About us
Emily Priestley, CTC, CDBC, SAPT
Emily Priestley, CTC, CDBC, SAPT is a multi-certified dog trainer having graduated from the renowned Academy for Dog Trainers and is a Certified Dog Behaviour Consultant through the IAABC. Based in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island, she has been working with and handling dogs professionally for over a decade.
Certified and in good standing with:
-The Academy for Dog Trainers
-Certified Dog Behaviour Consultant through the IAABC
-Michael Shikashio's Aggression in Dogs Master Course
-BC SPCA's AnimalKind program
-Julie Naismith's Separation Anxiety Trainer Program
-Certified Death Doula to assist with pet loss
As well, Emily's long career with the BC SPCA has allowed her to have a proven track record, having personally handled over 2,000 dogs. With experience with a magnitude of breeds and all problem behaviours, Emily has worked with dogs who are in desperate need of intervention and behaviour modification.
As well as being an Academy for Dog Trainers graduate, she is also accredited by the BC SPCA's AnimalKind program and is certified as an SA Pro to help humanely and effectively guide you and your dog to recovery from separation anxiety.
She is committed to using current, scientific and kind techniques and continuing education to ensure that you’re in the hands of the most advanced methods out there.
Emily will always provide a nonjudgmental, kind, and supportive atmosphere for both dogs and their guardians and will always be transparent about methods and techniques, allowing you to feel comfortable handing over the leash.
Techniques and Training
Because dog training is an unregulated industry, it's very important that our dogs are handled by those who are educated and accredited. Wild at Heart is both- Emily is certified through The Academy for Dog Trainers, considered the best in the world for our industry. She is also accredited through the BC SPCA's AnimalKind program, vetted and tested to meet high standards so you feel comfortable handing over the leash.
At Wild at Heart, we’re committed to being 100% transparent, non-aversive and current on techniques. We promise never to hurt, scare, punish or intimidate you or your dog- something that “old school” dog trainers want you to think is part of “balanced training”. Emily will use scientifically proven methods and will engage your dog and work with him to get more of the behaviours you want and less of those you don’t.
Flooding, dominating, shocking, physically correcting and punishing your dog is not what any of us want and we promise to get results without the use of these techniques and tools. We feel so strongly about this, you’ll receive 15% off your initial service if you trade in your shock collar, bark collar, prong collar or electric fence.
If at any point you’re uncomfortable about a trainer, a technique, a method or a tool, you have the right to ask for the leash back. At Wild at Heart, we are committed to doing no harm, but as this profession is unregulated, anyone can call themselves a trainer, behaviourist, whisperer or dog psychologist. For that reason, ask questions, feel comfortable with the answers and feel free to ask for clarification on how techniques will be done and why they work. If you’re ever uncomfortable or the trainer you’re working with can’t answer your questions, don’t walk, run!