About

Andy

Andy was introduced to K9 Nose Work® while volunteering in a local animal shelter and instantly recognized its value for both of his personal, challenged, adopted dogs, as well as for use in the shelter as an enrichment tool to help the shelter dogs better cope with - what is for most dogs - a very stressful place. That initial introduction was one of those pieces of the puzzle that came together to shape a new direction for how he interacted, trained, played, and observed our best friends: the dog.

The journey that followed included taking a series of immensely enjoyable and informative classes from a remarkable local trainer, attending seminars, trialing personal dogs, pouring over the internet and mining whatever information could be found, joining practice groups, and attending K9NW® camp and the NACSW Instructor Education Program. Andy did all this while spending more time volunteering in local shelters working with special needs dogs and utilizing tools such as K9NW® in their remedial training plans. This led to sharing the sport with volunteers and staff at the BCSPCA and incorporating it into his ongoing role as a volunteer coordinator, which involved holding training sessions for staff and volunteers in the shelters across the Lower Mainland and into the B.C. Interior. This naturally flowed into providing classes for the general public.

Andy is fully accredited through the National Association of Canine Sent Work (NACSW) as a Certified Nose Work® Instructor (CNWI). He started entering trials with his two adopted Rottweilers: Ice and Ripley. He currently continues to trial with his two dogs: Boomer (a 7-year-old Malamute/German Shepherd/Shiba Inu mix from the BCSPCA) and Rubix (a 2-year old black Labrador).