Dog’s Best Friend

At the Guelph Humane Society, Melanie Chin saw pets given up for behaviours their owners couldn’t control. “It broke my heart to see dog after dog surrendered that I knew I could help,” she says. “That inspired me to go into dog training full time to help prevent this from happening.”

Melanie had always loved animals and was a horse trainer when she moved to Orangeville 22 years ago with her husband and son. Two years later she cofounded the Hockley Hills School of Horsemanship. “But then when Covid happened, everything shut down and I had a chance to reset.” She volunteered at the Guelph Humane Society and that experience prompted her to take online courses to become a dog trainer. She went all in. She is now a certified professional dog trainer and “certified behaviour consultant, canine,” with several other certifications, including accreditation by the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers. 

Melanie is also heavily involved with the Canadian Veteran Service Dog Unit (CVSDU), a group she met through her pet. “My Doberman, Logan, is related to the Doberman owned by the head trainer for the CVSDU, based in Ottawa,” she says. “They asked me if I would come on board as a trainer for members in this area.” She accepted and now works with several veterans, first responders, firefighters, and police officers and their service dogs in Southern Ontario, an area of her work she finds particularly rewarding. 

Some members suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome, nightmares or panic attacks, and the trainers teach the dog exactly how to comfort them or protect them during an episode. Others may have mobility issues and the dog can be trained to help that person stand up or get around. “I’ve had members tell me that if they didn’t have this dog, their children wouldn’t have a father anymore,” she says. “Their life is so difficult and having their dogs makes such a difference in the quality of their life.” 

Melanie’s day begins as it always does, with walking her own dogs, one at a time. 

7:30 A.M. Melanie walks Chili, a five-year-old female Doberman pinscher. 

8 A.M. She walks Logan, who is eight years old. 

8:30 A.M. Melanie responds to training inquiries, and often works on one of her ongoing courses, including reactivity, aggression and service dog training. She also posts to social media, including Instagram (@melaniechincpdt).

9:30 A.M. On a recent Thursday in October, Melanie prepares for a day full of dogs with a fanny pack stuffed with training treats – tiny cubes of breakfast sausage – along with a clicker, pointer and poop bags. She also carries a mat for the dogs to lie on, a leash and a topple, an insulated bowl she fills with an irresistible and healthy treat: frozen pumpkin purée and sardines. The dog licks the cube while on the mat, an act Melanie says is akin to meditation. 

10 A.M. She picks up a client’s dog for a “walk and train” session, this time without the owner. I meet her at the Greystones patio on Broadway in Orangeville with Juno, a skittish young German shepherd, who is learning how to stay calm in public. For much of the time, he lies on the mat quietly and Melanie reinforces that behaviour with lots of “good boys” and sausage treats. 

When another dog comes by, Melanie immediately stands between the two dogs, facing Juno, reassuring him that all is well and asking the dog owner to keep walking, despite his assurance that his dog is “friendly.” Later Melanie lets Juno get up and sniff the trail of the other dog. “His dog may be friendly, but mine may not be.” 

11:30 A.M. It’s time to meet with service dogs and their people at the Alder Street Recreation Centre in Orangeville. This get-together includes client Kevin MacGregor with the Labrador retriever named Ripper, Melanie’s apprentice, Meghan Ayranto, with Remy, a German short-haired pointer, plus Kim Kelly, a CVSDU trainer now working with Darren, a very handsome golden retriever who gets a lot of attention wherever he goes. Darren is only one year old and will probably be trained for another year before going to live with a member. 

In addition to sitting quietly, the dogs and their people walk in a circle – speeding up, slowing down, changing directions and changing which side of the dog they’re standing on. The dogs are allowed to have a little one-on-one meet-and-greet, but the most interesting exercise is the target training that uses a combination of a retractable target stick, a clicker, a treat and a target. Everyone has a Post-It note with a dot on it that they stick to the wall. They put the target stick on the dot, say “Target,” and when the dog boops the target with its nose, the human clicks the clicker and gives the dog a reward. With the clicker and treat used simultaneously, Melanie explains, the dog knows exactly what behaviour is being rewarded … and will learn to open doors and call elevators by booping the button. 

1 P.M. Melanie runs one-hour sessions in clients’ homes or in public spaces, teaching life skills to dogs such as staying calm with other dogs or walking a busy street and ignoring the hubbub. “I might help clients solve things like their dogs jumping on guests or not coming when called,” Melanie explains. “It might also be separation anxiety, household dog-dog or dog-human aggression.” 

In addition, she usually has at least one private training session with a CVSDU member and service dog not yet ready for a class environment. Service dogs are trained to recognize early signs of anxiety and counter them. A service dog might rest its chin on a leg that has started twitching, for instance, or crawl right up into the lap of a person rocking with their head in their hands. 

To be designated service dogs, they must pass a series of tests and be completely stable in many environments. It takes up to two years before a dog is mentally and physically mature enough to work as a CVSDU service dog. And there’s a long wait list to be paired with them.

On Fridays from 3 to 4 p.m. Melanie visits Global Pet Foods in Orangeville, where she offers free behaviour and training advice for pet owners. Saturday afternoons, Melanie holds drop-in classes in the coverall building at the Orangeville Fairgrounds on 5 Sideroad in Mono. 

5 P.M. She’s back home with the two Dobermans, again, one at a time. “I provide an enrichment activity, such as training, play, chasing a lure or a sniffy walk.” This is where the dog is on a 15-foot lead and is allowed to cast about and sniff whatever it finds appealing.

The dogs are happy, Melanie’s happy and thanks to her inspiration a few years ago, more dogs and their people are staying happily together.