4 Paws Dog Training - Fort McMurray

11/08/2024

Level 1 Agility starts Thursday August 15th
Thursdays at 8pm - 5 weeks
$170. Only 2 spots left.
PM email to get registered.

06/08/2024

What an amazing weekend at the Mackenzie kennels agility trial right here in McMurray.
4 Paws - Elite Agility Academy participants were on fire 🔥. Congrats to each one of them for their accomplishments. Many qualifying runs, several titles, and special awards (see pictures for details). So proud of each of you.

22/07/2024

Due to the heat and smoke warnings classes are cancelled tonight. Please see schedule for alternate dates. Hopefully we can play tomorrow

18/07/2024

Due to the heat warning and air quality advisory agility tonight. (July 18) is postponed. Emails have been sent
Stay safe everyone

11/07/2024

Level 1 & 2 agility are a go tonight but if you want to swap for another day let me know.

11/07/2024

One of the main people that helped start my agility career was Margaret Deane. At first she was my teacher and then together we taught for many years. Teddy, my first agility dog started in 1999. Looking forward to seeing you in the ring.

Well friends, buckle up because this one is a doozy!

Our club is eager to share the sponsor of our Intro Level Top Dog award, and our FINAL Platinum Sponsor, the "OG" herself, Margaret Deane!

Many of you in the NADAC sphere know Margaret from her many years of trialing. For those unaware, let us provide some insight as to who this wonderful woman is, or why this sponsorship is really special!

Margaret is a cornerstone of NADACs presence in our region. Her coaching and instructing over the years has built many, many handlers within Fort McMurray and her legacy continues to this day. It is fair to say without her, there would be no "us".

As the intro level seeks to inspire and challenge handlers to continue building their working relationship with their canine companion. It is fitting that this award be sponsored by someone who has made their mark in our agility community by supporting these values. This sponsorship is truly a "full circle" moment.

Hosting a trial in Fort McMurray has been a long-awaited event for many in our sphere, but among us, no one has waited longer than Margaret. We are so overjoyed with her decision to support this event.

Look for her at our trial! Gate stewarding, timing, bar setting, you know - the fun stuff!

05/07/2024

Come on out and support agility in YMM

Our official trial poster is here! We're excited to welcome friends, exhibitors, vendors, and spectators to our event August 2-4 at MacDonald Island. Once again, we're so grateful for our sponsors. Without them, this event would not be possible. As our event approaches, we will share more content for our patrons including waypoints, coupons booklets, site information and more!

TownePlace Suites by Marriott Fort McMurray
Microtel Inn & Suites Fort McMurray, AB
Pet Valu Fort McMurray
Corridor Shops & Events
Northern Veterinary Services
IUOE LOCAL 955
Anns Pet Services Ltd
3 Dawgs Training
Charlie's Choices - Pet Boutique & Supply Store
NCB Services
Mackenzie Boarding Kennels and Animal Rescue

26/06/2024

We have one spot left in level one agility. Thursdays at 7pm. Starts on July 4, but you get to pick the 6 dates (you choose from 8 dates). This unique opportunity allows you to still go on vacation and not miss out. Message me for details.

20/06/2024

Sad news for the community however we are super excited that Siana and Ben are following their dreams.

📍 KO K-9 Adventures is moving to Edmonton

⚠️ It is with a heavy heart that we have to announce to everyone that KO K9 Adventures - Dog Training is leaving Fort McMurray. As of August 1st, KO K9 Adventures will be operating out of Edmonton

🖤 We are eternally grateful for all the love we have received over the years from all our clients, the community, as well as other dog related businesses like our local vets, pet shops, the SPCA and Animal Control. You will all be missed dearly

🔥 The last years have been a wild ride. We have been welcomed with open arms by the community, and still can’t believe the beautiful relationships we have build over the years. So we are approaching our last weeks in Fort McMurray with a heavy heart, while being equally excited for our next adventures in Edmonton

🖤 If you like to continue to support our business, you can help us by spreading the good word around EdmontonAnd if you like to continue to support our business, you can help us by spreading the good word around Edmonton. Your support is so appreciated

💛 But we are not out of the world!! We will occasionally return to Fort McMurray as needed for consultations, as well as be available for Boarding, Board & Train, Day Train, as well as Pack Walks in Edmonton. So get in touch with us if any of these are interesting for you in the future, spots are filling up fast

💜 We will continue to offer consultations for our Lac La Biche clients as needed as well

🖤 The decision to move has been a long time in the making, but it was not an easy one. Ultimately the final decision was being made with our personal dogs in mind: Due to the training commitments we do have in Edmonton, with our dogs and us being active in Protection Training, as well as Search and Rescue Training, responsibilities that require us to be present twice a week for training, as well as better access to medical care for our dogs, including Physio, Chiro, Vet Care etc. we decided to put our dogs first, and make sure they have access to everything they need, at all times

