Meet For The Dogs’ Trainer, Andrea!

I help clients support their dog's wellbeing by understanding the why behind behaviour. I assess nervous system regulation, stress recovery, social bonds, enrichment needs, and environment — then guide clients in making changes that address root causes and teach new behaviours that support both ends of the leash. My focus is helping people connect with and understand their dog.

  • Control Unleashed Certified Trainer, 2025

    University of Toronto, BA. 2024

    Karen Pryor Academy, Puppy Start Right for instructors, 2022.

    Tromplo, Control is an Illusion: Rethinking How We Teach for “Impulse Control”, Sarah Owings, 2021

    Fear Free Professional Trainer Certification, 2021.

    Karen Pryor Academy, Dog Trainer Comprehensive, 2020.

  • Aggression in Dogs Conference, Multiple Speakers 2022

    Clicker Expo, Multiple Speakers, Karen Pryor Academy 2021.

    Conference Unleashed Conference, Multiple Speakers 2020

  • Arousal and Aggression, Sarah Kalnajs CPDT, CDBC, Aggressive Dog, 2023

    Fear Memory Generalization: When the Protective Mechanism Goes Wrong, Dr. Kathy Murphy and Bobbie Bhambree CDBC, CPDT-KA, Behavior Vets, 2022

    Big Feelings: Supporting Our Clients Living with Dog Reactivity, Marissa Martino, CDBC, CTC, Grisha Stewart Academy of Behaviour, 2022

    Hold Your Horses! Teaching Duration Behaviours!, Agnieszka Janarek, Tromplo, 2021

    Fostering the Bond, Educanine, 2020.

If you have questions or are ready to get started, I'd love to hear from you. I offer a free discovery call for all new clients, a chance to meet, talk through what you and your dog are navigating, and figure out together whether we're a good fit.

forthedogsethicaltraining@gmail.ca

For The Dogs is committed to making evidence-based dog behaviour modification accessible. I am happy to offer sliding scale pricing to remove financial barriers. By offering flexible rates, I aim to build a strong and sustainable community where professional behaviour support isn't a luxury, but a standard resource. If you are interested in working together on a sliding scale, please email me at forthedogsethicaltraining@gmail.com.

Past Client Testimonials

  • “The saying “you don’t know what you don’t know” sums up our first few days as new dog parents. Every puppy-related internet search returned mass amounts of contradictory information. Within five days of getting our dog Harvey, we had a consultation with Andrea at For The Dogs.

    Having one source of information based on a scientifically proven method made navigating this new role so much easier. Positive reinforcement training helped us develop a relationship with our dog based on trust and understanding. Andrea asked questions and made sure to cater the skills each week to our lifestyle. Virtual training allowed us to practice skills in the environment we expected our dog to perform them in.

    Andrea was available to troubleshoot issues as they arose and always had a wide range of resources at the ready. For the Dogs gave us the knowledge to understand our dog and made us all better companions. I cannot praise this program enough.”

    -Kelly, Harvey

    Kamloops, British Columbia

A black and white dog with snow on its face, standing in a snowy landscape with trees and mountains in the background.

  • Andrea is a lovely person and we had a really positive experience with her. We contacted her because we were struggling to manage our dog's barking and we knew that we only wanted to use positive behavioral modifications.

    I was really impressed with the way Andrea immediately wanted to know more about our dog's life overall so she could work out any things that might not be working so well for her. Once she had a good understanding of our needs, she created a training plan for us which addressed many different aspects. As well as our sessions with her, she provided many, trusted resources for us to work through at our own pace.

    Our sessions were virtual which meant that we have never met Andrea in person! This worked so well for us because it meant that we and our dog were relaxed in our own home and we could actually show Andrea what we were struggling with! I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Andrea!

    Jenny, David, and Holly

    Toronto, Ontario

A man walking a dog on a leash in a forest during autumn with colorful fall leaves on the ground and trees.
A black curly-coated dog wearing an orange harness sitting on a wooded trail with tall trees and dappled sunlight.

  • “Andrea has played a central part of our journey in helping set up our dog JoJo up for success.

    She has been incredibly patient, she reviews all of our training footage and gives helpful feedback, and she is always just a text away with any questions or concerns we might have. She truly is “For the Dogs”!

    We’ve seen so much progress with JoJo since we started up with her. We’ve learned so much about dog psyche and behaviour. It’s been such an educational experience with Andrea, and more importantly, we have seen real results with JoJo.

    We highly recommend For the Dogs for any dog guardian who wishes to have a better, kinder and more mindful relationship with their pup!”

    Adrienne, Shane, and JoJo

    Ottawa, Ontario

  • “From the very beginning, Andrea put together a very detailed plan where she would send me so many resources that I could use for my training at home!

    Over the eight virtual lessons I took with Andrea, she provided amazing feedback that I will use throughout Frances’ life! Also, had a lady ask me how I trained my pup because she was so well behaved!”

