After losing our first dog Ozzie to cancer and experiencing burnout as a clinical pharmacist during the pandemic, I decided to fulfill my lifelong dream of competitive dog sport and training.

Ozzie was incredibly smart, mischievous, stubborn, driven and the class clown. He tested boundaries on a daily basis and forced me to be a better person and trainer. He had a lifelong battle with health issues which made me familiar with canine conditioning, physiotherapy and rehabilitation methods. In the end, he left this world as a tricks champion (TDCH), a Canine Good Neighbor (CGN), and a participant in competition obedience, rally-O, agility, sheep herding, scent work, skijoring/kick sledding, but above all was the light of my life. Ozzie will forever be my inspiration and motivation and I thank him every day for his beautiful life. 

My second Aussie Finnigan has also had incredible health challenges battling several years of treatment refractory epilepsy. We almost lost him in 2022 to a 22-minute episode of status epilepticus. After several months in and out of the ICU, we figured out he had a gastrointestinal disease that was precipitating his seizures. A complete diet and supplement overhaul along with adjustment in his anti-seizure medications started us on the right road to recovery. We worked for 12 months re-training foundational agility behaviors as he lost a good portion of his training due to medication side effects and as a consequence of the neurological sequelae of his seizures. In 2024, we not only qualified at regionals, but he was the highest scoring rookie dog in Manitoba and had a blast competing at agility Nationals in Ontario!       

My education as a Clinical Pharmacist (BScPhrm, PharmD, BCPS, EPPh) and a 2-year Diploma in Teaching and Learning for Adult Learners puts me in an excellent position to create structured lesson plans for group training classes and giving positive, constructive feedback on a one-on-one basis. I have won several preceptor/teaching awards with over 16 years' experience as an instructor/mentor for students from several Canadian universities.

I believe in positive reinforcement, games-based training methods which is what we will use in all group classes and private lessons for agility training. I believe that a dogs' training curriculum involves 4 pillars; 

1) Sufficient breed-specific exercise and activities 

2) High quality nutrition and regular health screening

3) Structured daily opportunities for enrichment 

4) Adequate and scheduled rest periods 

I use these pillars as the foundation for all training plans. I have recently passed the exam as a professional dog trainer (CPDT-KA, 2025) who follows LIMA (Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive) training ethics and the Humane Hierarchy.  I am not an animal behaviorist, therefore I am invested in training new behaviours (agility and other sport skills/behaviours) and will refer to colleagues in the event a pre-existing problem behaviour arises and interferes with sport training.  

Currently, I compete in agility with our resilient Australian Shepherd Finnigan who is the sweet, adorable face of Haulin Auss Agility and our very spicy Miniature American Shepherd Zeira who placed 3rd at 2024 AAC Nationals just 2 days after her second birthday! We hope to have an amazing agility career ahead of us. 

A HUGE thank you to my very supportive partner Josh who encourages all my crazy ideas and is making more frequent guest appearances as Finn's handler! He's always poking around the field, hauling around equipment and travelling with me, helping out with anything agility-related.

I'm excited to start my agility mentorship role coaching new teams to grow their skills and advance the sport in positive, supportive and innovative ways! I'm also on my own continuous improvement journey connecting with experienced judges and handlers to further my own skills and knowledge of this fantastic sport!