Trainer Profiles


KATHY REILLY  ( a bigger terrier than Lily )

Kathy was born and raised in Victoria, on beautiful, temperate Vancouver Island, where one can enjoy the outdoors all year long.  She spent her childhood roaming the parks and beaches with her beautiful, intelligent Black Labrador Retriever,  Darky. Instinctively, she learned what motivated him and started teaching him tricks and obedience as a pre-schooler under her Dad's tutelage.  She has always had at least one dog in her life and has trained them herself.  When Kathy and her husband Bill adopted a little Yorkie/Pekinese named Lily in 1997, Kathy realized that traditional training methods would not work with this wee independent terrier. 

Shortly after adopting Lily as an 8 week old pup, Kathy's life took a huge turn.  At the time she and her husband owned and managed a thriving telephone equipment supply company and a 24 hour answering service.  After being diagnosed with two tumors and undergoing a successful operation to remove both, Kathy was forced off the business merry-go-round and into a slower paced 8 weeks of recuperation.  Sometimes a life-altering experience will make one really think about what is really important to one's happiness and well-being.

Lily - 11 years old and still spunky
Through serious introspection, Kathy realized two fundamental things about herself, 1. that she loved sharing knowledge and 2. her passion in life was dogs. She had been working with the Nanaimo Kennel Club as a volunteer instructor with the agility classes and enjoyed helping to build the working team of handler and dog.  Coincidentally, she saw an ad in the paper "Train to be a professional dog trainer."  She applied for the course, worked to get herself into the required physical condition and then completed the grueling eight week course, which included hands-on work as well as 4 to 5 hours of theory each day.  The month she graduated, she had 12 people enroll in her new classes with Miss Behavior's Family Dog Training.  Although originally Kathy thought she would work a couple of nights a week at her new vocation and continue to manage her other companies, it soon became apparent that DOGS were her future. 

Since attending the original course, Kathy has increased her knowledge through her library of books from Dogwise, through attending workshops and seminars on behavioral problems, learning different methods from some of the top trainers in North America.  Many of these seminars were hosted by the Canadian Association of Professional Pet Dog Trainers, of which Kathy is a member. 

Kathy's instructors include Cheryl Smith - Dog to Dog Aggession,  Dee Ganley - Changing People Changing Dogs, Jean Donaldson - author of The Culture Clash, FIGHT! - A Guide to Dog to Dog Aggession, Bob Bailey - Get the Behavior, Phil Arkow - Animal Assisted Therapy and Activities, Don Hanson - Dogs and Dolphins, Dr. Ian Dunbar - author of How to Teach an Old Dog New Tricks and Suzanne Clothier -author of Bones Would Rain from the Sky.  From each of these instructors, Kathy has been able to build a toolkit of ideas and proven methods to be able to use diverse techniques depending on the temperament of the handler and the dog.

Bill and Buddies(Fortunately, husband Bill shares Kathy's passion for pooches)
Concluding that there is no one way to train a dog, Kathy has designed her courses based on finding what motivates the individual dog and using that to reward the desired behavior.  Keeping instruction fun and stimulating the dog mentally as well as physically can lead to a lifelong positive relationship. Kathy strives to teach balance and harmony so that dogs can learn to live in our cluttered urban world without causing or experiencing stress.

Kathy lives with her husband of 45 years, Bill (she claims she was a child bride) and her three dogs Lily, Lucky and Lola in Nanaimo, B C.  Immersing herself in the world of dogs allows her to observe the interaction and how they teach one another.  From her observations she is able to discern more about how dogs learn. Kathy draws and paints dogs, photographs dogs and writes about dogs.  Her life is full and she found true happiness from being totally immersed in dogs. 

 

Tracey Klymchuk (Kathy's right arm)

Tracey came into Kathy's life in 2000 seeking help with a dog she had inherited named Timber a spitz x.  Timber was extremely reactive to the household cats, to strange dogs and was a nightmare to walk on leash.  After a few private lessons, Tracey brought Timber to class and we worked on resolving his reactivity issues.  While working with Tracey as a student, I was impressed with her timing and technique and learned that she had experience as an instructor.  She had instructed in both karate and soccer.  Having earned black belt in karate means she is a dedicated learner and also someone you don't mess with.  I have had Tracey assisting me in teaching the classes ever since she graduated with Timber.

Tracey was raised and attended school in Nanaimo and married another dog lover, Grant.  She has two children, Kalum and Kiera and leads a very busy family life.  Her children are involved in soccer, lacrosse, and hockey.  The family also consists of 2 cats, and until recently, 4 dogs.  Timber finally succumbed to old age after a wonderful life with Tracey and her family. 

The dogs in her life are:
  • Mitzi, a border collie/lab x who has attained Masters Level Agility with Tracey. 
  • Rogue, a dalmatian, Australian Cattle dog X - also an achiever in Agility
  • Sierra, a small Border Collie - also an achiever in Agility

Tracey has a lightening fast mind for learning.  She picks up new ideas and translates them into action very quickly.  As well as learning from Kathy, Tracey has attended workshops and seminars from some of North America's top obedience and behavioral trainers, such as Jean Donaldson and Suzanne Clothier. 

Both Tracey and Kathy work with the group classes, to ensure that each individual person and dog get the attention they deserve.