Happy Dawgs Obedience Training

11/21/2025

Thinking about doing a meet & greet at different locations a couple of times each week. It's doubtful that anyone would show up (I'm usually pretty invisible)😅 but it's something to do when I'm not working - give me a break from Husband. 😁

11/14/2025

This week's session with Vincent the was postponed, as his owners are out of town. Looking through all of the videos of him over this past year and seeing the tremendous progress he's made, my heart fills with pride in Tia's courage and determination to push through her own barriers and help him learn to trust her.

Almost a year ago, I met a dog so terrified of the world that he tried to hide under my car, and a handler who was uncertain, lacking in confidence, and at her wits' end. Now, almost a year later, I see a dog filled with curiosity, who thinks before he reacts, whose confidence and trust in his handler has grown exponentially; I see a handler who walks tall and confidently, and who has learned how to provide clear, concise direction to her dog. It's so beautiful, and it fills my heart to overflowing to see these two learning how to be a real team.

Life is full of ups and downs, good days and bad days, challenges and successes. How you handle those challenges and rough days is what makes the difference between success and failure. Sure, you can leave things for another day - sometimes, that's the best thing to do. Just don't give up completely. If you're struggling with your dog, CALL ME. I'm here for you. Sure, it might take a lot of time, but look at how far Vincent and his owner have come in a year. If they can do it, so can you. ♥

Have a great day and a great weekend ahead, and remember to stay calm and lead on. You've got this!

11/11/2025

To all our veterans past and present, thank you for your service.
(poem sung by my aunt, Adele Simmons)
https://youtu.be/pu1XaTIUWR4?si=od7w52NWVT9vJgHc

John McCrae's famous poem arranged into a song by Adele Simmons (Canada)- [email protected]

11/08/2025

This is the biggest breakthrough yet with Vincent and his owner Tia Steele MacMillan. Watch as she successfully navigates him through all kinds of distractions and triggers.

Nov. 6, 2025 - In this session, Vincent and his handler are challenged to deal with multiple distractions and triggers.

11/02/2025

IYKYK

11/01/2025

The latest session with Vincent the reactive was IN-freaking-credible! He and his owner worked on regulating their emotions while handling triggers - one of which included repeated and close exposure to Glimmer. Vincent and Tia Steele MacMillan have made so much progress together that I felt he was more than ready for the challenge. The full session will appear on YouTube tomorrow (Sunday, Nov. 2). You'll see for yourself the phenomenal progress this awesome team has made over these past 10 months.

Have a great day, and remember to stay calm and lead on. :)

10/30/2025

Good morning, and happy Thursday to everyone. Today, I'm taking a moment to express gratitude.

I extend my thanks and appreciation to my mentor and friend, Esther (Doglandia Boarding, Training and Private Dog Park), for her compassion, understanding, support, and encouragement over the years. I've learned so much from her and I am forever grateful to her for her guidance and her patience with me. I love you.

I offer my gratitude and appreciation to my friends, and to those clients who have become my friends. Thank you for sticking with me, for promoting me, for putting up with me, for being patient with me when I've struggled with words because my brain is being stupid, and for trusting me. Thank you for making me cry with you, and thank you for making me laugh with you. You all have changed my life for the better in ways too numerous to list. I love you all.

Thank you to all of my clients, past and present. I appreciate you all so much; you were nervous and even scared to open up, but you did it anyway... because you trusted me to keep you safe. There are no words I can say to convey how deeply that has affected me. You all have a permanent, special place in my heart.

Thank you to the trainers I've met here for not only taking me seriously, but for respecting me, as well. When I first got into this industry 10 years ago, the bullying, belittlement, and personal attacks I received because I asked questions left a deep and lasting scar on my life. Not only did I almost shut down my business, I also came close to quitting all social media altogether. I lost confidence, and for a long time, I also lost myself. I'd been beaten deep into the ground verbally and psychologically by people I thought I could trust and reach out to, and I didn't know how to cope. The trainers I follow have been the ones who have been unknowingly helping me learn to trust others - and myself - again. There are no words I can use to convey the depth of my gratitude for that.

