Woofability Service Dog Training
Training dogs to enable their owners to navigate in a world where they may have difficulty as a result of an illness or disability.
MEET THE TEAM
April and Tim have always had a passion for connecting people with dogs, with their background in supporting individuals with Autism and diverseabilities, have combined the two to offer this exciting and personalised service.
April
April is a dedicated service dog trainer based in Victoria Canada, bringing over a decade of experience to her craft. Originally from the UK, April made the life-changing move to Canada ten years ago, where she discovered her true calling in working with dogs and individuals with diverse abilities.
Certified by both the IAABC (International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants) and CPDT (Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers), April is a recognized expert in her field. Her journey began with a lifelong passion for dogs, which she seamlessly combined with her skills to create a unique approach to training.
April's commitment goes beyond traditional dog training; she specializes in providing support to those in need, fostering the powerful bond between individuals and their service dogs. Her mission is “To enhance the lives of both people and their canine companions through compassionate and positive training methods."
Tim
Tim has grown up with dogs all his life and cannot imagine being without them in his life, he currently owns seven dogs with his wife April.
He built a career whilst in the UK working with young adults with diversabilities, he’s been a college lecturer, teaching Independent Living skills to supporting his clients in their own homes, helping/guiding them in building as much of an independent life as possible, enabling them to identify themselves and their place within the communities they live.
Tim continued this work when he moved to Canada 10 years a go with his wife, it was not long after moving here they got their first dog Nymera – a Bluetick Coonhound and that was when life changed for Tim and April, due to personal experiences with daycare for Nymera, April and Tim decided to start a daycare and Boarding facility themselves, and so Woofability was born, several years later and Woofability Service Dog Training was developed.
Paige
Paige has grown up with rescue dogs all her life. Her family rescued their first dog when she was 6 months old and it was from that moment her love of dogs began. Currently, Paige has two dogs, Lola who is 12, Brandy who is 8 months and training to become Paige’s Service Dog, a cat named Prince who is nearly a year old and a bearded dragon.
Paige looks after her family pets and also does pet/house sitting for friends and family. In her spare time Paige enjoys going camping, walking her dogs, hanging out with her friends, hiking, photography and coaching a competitive jump rope team. Since starting with us in January 2021, Paige has completed her Pet First Aid certificate and progressed within Woofability from K9 Care Supervisor to Service Dog Trainer with Woofability Service Dog Training.
Erica
Erica was born and raised in Burnaby and moved to Victoria in 2022. This past summer, she married her husband Ryan and together they share a beautiful Belgian Malinois named Jinx who they adopted from Mexico in December of 2022. Jinx loves going for runs with Erica and learning new tricks and skills in not only English, but in French and German too!
Erica is an animal enthusiast and began her career in the pet industry working at a dog daycare in 2018. She grew up living with many different animals, from cats and dogs, to birds, rabbits, rodents, and fish – and to this day Erica is a huge Fish Hobbyist! She also loves to be outside and keeps an active lifestyle with her family and friends camping, hiking, paddleboarding, and off-roading. Erica is a woman of many skills and also enjoys weight training, track and field, and will take any opportunity to get her camera out to capture her many adventures!
Erica started as an Enrichment Counsellor with Woofability in June 23 and has now transitioned into Woofability Service Dogs as an apprentice trainer.
Carolyn
In the spring of 2022, Carolyn became the proud owner of a black lab named Bruin, one of Woofability’s first Heart to Home Service Dogs. Through involvement in his training, she quickly became addicted to training and learning more about dogs. In December of 2022, she decided to step away from the medical field after 18 years of nursing to join the Woofability family. She is now working as a Service Dog Trainer.
Outside of work, Carolyn stays busy with her husband and two girls, and many sporting events. Whether it’s basketball, softball, swimming, volleyball or climbing, you can usually find her on the sidelines, coffee in hand, cheering loudly!
Sierra
Sierra was born and raised in Victoria, and grew up caring for her family dog, Ralph, and the many cats her family loved and rescued throughout her childhood. She is a mother to her 11 year old son, Rylund, and a Staffordshire-bull terrier mix, Azuzu. Recently, Sierra also became the proud owner and handler of her service companion Cosmos, one of Woofability’s Heart-to-Home champions! Together they form a great team organizing and trying out the fun enrichment activities that our member pups get to enjoy at the Academy! Sierra’s passion for dogs continues to grow and expand with each and every dog she meets!
Outside of work, Sierra enjoys being in nature hiking, camping, or spending time at the beach with her family. She is also a big fan of music bingo and you can often find her putting her music knowledge to the test on the weekends!
In December 22, Sierra joined the Woofability team as Manager , two years later Sierra decided to follow a life long ambition in helping people combined with her passion and love of dogs and join Woofability Service Dogs as an apprentice trainer.
SERVICES
One to One Training (Service Dog Training ONLY)
Woofability Service Dog Training Team offers personal training for you and your dog whilst working towards becoming a Service Dog, throughout the training you will be working towards many goals that are agreed between yourself and the trainer and evaluating each one and making sure that your comfortable with the progress before moving onto the next goal, all goals are working towards you and your dog being able to complete the BC Guide & Service Dog Certification and Task training to navigate everyday life.
