BusinessPaws Spotlight: Woofability Dog Training

Shortly after Tim Land first moved to Canada he and his wife, April, welcomed home their first dog, a Bluetick Coonhound named Nymera. With the knowledge that their new pup had a lot of energy to spare, they began looking into the doggy daycares in their area. Over the next couple of years they brought their pup to four different daycares. In each case Nymera started out extremely excited, then over time became reluctant to even get out of the car upon arrival at the daycare facility. This understandably raised some questions for April and Tim. They began to wonder what was missing from these daycare experiences and whether there might be gaps in the existing market. In an effort to improve not only their own dog’s daycare options but also that of other dogs in their community, April and Tim decided to open Woofability Dog Daycare in 2016.

From the beginning, Woofability’s daycare and boarding programs were centered around providing positive experiences for dogs. As their business grew, they expanded their service offerings to include training options as well. In more recent years they recognized an increased need for training and behaviour services, and made the decision to incorporate more training-based activities for their daycare and boarding clients. Their focus on positive reinforcement and enrichment-based activities have allowed them to build a loyal customer base of happy, fulfilled dogs. In particular, families have always appreciated the time taken by the Woofability team to provide individualized updates on their pet throughout the day. 

Since first opening their doors Woofability has grown to a team of 12 and has won multiple local awards for best daycare, boarding, and training services. Following April’s personal experiences with her own service dog and expanding on her previous work with individuals with disabilities, she and Tim launched Woofability Service Dog Training in 2023. Their Heart to Home program provides fully trained service dogs to handlers living with a wide range of disabilities, while their Owner Train program helps provide handlers with the skills and support needed to train their own dog for service work. Tim and April’s experiences in these programs further inspired them to start Pawsabilities Service Dog Society in 2024. A non-profit, Pawsabilities aims to advocate for the rights of service dog handlers, educate communities about what service dogs do, and help fund service dog training for those individuals facing financial barriers. In 2025, Pawsabilities launched its own podcast, Paws on Point, to further its mission of advocating and educating. In that same year Tim and his team made the decision to evolve Woofability into Woofability Academy Inc., with the goal of providing additional training services both online and in person. These private and group training options are aimed at supporting families looking for help with regular training and behaviour concerns within their community and beyond. They are also excited to offer hands-on programs for individuals interested in pursuing a career in dog training.

Over 9 years in business Woofability has worked with a wide range of dogs, families, and service dog handlers. As their programs have grown and changed, feedback from their clients has helped to drive those changes. After their transition to more enrichment-based daycare, one family that had been bringing their dog to Woofability since they were a puppy expressed their delight at the improvement they had seen at home. Switching from primarily large group play to enrichment activities resulted in a dog that was more attentive at home, and generally calmer and more polite with visiting guests.

Woofability’s Service Dog programs have likewise made positive differences for many families in their community. One Heart to Home client shared just how life changing it was for their son to work with his autism service dog. Training and working together with his service dog has allowed him to achieve a level of independence that previously felt out of reach. With his service dog by his side he was even able to attend the graduation ceremony with students for his entire year, enjoying a special milestone with his friends and family without feeling overwhelmed by the event. 

Through all the positive, life changing stories Tim and April have also worked through a variety of challenges that inevitably come along with owning a business. Like for many others in the pet care industry, the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns presented Woofabilty with a unique set of issues to tackle. As the world came to a halt, their previously full calendar was suddenly empty of reservations for up to three months ahead. With restrictions in place preventing them from re-opening their doors, they faced a challenging future. Not to be deterred, they made the decision to take their time away to rebrand and revamp their business so they would be ready for when they could begin welcoming dogs in again.

Following the pandemic April and Tim noticed there was a significant increase in the need for training services. Frequent lockdowns combined with the huge number of families bringing home new pets resulted in many dogs that were poorly socialized and lacking in basic manners-based skills. Dogs coming for daycare struggled to communicate with other dogs, dealt with increased anxiety, and overall appeared overly dependent on their people. To tackle this, Woofability chose to blend their training and daycare programs, developing a day training program. Pets coming to stay now not only get enrichment activities, but also work with trainers to practice manners and general obedience skills. 

As their team has grown, April and Tim have worked hard to help support their staff and provide a positive environment every step of the way. One of his most important strategies for this is his open-door policy. They aim to ensure their team members know how much they appreciate their work, and are always happy and prepared to talk to them about anything. Alongside this, they emphasize the importance of staff development. They aim not only to provide a job but to allow their team members to grow within their role and to start a fulfilling career in the dog industry.

Looking to the future, April and Tim anticipate that daycare services will increasingly involve training. Though the pandemic brought the need for those services to the forefront, demand has continued to increase, even years later. This industry shift has reinforced April and Tim’s belief in the importance of being trailblazers. By focusing on adaptability and boldly changing to face a constantly evolving market you can not only stay ahead of trends but be one of the trendsetters helping to make the pet industry better. Along with that advice, April and Tim recommend not being afraid to make mistakes, as they can lead to our biggest and most important lessons. By facing those mistakes head on we can be better and stronger the next time. 

To keep up with what’s going on at Woofability K9 Services learn about all things daycare, enrichment, boarding, and training, check out their Facebook page or their website. If you are interested in working with Woofability Service Dog Training you can find more about their programs on their dedicated Facebook page and website. Information on their Pawsabilities Service Dog Society program, including ways to donate, can be found on their website, Facebook page, or Instagram profile.

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Woofability is a valued client of BusyPaws, making use of our booking, CRM, communications, and payments systems. We’re pleased to share a small part of their story with the pet care community.

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