I don't know what the future holds. I have only today in front of me. If I get a tomorrow, I'll celebrate that and live in that. I live my life one day at a time - sometimes, one minute at a time - and though I know I don't say it nearly often enough, I'm grateful to all of you.

Have a great day today, and remember to stay calm and lead on.

10/23/2025

Apologies to everyone: Today's classes are being rescheduled for the weekend due to illness. Thanks so much for your patience and understanding. Have a great day, and remember to stay calm and lead on.

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10/18/2025

When I'm working with a reactive dog, one of my top priorities is to build the handler's confidence first, because their energy drives the dog's behaviour. Tension in the body creates tension on the leash; in turn, the dog (understandably) interprets that tension as a need to be on alert. The result is a dog who is in a state of constant tension and hyper-vigilance that makes them perceive everything around them as unsafe. The lack of confidence in the handler exacerbates that, and voila, you have a vicious cycle that feels impossible to get out of.

To help build handler confidence, the videos I share of our sessions are purposely designed to show their successes - those "I did it!" moments in which they handled a trigger situation calmly and confidently, and their dog responded by following them. I do this, because my clients do struggle with confidence (which is understandable, in light of what they've been dealing with), they do watch these videos, and they *need* to see themselves succeeding. When they see visual proof, that gives them greater confidence - which, in turn, builds trust and confidence in their dog.

Have a great day and a great weekend, and remember to stay calm and lead on.

10/13/2025

Hi everyone. Just popping in to wish my fellow Canadians a happy Turkey Day, and to thank the people who have subscribed to me over on YouTube. Much appreciation to you! Have a great day, and remember to stay calm and lead on. :)

09/25/2025

Board and train programs have become a red flag for many dog owners - and considering how many horror stories have been in the news about b&t situations gone wrong, of course you're going to be worried and fearful. It's completely understandable.

Which is why I have a very strict protocol in place for when I take a dog in for a Board and Train program:

1. A total of 3 meet & greet sessions take place. In the first two, I bring my dog to you to start the process of familiarizing your dog with a friendly face. In the third visit, you bring your dog to me (your dog remains on leash during the visit to prevent trouble and/or potential marking), and you and your dog meet the rest of my family. You'll see the sleeping, feeding, and play areas your dog will be experiencing, and your dog begins learning right away how to handle meeting strangers.

2. During the time your dog is with me and my family, you are expected to come to me at least once a week for training. Ideally, however, arranging to come three to four days a week is better, as it gives you more practice time with your dog, while at the same time, ensuring your dog is receiving the love, care, and training you've been promised.

3. You are provided with regular updates - photos and/or videos whenever possible - on my website as well as my page. Setbacks as well as progress are posted; training is messy, and you need to know about the setbacks as much as the progress.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out. Leave a comment or give me a call at 587-582-2272. Have a great evening, and remember to stay calm and lead on.

09/21/2025

I saw a meme today that said, "If your website says "call for price" I'd rather just never visit your site again." For dog trainers like me who own and operate a small training company, this is like a kiss of death.

When a consult request comes in, 98% of the time, the information I've asked for is not included. When I call you to arrange a day and time for our consultation, I ask those questions - and I ask many other relevant questions, too. The more information I have about what's going on with your dog, the better able I am to not only determine what program would be best for you, but also, whether you even need to have a consultation. There have been many times when even a consultation wasn't necessary.

Memes like the one above can create negative perceptions about a company, which can harm the company's ability to stay afloat. If it's shared out long enough and by enough people, this type of meme can break a small company.

I get that it's probably meant to be humorous. But for very small companies like mine, it's not. We rely on those phone calls as much as we rely on word of mouth from our clients.

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