Meet the Trainer
 Beach day with Skye!
Dogs are Liza’s greatest passion! Wild child puppies, high energy adolescents, dogs in desperate need of a job! The dogs that people describe as nutty, out of control, hyperactive, toy obsessed, or just too much – these dogs are Liza’s jam!
Liza can help take the challenge out of living with your high energy, over the top dog, and help you get on with enjoying activities and life together. Liza has been handling, competing with and working with dogs for most of her life, and is a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner. Liza is highly experienced working with all breeds, types and ages of dog, and is skilled at helping people resolve their dog’s problem behaviours. The learning never stops, and Liza is commited to continuing education, regularly taking classes and attending seminars in topics ranging from dog sports to solving complex behaviour problems. Liza has extensive experience raising puppies and teaching puppy classes, and loves helping puppy guardians get off on the right foot. As a lifelong Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever person, her specialty is the wild child dogs, those with big feelings and challenging behaviours. As a "crossover" trainer (someone who was originally taught compulsive and outdated methods before moving to reinforcement based training), Liza values meeting people where they're at and teaching without judgement. Liza is also an artist, and graduated from NSCAD University with a BFA in Fine Art in 2012. She has worked in the arts and as a disability justice organizer. |
You can contact Liza here or at focusdogs@gmail.com
Our Philosophy
Dog training shouldn’t suck, for you or for your dog. At Focus Dogs, we are committed to effective, ethical and engaging teaching practices for both ends of the leash. We believe that training should be practical and fun, and that good training can transform the lives of both people and dogs. We are committed to using the most modern and least invasive or harmful methods possible. These methods aren’t just ethical, they’re highly effective at resolving behaviour problems without the risk of unsafe or harmful side effects.
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The Family Connection
Liza got her start in dogs thanks to her grandmother, world renowned author and sporting dog expert Alison Strang. She mentored Liza from the age of 10 in everything from raising neonatal puppies, to gundog training, conformation showing and so much more. Together they traveled across Canada many times, and spent countless hours enjoying all things dog.
Alison taught Liza to never stop learning, to be a generous and engaging teacher and to find the fun in everything. Alison passed away in 2018, but her work is reflected in those she mentored. |
Always laughing - Alison and Liza
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Meet the dogs!
Percy
Percy is a 9 year old Rough Collie, a very sweet and gentle dog who adores babies and puppies. He is retired from any serious training or sports due to an injury, but he still loves tricks and nosework |
Biscuit
The resident wild child, Biscuit is a 4 year old Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. There is never a dull moment with him, and he trains for and competes in multiple sports with Liza |
