Christine Lajoie

My journey with dogs really started because I had a reactive dog of my own. Like many people, I was doing all the “right” things—obedience classes, commands, structure—but I kept running into the same realization: a dog can be obedient and still struggle with behavioral issues. That pushed me to start asking deeper questions about why dogs behave the way they do, not just how to stop the behavior.

 

Around 2014, I began working professionally with dogs through my dog walking business. From the beginning, I was often the person people called when they had dogs that were reactive or difficult to handle. I realized pretty quickly that my interest wasn’t just walking dogs—I had become completely fascinated with understanding them.

 

Between roughly 2012 and 2016, I became somewhat obsessed with learning about dog behavior. I took courses in person and online, attended seminars, and spent as much time as I could learning about canine behavior and training. The more I learned, the more I realized that something still felt like it was missing.

 

In 2017, I decided to travel to California to train at the ranch of Cesar Millan for an intensive week-long program. That experience was truly life-changing. We worked with dogs that lived at the ranch as well as dogs that had been pulled from shelters. Students were divided into smaller groups with assistant trainers, which allowed us to get a lot of hands-on experience with different dogs and situations.

 

What stood out the most was that it wasn’t just about training dogs—it was about working on ourselves as handlers. Each day started with classroom time, meditation, and large pack walks. It set the tone for the entire experience and emphasized something that really clicked for me: understanding the psychology of the dog.

 

When I came back home, my mindset had completely shifted. I was already working with dogs and walking multiple dogs at once, but what I had learned there felt like the missing link. It changed the way I approached training and helped me understand that dog psychology is the foundation of everything else we do.

 

Since then, I’ve continued learning and evolving because dog training is always changing. There are many different tools, methods, and techniques out there, and they all have a place. But to me, those things come after understanding the dog’s state of mind. I often describe it like this: dog psychology is the meal, and everything else is the gravy. The tools and techniques can enhance the training, but they shouldn’t replace the foundation.

 

One thing I often see is that we get a dog and immediately start applying human expectations and human-style training. But dogs aren’t humans. We’re emotional and logical beings who sometimes don’t even understand ourselves. Dogs are instinctual—they operate through instinct, energy, and clarity. Because of that, it’s often easier for us to learn how to understand dogs than it is for them to adapt to our complicated human world.

 

In 2021, I entered another chapter of my career when I became an explosive detection dog handler and was paired with my working dog, a Belgian Malinois. That experience opened my eyes to the working dog world and changed the way I see training once again.

 

In pet dog training, people often come to us with behaviors they want to suppress or stop. In the working dog world, many of those same behaviors are exactly what we’re trying to activate and channel into a job. Being exposed to that perspective helped me develop a deeper understanding of drives, motivation, and how to balance when to calm behavior and when to harness it.

 

While I don’t specialize in training sport or working dogs for clients, that experience has greatly influenced how I approach pet dog training. It gave me a broader understanding of dogs and allows me to train the dog in front of me, rather than forcing every dog into the same system.

 

Today, my approach is very individualized. Before starting any training, I ask clients to complete a thorough assessment form. It helps give me a blueprint of the dog’s background, lifestyle, and environment so I can start looking for the root cause of certain behaviors.

 

However, I rarely create a strict training plan before meeting the dog. The moment a dog walks into my space and I observe them tells me a lot about what direction we’re going to take. That’s why every dog I work with receives a tailored approach.

 

Many of the clients who come to me feel like they’ve already tried everything. Often they come as a last resort because they feel like something is still missing. My goal isn’t to claim that one method is better than another. Dog training is an evolving field and every approach has its place.

 

What I focus on is helping people return to the basics—understanding the dog’s natural instincts and psychology first, before trying to layer on techniques or complicated training systems. When we go back to that foundation, things often start to make much more sense.

 

One thing I take a lot of pride in is creating a space where people don’t feel judged. Dog ownership can be challenging, and many people already feel discouraged before they even reach out for help. My goal is simply to meet people and their dogs where they are and help them move forward with clarity and confidence.

 

At the end of the day, I let my work speak for itself.