    Chris and Frances

    Toronto, Ontario

A dog with snow on its face, wearing a dark blue jacket, standing in a snowy forest with trees in the background.

  • “We've always been animal lovers and parents, but working with Andrea completely changed our relationship to dogs. We started working virtually with her shortly after adopting our 13 week old Kelpie-mix and have grown so much since then. Andrea's passion for dog training is contagious and she encouraged us to stay committed to R+ training, especially when the frustrations of puppy-hood were high.

    We learned about everything from loose-leash walking to greeting-etiquette to daily training games that help us decrease our pup's anxiety. When particular approaches didn't work for our little guy, Andrea engaged with creativity and excitement to develop something uniquely tailored to our pup's needs. We now have a secure framework for thinking about our pup's behaviour and mental health that has allowed us to form a deeper bond and connection with him than anything we could have imagined.

    We have learned and continue to learn so much about human-dog relationships and about our nugget's happiness, safety, and security through our formal work with Andrea and through her educational social media presence. If you're lucky enough to work with Andrea, you'll learn quickly how exciting and rewarding training can be.”

    Tori, Lucas, and Tempeh

    Portland, Oregon

A playful black and tan dog standing on a sandy beach with the ocean and cloudy sky in the background.

  • I met Andrea when I first adopted my little pal Zuki and was looking for a trainer to help us get started. Immediately I was enticed by Andrea’s training because of the values she described for training. To better help guide you FTD’s has an intake form to let you know supplies you’d need (a good harness to avoid hurting your dog friend, lots of treats, a treat pouch, etc.) and to establish a personalized course for yourself and your companion. Andrea was present for any questions I had or to offer more explanation for anything I found confusing. She taught me a lot about the emotional state of our pets and how their behaviours are reflective of that. She can help you target certain unwanted behaviour, or to just establish a better connection and trust with your dog to strengthen your bond. Zuki is a reactive dog and has struggled with emotional regulation for some time, but after learning more about her body language and how to mitigate some of her stresses and stressors, we’ve come a long way. She’s built up a ton of trust with me, settles much easier than before, and even has learned to self-soothe when left alone (before she had such bad separation anxiety she would give herself stress induced colitis). I’m happy that we continue our journey together based on a relationship that prioritizes empathy, kindness, understanding, and patience over anything else. Thank you FTD’s for helping me learn tangible skills so I can be the best partner to my best partner and help her love the most fulfilling life I can give her! I recommend FTD’s to anyone I meet who gets a dog.

    Windsor, Ontario

A happy dog with a tan and black coat, sitting outdoors in front of bushes with fall foliage, wearing a blue harness with a leash, tongue out.
An outdoor scene with a happy black and tan mixed-breed dog standing in greenery, smiling with its tongue out.

  • “Andrea is incredible!! Not only is she extremely talented and highly educated, with a deep love and passion for animals - she is a remarkable human. Andrea provided me with real-world tangible skills to help my pup have a more fulfilled life after the very first session.

    Andrea gets to the meat of issues right away and puts together an action plan so you can start helping your pup right away. I always feel listened to and heard when I am working with Andrea. She also treats my pup as an individual - there is no ‘one size fits all’ method with Andrea. Her approach is personalized for us and meets our lifestyle and needs.

    Andrea is continually educating herself and staying on top of all the most recent science and adjusting her methods to match the science. Andrea also is part of an incredible community of other force-free, positive reinforcement trainers - so she has a lot of amazing materials at her fingertips, that she is always willing to share! I highly recommend Andrea to anyone that cares about fostering a deeper understanding and relationship with their pet.

    One last thing to mention - all my sessions with Andrea are virtual and I never felt like I was missing out on anything! From over 3000kms away, she changed my relationship with my pup for the better! I’m very thankful to have met Andrea!”

    Sam, Alex, and Jupiter

    Vancouver, British Columbia

Woman in sunglasses holding a small black and white dog wearing an orange bandana on a suburban street

  • “Andrea is the absolute best! As a fear free trainer, she is passionate about the safety and well-being of all dogs- these are the fundamentals of her training and behaviour modification programs. I started working with her when my French Bulldog, Stella was just a pup.

    Stella developed a fear of her harness and people walking by our home. Using positive reinforcement we were able to make progress minimizing her emotional responses to the harness and strangers walking by. I now often watch Stella in our front yard from the window as people walk by and she just relaxes, gracefully without any anxiety- it's amazing!

    Andrea taught me how to read Stella's body language, which in turn has improved the bond and trusting relationship I have with Stella. Andrea provided training in cooperative care techniques and I now am able to engage in solo nail trims, brushing, face washing. Since working with Andrea, Stella has become overall less anxious in general.

    Andrea provides training resources, videos and worksheets to keep me accountable to Stella's training. She has been a consistent source of support, compassion and I can't thank her enough. Lastly, it's important to mention how much Stella loves Andrea! Stella is extremely happy after a session and she radiates confidence and joy.”

    Leah and Stella

    Windsor, Ontario

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