In 2008, my husband & I adopted our first puppy, Lilo, an English Mastiff. We had both had family dogs growing up, but soon realized having a puppy & being responsible for teaching her good manners were things we weren’t as prepared for as we first thought.
After doing some research, we found a few great training & socialization classes and I began to really get excited about this dog training thing! Having a background (and degree in) Psychology seemed to come in handy as I read all about classical and operant conditioning, positive & negative punishment and reward – all as they relate to dogs instead of humans.
Lilo became my ‘guinea pig’ as I learned about basic obedience & clicker training, Rally-O, agility and more.
In 2010 I started my dog training course with Animal Behaviour College and in 2011 I graduated with honours. I was fortunate to train with some very talented & very patient trainers in Calgary, as well as work with lots of rescue dogs while completing my course.
I continue to attend seminars and read training articles & books and stay up to speed in the dog world!
Training is a huge passion of mine. On a personal level, I love to see that moment when a dog figures out what’s going on, what I am looking for, and we make that connection. Even more satisfying though, is seeing an owner make that connection with their dog. Helping them to solve a problem they were having or learn a new skill is just awesome ?
For any questions or for more info, please call or text me at 587.377.3647 or email jamie@thejoyfuldog.ca I look forward to hearing from you!
