Online Dog Training

May 26, 2020

COVID-19 restrictions created new challenges for the kennel but ended up impacting the business in a positive way.

“You can purchase all different types of packages from basic boarding, which includes two walks a day, all the way up to a fully trained dog by the time you pick it up,” said Kristi King, owner of Kristmatic K9 Training and Kennels.

“We have a dog camp program, for example, this board and train. The dog makes its own painting. When the dog goes home, the owner will get that.”

The facility offers a variety of services including unique boarding, service dog training, rehabilitating aggression, agility and obedience. People come from all over to train their dog at Kristmatic K9 Training and Kennels.

The kennel strives to make dogs as comfortable and stress free as possible when kenneling at Kristmatic.

“It’s our goal to give the dogs as much of a homelike experience, so that when we come to the kennel they aren’t stressed out and want to be here,” said King.

Due to the pandemic, the facility had to move all training classes to an online format. This move to online delivery has been well received.

“I’ve been very fortunate,” King said. “My clients are very loyal and almost all of them transferred over to online classes. I teach live classes through Facebook messenger. With everybody being home, I’ve probably tripled my class enrollment.”

King has also been offering an online training classes geared towards children. This class helps children learn to train their dog while being stuck at home.

“It’s been positive for our business, with people at home and switching to online classes more people are training,” added King.

New rules for in-person classes will be implemented to respect social distancing. All dogs and handlers must remain ten feet away from each other. There will also be hand sanitizer and wipes available at various areas.

King will be offering more workshops this year, including one in June with world renowned dog trainer Vit Singh, who is an accomplished trainer in many disciplines of dog training.

“I wanted to give the public the opportunity to work with him because he is really fantastic.”

King is now working alongside the Alberta Government to certify Service dogs and eventually her facility will become a testing site.

All the dogs that King owns have been rescue dogs that were deemed too difficult to rehome. King adopted them and rehabbed them, and they now live permanently with her. She currently has ten dogs, with one puppy coming to her in June.

King also works as an Animal Enforcement Officer for Fairview and has noticed an increase in calls lately, possibly due to people being home more.

With over twenty years of experience training dogs and ten years of training in the Peace Country, King is excited to now be offering homelike dog boarding to Fairview and the surrounding area.

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