I started learning about dogs from the time I could read. I would spend endless hours educating myself about dogs and trying to spread every fascinating fact I learned to my friends and family.

In 2007, when I was barely 20 years old I left the home I knew and for the first time ventured off on my own to Salmon Arm where I lived in a pull trailer with my young, crazy dog. I spent 6 weeks there learning under Floyd Jobson at Canada West Canine Centre. I received two certificates; Advanced Obedience & Kennel Management and Master Dog Trainer.

I came back home and launched “Dog Gone Good Training”. I also became heavily involved in the Fort St. James Humane Society and in 2012 I took an online course through the Humane Society University and received a certificate in Behavior Assessment.

A couple of years after that, I hung up my training lead, for many reasons. One of which was to focus on building my family life. I focused on my family, my artwork, and training my own dog. In 2023 I noticed an increase in complaints by community members about dog owners. This annoyed me, as I knew not all dog owners are bad and many of us responsibly lived with our dogs. I started offering free consultations which quickly warped into “Pack in the Park” and evolved into me offering my paid training services again. I didn’t really plan to get back into dog training, the need was just so large that I couldn’t help but do it. My focus from the start was helping people and their dogs.

A major issue in our small community is reaching a veterinarian. They are both far away and difficult to get into. To help this problem I found a pet first aid instructor to come to our town and teach a group of seven people. In the summer of 2023 I received my Canine CPR and Emergency First Aid certificate.

It didn’t take me long to see that my education about dog behavior and training is completely out-dated. There have been so many advances in our knowledge of these subjects. There have been so many studies confirming what used to be ideas. I knew I would need to start upgrading my knowledge at the end of 2024/beginning of 2025 I became a certified Dog Bite Prevention Educator. This course covered a lot of information about dog communication. It’s a certificate that will help me go to schools and teach kids about how to understand dog communication and how to prevent bites from happening by listening to that communication.

This is just the start of my plan to upgrade my education. I am excited to learn more to better help you and your dog reach all of your training goals.