Amelia and Anne-Marie here from The Dog Classroom! We are so excited to be able to contribute to Only Paws on yourthunderbay.ca

We thought an introduction to ourselves and our dogs would be a great way for you all to get to know us and what you might see in our column.

Amelia is a full-time Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge and Skills Assessed (CPDT-KSA) who apprenticed under Anne-Marie and has been training with The Dog Classroom since its inception. She also holds an Honours Bachelor of Commerce degree. She shares her home with two dogs, Stark (a 13 year old rescue Shepherd/Husky mix) and Nugget (a 6 year old rescue chihuahua mix).

Amelia and her dogs like to spend time trail walking with friends, competing in various dog sports like Agility, Rally Obedience, and gaining Trick Dog titles. Stark’s favourite activity is eating and Nuggy enjoys a good game of tug.

Anne-Marie is a full-time Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) and a practicing Registered Veterinary Technician with over 20 years of experience handling and working with dogs and cats. Anne-Marie also holds a Bachelor of Science degree. She lives with five dogs (Frolic, Elfie, Tulip, B, and new addition, Zita) and one cat (Henry).

Anne-Marie enjoys hiking, camping, and travelling with her dogs. Each of the dogs enjoy different activities such as trick training, doing Parkour on walks, Agility, swimming, and more. While most of the dogs enjoy cuddling and hanging out with the family, Elfie can usually be found climbing trees, sitting in boxes, and waiting for someone to notice his Parkour skills.

We are looking forward to this column as a way to share new ideas, training tips, and other locally-focused dog content!