“Being a part of Woofability Service Dog Training has been a life changing experience for me. From day one, April and Tim have been there every step of the way. As an owner trained team, working with such a professional and highly educated group of trainers has helped me understand my role in training for my service dog. Our 1:1 training sessions and group service dog classes taught me everything I needed to know for my dog and I to successfully pass our BC Guide & Service Dog Certification. The sessions and classes are catered to the needs of the handler and the dog which makes the experience even more personal. April and Tim truly care about the work they do and it shows in every interaction I have with them. They support the entire family through the process of training a service dog and help everyone understand their roles and responsibilities. I leave every training session feeling inspired and hopeful about the training process. We are now a fully certified team and I have been able to live my life to the fullest with the help of my service dog. April gave me every tool I needed to go home and work on my own with my dog through the owner trained program. Being willing and able to put in the time to do the homework has been such a rewarding experience. My confidence grew immensely, as well as my dogs. We now have an incredible bond and are working daily towards all kinds of task training for my specific needs. Being a part of Woofability means you are never alone in this process. I would highly recommend the owner trained program to anyone who is considering a service dog. “
- Maddie
Board & Train (Service Dog Training ONLY)
This is where your dog will come and spend a minimum of 2 weeks with us, we will work on goals that have been agreed with you, at the end of the Board and Train the Trainer will spend an hour handing over everything that has been done with your dog so that when you go home you will be able to continue the training that your dog has had done whilst on its board and train.
Online Service Dog Training (Service Dog Training ONLY)
This training is geared for those who aren’t able to attend one to one sessions or due to location are too far away to attend. Very much like one to one sessions, you will meet up with your trainer online, and work with them on the next set of skills you will need to be working on with your dog.
“Woofability Service Dog Training” and the “Heart to Home” Programme operate under these names only! We have not worked with any other Service Dog Training providers to facilitate any of the training offered by us.
Shanti has been playing & boarding with Woofability for 7 years. Serious work began for Shanti & I…….We started Service Dog Training. Shanti choose to stay over for 2 weeks for board and train. He came home to me with more obedience and clarity, for me what I needed to continue our fantastic journey together. This was overwhelming with a lot of questions I had. I choose Woofability for Service dog training because they offered a whole range of training options and a variety of methods for Shanti and I to learn, I knew that Shanti was being trained, I trusted April and the team to be training Shanti on a consistent basis while he was on his 2 week train & board process. April & Tim had been personally thru the BC Service Dog Training for themselves they have 2 service dogs. They knew the process and were able to answer the many questions I had. The educated and practised training we received was outstanding!!!!****
The staff rock and love my little Shanti. The extra class for training ( going into busy public places, grocery stores , elevator etc training ) to integrate Shanti & I into the community with extra learning practices is worth the cost and practice. This gave US more peace of mind and an emotionally peacefully place. Woofability offers to go to the test with you and your dog. They will go the extra special mile to support the client and dog. They follow thru with their words and commitment. **** Yes, we passed our BC Service Dog Assessment !!!!***.
- Rhonda
Heart to Home Program
In 2022 Woofability Service Dogs set up a program where they had dogs available who were currently going through their training with the view of becoming a Service Dog for somebody. The dogs who were under this program had been temperament tested and had shown positive early signs of being able to handle/have the right temperament in order to undertake and fulfill the role of a Service Dog. As they progressed and develop, they were re-tested at various stages to make sure that they were still able to fulfil the job as a Service Dog. Each dog was matched appropriately to the best fitting handler and their requirements.
Here are the current dogs that are available
Ross
Phoebe
Wooafabilty Service Dog Assessment Graduates
Bravo
Gracie
Reggie
Atlas
Bruin
Faith
Train | Support | Guide
At Woofability Service Dog Training we strive to train, support and guide you and your dog through a bond building journey in making the most fulfilling relationship between you and your dog to becoming a working team.
Helping you work towards your BC Guide & Service Dog Certification as well as individualized Task Training.
OUR PROCESS
At Woofability Service Dog Training, we specialize in supporting owners to train their own dogs, as well as provide a program in where we will complete the training for you. We use our skills and combined experiences to focus on Mobility, Autism and invisible conditions.
Step 1: Inquire
If you’re interested in working with Woofability Service Dog Training, the first step to getting started is to book a free 30 minute consultation, this can be done over the phone or by video call, in this consultation you can discuss any questions that you may have regarding training.
You can book your free 30 minute consultation click here!
Once you’ve been in touch with us to discuss your individual needs, we can determine suitability of the partnership to move forward into the assessment phase.
Step 2: Assessment
All dogs will be assessed before training to determine if they meet the right calibre/temperament to become a Service Dog. This is a very important part; as lovely and caring as many dogs can be with their owners, they may not be able to handle the daily work that will be required of them. We understand and appreciate how disappointing it may be if a dog isn’t the right dog to become a daily support/service dog, but it’s the dog’s best interest we have in mind when performing the assessment.
If you aren’t local, not to worry, we are more than happy to set up an online assessment.
After the assessment has been completed, we will send you a written report of the assessment, with the next recommended steps.
Step 3: Next Steps
If your dog is successful, the Woofability Service Dog Training team will help/advise you and your dog and train you both to achieve the goal in becoming a working team. We will continue to offer you support even after completing the Service Dog Training to ensure everything is going smoothly.
We do offer specialised packages with payment plans to suit your individual needs.
