Tammy

As it is with many dog trainers, Tammy's "training" experience began with horses with which she had been involved from a very young age until 2005.

Tammy started training her first puppy, a Sheltie named Morgan, when she was a teenager. The team went on to success in every thing they did together. They were truly a team and it's Morgan's memory and the joy of their unique connection that drives Tammy to help people have that "once in a lifetime" relationship with their dogs.

She has been instructing since 1995, and never stops learning. Tammy says every class she teaches, teaches her and every dog she trains has some special lesson to share. Tammy is a Certified Pet Dog Trainer (CPDT), certified by the Certification Council for Pet Dog Trainers and Alberta's only Instructor endorsed by the National Association of Dog Obedience Instructors (NADOI). The CPDT exam is an internationally recognized testing process which encourages continuing education and humane training methods.

In 2004 & 2005 Tammy attended the Association of Pet Dog Trainers Annual Conference in Denver, CO and San Jose, CA respectively. She was the Conference Coordinator for the 2005 Canadian Association of Professional Pet Dog Trainers Annual Conference held in Calgary and in the same year Sit Happens!^® hosted several seminars including Jean Donaldson, Allan Bauman, and Christine Nielsen.

Tammy's vision for Sit Happens!^® is that it will always be a place that provides a higher level of learning for dogs and humans while never losing sight of the fact that training should be rewarding for the animals on both ends of the leash.

Dirk

Dirk's earliest involvement training dogs started, while still attending Veterinary School in Belgium, when his parents purchased their first family dog, a Groenendael named Dimar. It wasn't long before Dirk and Dimar immersed themselves in the world of competitive obedience and agility, in those days (yes we are talking the early 80's!) agility was still very much a demonstration sport. This quickly resulted in a passion for teaching classes and a deep appreciation for the importance of the human animal bond.

Dog training has changed enormously since that time. Puppy classes were pretty much unheard of prior to the 80's and most people started training their dogs at 6 months of age. Harsh physical and verbal corrections were commonplace during training sessions. This intensified markedly dealing with problem behaviours.

Years later Dirk would discover the world of "positive" dog training and it wasn't long before he "crossed over" to a much more enjoyable experience for the owners and for the dogs. Dogs would learn just as fast or faster and have a lot more fun when working without the use of fear or intimidation. The emphasis now is on respect and trust and the result: a vastly improved relationship between human and dog.

Dirk has been teaching the Bright Puppy and Rally Obedience classes at Sit Happens!^® since the doors first opened in 2002.

Linda

Linda’s love of children led her to obtaining an Early Childhood Education Diploma & an Infant & Toddler Guidance Diploma. She taught for many years in Ontario & Alberta.

Her family had dogs over the years & did some basic training with them. When Linda’s family moved to Medicine Hat in 2001, she decided she would like to get a puppy & do the training & hopefully get into some dog sports.

As with most dog trainers, a special dog came into her life. “Clancy”, a big black Labrador Retriever entered her life in the summer of 2001. It was love at first sight & he has taught Linda much about training, patience, understanding & love. They started their journey with a puppy class and now enjoy many things together, such as tracking, agility, rally-o, & tricks and have attended 2-week long dog camps in Michigan.

In 2003, Linda’s family moved to Calgary. Linda & Clancy started taking classes at Sit Happens! & haven’t stopped. Linda became a Training Coach that same year, caught the teaching bug and then became an Instructor.

Linda attended the APDT’s Annual Conference in 2007 and the CAPPDT’s Annual Conference in 2007. She takes continuing education seriously and has attended many seminars & workshops, including Jean Donaldson, Allan Bauman, Dr. Patricia McConnell & Dr. Ian Dunbar.

Linda shares her home with her husband & Clancy. She also has 2 grown sons living in Calgary.

Linda is a member of both the APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers) and the CAPPDT (Canadian Association of Professional Pet Dog Trainers).

Sharron

Sharron’s love for dogs started at a very young age but, her parents did not share her enthusiasm. As soon as she moved away from home, Sharron immediately got her first dog, a Golden Retriever named Jager.

Jager proved to be a very challenging puppy, thus Sharron was introduced to the dog training world. Sharron & Jager became a great team, accomplishing a CD Title in Competitive Obedience and participating in Agility, Rally-O, Tracking, Field, Freestyle Dance plus numerous seminars & workshops.

Sharron has also belonged to two beautiful Bullmastiffs that taught her a great deal about the rewards of positive dog training. Both Bullmastiffs became pet therapy dogs. Her new dog, Petey, the Bull Terrier is a “work-in-progress” and is so much fun!

Sharron is on the Board of Directors for PALS (Pet Access League Society) and is currently visiting patients at Peter Lougheed with Jager. Sharron was a training assistant at Sit Happens! for over three years before starting to teach classes. Thorough Instructing, she looks forward to helping owners learn to connect with their dogs and truly become part of their own “dog/handler team”.

Sharron is a member of both the APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers) and the CAPPDT (Canadian Association of Professional Pet Dog Trainers).

Alison

Alison’s love of animals was apparent even as a very young child. She could be found with a frog in her pocket, nursing a baby bird that had fallen out of a tree or training her pet rodents. It was quite a sight to see a little girl walking down the street with a mouse (off-leash!!) scampering along side! Her childhood was filled with reptiles, birds, cats and dogs and eventually horses. That love would continue on into adulthood.

Alison produced a television show for the local community channel in 1995/96 called “The Family Pet”. This was done through the Calgary Humane Society and went to win the 1996 National Media Commendation Award for promoting animal welfare, presented by the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies. The show profiled some of the shelter dogs, cats and rabbits awaiting adoption. It was here that Alison met Tammy Brooks (the head trainer at the Calgary shelter at the time).

“Paige” joined the Stephens’ family over 5 years ago and soon this exasperating young German Shepherd puppy was ready to take on the world by storm! Alison sought out Tammy’s help and a journey into training began. Through Sit Happens!, positive training methods helped turn Paige into the amazing dog she is today and Alison’s best friend. The ‘proof (of positive training) was in the pudding’ and Alison was hooked! She began volunteering as an assistant at Sit Happens! and now coaches and instructs in Bright Puppy classes and Let’s Go! classes. She never shies from a learning opportunity and is quick to apply what she learns to her work. Whether learning new training methods, reading about dog training, attending seminars or working with her own dog, Alison is eager to get in there and find what works best for each dog she works with.

Alison is an Administrator at one of Calgary’s premier golf courses during the busy golf season, working with the members to ensure they have a quality golf experience. It’s that gift with people Alison possesses that is so important to being a good trainer.

Alison shares her home with her very tolerant husband Darrell, “Paige”, newest addition “Martin” - the sweetest cat ever!, and keeps her horses, “Doc”, her 23 year old quarter horse, and “Harrison”, her 8 year old Hanoverian, in Bragg Creek.

Alison is a member of both the APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers) and the CAPPDT (Canadian Association of Professional Pet Dog Trainers).