About Venture Canine Co.

Venture Canine Co. is a dog training business in Watertown, run by its owner Caitlyn Patrikas. The site's own headline is dog training for everyday life and real-world adventures, and the business publishes its prices openly, which is rare enough in this trade to be worth saying.

Programs and prices

Four programs are listed with prices. Day and Train runs at $255 a week: the dog gets one-to-one training, enrichment and exercise four days a week, with the fifth day a private lesson for the owner. The Puppy Starter Package is $300 for four private lessons, aimed at puppies in their key developmental stages. The Foundation Package is also $300 for four private lessons, described as being for a newly adopted dog or an existing dog whose manners need work. The Off-Leash Freedom Package is $650 for six private lessons and includes an E-Collar Technologies training collar; it covers everything in the Foundation Package and adds reliable off-leash control. Private walks are offered separately at $20 for thirty minutes and $28 for forty-five.

The trainer

Caitlyn Patrikas describes a path that started in 2019 as a kennel attendant at a daycare and boarding facility, continued through college fostering and training service dogs full time, and then a year working for a dog training company before she moved to Fort Drum. She joined a competitive dog sport club in Canada, which she credits with her advanced obedience and working-dog knowledge, and completed a four-month mentorship under Emma Murdock of Walk With Me Ottawa before starting this business. She has a Belgian Malinois puppy she hopes to compete with in PSA.

Method

The site is explicit that the approach is balanced and that plans are customized rather than templated, with the stated goal of leaving the owner able to communicate with the dog after the training ends.