store once gave me more insight into dog training then 1.5 hrs here (ie: Shawn was repetitive). We had to stand in hot sun w black dogs & Shawn even reprimanded a good dog for whining. (1.) I have never heard that dog whine & 2.) dog was communicating that she was hot & thirsty).
IMO: I did not feel that Shawn was alpha when it came to the dogs. I got the feeling that we have pets & he has dogs. He was more knowledgeable than some dog owners but this does not mean he is an alpha personality, or that he was effective, all which is imperative to be in charge of a ‘pack of dogs’. ie: The trainers own dogs did not respond to his commands, nor the neighbor dog.
After the trainer tried to power trip my husband & I, I had to wonder what was going on. All I wanted was a safe place to play & for the trainer to make it worth his while.
I asked where the dogs would play. He said we’d shut the gate & use front yard. I said that the new puppies could get out of the fence that had 4×4 in squares he said: «I didn’t think about that.» Red flag. There will ALWAYS be a puppy in our meetup group. (if puppies are safe? all will be safe)
I could not recommend it to members w small dogs (all of us), puppies, dogs who will not come back on command. I was not allowed to check the fencing for holes per his email (ie: a ‘serious security breach’ if I went past the house). Boarded dogs are allowed run of property once single gate is shut.
Shawn tries to control by fear & not respect. He is not tuned into the PERSON who needs to be taught how to work w/​their dog. He was not tuned into us that day or else he would have known we’d have loved to walk a few feet & stood in the shade for 1.5 hrs.
The part that got me:
I told him we needed a good fence, that our dogs came to play off-​leash, this breed is not known for good «recall». He said: All dogs can learn to come back on command. ?? It is a dog play group! I need the dogs SAFE *now*, not after you train them all (I never had any intention of him interfacing w/​my puppy in any way shape or form). Shawn also wanted to wait til the last person arrived to start playing. We waited 1.5 *hours*. We never did get to play.
It was the longest 1.5 hours ever.
This was not going to work.
Our meetup group let’s you arrive WHEN YOU DO, no strings. Meetups are for fun & leaving in one piece. Some dogs sit at their owners feet, but not mine. Shawn’s email said If my dog/​puppy went behind the house? I could not go look for him.
Count us out.
I had to leave at this point. I sent my husband in my place w/​water for the dogs who were desperate for a drink. I stayed w/​my puppy in the car. Then 4 of us left & met at our regular dog park where we finally got to play!
Ask for a complete tour. Ask questions. What is the worst that can happen? You have to go elsewhere? That is a responsibility of a good dog owner.
I was there. I asked questions for me & you.
Maybe some don’t care about the safety of our dogs but I do.