Supervised Dog Socials in Ottawa
Your dog was built for this.
Dog Socials are professionally supervised, off-leash socialization experiences set in nature — designed for the full spectrum of dogs, including the nervous, the reactive, and the ones who've never had a fair chance. Now in Richmond, Ontario.
Nervous, reactive & selective dogs welcome — conditioned basket muzzles accepted
What Is a Dog Social?
A Dog Social is not a dog park. It is a professionally supervised, structured off-leash experience that gives dogs the opportunity to decompress, communicate naturally, and move freely in a safe, managed environment — with trained eyes on every interaction from start to finish.
Every session runs in two phases. Phase one is a guided long-line decompression walk — dogs arrive, clip onto a 15–20 foot long line, and begin moving through a natural outdoor environment. No on-leash greetings. No forced introductions. Dogs decompress at their own pace, process the scents and sounds of the environment, and begin to notice other dogs from a safe, pressure-free distance. Handlers walk alongside their dogs and receive real-time coaching from our trainers on reading body language, recognizing stress signals, and understanding what their dog is communicating.
Phase two is the off-leash forest. When a dog shows genuine behavioural readiness — loose body, active nose, settled nervous system — they are individually released into a 2-acre forested off-leash area. Entry is staggered. Each dog goes in when they're ready, not when a timer says so. Some dogs spend their entire first session on the long line. That is not a failure — it is exactly what that dog needed that day, and it counts.
Every session is capped at a small number of dogs. Every session has at least two trained professionals present. Nobody is left to figure it out alone.
What This Is Not
Not This
- Not a dog park where anything goes
- Not a drop-your-dog-and-scroll-on-your-phone situation
- Not a free-for-all with unknown dogs and zero supervision
- Not suitable for dogs in active crisis without prior assessment
- Not a replacement for behaviour modification when that's what's needed
- Not a place where your dog will be thrown in the deep end
This
- A professionally supervised socialization environment
- Real-time education for handlers on canine body language
- A structured, graduated experience that respects each dog's pace
- A safe space for the dogs that get turned away everywhere else
- A weekly practice that builds confidence, emotional regulation, and trust
- Something your dog will actually benefit from — not just survive
Who Is This For?
Dog Socials were built with the hard cases in mind. If your dog has ever been told they can't do group anything — this was made for them.
Nervous and fearful dogs who shut down or flee in high-pressure environments
Reactive dogs working on rebuilding social confidence
Dogs with limited or negative off-leash social history
Dogs who have never had appropriate socialization opportunities
Dogs recovering from a negative experience with another dog
Highly social dogs who need appropriate, supervised outlets for their energy
Dogs whose owners want to understand canine communication on a deeper level
Any dog whose owner has ever left a dog park feeling worse than when they arrived
We offer separate sessions for large dogs and small dogs. See each page for size guidelines, group caps, and session details.
What Your Dog Gets
Out of This
For the dog
- Natural decompression through sniffing, roaming, and free movement
- Improved dog-to-dog communication skills
- Emotional regulation and impulse control developed through real social experience
- Reduction in stress, anxiety, and hypervigilance over time
- Fulfilment of species-appropriate biological needs
- A nervous system that learns — over time — that other dogs are not a threat
For the human
- Real-time education on canine body language from professional trainers
- The ability to distinguish stress signals from play signals
- A community of dog owners who get it
- Confidence in reading and advocating for your own dog
- An answer to the question: "Why is my dog like this?" — delivered live, in context, with your actual dog in front of you
Where This Comes From
Large field socialization has roots that stretch back further than most dog owners realize. The concept was pioneered in Europe by David "The Dogman" Klein, who developed the practice of allowing large numbers of dogs to socialize freely in open spaces — trusting the dogs themselves to do the teaching. The practice crossed to North America through the late Dick Russell, a legendary dog trainer from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who devoted over 50 years of his life to the craft and became the first person to bring large field socialization to the Western Hemisphere. Russell is credited with the phrase that defines the entire philosophy: "I do not teach socialization class — the dogs teach it."
His work influenced a generation of trainers. Jason Vasconi of Transform My Dog in Texas has been running large field socialization classes of 80–120 dogs every Saturday for over two decades and has taught the format internationally across the US, Ireland, Spain, and Australia. Chad Mackin developed Pack to Basics™, an adaptation of the large field model that can be run regardless of space, and has brought the concept to trainers across North America and the UK. Heather Beck of K9 Lifeline in Utah built world-renowned Saturday Socialization classes and has collaborated with Vasconi to bring large and small field socialization together under one roof.
Rewild the Dog brings this lineage to the Ottawa Valley — adapted for the Canadian landscape, grounded in 20 years of experience with nervous and reactive dogs, and built around the belief that the dog park was never enough.
Frequently Asked
Questions
Dog Socials Are
Coming to the Ottawa Valley
Sessions launching soon in Richmond, Ontario. Pre-register now to be first on the list and receive session details, dates, and times as soon as they're announced.
Pre-Register NowSeparate registration forms available for Large Dog Socials and Small Dog Socials