My passion is helping dogs overcome fear and anxiety and helping their humans understand them so they can all live in harmony. I’m the only veterinary referred, fully certified dog behaviour consultant in North and West Vancouver.
As a learning enthusiast, I’m continually taking courses, attending conferences, workshops and seminars, reading and learning from webinars, podcasts, and fellow trainers and clients. I think it’s important for people to understand what they’re getting when they hire a dog trainer, as it’s still an unregulated industry. Anybody can call themselves a dog trainer and declare themselves to be an expert. Having experience in the field is important — but is it the right kind of experience?
I carefully chose who I would learn from and have blogged about my process getting my certifications and accreditations.
My certifications and accreditations are:
- CDBC – Certified Dog Behaviour Consultant with IAABC (International Association of Animal Behaviour Consultants)
- CSAP-BC – Certified Separation Anxiety Pro Consultant by Julie Naismith
- TAKL – Accredited Dog Trainer by Kay Laurence (TAKL)
- FFCP – Fear Free Certified Professional.
- FDM – Certified Family Dog Mediator (Applied Ethology) by Kim Brophey
My certificates of completion are:
- LLA (Applied Behaviour Analysis) with Dr. Susan Friedman
- Aggression in Dogs with Michael Shikashio
Pre-Pandemic my main hobby was dog agility. My dogs have competed in agility at the National level, placing in the top 10 numerous times. We’ve participated in demos, such as the half-time show at BC Lions games, Woof Weekend at Whistler with K9 Incredibles, and performed in the SuperDog show at the PNE. Their greatest love, however, is hiking in the forest. This is what we do most days.
I keep track of my ongoing Learning Log here, and my certifications here: https://goo.gl/photos/F8PcFAhfYPYo17g59