Meet your trainers

Animals have been an integral part of Vanessa’s life, starting from a very young age. As a child her immense passion for horses and riding consumed every waking moment. Joining the Campbell Valley Pony Club at the age of 12 led her into the world of competitive 3-day-eventing.

Her father is a retired Vancouver Police Officer from the department’s Dog Squad, so for as long as she can remember, she has been surrounded by bold, working German Shepherds. Deeply involved in the puppies’ early training and socialization, spending many evenings and weekends laying scent tracks for the pups, crate training them and teaching them to play tug. After their first pup made it into formal Service Dog Training, Vanessa dedicated her “free time” to laying longer, more challenging tracks and (reluctantly) aiding in bite training.

During high school the love of animals drove Vanessa to become a kennel assistant at the local veterinary clinic, which in turn motivated her to apply to University after graduation to become an Animal Health Technician.

In 2008, Vanessa graduated as a Registered Animal Health Technician from Thompson Rivers University. Although the new career allowed her to help animals on an entirely new level, the number of dogs that were being surrendered to shelters or euthanized based on behavioral issues was overwhelming.

Determined to find another way to aid these animals to possess long, happy lives, she began looking for a credible dog training programs that would teach her how to resolve behavioral issues. After attending one of fellow KPA-CTP Julie Shaw’s lectures at a veterinary conference, Vanessa learned about the Karen Pryor Academy and went on to pursue formal certification as a force free dog trainer.

Vanessa has since added other certifications and logs numerous continuing education hours every year.

Launching Sit Pretty Pet Services in Fort St John, BC in 2013, Vanessa now resides in Prince George, BC, with her husband Chris, their two daughters, and their rescue dog, Kaslo.

In her spare time Vanessa is a foster parent for the BC SPCA, and enjoys reading and various writing projects.

Vanessa is proud to be one of only two trainers in Northern BC to become BC SPCA AnimalKind Accredited.

In addition to her formal education, Vanessa has attended dog training and animal behavior seminars around North America, learning from experts in the field such as Ken Ramirez and Ken & Debbie Martin

Diploma in Veterinary Technology

KPA-CTP, Graduate of the Karen Pryor Academy for Dog Trainers

CTC, Graduate of the Academy for Dog Trainers

Aggression in Dogs Master Course, Certificate of Completion

Fear Free Certified Professional

Living & Learning with Animals with Dr. Susan Friedman

Registered Veterinary Technologist with the BCVTA

BC SPCA Accredited Trainer through AnimalKind

My family was always the typical dog loving family with at least one black lab in the house. As a little girl I started off training my stuffed dog toys, and as I grew up, I evolved to training the family dog to go down slides at the playground. My passion for dog training blossomed when I watched my first local agility trial. When I got my first dog Jerzy 10 years ago, I enrolled in agility classes as soon as we were able. We competed in many trials in and around Prince George and in2018 we competed in the AAC BC/Yukon Regional Championship and qualified for Internationals.

In 2017 I adopted my second dog, Ruger and quickly learned that he did not share the same agility ambitions. This led me to discover scent training, which ultimately influenced me to pursue a formal dog training education. I completed the Karen Pryor Academy’s Dog Training Certification program in 2020 as a Certified Training Partner.

Since completing the KPA program I have welcomed twin girls to my family in addition to my wonderful stepdaughter who shows great interest (and talent) in dog training.

For the past 5 years I have enjoyed working for the BC Wildfire Service but never felt enthusiastic about this career path, thus decided to pursue my true passion and being a profession in dog training.

Saira is a graduate of the prestigious Karen Pryor Academy for Dog Trainers Program, and is now a Certified Training Partner with KPA. This certification complies with Sit Pretty’s current AnimalKind Accreditation standard and provides Saira with a strong foundation in the world of dog training and behavior.

Saira is also a Fear Free Certified Professional (FFCP).

KPA-CTP, Graduate of the Karen Pryor Academy for Dog Trainers