UNLEASH THE INCREDIBLE!
Located on peaceful country land in Santa Rosa, California just an hour north of San Francisco, Incredible Canine Training Center is Sonoma County’s premier destination for professional dog training. With over 90 years of combined experience, Master Trainers Patrick and Lorna O’Connor are renowned experts in canine behavior, obedience training, and dog-owner relationship building. Their lifetime commitment to helping dogs and their humans succeed has made Incredible Canine Training Center one of the most trusted dog training facilities in Northern California.
Their extensive professional background includes training dogs for law enforcement, service and assistance work, personal protection, and competitive dog show events. Today, their core mission is helping dogs of all breeds, ages, and backgrounds reach their full potential. They specialize in behavioral dog training, working with challenging issues such as fear, anxiety, reactivity, and aggression, and providing the expert guidance needed to create lasting, positive change for both dogs and their owners.
Patrick and Lorna are known for their natural, relationship-based training approach, which centers on fulfilling a dog’s innate needs for social bonding and physical interaction. Rather than relying on food-based rewards or force, they cultivate cooperation, engagement, and mutual respect. The result is a dog who looks to their handler for guidance, connection, and approval, not because of a treat, but because of trust.
Their work is rooted in deep experience, including national-level competition with their own dogs and a unique understanding of canine development through responsible breeding. This well-rounded perspective allows them to tailor training to the individual dog, no matter the age, breed, or behavioral history.
At Incredible Canine, dogs are more than a profession, they are a lifelong passion. Through proven, compassionate methods, the O’Connors are committed to helping every dog become the best version of themselves.
“SHE CAME BACK A DIFFERENT DOG!”
“Knowledgable and experienced.”
“I wish we had found them earlier. WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND INCREDIBLE CANINE!”
“Our pooch is more confident, obedient, and happy. ”
“Can’t thank them enough for a wonderfully trained attentive puppy!”
“The only regret I have is not doing this sooner. Trust me, it is money well spent and you will not regret it!”
Meet the Master Trainers
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Patrick O'Connor, Co-Founder
Patrick has dedicated over five decades to understanding, training, and working with dogs. He began his career as an apprentice under a retired chief of police and since that time, he has trained dogs across a wide range of disciplines and fields within the canine industry making a significant impact on the dog world.
In the 1980s, Patrick joined a top of the line dog training equipment manufacturing company, where he designed groundbreaking police K9 training equipment still widely used today and eventually became president and Chief Operating Officer. Over his career, Patrick has attended and instructed at numerous advanced training seminars, becoming the only civilian to teach at 20 International Police K9 Conferences. He holds a California P.O.S.T. certification as a Police K9 Evaluator and has served as training director for multiple dog clubs. Additionally, he has held trial helper certifications from organizations like the German Association of Working Dog Sport Clubs (DVG), Schutzhund USA, and the Working Dogs of America.
Driven by a deep passion for building stronger connections between humans and their canine companions, his lifelong commitment to the art and science of dog training stems from his belief that dogs are not just pets but incredible partners capable of enriching lives.
Today, Patrick channels his wealth of expertise into helping regular dog owners through the programs offered by Incredible Canine. He understands that every dog and owner is unique, and he brings a personalized approach to solving common challenges, from obedience training to behavioral and social issues. Drawing on his experience with high-level working dogs, he breaks down advanced training principles into practical, accessible methods for everyday dog owners. His goal is to demystify dog training and help people unlock the full potential of their canine companions, ensuring a happy and rewarding life together.
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Lorna O'Connor, Co-Founder
Lorna’s 40 years of experience in the dog world stem from a deep passion for the incredible bond between dogs and humans, and the profound joy and enrichment they bring to our lives and the world around us. Since 1982, Lorna has excelled in multiple disciplines, including competition obedience, schutzhund, assistance dogs, and conformation showing, earning numerous titles and awards with her dogs. Throughout her career, she has held several leadership roles including serving as Regional Director and Vice President of the United Doberman Club, President of the Redwood Working Dobermann Club, and the Regional Puppy Program Manager for Canine Companions for Independence where she was responsible for the socialization and training of over 3,000 puppies. This broad experience, combined with her mastery of diverse training techniques, allows her to tailor training to meet the unique needs of each dog.
Lorna’s dedication to the Doberman breed began with an unforgettable experience—finding a Doberman puppy abandoned in a dumpster. This discovery led her to adopt the puppy, named Pepper, and give her a second chance at life. The bond they shared fueled Lorna’s passion for the breed, and she has since devoted herself to understanding and preserving the Doberman’s unique qualities, helping countless others experience the same rewarding companionship she found with Pepper. This also led to over 40 years of experience in breeding this exceptional breed.
As an experienced dog breeder, Lorna has gained a deep understanding of canine development, from the earliest stages of a puppy's life to adulthood. Her years of hands-on experience have been instrumental in witnessing the crucial interactions between the mother and her pups, as well as the dynamic between littermates. These early relationships have taught Lorna how dogs naturally communicate with one another through body language, tone, and subtle signals, insights she applies when training dogs.
Lorna's ability to communicate with dogs in a way that they instinctively understand has been a key element of her success as a trainer. She passes this unique understanding onto dog owners, teaching them to connect with their dogs using the same clear, intuitive communication that puppies learn from their mothers and siblings. This approach ensures that dogs respond more effectively and owners are empowered to build stronger, more harmonious relationships with their beloved dogs.
PREMIUM RESULTS
Insight from the top: Patrick’s perspective as Co-Founder & Master Trainer
What sets Incredible Canine apart?
EXPERIENCE: With over 90 years of combined, hands-on dog training experience, 43 and 53 years respectively, we bring a level of expertise that is truly unmatched. Our lifelong work with dogs, from birth through every stage of development, provides us with a rare and comprehensive understanding of canine behavior. Through decades of close observation, we have witnessed countless mothers nurture, guide, and discipline their puppies, each adapting her approach to meet the needs of every individual pup. These firsthand experiences have instilled a profound understanding of temperament, learning styles, and behavioral dynamics that no textbook can replicate. This deep, generational knowledge is the foundation of everything we do.
PERSPECTIVE: Our backgrounds span police K9 work, the service dog industry, national-level dog sports, and conformation shows. These experiences have honed our ability to read even the most subtle canine body language understanding a dog’s state of mind, arousal level, and emotional balance. This allows us to communicate clearly and effectively, meeting each dog where they are and guiding them toward calm cooperation and confidence.
PHILOSOPHY: Seek Cooperation, Earn Respect. Our training philosophy is simple yet powerful: we don’t demand obedience, we inspire it. We believe in building mutual trust and respect so that dogs want to work with their humans, not merely for them.
COMMUNICATION OVER TREATS: We don’t rely on food-based training. Instead, our methods focus on rewarding dogs with verbal praise, physical affection, and play…the same natural reinforcements they value in their own social world. This approach makes training deeply personal and relationship-driven. Because our trainers are experts in canine communication, they’re able to guide dogs gently and effectively, achieving lasting results without the use of force or frustration.
UNLIMITED TRANSFER LESSONS: Our Bootcamp Program includes an unlimited number of transfer lessons. Yes — unlimited. We’ll work with you as long as it takes to ensure your dog responds to the first command, that all behavioral challenges are resolved, and that your dog achieves a reliable off-leash recall, first time, every time.
LIFETIME GUARANTEE: We stand behind our methods and our results with a lifetime guarantee because when you train with Incredible Canine, you’re not just signing up for a program; you’re becoming part of our lifelong training family.
“BECAUSE EVERY DOG DESERVES A CHANCE TO BE INCREDIBLE!”
