Words cannot express how proud I am of Gus and all the hard work his parents have put into him! He is a great example of how breed and genetics really matter, and how sometimes we can do everything right and still have difficult behaviours pop up. Being a working line German shepherd, Gus is a large, high drive/high energy boy. Knowing he would need outlets for his drive and energy, his owners made sure to get him into training and sports at a young age. All his needs are well met, and he is very clearly well loved. Despite this, Gus still developed some issues around reactivity towards other dogs, primarily due to over excitement and frustration from not being able to engage with them. When it came down to it, Gus was just an adolescent shepherd who needed to find his ability to chill out and co-exist. After six weeks of working on calm and impulse control, as well as loose leash skills, Gus was able to successfully participate in an outdoor distraction class without any issues, and recently had a successful camping trip with his parents!

Kiba is an awesome young doberman who has the coolest job on the planet! She works with her mom as a goose deterrent dog on a local golf course, and loves absolutely every second of it. While Kiba does well when the golf cart is moving at top speed, she gets frustrated when it slows down, which has resulted in some herding and nipping behaviour towards the cart and the people in it.

Kiba is currently working in private sessions on developing an off switch through calm and impulse control exercises, as well as addressing herding behaviour around the golf cart. After only two session she has already shown a significant improvement and I'm so excited for her progress!

Ollie is a 6 month old doodle mix who is michevious and full of energy! He is his owner's first dog, and has successfully completed his basic puppy obedience classes. Ollie's biggest challenge is that, because his owners are home with him all day, he thinks they should be playing with him 24/7. This, along with just being a puppy who loves his people, has resulted in a lot of demanding behaviour. His favourite things to do are nip at ankles and steal things he's not allowed to have, because he knows these things will get him the attention he wants. 

Ollie is currently working on his calm and impulse control skills, as well as learning that he doesn't get attention for being naughty. After 3 weeks, he's already picking up on how to appropriately ask for attention and take breaks when he needs them. 

Lester was my first private client, and one of my proudest achievements as a trainer! Lester is an older dog who was transfered to Canada from a rescue in Texas, and his backgound is unknown. Our best guess is that he's a shepherd/husky mix of some sort, meaning lots of stamina and prey drive! When he first came in for his consultation, we were concerned that his behaviour may have to be heavily managed for the rest of his life. After 6 weeks of building his handler focus, teaching him to ignore distractions, and desensitizing him to his triggers, Lester has been able to not only live successfully at home, but also participates in weekly group walks! It was so great to watch Lester come out of his shell, build his confidence, and learn how to co-exist with other dogs and people. He has also successfully completed two levels of obedience group classes with flying colours!