I have had an undeniable animal connection since I was young. Growing up on my grandpa’s farm in rural Canada, animals were never far from reach, and I was never out of their sight. I have always been astounded by a dog’s loyalty, intelligence, and love.

Working at a local dog rescue showed me a path I knew I had to take. I watched dogs coming in, traumatized, and on their last chance at life. We had a mission to bring these dogs out of survival mode and teach them how to recover and thrive so they could find their forever homes. This is where I was first taught how to handle and train shelter dogs. After over a year of hands-on training,I took a course and became certified in Shelter Dog Behavior and versed in force free handling techniques.

Entering the rescue field in 2021 presented a unique set of behavioral challenges within shelters. A lot of these dogs were overwhelmed with their environment and reacted in very different ways. I worked with many dogs who were simply overwhelmed with their urban environment and didn’t have the training they needed to be able to focus on their handler in such a crazy world. I learned how to adapt to each dog and figure out where the root of the issue is. From there, I would begin with building a trusting relationship with the dog before we started getting to work on the issue. We worked on flipping those triggering stimuli into positive ones with positive reinforcement training. Once the fearfulness receded and the world wasn’t so scary, we would work on being able to focus and thrive during our time outside.

Since leaving the rescue field, I have redirected my efforts into training and education. I have gained experience in inter-dog socialization and balanced training methods. I believe in punishment free training techniques to foster a positive and trusting dog-human relationship where training flourishes. I understand that not only is every dog different, but every pet parent is too and their training should reflect that.

Liz