WE BELIEVE IN DOGS!
About The Canine Connection
We believe that the human-canine partnership is positive and powerful! When nurtured and developed, this bond can enrich the lives of dogs and people!
To this end, we believe that the connection between dogs and people can be life-changing. Our mission - our purpose and passion - is to provide programs and places that create joyful connections between dogs and people.
What grounds and guides us
Our Values
DOGS, because they are intelligent, sentient, and sensitive creatures with whom we are blessed to share our lives.
OUR CLIENTS, who seek our services to better connect with their cherished canine friends, who we come to know as friends.
RELATIONSHIPS between dogs and people. We believe those relationships are enhanced through knowledge, understanding, and education.
SERVING OTHERS – our customers, clients, students, partners, and fellow staff – and the relationships of trust and friendship we form with those who cross our paths.
OUR COMMUNITY as an attractive, friendly, healthy place to live and work and we strive for dogs to be welcomed in our parks and public places.
The HEALING POWER of DOGS and other animals, their power to lift moods, improve health, and create social connections.
HELPING DOGS who are homeless, in shelters, or with rescue groups and are waiting to become cherished members of loving homes.
SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES that help to reduce our carbon footprints and paw prints.
SAFETY and sparkle in our environment.
LAUGHTER, creativity, art, and fun!
Certified Professional Dog Trainer-KA
Certified Dog Behavior Consultant
Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer
Licensed Therapy Dog Evaluator
OWNER AND FOUNDER
Dr. Sarah Richardson
Founded in 2002 by Dr. Sarah Richardson, The Canine Connection began with a simple goal: to provide Chico, California with humane, force-free dog training.
After realizing the area lacked modern, positive reinforcement training options, Sarah opened The Academy to help dogs and their owners build meaningful, joyful connections through proven methods.
Clients soon began asking for play sessions, daycare, and overnight care, which led to the birth of The Resort, now a premier destination for dogs seeking fun and enrichment while their owners are away.
EXPERTISE & EXPERIENCE
meet the Rest of the team!
We don’t think you’ll find a better team of dog care professionals anywhere!
Our team members include certified graduates of the nation’s leading training academies, those who hold or are pursing degrees in animal science, Certified Veterinary Assistants, those en route to becoming veterinarians, and many who are “Fear Free” certified. We are credentialed, competent and… we truly care about dogs and their people!
MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Join Our Team
Are you passionate about working with dogs and dedicated to providing top-quality care? At The Canine Connection, we hire outstanding individuals to work with our amazing clients and their dogs.
Our standards for professionalism are high, the work is challenging, and the rewards are great. Check out our openings and apply today!
GIVING BACK
Community Involvement
We’re not just passionate about our Canine Connection dogs—we’re dedicated to helping aninmals throughout our community. Our core values include extending our work outward to the community we love, helping organizations, people, and animals in need. Together, we can make our community - our world - a better place for our animal friends and the people who love and care for them.
DOING GOOD AND DOING RIGHT
Our Code of Ethics
As a member in good standing of the leading certification and professional organizations in the field of dog training and behavior, we adhere to the codes of ethics of the
Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers,
International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants,
Pet Professional Guild.
As well, we have created our own Code of Ethics:
1. Always treat clients and animals with respect and kindness, withholding judgement, and sharing and implementing advice and approaches that are based on the most current scientific knowledge about dog behavior.
To this end, our team consults and confers frequently with other professionals and attends dozens of hours of continuing education every year.
2. Recognize that behaviors reflect underlying emotional states that must be understood, addressed, and potentially modified if real behavior change is going to occur.
Particularly when stress, fear, and anxiety are the emotional roots of behavior, it is humane, fair, and right to address the root cause of behavior rather than simply suppress or change the behavioral response.
3. Use positive tools and methods and avoid punishing tools and methods with training and behavior approaches. This includes avoiding the use of prong/pinch, choke, and shock collars that are designed to cause discomfort and suppress behavior.
Our approach is to prevent unwanted behavior through sound management and encourage and reinforce desired behavior so that these new ways of responding become the dog's reliable behavior.
4. Be honest at all times, including not guaranteeing the results of training and behavior programs, or suggesting that there are "quick fixes" to complex behavior problems. As behavior is affected by many factors, some of which are well beyond the control of our training team and the dog's owners, and as behavior is also dynamic, it is misleading to offer guarantees.
Rather, we apply our best knowledge, based on the most recent scientific understanding, to a well-defined training program, make adjustments as necessary, to help our dogs become the best and happiest they can be.
5. Maintain professional integrity at all times, including representing ourselves and The Canine Connection accurately, interacting with colleagues within the pet industry, training, and behavior professions honorably, keeping our word, and remaining humble and grateful.
TAKE THE NEXT STEP
Ready for a Happier Dog?
Whether you're looking to strengthen your dog's skills or give them a fun, safe place to stay, The Canine Connection is here to help!