A Victoria dog trainer is one of six province-wide to be accredited as a humane trainer by BC SPCA’s new AnimalKind program.
With the dog training industry in B.C. unregulated, BC SPCA saw a need for creating a recommendation program to give dog owners confidence when choosing a trainer.
AnimalKind, launched Thursday, sets out reward-based training standards to ensure the humane treatment of dogs. The standards allow only positive reinforcement training and oppose any methods that use punishment, confrontation, or intimidation, or have the potential to cause physical or psychological harm to the animal.
RELATED: New BC SPCA program helps dog owners find the right trainer
Greater Victoria’s Ethical Canine Training & Behaviour Modification made the cut with its personalized private dog training that is “not only extremely effective but is kind, compassionate, and humane.”
The company is led by certified behavior consultant Allison Schaefer, who brings a decade of training and behavioural experience to her practice. She is also a registered veterinary technologist who graduated from Thompson Rivers University in 2005.
Ethical Canine’s focus is behavioural issues that owners find especially challenging, such as barking, lunging, fear and anxiety, destroying property or ignoring their owner.
Schaefer serves on the Executive Board as well as the Education Committee of the Vancouver Island Animal Training Association and works to promote humane training and care of all animals in the Vancouver Island community.
RELATED: Time to renew your dog licence
We get hundreds of calls from dog owners asking how to find a good #dog trainer. So we're excited to introduce… our AnimalKind accredited #dogtraining program, helping dog owners find the right trainer! About this new program: https://t.co/KXvajwwM8D #BCSPCA #animalwelfare pic.twitter.com/VWDiimCS8N
— BC SPCA / BCSPCA (@BC_SPCA) January 24, 2019
The five other companies in B.C. accredited by AnimalKind are Bravo Dog in North Vancouver, Ocean Park Dog Training in Surrey, Yaletown Dog Training in Vancouver, Cowichan Canine Behaviour & Training in Duncan and Positive Dog in Nanaimo.
Â
keri.coles@blackpress.caFollow us on Instagram
