CODAC annually provides every one of our coaches with personal, hands on, coaches training by Kathy Keats (a well known trainer of agility instructors).
Kathy brings a wealth of information on coaching strategies and problem solving solutions and says "when dealing with people who are coaching, there are so many questions that come up." Kathy is able to provide CODAC's coaches with answers and instruct them on the best and current methods of dealing with dogs and progressions to learning. As an agility team world competitor, Kathy knows what methods and strategies produce the best results for both recreational and competitive agility enthusiasts.
All of CODAC's coaches are able to draw from the best materials available, bring their own individual passions to our member students, and have a solid faculty for camaraderie. Together, CODAC coaches provide good solid training for all levels of agility.
*Coaches listed alphabetically
Adele believes that dogs are the best therapy for humans. She is CODAC's trial director and has been involved with agility since CODAC became a club in 2000. She is a CKC and AAC agility judge and also judges Lure Coursing, Rally Obedience, and is a Canine Good Neighbour Evaluator.
She has built her agility and coaching skills with thanks to annual sessions with Kathy Keats and draws from knowledge gained through sessions with top trainers in Canada and the USA.
Adele competes in AAC, CKC, AKC, and USDAA agility trials with her 2 year old whippet Zoomy and they have also achieved Excellent Rally in both CKC and AKC. Zoomy already has Canine Good Neighbour, Obedience, race, sprint, and both CKC and AKC lure coursing titles, which is keeping up with the achievements of Adele's past whippets.
Adele is part of CODAC's training committee and is also the president of the Whippet Club of BC. She says that to have a balanced perspective on life, "everyone should have a dog who adores them and a cat who ignores them."
Barb grew up on a farm with Border Collies all around, and she worked with her dogs on a small level. At the time, she did not know anything about the dog sport called Agility. The sport was introduced to her when she saw a demonstration at a local SPCA fundraising event.
Barb has been a member of CODAC since 2000 and has been a CODAC coach since 2007. At the time she was introduced to Agility, she did not have a dog of her own, so she borrowed a Standard Schnauzer named Murphy from some friends. From that day on, Barb was hooked on Agility!
Murphy had to retire at an early age due to injury. Then along came Pepper, and Australian Cattle Dog. Barb worked with Pepper until her retirement in 2007 at the age of ten.
Now Barb is without an Agility dog, but she loves Agility so much that she still coaches our potential members and new members in classes. When Barb does get her next dog, she'll be "gung-ho" to start training and competing again as soon as possible!
Christina started Agility in Prince George back in 2003 with her first dog, Kiefer, an Australian Shepherd. Kiefer earned the Top Starter Dog award at his very first trial in June 2005, and went on to earn his ATChC in September 2008. He is currently very close to achieving his Bronze award.
In July 2007, Christina got a new puppy, an Australian Shepherd named Mia. Mia started trialling in February 2010 and is well on her way to being an Agility Superstar!
Having worked through some setbacks and challenges with Mia, Christina has gained great insight into how to help other dogs with "issues". She strongly believes that when it comes to trialling and training, having fun is the most important thing.
I entered my first agility trial in 2002 with my standard poodle. I've been hooked on dog sports ever since. I've competed in agility, rally obedience and tracking, and have taken my standard and miniature poodles to titles in all three sports.
To improve my understanding and performance, I attend lessons on a regular basis with Lenore Trudel and Roxanne Brierley. I also attend agility training clinics on an ongoing basis with world team members Justine Davenport and Susan Garrett, as well as participating in Kim Collins' agility camps and Outreach programs. I have attended clinics with Kathy Keats, Terry Simons, and Theresa Rector.
While training my new standard poodle puppy Babs, I've learned the value of building solid foundation skills. As a CODAC coach, it's my pleasure to pass along the new techniques I learn to beginner and advanced students.
I began training with CODAC in 2000, not long after the club's inception. My amazing Shetland Sheepdog/American Eskimo cross, Picasso, has been a pleasure to train and trial with. At his first AAC Regionals in 2003, he placed 6th on the Podium and won the "Best Starter Dog" award. We were invited to compete on the AAC Invitational Team in 2006, and he also placed 4th on the podium at the AAC Regionals that year. In 2010, he placed 2nd on the podium at the AAC Regionals, and 7th on the podium at the AAC Nationals in Spruce Meadows, Calgary. He was the first dog at CODAC to achieve his ATChC , and one of only 2 CODAC dogs who have achieved the AAC Silver Lifetime Achievement award.
My new guy, Morocco, is a merle Shetland Sheepdog from California. He's a lot of fun and a quick learner. I'm proud to say that he earned his MADC in 2010 (after only a year and a half of trialling) and his ATChC in March 2011.
In the past ten years of training in agility, I've attended many seminars - Guy Blancke, Barb Davis, Kim Collins, Terry Simons, Susan Garrett, Justine Davenport, Kathy Keats. As a coach, I really believe in keeping up to date with the current teaching methods and concepts. Agility training is constantly being improved and updated, so it can be a challenge to stay current.
I love to see my students "getting" the concepts too. It's very rewarding to see them beginning to form a team bond with their dog as they both learn to communicate with each other. To me, that's the best part of agility - establishing the handler/dog bond. When it's all in sync out there on the course, there's no better feeling...and I want all my students to experience it!
I have only recently come to the "dog world" after conquering my lifelong fear of dogs when I acquired my first dog, a wonderful border collie/lab mix named Cody.
