Bilinda Wagner is the President of K9 Misfits. Originally from Ontario, she has been working with dogs and horses for over 35 years. She grew up in Ontario and has lived in Alberta since 1999.
She currently shares her life with twelve dogs, five horses, Her husband Doug and four beautiful children. Bilinda worked at the Edmonton Humane Society for ten years managing operations and then focusing on behaviour and training for the public. This role allowed her to create all of the behaviour programs, the Dog Behaviour and Training Methodology (DBTM) course as well as lecturing, training and providing behaviour consultations.
In her career, she has been fortunate to earn many awards and is honored to have been recognized for her efforts with the animals during Hurricane Katrina and Rita, featured on Alberta Prime time and featured in Animal sheltering magazine. She was a board member of the Edmonton Animal Control Advisory board and the Alberta Force Free Alliance.
Although anecdotes and human terms are sometimes used to describe dog behaviour, she endeavors to help clients to understand the science of animals and how they actually think and learn. Each and every animal is unique as well as the ‘two-legged human’ that works with them. Behaviours are created by many things and it is important that you have someone working with you that understands the emotional and psychological dog as well as training methodology.
CANINE
Bilinda is proud to not only be a trainer but also a behaviour consultant, lecturer and proud mentor to many students. She has completed her Applied Canine Behaviour Consultant (ADBC) studies with honours, as well as holding memberships in the CKC and CAPPDT. She currently breeds whippets and has shown in CKC lure coursing, (champion dogs) and agility (working goal!) She is a certified Canine Good Neighbour Evaluator and has assisted many rescue groups and shelters with her knowledge and programs.
She believes that training and education is ongoing. She has attended several clinics and sessions with some of the best behaviourists in the country including Dr. Susan Friedman, Dr. Sophia Yin, Pamela Reid, Dr. Ian Dunbar, Dr. Rebecca Ledger, Dr. Patricia McConnell and more. She created Canada’s only Pit Bull class and in 2012 she was honoured to be a large part of the removal of Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) in Edmonton.
She does not use or recommend pinch, prong or shock collars, nor does she teach you to alpha roll, pin or kick your dog. You will not be given a can of pennies or a bag of chains to throw at your dog to interrupt a behavior. She will teach you to understand how you can modify behaviour and have the dog you love to be seen with.
Good luck on starting your new understanding of our clever canines. Your dog will love who you become!