A BRIEF HISTORY OF MY ANIMAL WORK

Before starting my dream career of working   full time with dogs I was no stranger   to the   animal kingdom. Upon leaving school I worked for 2 years as a veterinary   receptionist/assistant   in a busy practice in the England . While my husband and I raised a family we ran a small holding where we owned horses, cows, pigs, emus, chickens, ducks   and geese, oh and not forgetting the family’s 8 dogs, 2 cats a canary and the goldfish.!!

In 2005 we moved to Saskatoon   in Saskatchewan   where I started a full time job working at a large boarding   and breeding kennels. I was quickly promoted to Head Girl where I was put in charge of   40 boarding   dogs and 4 employes. In what little spare time I had I helped my bosses with their 30 breeding dogs. The whole experience gave me a good opportunity to learn about   dog behavior and from then   on I was determined to   build on the skills I had already gained.

In early 2007 I went on a 3 month training course in BC where I trained along side Ben Kerson   at his   Government Certified dog trainers school and   gained my “Profesional   dog trainers certificate”. The training was definitely mentally and physically exhausting but it was well worth the effort.

From there on a gained enough confidence to   move to New Brunswick where I opened up my own dog boarding   and training kennels. A while later I started my Dog Basic Obedience Group classes   where I enjoy helping people train their pets in a fun and friendly atmosphere. For people who have dogs with   deeper issues I offer   private consulations so that I can help people understand why their dog   is behaving   badly and what we need to do to   stop the unwanted behavior. My newest class that   I have started is a “Intro to Agility”. It is a sport I   enjoy doing with one of my dogs   and   I   love involing other people in it so that they can find a fun way to enjoy time with their dogs.

I own six dogs of my own but I   also do volunter work at the St John Animal Rescue League where I will go in and work with some of the dogs with issues. When I can   I will foster one of the dogs that is considered   to be having extreme behavior problems, I will bring it home and work with it until   the dog   is rehabilated and ready to go into a new loving home. On several occasions   some of the dogs I have worked with where due to be euthanized   because of their issues so it gives me a great deal of fulfilment to know that I have saved a dogs life because of my   understanding of dog behavior .

One of the dogs   I adopted for myself from there   has turned from a fear aggressive dog   into a wonderful loving companion   who now competes with me in agility trails and in 2008 took the St John title of “Pet Idol”