✅️ We also wanted to be sure to have reliable dog trainer in Fort Mc, that we feel comfortable referring out clients to when we left. Trainers that are skilled, knowledgeable, kind and fair to dogs and owners, and are approaching dogs with a similar approach we do

💜 We have been working with two trainers in Fort McMurray, who we trust with the care of our personal dogs anytime. Trainers that we have been collaborating with for a while, and that we can highly recommend for anyone to work with in the future

🐾 With that being said, we would like to introduce Danni-Ann from D&D Training, who has been supporting the dog community in Fort McMurray for a while now, and is also a highly successful competitor in IGP, as well as Brent from Canine Awareness (Instagram: support_canine_awareness), who is an established and successful dog trainer, who recently moved to Fort McMurray

For anyone that has questions, feel free to contact us anytime. Please be patient with us, with the move and relocating the business, it can take us a little longer than usual to get back to you

18/06/2024

18/06/2024

Was an awesome seminar weekend with Sarah Novak. Lots of rain on Saturday and a little windy on Sunday but we all manage to learn a great deal and have fun despite Mother Nature. Great job to all the participants and thanks Sarah for making the trek north again.

14/06/2024

Awesome weekend in Whitehorse,YK.
June 7/8/9, 2024

I spent the weekend with some awesome people hosting a seminar. Friday night was beginner dogs who were eager to try the new exercises. Saturday and Sunday we focused on handling path and distance.
Such a beautiful location and such wonderful people.
Thank you Whitehorse Woofers’s for inviting me to teach this seminar.

07/06/2024

Great read.
I love learning from these excellent trainers Benjamin Vaughn Layer and Siana Wijono

🔥 Let's talk about REACTIVITY, and the two main approaches to working reactivity that you will usually encounter when looking into training your dog (in a massively simplified version, but it's important to understand the root idea of each direction, so you can make your informed decision)

📍 Reactivity is a behaviour that stems from either fear, aggression, or frustration (usually due to a barrier like a leash or fence). All of these are emotions. The dog feels a certain way, and chooses a reaction that will get the dog the desired outcome. For example: Your dog is scared of other dogs, the other dog comes closer, the dog lunges at the dog, you pull the dog away, the space to the other dog increases, your dog just got what it needed

⚠️ Now to the two different approaches that you could take. And yes, we are biased in this matter, and other trainers might have other arguments, which is ok. Our research, our studies, our training has led us to gather the information as follows. Other trainers with other education, might argument differently. It is important that you understand which approach is chosen, and why it is chosen

➡️ General Approach Number One:

Punish the dog for chosing an outburst towards their trigger. This is often done by correcting the dog for even looking at the trigger. If the dog is being punished for having thoughts about reacting, they might choose to avoid reacting. Makes sense to some people, even to some trainers. But remember, the reaction stems from an emotion. Our question is, do you believe that correcting a dog for chosing a behaviour that will get the dog what it needs in order to feel better, ultimately change the way the dog feels? And if the dog does not feel differently, will the behaviour ever truly go away, or will the dog just not display the behaviour with this particular person, or because the dog is concerned more about the correction than the other dog?

➡️ General Approach Number 2:

Rewarding the dog for making different choices. With this approach (again, very simplified) the dog is being given the opportunity to make other choices in the presence of the trigger. This can be done by rewarding the dog through the handler, or by making sure the dog gets the same result through the environment (making the trigger move further away everytime the dog makes a better choice for example). Through this, the dog is being given the opportunity to tap into other emotions like curiosity, which ultimately help them to experience the trigger in different ways, and starting to form new neural pathways that, practised often enough, will over time replace the pathway of reactivity that the dog has been travelling down previously

📍 Understand that reactivity started with trial and error at some point (the dog usually goes through many different behaviours to achieve their desired outcome, until they find the one that works). Once a behaviour has been proven effective, the dog will chose the behaviour again, until it becomes an automatic response. It now has become the preferred neural pathway that the dog will automatically travel down. In order to create true internal change, we have to help the dog to create new neural pathways that will become the new default

💛 We understand that it can be overwhelming to find the right approach to training your dog. There are so many approaches out there different styles, schools of thought, techniques, methods, trainers, tools. And to the untrained eye, many approaches might deliver the same result, but a dog that doesn't react anymore doesn't always equal a dog that doesn't react anymore

