My name is Mackenzie Joan Brown, I am the owner and operator of Mackenzie Joan’s Sit For Success Dog Training. I have always loved animals, but grew up in a pet free household which pushed me to learn about and love animals all the more! When I was 14,  I adopted my current cat Nelson. He was found as a kitten on the side of the highway by some people who unfortunately were not able to find his owners or keep him. He was born deaf so outside was not the place for him. He was soon welcomed into our home.

I completed the Veterinary Assistance program at St Lawrence College to get me started into the animal industry where I graduated with honours. After graduating, I volunteered with the dog trainers at Oakville Humane Society where I ended up adopting a little Miniature Poodle named Harriet. She was a special rescue because until she was 2 years old she lived in a small apartment with 15 other Miniature Poodles where she likely never got to experience going outside or meeting new people. This made a lot of things difficult for her because it meant anything new was very scary. She was afraid of absolutely everything and at 2 years old, didn’t even understand how to use stairs. She would end up teaching me so much about working and living with fearful animals! 

After that, I went to Pets Beautiful School of Styling to become a pet stylist. When I got into the grooming field I started to notice how rough some groomers could be with the animals to get them to stand still for the process. I didn’t want to be that kind of groomer. So I brought positive reinforcement and force free methods to grooming and opened up my own salon. It wasn’t long before I was teaching my aggressive and anxious clients how to trust me, stand still, and even enjoy being groomed!

I knew how much I had enjoyed dog training from the humane society, with my own dog Harriet, as well as when working with my grooming clients and I wanted to do more. So I went to Victoria Stilwell Dog Training Academy to learn how to start working with humans and their pets with day to day training problems, where I graduated with distinction. 

I began working with clients in their homes, helping them with their dogs and learning new skills. I wanted to continue expanding my education so I took the exam and became a Certified Professional Dog Trainer, shortly after I become a Certified Fear Free Animal Trainer as well. The Fear Free course teaches trainers specific knowledge on how to reduce fear in pets at the vet clinic or in a grooming salon. It’s important to me to continue my education and make sure I am always up to date on modern training methods and theories since the behaviour sciences are constantly evolving. I hope to show my clients that whether it’s at the groomers, the vet clinic, or in your home, you don’t need to use punishment or intimidation to get your pet to work with you and to help make the world a better place for people and their pets.