Where to start?  My career highlights and details sort of began with volunteering for the French SPCA at 16yrs old in '96, where I began a program for walking the dogs before adoption hours to increase successful adoptions. This program allowed for the dogs to be taken out on long 30ft lines onto the trails for 2hrs prior to adoption hours, there was a direct effect on the dogs being successfully adopted out when the potential families came during visiting hours. Reducing the excessive barking, and pacing/jumping behaviors, made the entire adoption process more enjoyable and left the families more inclined to adopt.

Moving to Canada at 19, in 1999 I got my first job at Vancouver premier doggy daycare "the doghouse" as a daycare attendant and  on leash dog walker downtown. Shortly after I was hired by "paws in Motion" and was in charge of groups of 6 to 8 dogs off leash for 4hr adventure hikes on the north shore mountains. I gained experience with large groups of dogs in social settings and the art of recall work.

I decided to pursue certification in professional dog training in 2005. The intensive 4 month program by "ben kersen and the wonderdogs" covered numerous different aspects of the dog industry including obedience training, dog sports, responsible dog ownership, aggression rehabilitation, group classes and more. I focused my studies on aggression rehabilitation and problem behaviors over the years.

In 2007 I opened Avalon Ranch Dog Adventure Camp and Rehabilitation center in Prince George BC. This was a social dog boarding facility on 130 acres with large acres fenced off for natural forest dog areas for the dogs to enjoy and offered my training expertise to the community of PG. I operated 40 head of sheep and breed and showed miniature horses. I worked and trained my foundation dogs on stock daily on the ranch for 11 years.

As things do happen, life and all its obstacles lead to me selling off most of my assets in 2015, but then started a wonderful family, which does keep you busy, and moved to nakusp in 2019. 

 

2020 was tough for most during the pandemic, which gave me some time to consider rebranding Avalon, restructuring my business and starting the run therapy services to complement my rehab training program.

 

And here we are! Explore the site and learn about what we're doing with these amazing animals. If you feel inspired to get involved, fill out the contact form below, and we'll be in touch soon!