Our Awesome Staff

Victoria

After a lengthy career with the RCMP I needed a change. I got my first ever dog in October 2012 and what a life-changing moment that was for me. It was love at first sight for me and my rescue Shepard Wally. I didn’t know a thing about training a dog or dog behaviours. All I knew is I loved him and I didn’t want to be “that guy” yelling at their dog in the park, so I started researching different training techniques and quickly became an advocate for positive approach methods. I started my small group walk business simply because I was at the park every day with my sweet Wally, and the more time I spent there the more fascinated I became in dog body language, canine communication and behaviours. Quickly my little pack service was growing so in 2014 we bought an acreage and our private park was open just a few days later.

In 2015 we adopted our second fur kid Anna Banana, a rescue Pitbull/Collie cross and she opened my eyes to the difficulties and misconceptions around reactive dogs and another passion was born.  Anna opened my eyes to the realities of owning a fear-based reactive dog, and I am excited to soon be expanding our service to include more work with reactive dogs.

Now as owner and operator of Yes, Dog!  I am proud to be running a force-free, positive approach group off leash service and incredibly humbled to have such a strong team of like-minded and passionate individuals working with me.

Erin

Hi! My name is Erin, and I am addicted to puppy snuggles. Thankfully there is no shortage of snuggles here. I currently have two dogs of my own, Sabre and Kiwi, who keep me on my toes. The best part of my job is getting to watch my dogs become best friends with your dog.

It is so rewarding to see a new dog enter our pack and learn how to let loose and have fun all while gaining confidence and building
trust with us humans and the other dogs.

This is what eventually led me to go back to school and become a positive approach dog trainer. For more information about our training philosophy and services please visit our Training Page.

When I am not running around with your pups I can
either be found with my nose in a book or out in the mountains hiking and back country camping.

Carla

From bed bug detection to birds, from narcotics to nose-work, Carla Simon has trained thousands of students worldwide since 1999.
She is a sought-after speaker who presented at the World Detector Dog Organization 2021 Conference and drew a sold-out crowd of more than 600 at UBC’s Chan Centre for the Performing Arts.
Carla is the owner of Hunter’s Heart Ltd., which breeds, trains, and deploys scent detection canines in Calgary, Alberta.
Carla Chairs the Working Dog Committee for the Canadian Association of Professional Dog Trainers, and supports its Code of Ethics, including force-free, evidence-based learning.
She partners with Citadel Canine Society (Canada’s longest-running mission-specific PTSD service dog provider) to train medical service dogs for veterans, first responders, nurses, and 911 dispatchers. She has been a member of the Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) for 23 consecutive years.

She served on the CKC Health and Genetics Committee and advised on the creation of national rules and scent judges’ accreditation as the Senior Provincial Representative for the Scent Detection Council. She is a peer reviewer, author, and supporting member of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants. She trained teams for mantrailing and truffle detection for Power Dog Training Centre in Italy.

Carla was the Founder of Sniff Alberta, and judges scent detection for CKC, K9 ABC Games, and is a Certifying Official for UKC Nosework (the second largest kennel club in the world). She has conducted Behavior Assessments for the Calgary Humane Society, onboarding junior assessors. In her capacity as a Canine Good Neighbor Evaluator, she organized Alberta’s first CGN test and has evaluated therapy dog prospects, owner-trained service dog candidates, and pets at events such as Pet Expo.

Carla chaired the American Brittany Club’s Performance Committee (AKC) and was a Contributing Editor for the American Brittany Magazine. She was featured in the Pointing Dog Journal, the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants Journal, and the Clean Run Online Learning Centre. Her learning materials have been adapted internationally and are used by several Search and Rescue groups.

Hunter’s Heart has trained detection trainers and handlers using diverse target odors, including law enforcement, human remains, bed bugs, birds, wildlife conservation, shed antlers, handler scent, narcotics, explosives, scent discrimination, lost items, tracking, trailing, truffles and pet dogs for scent detection and nosework competitions.

Carla currently trains in-person and online classes for scent detection, tracking, mantrailing, obedience and service dog training.

Visit our Scent Work page for more information on classes.