KURI K9 TRAIL & TRAIN
Work their mind, feed their soul
ABOUT MELODY
Professional Member - International Association of Canine Professionals
Hi! I am the owner of Kuri K9 Trail & Train. Thank you for visiting our website, and coming here to learn more about me!
My career in animals started out as a 'Kennel Kid' for a veterinary clinic in New Zealand at 12 years old. Detours were taken; gaining a Diploma in Adventure Tourism Management, and traveling overseas spending a summer trail guiding on horseback, amongst other jobs. Eventually winding my way to a position in a daycare and boarding facility in Victoria, BC.
When the opportunity came up to join Adventure Dog as a Hike Leader, I jumped on it. I spent two and a half years leading offleash pack walks, honing my skills and seeking ways to improve our walks for both two-legged and four-legged beings.
Moving to Cedar, I took a Hike Leader position with Pooch Pack Adventures and have been working there until launching Kuri K9 Trail & Train.
I have 3 of my own incredible Australian Shepherd furballs, Tui & Rua, and most recently, Aio. We have trained and learned together, taking agility classes, rally-o classes, and competing in disc competitions, as well as gaining multiple DMWYD Trick Titles and dabbling in dock diving.
I also raised Kahu, an Australian Shepherd puppy who is totally deaf, which challenged me to think and train in slightly different ways. Kahu, now Juno, is living his best life on an acreage in Nanaimo.
I am always on a quest to do more, learn more and become better. Part of that quest lead me to an Assistant Trainer position with Smart Dog Training, where I assisted with group classes and puppy socialisation groups. The knowledge I have gained here is supplemented by various online courses, educational books and plenty of fun trial and error training my own dogs.
I have gained further experience sharing my knowledge with training clients, helping them to sharpen up their dog's basic obedience. Some of my favourite classes are the private puppy sessions, helping get them and their new owners off on the right paw towards a successful future together.
Seeing dogs' confidence bloom on our pack walks, or helping to reform our more exuberant members and create well mannered K9 citizens nourishes my soul; as does helping dogs and their owners build the trust, partnership and communication between them.