Extraordinary Canines

11/03/2026

It has been an extremely long year waiting for this permit to get in front of the Summerland council. I'm cautiously optimistic that things will go positively next Tuesday and that I'll be able to offer nosework and other fun classes from our fabulous training shop soon!

The tricky part is the language around my business use being "Animal Shelter, minor" and which makes my use sound so much scarier to my neighbours than it is. I am not and never will be running a kennel. Humans visit me with their dogs to do fun enrichment based training (aka recreational training) or lay some solid foundational training for their puppies; I do not train aggressive dogs nor do I board dogs. I have run 2 commercial dog training facilities down on the coast and they were clean and quiet. I have never had any problems with neighbours (and both those commercial facilities did have some residential neighbours).

Hopefully soon we'll be able to host a handful of humans with their dog to do fun things ♥ Let's keep our fingers crossed!

10/31/2026

Happy Halloween!

Wishing you all a spooky and safe Halloween!

Huge thank you again to Okanagans Pet Connection for hosting us last week to do mini photo sessions! So much fun meeting some new dogs and their people ♥

10/26/2026

Just shouting a huge "Thank You!" to all of the families that joined us for pet photos this Saturday at Okanagans Pet Connection for my first pop up in Penticton!

I am currently busy sorting the photos into their galleries and cannot wait to share some of the fabulous photos!

10/23/2026

We’re so excited for our first pop-up mini photo sessions in Penticton tomorrow!

Join us at Okanagans Pet Connection Saturday, October 24 for Halloween Mini Pet Photo Sessions. Costumes are absolutely encouraged, so feel free to bring your pet dressed in their Halloween best!

Drop-ins are welcome from 12:30–1:30 PM.

$65 gets you . . .
- Award-winning pet photography
- Film & TV animal trainer assistant
- Online gallery to choose your favourites
- 3 digital photos
- Finished photos delivered by Halloween!

If your gallery is just too good for you to narrow down your favourites additional photos are just $10!

And if you’re looking for something a little extra, we also offer our unique custom magazine covers as an add-on to your session. Check out the comments for an example!

Come by, say hello, and get some fun Halloween photos of your favourite little monster.

10/21/2026

Penticton doggos tell your humans to bring you for photos this Saturday at Okanagans Pet Connection!

Here's some of the fabulous photos from last year's Halloween photos when we were down on the coast!

Want in? Pre-register and save $10 on your session:
https://forms.gle/NmGPaQctkqVeXZ4m8

Come in Costume! Come in the N**e! We don't judge (unless you're a human showing up n**e. . . )

Most families get a gallery of 15+ photos, but each dog's comfort level in front of the lens and their training impacts their gallery size. Galleries will be delivered a few days after the shoot and you'll get to choose favourites from the gallery to be professionally edited and delivered digitally in time for Halloween!

10/19/2026

Thank you to the West Kootenay Kennel Club for having me out over the weekend to judge scent detection at Camp Rory in Rossland!

Dawn (trial chair) & Natasha (secretary) set up a very fun camp site area that I was able to have fun setting hides in and teams got to explore on their searches!

This was some of the most fun I've had with exteriors!

Plus big kudos to all the participant dogs for not mistaking my search areas for potty areas 😂

10/01/2026

Introducing Walk Star PLUS: Jumpstart Program for Better Walks

If your dog's idea of a nice walk is less "leisurely stroll" and more "competitive sled dog tryouts," this one might be for you.

Walk Star PLUS is a new pilot program designed to give you and your dog a head start on better leash skills.

Instead of putting all of the training on you, I'll spend four sessions working directly with your dog 1 on 1. This gives me a chance to jumpstart the learning, build some foundational skills, and figure out what works best for your individual dog.

But I'm not trying to create a dog who walks beautifully for the trainer and then goes right back to dragging their family around the neighbourhood.

Dogs tend to be most successful with the people they've built a strong reinforcement history with and regularly practice alongside — and ultimately, that person needs to be you. That's why we'll also have three sessions together where I'll help you build the same skills, strengthen your dog's engagement with you, and transfer what they've learned into your everyday walks.

The full program includes 7 private 45 minute sessions over approximately 3 weeks:
- 4 trainer walks with your dog
- 3 sessions with you, your dog, and me
- Regular check-ins and homework so you can continue building skills between sessions

And, as with all of my training, Walk Star PLUS is completely force-free. We use reinforcement to motivate your dog and teach them what we'd like them to do. We never use training equipment designed to cause pain or discomfort to discourage behaviour.

Walk Star PLUS is $650*, but because this is a brand-new pilot program, I'm looking for a few families to help me launch it.

*The first 3 families to sign up will receive a special pilot-program discount.*

This program is intended for dogs who need help developing better everyday leash skills. If your dog's pulling is connected to significant fear or reactivity, reach out and we can chat about which training option would be the best fit.

Interested? More info will be added to the website soon, but in the meantime, send me a message for more details or to snag one of the first three spots.

*Additional travel fees *may* apply outside of Summerland

09/15/2026

🎃 Halloween Mini Sessions are coming to Penticton! 🎃

I'm so excited to be popping up at Okanagans Pet Connection on Saturday, October 24th for a couple of hours of spooky (and probably slightly ridiculous) pet photos! A huge thank you to Naomi for inviting us into her space for our very first Penticton pop-up. 🧡

We'll have our orange backdrop set up from noon–2pm, along with some fun Halloween props — including, of course, our famous candy corn lollipop for those adorable lollipop-lick photos. 🍭

Since this is our first Penticton pop-up, sessions are just $65, and if you book your spot ahead of time, you'll save another $10 and pay just $55.

Each session includes:
🐾 Your dog's time in front of the camera (with our wonderful assistant there to help!)
📸 A gallery of the best photos from their session
✨ 3 fully edited digital images — one photographer's pick, plus two favourites chosen by you!

Bring your dog in their best Halloween costume, a festive collar or spooky bandana... or just bring them as they are. We're certainly not opposed to photographing them n**e. 😂

We're booking times ahead so you and your dog don't have to hang around waiting in line. If we still have space available on October 24th, we'll also announce a time window for first-come, first-served drop-ins.

And if you can't make it on the 24th but would still love some fabulous studio photos of your dog, send me a message! Private sessions are always available at my studio in Summerland.

I can't wait to meet your lovely dogs! 🧡🎃

09/12/2026

Free microchips!

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Lap9tGD5x/

On September 20, 23 and 25, the BC SPCA will offer free microchip clinics for pets in the Okanagan and Kamloops areas.

Microchips are a safe and permanent form of identification. They use radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology, which is inactive until a microchip scanner passes over the device. When scanned, the chip transmits the identification number. Once registered, this number links to a pet guardian’s contact information allowing that pet to be reunited with their guardian quickly. A common misconception is that microchips are tracking devices; the microchips that the BC SPCA uses do not contain GPS technology and cannot track an animal’s location.

Penticton event details:

Date: Wednesday, September 23
Time: 2 to 4:30 pm
Location: BC SPCA Penticton Veterinary Hospital, 15 Duncan Ave E, Penticton
Registration: https://spca.bc.ca/ways-to-help/bc-spca-emergency-response-services/microchip-clinics/

08/08/2026

Just a short update.

All of Summerland community was ordered to evacuate just after midnight. Myself, partner, and our 3 dogs got out and are safe. We are currently staying on the coast with my family.

Thank you to those that have reached out in concern.

Let's all just hope the hard working firefighters can get this under control 🤞