Meet us Monday: Miranda Casavant
Miranda was born in Whitecourt, AB and moved to Fort St John at a very young age. Previously a Journeyman Welder, Miranda was never truly satisfied with her job and wanted to find a way to turn her passion for dogs into a living.
Miranda has had family dogs since she could remember, and always had a keen interest in teaching them things. She once taught her family’s Shit Zu a small obstacle course in their yard; he had to run up a set of stairs, walk over a wood suspension bridge and then go down a yellow slide.
“I’ll never forget the look on his face when he completed the course, like he couldn’t wait for me to ask him to go again!”
She also had another Shih Tzu, who would much prefer to be pushed around in a doll stroller than do any running around!
“Every dog has its own personality, and that’s one of the things I find so interesting and amazing about dogs!”
I met Miranda when she enrolled her beautiful white husky puppy “Yeti” in our Puppy Preschool classes earlier this year. Miranda and Yeti were always the first students in class, and the last ones to leave. Miranda had so many questions, and good ones at that! Learning about clicker training and positive reinforcement was a game changer for Miranda.
“I always enjoyed training our family pets but was only able to make it so far with them before we hit a wall. Learning about shaping and the clicker really opened my eyes to the possibilities we have as trainers. It’s really not as complicated as it seems when you get down to it!”
Miranda started shadowing and assisting our group classes after Yeti graduated from Puppy Preschool and has not looked back! She now performs our demonstrations in class and regularly assists students as they work on training exercises with their own dogs in class. She has also shadowed and assisted with several private, behavioral modification cases, something she takes a keen interest in.
Miranda was recently accepted into the Karen Pryor Academy for Dog Trainers Program, where she will study and train her own dog for 7 months. Upon her graduation, Miranda will become a Certified Training Partner with KPA. This certification will not only comply with Sit Pretty’s current AnimalKind Accreditation standard but will provide Miranda with a strong knowledge base to move forward into the world of dog training and behavior.
Miranda has a genuine passion and interest in understanding animal behavior and using human training methods to build the loving bond we all strive to achieve with our pets. She’s extremely excited to start her journey in dog training so she can better understand dogs, and help others understand them better as well.
Miranda will continue assisting with group classes until she completes her education and certification!
Happy Clicking!