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All the head instructors at When Hounds Fly are either Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partners (KPACTP), or have their Certified Professional Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA) designation, so we are proud to maintain the highest standards of instruction of any school in Toronto.
Andre Yeu, KPA CTP
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Andre, head trainer and owner of When Hounds Fly! is proud to be Toronto's first Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner (KPA CTP).
Andre's passion for dog training began when he rescued his beagle, Duke, who suffered from on-leash reactivity and dog-aggression behavioral issues. Andre quickly discovered clicker training and the power of positive reinforcement, and through patience and care was able to help Duke get over his fear and dislike of other dogs.
After helping Duke, Andre continued his work by volunteering and fostering with a number of animal rescue organizations in the city. Each foster dog presented new challenges, but he found that every dog could be helped through clicker training. Soon, Andre began to provide private lessons to friends, family, and colleagues.
In 2009, Andre decided to open When Hounds Fly! in Downtown Toronto, to make positive reinforcement training convenient and accessible to members of the community, and to improve the quality of life for dogs and dog owners in the downtown core.
Andre is a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner (KPA CTP), a member of CAPPDT, and a Truly Dog-Friendly Trainer. He grew up in Vancouver, has a bachelor's degree in commerce, with honors, from the University of British Columbia, and lives in Toronto with his partner, Hyedie Hashimoto, and their rescue beagles, Duke and Petey.
Andre instructs Puppy Socialization and Basic Obedience classes at When Hounds Fly!, and is also available for private lessons/behavioral issue consults both in-school and in-home.
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Mirkka Koivusalo, Msc, PhD, KPA CTP
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Mirkka has been an animal lover all her life, which has manifested itself since early on as a passion for horseback riding. She started clicker training in 2002 in Finland as soon as she got her Hovawart puppy and realized the power of this methodology compared to others. To learn this technique she attended several courses given by Clicker Trainers’ Club Finland.
Through these courses she got to know other clicker trainers and together they started training search and rescue using positive reinforcement and operant conditioning. In Finland search and rescue is a competitive sport for working dog enthusiasts. Before moving to Canada she and her Hovawart Dea attended a search and rescue trial, which they won with the highest marks. Tracking and obedience training are also close to Mirkka's heart. In Canada they earned their ‘Tracking Dog’ (TD) title in 2008. She has also successfully competed in obedience and Rally obedience trials both in Finland and in Canada.
Her PhD degree in biochemistry and education as a research scientist has helped her in developing an analytical and systematical approach to dog training. While still in Finland she worked for a couple of years in teaching clicker training to dog owners. In 2010 she decided to take her education as a dog trainer to the next level by attending the Karen Pryor Academy Dog Trainer Program from which she graduated with distinction in October 2010 as a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner (KPA CTP).
Mirkka owns and operates Mindful Behaviors ( www.mindfulbehaviors.ca) and instructs our Rally Obedience classes at When Hounds Fly! |
Julie Posluns, CPDT-KA
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It is rumored that in the land of dogs you don't get the dog you want, you get the dog you deserve. After graduating from a correction style dog-training program in 2003, Julie got a new puppy - a Pug Beagle X (Puggle) named Tyson. At 8 months Tyson started barking and lunging at people, at 10 months he became leash reactive towards dogs, by 1 year he had full out aggression towards puppies. When Julie realized that she had not learned proper techniques to deal with aggression - punishing Tyson for his behaviour made him lash out with greater intensity, she started looking for new ways to help her dog. Clicker training brought a new light to Tyson's aggression and gave Julie a skill-set to manage his behaviour. This inspired Julie to learn about positive reinforcement training and set her on the path to becoming a professional positive reinforcement dog trainer.
Julie is one of a select group of trainers in Ontario to have earned the Certified Pet Dog Trainer (CPDT) designation through the Certification Council for Pet Dog Trainers (CCPDT).
As a dog walker by day, Julie sharpens her training skills when she is out with the pack. She is passionate about canine learning and behaviour and committed to bringing out the best in every dog she works with.
Both her dogs have titles in Rally Obedience and Freestyle. She credits her training success to the Puggle that stole her heart and taught her about training along the way.
Julie owns and operates Rover Achiever ( www.roverachiever.com) and instructs our Tricks Classes at When Hounds Fly! |
Emily Fisher, Associate Instructor
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Emily grew up in Little Italy, collecting a whole menagerie of pets throughout her childhood and adolescence. She moved to Peterborough in 2004 to obtain a degree at Trent University in Cultural Studies with a specialization in Social Thought. While in Peterborough, she adopted a dog from the Peterborough Humane Society, a Treeing Walker Coonhound cross named Arlo. She graduated Trent and returned to Toronto in 2008 to work in an emergency veterinary hospital.
She later decided to pursue employment as a dog walker where dog training is a daily fact of life. She has learned the theory of positive-reinforcement based training through much hands-on work and instruction, an extensive collection of books and videos by trainers and behaviourists such as Karen Pryor, Grisha Stewart, Jean Donaldson and Kathy Sdao, as well as attending many conferences.
Prior to joining our team, she worked for more than two years as an assistant instructor at Who’s Walking Who Dog Training Centre and she currently volunteers with Speaking of Dogs Rescue.
Emily lives in Toronto with her partner, two cockatiels, and canine residents Arlo the Walker Hound X, and Elsie the Australian Kelpie X.
Emily owns and operates Scratch and Sniff Canine Services (www.scratchandsniff.ca) and does private consults and teaches our Canine Good Neighbour prep class at When Hounds Fly!
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