Hi, I'm Aly!
Here's My Story
After graduating with a Master's Degree in Animal Behavioural Sciences, I spent the past ten years working in animal care and training. But I didn’t just jump right into dog training - my experience started in zoos and aquariums training sea lions, polar bears, giraffes, wolves, jaguars, etc. I spent some time helping out at vet clinics and dog training facilities AND let me tell you, I have learned so much! BUT my greatest training journey started when my family rescued my two dogs, Hanks and Maisie.
We rescued Hanks first. He was a perfect little Manitoba mutt – German Shephard Husky mix – who couldn’t do anything wrong. We started socializing him to our family, home, and neighbourhood. So, why not get another dog to be his best friend?
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When Hanks was only 6 months old, we rescued another Manitoba pup, Maisie. She was 4 months old and defined as crazy, high energy, and not trained. She taught Hanks how to dig, eat pillows, scratch out our walls, and pee on the carpet! From then, both dogs showed high reactivity to everything in the neighborhood including dogs, people, birds, and squirrels. My dogs’ behaviour made me super frustrated, exhausted, and I felt like my home was out of control. I would get looks from people when my dogs were barking. I received so much unwanted advice and it was such a struggle. That’s when I knew I needed to really break down these problems and create a training plan to reach my goals.
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The first step I did was introduce more structure and routine into my dogs’ day and really work on calming behaviours. I built my relationship with my dogs and got them engaged. The reactivity was my top goal and I practiced with easy steps at home and slowly challenged them with more distractions in the neighborhood. I practiced and tried many training tools too. Each dog is different but once I found the right path, I found the training grew more and more effective each day.
This is the approach I like to give each dog who needs some extra training. Each dog is an individual who has their own ways of learning and their own views on their environment. Dog training is complex, but breaking it down to easy to train steps really helps both owners and dogs achieve their goals.
I just wanted to say that it is okay if you are struggling with your dog. I’ve trained polar bears and elephants and still had trouble with my dogs. But I am here to help you figure it all out! I have learned so much and had an amazing journey with my dogs and I have really enjoyed helping many dog owners in Whitby! I am the type of person who learns something cool and just has to share it with those in need. That’s why I started Aly Dogs!
And that’s my story! Just a little about me and how I got to where I am. My passion has developed in the direction of helping people understand and train their dogs so that they can have a happy lifestyle!
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