Love is a great motivator for committing to anything in life. Working with and caring for dogs is no exception. With COVID measures still in full force, rescues are ecstatic to have needed homes open to adopt and good breeders are happy to report long wait lists as they carefully plan to supply for the demand.
Homes are filled with dogs of all ages as people have been given opportunity to work from home and just slow life down a bit. So where do you start?
Researching the right breed for your family’s lifestyle, working with rescues to build a relationship with and test the temperament of the dog you bring into your family, and setting up your home for success with supplies and training necessary to properly care for the dog you choose, is a good place to start. Even with all this planning and work on your part, expert help is what you need to provide the optimal safe and healthy environment for your pet.
When you see a well-behaved, well-mannered dog who is calm and happy, you can be assured a lot of time has been spent with that animal, building a relationship with basic needs of food and shelter, and creating trust and huge amounts of communication. This is where a trainer comes in.
Katie Mryglod, with Katie’s K9 Training, loves helping families in the area with their dogs and plans to continue to expand sharing her knowledge and experience.
Mryglod’s first exposure to dogs was with her school’s work experience program in a kennel with cleaning, exercising and feeding after which she apprenticed and worked as a care aid with the Vancouver Island Health Authority. Wanting to dive into professional dog training as a career in Sooke, B.C., Mryglod signed up for the Certified Professional Dog Trainers program with the Wonderdogs.
With her sidekick Rocky (an Australian cattle dog), she was certified in 2009 after full days of half-time in class and half-time in the field and then started her own training company called West Coast Dogs.
“I was feeling super lucky to be able to do what I loved as a job,” Mryglod shared.
A Prairie journey began after meeting her husband Joel and making the difficult decision to leave the island life she knew and loved.
“I quickly grew to love Prairie life. It has crept into my heart and is definitely where I call home now,” Katie said as she explained her amazing community and life with Joel and their four children: Rogan (8), Sloan (5), Palmer (4) and Odin (18 months).
“This community has become my family.”
Now that their family is complete, Katie can dive into dog training a little more full time. She has maintained some training with one on one clients, either at her home or theirs as well as group lessons at her acreage or A Second Family Dog Lodge in the winter months.
In Mryglod’s words, “I have worked with all temperaments and breeds, from puppies to senior dogs in everything from basic training, trick training and aggression. I don’t classify myself as a specific type of trainer, I feel every dog and their owner has different needs to meet the goal they are trying to achieve.” All good, certified trainers will train on an individual basis when dealing with specific issues and even in group basic obedience classes, take the time to find what works best for you and your dog.
“Training your dog is about building a connection and partnership of understanding and once you develop that, the tricks are just icing on the cake.”
Spending the time and resources to build the relationship with your fur babies is more than worth it and will ensure a lifetime of health and happiness for you and your pet. To contact Katie Mryglod for all your training needs got to Katie’s K9 Training on Facebook.