✅️ The best advice we can give you, is to educate yourself about the approach used, and ask your trainer for clarification on why a specific method is chosen. Any good trainer should be able to explain what is going on within the dog, why they chose a specific approach, and why and how the chosen approach will create change. And don't get me wrong please, we do not encourage you to distrust your trainer. On the contrary, without trust in your trainer, working together will be hard. But we believe it is important that you understand the entire process, and chose what works for you and your dog 💛

✨️ Happy Training ✨️
And if this tip helped you, please help us by spreading the message: Like. Share. Comment. You are so appreciated ✨️

30/05/2024

Having a great time learning at the GotDog seminar and trial. Has been a fantastic trip so far. We are now on day 10. 2 travel days, 2 seminar days (Deacon), 3 trial days (Chatter and Deacon), 3 days at the facility to watch, learn and relax. The next three days are iudges camp and then 2 travel days home. What an adventure.

At the trial chatter received where V-NATCH 4, 15/22 qualifying runs and Deacon received 2 title ribbons and 8/14 qualifying runs. Both did awesome but especially proud of Deacon as he worked hard to stay connected with me.

24/05/2024

On an adventure with the pups to the GotDog facility in Oregon (23hrs on the road). A two day camp with Deacon so I can work through some of the challenges. I just love that on day two he was playing with me and not worrying or visiting. Every dog has its challenges and mine and Deacon have been connection and environment as many of you know. Going to learn from another perspective is so great. Watching the other dogs and really listening is also great learning. Can’t wait to bring this stuff home to students. Now we have a 3 day trial, then some lessons with Chatter and to wrap it off with a judges camp. Life is great (although I do miss my husband and daily showers).

17/05/2024

We would like to wish PSD Harley a happy retirement who worked his very last shift with the RCMP yesterday! Harley began his career in 2017 and spent the whole time in . Thank you for your service Harley 🐶 💙

14/05/2024

All classes are cancelled at this time. I will reach out once we can start again. Stay safe everyone

21/04/2024

Hello Friends,

I am excited to provide the information about Agility for May-September 2024. All Levels of Agility offered.
LEVEL 1
Dates: Starts May 8th; Cost: $170; pick 5 dates out of the 7 offered
Dates: Starts July 4th; Cost: $200; pick 6 dates of the 8 offered
LEVEL 2
Dates: Starts May 8th; Cost: $150; pick 5 dates out of the 7 offered
Dates: Starts July 4th; Cost: $180; pick 6 dates of the 8 offered

Elite Agility Academy Punch Card System
(May 8 - September 19, 2024)
Punch cards are for dogs registering in Beginner Agility, Handling 2.0, Advanced handling sessions and can be combined for dogs living in the same household.
The great thing about this system is you can go on vacation without missing a class. You get the benefit of excellent coaching and instruction no matter your skill.
“Choose your own dates” Style – punch card for 6, 10,15 or 20 sessions. Punch cards can be purchased at anytime in the season.
Punch cards are non-refundable and cannot be transferred to another person.

We have Video Trials, Seminars, and private lessons planned as well.

I have so many dates to choose from it is not possible to list them on facebook. PM your email and I will send you the information.

20/04/2024

Agility jumps for sale. Pick the style you want.
$55.00 for two piece style
$50.00 for one piece style
All cut. You put together.
Delivery available depending on location.

18/04/2024

Agility Class Announcement on April 20th

Level 1, Level 2, Beginner Handling, Handling 2.0 and Advanced Handling. Exciting times ahead!

Send a message to learn more

17/04/2024

4 Paws Elite Agility Academy is please to announce that we are bringing Sarah Novak to McMurray on June 15 & 16, 2024.

Sarah Novak brings over 20 years of experience training, competing and teaching dog agility and various dog sports. She has had the privilege of representing Canada at 6 World Agility Championships!

She has won the AAC National Championships twice, 6 time winner of the AAC Regional Championships and multiple podium placements over the years in AAC and UKI events.

This is a great opportunity to participate in a seminar with a world class trainer and competitor

Working Spot: $295 per dog
PM for full details.

04/04/2024

This is too funny not to share.

02/04/2024

Run/Walk with Your Dog—Earn Your Bunny Run 3k Medal
This event is to get your dog's fitness title. You register now (as we have a limited number of medals), and then do your run/walk any time during the months of March or April. Show your proof (fitness tracker, etc) to a CCFC coach (there are several CCFC coaches in this group) and we will mail your certificate, ribbon and medal.
https://domorewithyourdog.com/DogTricks/product/easter-bunny-run-2024-register/

10/03/2024

So glad the weather is finally nice enough for agility practice tonight. Plus degrees finally

06/03/2024

1 spot has opened up in Level 1 Agility. Facebook won't let me update the original post. If you are interested in the class, please message me

27/02/2024

Great read.