The Team
Who We Are
Shannon Hellyer Gibson
Owner, Rally Instructor
With over 25 years of dog handling experience, Shannon believes in building a strong relationship with your dog to have a true partnership. Dog training isn't just about obedience or rules. Although you do definitely need to have those! It's about respecting each other as individuals and bringing the best out in your dog. A solid relationship with your dog will help you excel in having a well mannered, eager and willing partner in your life!
Shannon is constantly partaking in a variety of dog sports and courses in order to further her knowledge and her quest to become a true dog nerd! She has titles in Competition Obedience, Rally Obedience, Trick Dog, Scent work and Barn Hunt.
Pam Koiner
Scent Work Instructor
Pam has had a lifelong love and respect for dogs, owning breeds ranging from Fox Terriers to wolf hybrids. Her current breed, Australian Cattle Dogs, got her involved in competitive dog sports for 12 years. First, agility, where she was far outclassed and outrun by her fast and brilliant partner. She hobbled her way to their Advanced Agility Dog of Canada ranking. Bad knees led her to the fairly new sport of canine scent detection. She trained with a great instructor and began competing in 2018.
​Just recently, Pam ‘semi-retired’ 12 year old Arkasha as the most titled ACD on the Sporting Detection Dog registry, having earned his CH, MACH, GA-CH and having competed at the inaugural National Challenge Cup in Milton, ON. She is currently focused on competing with her younger dog, Zzzeplin. For the past 2 years Pam has been training and coaching competitive teams of all levels, and continually pursues her passion for scent detection by attending seminars, taking webinars, competing, and hosting SDDA trials.
Barb Wright
Trick Dog Instructor
Barb is a certified trick dog instructor who believes that trick classes are a great way to strengthen the bond between dogs and their owners. These classes not only provide an opportunity to show off some cool tricks but also introduce basic elements of many other dog sports and provide mental stimulation to dogs. Barb has worked with dogs of different breeds and abilities and has achieved Champion Trick Dog titles with her own dogs. She is also an accredited dog trainer and a member of professional dog trainers' associations.
Cynthia Golby
Rally Instructor
Ray Bronson
Agility Instructor
Ray has over 12 years of experience in training, handling, and competing with his dogs, as well as judging in the sport agility. He has achieved 9 podium placements at AAC Regional Championships with his dogs. He found his introduction to agility over a decade ago, as a student, often focused on learning how to quickly teach novice dogs to immediately navigate agility equipment. Over the years, Ray has come to recognize that while performing agility obstacles is a significant part of agility, it is not the most crucial factor when wanting to develop an excellent handler/dog team. Ray believes that foundational steps are necessary to build connection, trust, motivation, and effective communication between a handler and dog. With a robust foundation in place, training in agility becomes both easier and enjoyable, maybe even addictive. Training your dog shouldn’t be filled with frustration or seem like work, effective training with your dog should feel like it’s playtime.