I embraced the challenges of training Cody in Obedience, Agility and Rally-O. Cody has also attained the Canada Good Neighbour and Visiting Therapy Dog certifications, has earned both his Starters and Advanced Agility titles, and is presently competing at the Masters level. I am now training my second dog, a 1-1/2 year old border collie named Chloe in the fundamentals of Agility and hope to compete with her as well.
I have been coaching the Beginners Foundations of Agility for 3 years and very much enjoy watching the dogs as they progress through the exercises and gain confidence. I continue to upgrade my coaching skills/training knowledge by attending many Agility clinics and seminars, and enjoy the rewards of sharing this information with other handlers and their dogs.
Surrounded by horses and dogs, I grew up in the Kelowna area. I competed and trained with horses for 15+ years before deciding to move towards dog training/competition - and fell in love with Dog Agility. It fit all the things I was looking for: fun, bonding with my dog and competition.
I began my own Dog Agility training with my Boston Terrier Isabelle, and found a great fit at the Central Okanagan Dog Agility Club. Competition was in my blood, and Agility seemed natural.
I started at CODAC in the Fall of 2008 and have been training and trialling for the past 2 years. The bond I have created with Isabelle through running Agility is a reward in itself; however the trialling bug has bit me! Isabelle has earned her Starters Dog of Canada Title and I am looking forward to many more years of fun, and rewarding training and trialling.
Coaching has always been a passion of mine; I want to pass along the enjoyment and fulfilment of Agility and dogs in general. My motto is fun, fun, fun! I believe if you can make it fun and rewarding for yourself and your dog, you will fall in love with the sport just like I did and never look back.
Lenore is a past president of CODAC and one of the founding members. She enjoys working with people and dogs and thrives on teaching the sport of agility. She loves to train individuals who are passionate about agility and who are willing to put some time into their valuable friends.
Lenore has attended numerous seminars given by world renowned agility competitors and instructors such as Susan Garrett, Greg Derrett, Susan Salo, Barb Davis, Guy Blanche, Terry Simons, Theresa Rector, Kathy Keats, Nancy Ouellette, and Mary Zacharatos. She has been a student of Kim Collins for many years and attends Kim's summer agility camp every year. As well she has attended seminars on clicker training and operant conditioning by Sue Ailsby, and on aggressive dogs by Monique Anstee. She is constantly upgrading her teaching skills and her own handling.
Over the past 10 years that Lenore has been teaching and competing in agility she has run several different dogs (mixed breed, Rottweiler, Australian Cattle Dog, and Border Collies) - those with both high and low motivation so she understands the intricacies of handling both types of dogs. She has achieved numerous titles with her dogs - the most current being Jordie, her 7 year old border collie who has his MADC and ATChC and Bronze Award of Merit. She has competed in the BC Regionals for the past 4 years and qualified to go to the Nationals every year. She did compete in the Nationals in Ottawa last year. When she is not teaching at the club or working with her own dogs she is busy training a 6 year old border collie named Toby for some friends.
Lenore organizes the CODAC demonstrations. She believes it is an important part of a dog's training to be exposed to crowds of people and all sorts of distractions before being introduced to trialing. CODAC has done demos for the Okanagan Sun, the Kelowna Riding Club, the SPCA, the City of Kelowna, the RCMP Musical Ride and the Interior Provincial Exhibition. Overall her life is currently centered around agility!
Roger is a student of agility and loves to keep abreast of the newer teaching and training techniques. He firmly believes consistency is the key to successful dog training and enjoys teaching the consistent handling system credited to Greg Derrett.
Roger has attended seminars from such skilled agility handlers and teachers as Barb Davis, Guy Blanche, Terry Simons, Greg Derrett, Kim Collins, Mary Zacharatos, Justine Davenport and Kathy Keats. He's also studied clicker training with Sue Ailsby.
Roger, an AAC judge, specializes in teaching handling classes for the club and is currently spearheading the training that the club is doing through video analysis. CODAC has invested in the latest sports video analysis software (Dartfish) in an effort to we take advanced agility training to a new level.
Roger's current working partner is a 3 year old Berger des Pyrenees named Bandit, who is just a bundle of energy. Bandit has just begun his trialing career in 2010 but already has earned multiple titles.
In his spare time Roger is the facility manager of the Kelowna Dog Sport Centre and can be contacted for facility bookings.
My love and passion for Agility go back to 2001, when I first started dog agility training with CODAC. Life brought me to Northern Alberta, where I adopted my second agility dog, Lucy. Lucy was a 100% Canadian mixed breed; I began the agility process with her in Grande Prairie in the Fall of 2008. Shortly after adopting Lucy, I also adopted Callie in January of 2009.
I began coaching Agility in Grande Prairie and relocated to the Okanagan Valley in September of 2009. I rejoined CODAC exactly 5 days after moving here. Presently, I am excited to begin agility training with my newest dog Meeko.
My philosophy for Agility is that it should be fun. If it isn't fun for you or for the dog, then there is something wrong. I coach my classes with that philosophy in mind. If you don't make Agility fun for the dog, you will end up with a demotivated dog. I also believe in spending time getting the basics trained right. Too often, people try to fly right by the basics or skip the foundation work, but I believe that in order to have a successful dog, you need to spend time working the basics. You'll often find me with Meeko at the barn just having fun and "working the basics".
I look forward to meeting new students and dogs, and working with you as you develop that special Agility bond together.
C.O.D.A.C.
3345 Bulman Road
Kelowna, B.C.
V1X 7V1
(250) 765-1145 info@codac.ca