My Story
Growing up in Swan River, we had a dog from the time I was small. A grouchy, growly little cocker spaniel. A dog enthusiast, I did not actually know much about dogs or training until our second dog. I went to the city for university, as so many of our young people do, then happily retreated back to our small town with my nursing degree. The year I came home our family purchased an energetic lab puppy. Determined not to let my dog become another fat lab, I deep dived into what I thought at the time was the best, most modern training techniques I could find online.
While I did end up with a (mostly) fabulously behaved, fit lab, like many starting their dog training journey, I made a lot of mistakes. The "good" training practices and theories I followed have since been debunked. I learned about ethical breeders when our backyard bred lab turned out to have severe hip dysplasia. I had to learn other forms of exercise and how to watch the way my dog moved. What I thought was fabulous training on my part turned out to be a dog with a personality that lived to please.
I spent the next 7 years jumping from my day job as an operating room nurse to the evening and weekend job of co-managing a breeding program, providing the hundreds of hours of ongoing care needed to raise and train LGD puppies and keep our adult working dogs healthy on their various farms in the valley. At one point, I was gifted a training book from the Karen Pryor Academy by another breeder-turned-trainer that started my true learning journey into dog training. Over several years I completing numerous online courses and attended dog training conferences at least twice per year. I also added an indoor german shepherd puppy in the middle of all that, which naturally required a completely different training skill set than some of my other dogs and puppies!
In 2025 I graduated from the Good Dog Academy (based in BC, Canada) with a Professional Dog Trainer Certificate. We retired our ethical breeding program the same year, though we still have several adult dogs throughout the valley.
In 2018 I began helping with puppy socializing for Mountain Mist Maremmas - who wouldn't want to go cuddle puppies? This very quickly morphed into a partnership with full immersion into the world of livestock guardian dogs (LDGs) and livestock exposure training. The more training groups I joined online the more I realized no one really knew what they were doing with these working dogs. Every question asked sparked heated, polarized debates.
And now we're here. As has always been my motto, "Bring on the puppies!"
Credentials
Graduated 2025 from Profession Pet Dog Trainer program, Good Dog Academy.
This is an online course based in BC, Canada that includes a tested theory section as well as a practical portion requiring numerous graded video submissions. GDA Academy uses only positive reinforcement methods for training. To view the curriculum of the course you can click on the GDA graduate logo.
Received DogSafe Canine First Aid Training 2024
This is an 8 hour online course. Re-certification is required every 3 years.
Current Membership with Canadian Association of Professional Dog Trainers
Per their website, "We [the CAPDT] sponsor learning opportunities, provide online resources and increase public awareness of dog-friendly and humane training techniques by collaborating with other dog training organizations, Veterinarians, Animal Health Technologists, shelters and dog owners.
CAPDT serves as the national voice for the dog training profession in Canada. Our members are dedicated to excellence within the profession and to the humane training of dogs."
Completed Dr. Ian Dunbar's Sirius Dog Trainer Academy, 4-day Online Course, 2020
This online course is just under 40 hours of videos plus readings. Dr. Ian Dunbar is one of the world's most respected experts on dog training and behavior. he is one of the original founders of off-leash puppy classes in the 1980's. He also operates Dog Star Daily, a publishing and support site for dog trainers and owners. Dr. Dunbar is a positive reinforcement trainer.
