ABOUT ME
I grew up in the heart of PEI in the small town of Kensington with my family and our daschund/lab Sambo. I spent many hours working on Sambo’s training and took her to the annual dog show at the Harvest Festival every year from ages 9-14. We never won but that didn’t deter me!
I loved animals from a young age and went through different phases of obsession like my horse and tiger phase when I had to have every toy and poster involving those fine animals. (I still proudly wear my huge stuffed tiger slippers that I got in junior high. Lol!) At age 16 I got a high school Cooperative placement at Kensington Vet Clinic. I started out being responsible for feeding and walking the dogs in kennels but soon my passion and responsible nature had me working side by side with the staff weighing animals, assisting in surgeries, caring for animals pre and post op, working reception greeting clients, selling pharmaceuticals, booking appointments and assisting the vets during appointments. Thus began my passion for dogs.
I studied Hotel and Restaurant Management at Holland College and have worked in numerous high end hotels in BC and PEI from 1999-2010. My job in hotels required a high level of customer service and the ability to anticipate the needs of others which greatly helps me in my dog training career. I impulsively got an obese, senior lab/setter mix named Brandy when I was living in BC. She was in desperate need of a new home as her owner died. I showed up at home with her and surprised my boyfriend. Haha! You got cats, I’m getting a dog! I slimmed her down with trail running and mountain biking, read dog training books and trained her to be off leash, well behaved at home and she lived to be 11 years old. Such a great trail dog!
This next dog is the reason I became a trainer. In 2008 I lived in the hills of Brookvale PEI and got my 3rd black dog. (who doesn’t love a black beauty!) Sailor proved to be a challenge as he often would run away for days at a time and seemed to show no interest in me or my husband. He wasn’t housebroken, did $1000 damage to my car when I left him alone in there for only 15 mins, pulled like crazy, stole food off the counters and tables and just wouldn’t listen to anything we said. I was heart broken as I wanted a biking and running partner. That’s when I heard about Duke Ferguson and Unleashed Potential. Duke came to my house to do a consult. He brought 2 dogs and man were they well behaved! Then he trained my dog with e-collar and positive reinforcement and I was extremely impressed that he had my dog happily heeling off leash in 5 minutes. I was so nervous about the e-collar at first but when I saw my dog so happy yet so obedient- Sign me up! I want to learn more!
I trusted the process and did EVERYTHING Duke told me to do everyday with my dog. I worked hard and in 3 weeks I had Sailor biking and running with me off leash and doing back flips in group classes off leash surrounded by other dogs. Sailor never ran away again and our relationship blossomed. Duke saw that I had skill training my dog and offered me a job! But I stupidly declined because I was led to believe by family that I could not make a living training dogs.
In 2009 I became very ill and was diagnosed with a mood disorder which led to severe depression and anxiety. It was a long road back to wellness but,with the support of my friends and family, my medical team and my own strength and determination, I made it back and continue to manage myself and thrive.I’ve learned many lessons on my mental health journey which greatly helps me when working with clients who have them too. When I got divorced and was living in housing that was not pet friendly, I missed having a dog in my life so much. So why not start a dog business! Makes sense to me! Lol! So in 2014 I started Trail Dogs K9 Adventures. For a fee I would pick up people’s dogs from their homes and take them trail running or mountain biking. It was a way for me to continue to work on beating depression and to spend time with dogs outdoors. I used to sit at my high stress desk job and wonder how I could go full time working with dogs??
Inspiration hit in early 2015 and I booked a meeting with Duke to see if that job offer still stands. I happened to contact him at the right time when he was looking for a new trainer. He agreed to take me on and teach/mentor me. I quit my job (my friends and family freaked) and embarked on my dream job. After countless hours of study and over a year of apprenticing directly under Duke, I earned my diploma from his government recognized trainer school. I have since become the manager and head trainer for our 2 PEI facilities and have trained and rehabbed 1000s of dogs and puppies of all sizes, breeds and temperaments. I assist in training trainers who attend our trainer school and have mentored my own students and other UPK9 trainers. I have worked with 1000’s of amazing people of all ages, races and genders. Some of my notable clients are when I worked with a past sitting Premiers 2 dogs, world renowned recording artist Irish Mythen, 8 different vet students, professors and staff from the Atlantic Vet College and consulting services with a major league ball player from The Boston Red Sox. August 2024 is my 10 year anniversary with the company.
After becoming a trainer I got 2 shepherds. Kyro was a male Belgian Malinois/German Shepherd that I’ve raised from a puppy. He was working lines, high drive, high energy and challenged me to make sure I satisfy his needs with energy burn off. He became my demo dog, therapy dog and service dog. His job was to take me to an exit should I even have a panic attack when out and about. Hurtta was a female sable German Shepherd who was rescued at 3 years old from a bad situation of neglect. She was one of the most human and dog aggressive dogs I’ve ever worked with to this day. Her psychological damage prevented her from seeking affection from me for a full 5 months when I first got her. I could train her but she was too scared to be touched or shown affection. She’d bite me in a heart beat. With a lot of time, patience and hard work she grew to be the sweetest girl and I trusted her around people and dogs. These dogs taught me so much and when they suddenly passed from 2 random, sudden illnesses only 4 days apart in March 2023, my world was rocked. I miss them everyday. They helped so many people and dogs.
I have another shepherd now, Kya, who will be 3 in August, 2024 and I’m fully enjoying spending time with this crazy girl. She will be an amazing demo dog and companion for me.
My dog training skills and high performance coaching training, combined with my 30 years experience coaching and teaching people sports, music, and the arts has been helpful with my dog training clients. Training is for both ends of the leash! My experiences with depression, anxiety, adhd and a mood disorder make it so that I am very comfortable working with clients who also suffer from mental health issues and understand how to adapt the training to suit.
I advocate for the dog owner because I have been right where you all are. Feeling hopeless about my dog, wondering if they can be fixed or if I have to rehome them, nervous about whether I can learn to do this or not, scared that I will fail. I believe passionately in the balanced system we teach where training is for both the dog and the human. My clients report increased confidence in themselves and their dog, better communication with their dog, increased trust and a new off leash lifestyle never possible before.