Taylor
Guled
Rocky
James
Corey
Taylor
I have spent my entire life with dogs. It was not until my partner and I started a dog walking, daycare and boarding business, part-time while doing our post-graduate degrees, that we realized our passions laid with the dogs! After taking on Paws and Sniff Pet Services as a full-time career we realized that we wanted to do something more with the dogs in our care. We discovered that caring for our dogs was more than just providing them with endless affection and exercise until they were too fatigued to cause trouble. We learned that dogs only do what you allow them to do and that setting boundaries with your dogs is vital to having a healthy relationship with them. I was introduced to Balanced Dog Training by Nicole Mann at The Structured Canine who I shadowed for 5 days in the fall of 2019. She helped me to see that the things that were going wrong in my relationship with my dogs were due to the fact that I had not been providing them with enough leadership, nor was I properly advocating for my dogs. I knew things needed to change and that I owed my dogs, Rocky and James, a more calm and balanced life, and I did that by providing them with structure and mental stimulation. I learned to be consistent, calm, and how to communicate fairly and clearly with my dogs. I have more trust in them now than I have ever had, and that feeling is reciprocal. My dogs and I work on our relationship daily and whole heartedly. I apply these new skills everyday to improve my relationship with the other dogs in my care, which has made our lives easier. I now want to help others improve their relationship with their dogs, and most importantly help improve their dogs’ lives. Balanced dog, happy family!
Guled
I never grew up with dogs, as a matter fact I never really interacted with dogs. I was raised in a culture where dogs were not pets; they had jobs. It was not until I met a beautiful and majestic Great Dane, named Hunter, who would stare right into my soul, that I even knew how wonderful dogs are. The more I got to know Hunter the more I fell in love with dogs, and all that they were capable of. I started walking dogs and boarding them with my partner, Taylor. At the time I was doing my PhD in Philosophy and felt my attention was being pulled elsewhere, and that was with dogs. Taylor and I made the leap to take on Paws and Sniff Pet Services full-time and see where the adventure led us. We both struggled with the chaos of all the dogs who we had no boundaries or structure with. We loved the work but we knew there was something missing, and that was our leadership skills. We both engaged in learning more about dog training and came across a balanced training shadow program offered by Nicole Mann. We implemented all that we learned with our own dogs and the dogs in our care. Balanced training transformed the way I looked at my relationship with every dog and how I could be a part of improving these dogs’ lives. I have never looked back!
Rocky
ROCKY, a red Husky, was one of our daycare dogs who was surrendered to us when he was 8-months-old. The owners’ partner was afraid of Rocky as he was exhibiting resource guarding. He also suffered from isolation anxiety where he would scream and destroy things when alone. We set boundaries very quickly with Rocky, although not enough. Rocky is smart and he loves people and children especially, although he could get aggressive with other dogs. The more we work with him and the more consistent we are the more of a Rockstar Rocky has become. He loves to work; he makes good choices now and he knows he can rely on us. Rocky is the dog that makes jaws drop with how good he is now.
James
JAMES is a mutt originally from Georgia, US. We rescued him from the Humane Society in Toronto. He came to us with some behavioural issues, such as nipping the ankles of people who were wearing uniforms. We started to create a fictional sob story for James, that he must have gone through something tragic and abusive. Although in the end that led us to pity him and coddle him to make up for lost time. Well, no surprise, James became a little bratty and entitled. James did what James wanted, period! We used to think it was cute, but it was dangerous, especially without 100% recall. James has gained plenty of confidence through training and enjoys performing tasks, he loves pleasing us and we love watching him overcome his fears.
Corey
COREY is an Orange Long Hair cat. He was originally a barn cat. Corey is full of personality. He started out with us a very timid and shy kitten and is now a big confident cat. He knows how to assess the situation when dogs are around and to give himself space when he needs it. He is great with dogs and helps me condition dogs to get used to his presence.