Virtue K9

01/02/2024

Happy 2024! Looking to start the New Year off on the right paw? For the month of January, we are offering 30% off virtual and in-person Initial Consultations.

Get in touch with us to schedule your session or book online at virtuek9.com

11/10/2023

Huge shoutout to this pup who has been rocking her in-home sessions!

Did you know, we provide in-home private training sessions? In these sessions we come to your dog and do the training so you don’t have to be home. We provide mental and physical exercise and work towards the goals of your training plan. This is great for those long days away from home, or when you’re running short on time.

Have questions? Send us a note and see if this could be helpful for you.

10/31/2023

Forever grateful for clients who take the time to provide feedback!

“My 7 year old golden retriever has had many obstacles to overcome with me during our training sessions; such as food aggression, biting, jealousy over toys, scared of getting in vehicles, not wanting to retrieve and return toys, getting over fears, and lack of recall confidence.

Jennica has worked with me on all of those obstacles and even helped me become my dogs best friend. Jennica has shown me that there are so many different approaches to training dogs based on what they are driven by, such as, play, praise, or food. Jennica tailored each session based on my goals, while also encouraging my dog and I to work on our bond.

Our latest accomplishment with Berkley has been recall work. I purchased a long lead from Virtue K9 and with some advice, and a little encouragement, my dog is recalling better every single day!

Another reason that I love Virtue K9’s training platform is not only are in person sessions amazing, but I’ve also done virtual and phone call sessions with Jennica, and they have been full of education, knowledge, and tips.

I highly recommend VirtueK9. Their training program has been life changing! My dog and I have never been happier.”

10/24/2023

It’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

A couple of weeks ago, Fitz injured his tail and we needed to take a trip to the vet. Even a very well trained dog who is social with everyone they meet can be less than friendly when they are in pain and being poked and prodded! Not only can it be fun to teach, muzzle training is a great skill to add to your toolbox. It can give you great peace of mind and helps keep our dogs and animal health providers safe.

Safety first, always!

09/06/2023

We are happy to announce that we have moved to Sylvan Lake, Alberta! Thank you to our clients and friends for letting us be part of your K9 journey and for joining us on ours. Stay tuned for an exciting next chapter!

08/07/2022

Fun fact! You can fit two intermediate (or one intermediate and one large) in the back of a Tundra Crewmax, with room on the other side for another large, or intermediate! Kennel Tetris is the best kind of Tetris 👍

07/29/2022

Kate doesn’t like loud, grumbling, unexpected sounds. Thunder, fireworks and gunfire have been a challenge for her! I have used box feeding with all my dogs and the result? Photo #2 during our most recent thunder and lightning extravaganza. Now, Kate hears thunder and gets excited - the box restaurant is open!

Box feeding is a great tool to add to the toolbox. It has a ton of applications from desensitizing to sounds, odour, starting in detection and overall making “dogs strong, and strong dogs unbreakable”. 💪 Many thanks to for always sharing the knowledge!

04/24/2022

This quote comes from application to parenting (human children), but applies to dog training as well! It’s difficult not be frustrated when a dog is giving you a behaviour you don’t want, but changing our mindset to curiosity can help understand why that behaviour is happening. Which is the first step to solving a problem!

Not to mention, you are much more appealing to your dog and they will be more willing to work with you when you’re curious and not furious!

Photo credit to:

09/17/2021

If you’re looking for a good read (or listen if you’re going the audio book route), highly recommend No Ordinary Dog. A beautiful story about working K9s. Although you’ll definitely want to have a tissue box at the ready for the last couple chapters…

09/10/2021

Thank you for having me come down and watch and learn! It was great to meet the team in-person and I had a great time. Looking forward to sharing the knowledge on this side of the border! 🇺🇸 —> 🇨🇦

08/01/2021

Some people don’t do things because they are scary.

Kate is scared of everything.

She does things anyway.

Be more like Kate.

Get in touch with us to learn about how to turn fear into a confidence and courage building opportunity!

07/26/2021

Stress based training.

Why do we use it? Because the world can be a stressful place, and teaching our dogs the skills to work through adversity builds confidence and resiliency! It requires our dogs to trust us, and for us to be worthy of that trust. Then you can do fun things, like this!

Please partake in stress based training responsibly and with the help of an experienced professional. Otherwise, stress can turn into distress, and the things aren’t so fun for you or your pup.

05/05/2021

How much do you train?

A client asked me this recently, and it’s a good question. I had a hard time answering because to some degree, we train all day everyday. How often do I get the leash out and work? What counts as “training”?

If training means teaching a skill or type of behaviour, and in turn our dogs actually learn something, then every interaction I have with my dogs count as training. In fact, every interaction we all have with our dogs is training. Whether or not that training is done with intent, or we are teaching skills and behaviour we actually WANT; that’s a different question.

04/27/2021

Crouching tiger, hidden collie!

Now that the snow has transitioned to mud, what’s a better way to spend the evening than to work on long distance recall?

By far, this long line and anything else made by is the most well made, reliable gear I own. In case you were wondering, the long lines work even better when caked in mud! But for those who like clean gear, delicate cycle for the nylon 👌

04/16/2021

Shoutout to for Winnie’s fresh groom! I have become especially selective about letting anyone else groom my pups, but AJ (and her crew) is top notch! 👌 Thank you for all you do for the K9 community!

P.S. don’t worry! The princess steered clear of the puddle 😂

04/07/2021

Meet the Team!

Jennica Collette | Urban Planner by day, and K9 trainer by evenings, weekends and statutory holiday. Jennica’s introduction to dog training came after being on the receiving end of a dog bite to the neck and realizing there must be a better way than ‘Google trainer’. In early 2020, Jennica began an internship with the highly reputable Jensen Huffman from Huffman K9, and looks forward to bringing back all she has learned to the Fort McMurray K9 community.

Joined by Kate (smooth collie) and Winnie (rough collie), we work hard to help you and your pup achieve your goals! Get in touch! We don't bite; only affectionately nibble!

04/02/2021

Set your pups up for success! Sometimes that means keeping doors open - literally and figuratively!

03/22/2021