Diane Holmes Certified Educator Trainer

Top Dog

I love dogs. They are such amazing animals, and I can't imagine my life without them.

Over the years I have researched endlessly, read books and tried so many different methods for my dogs. For every new issue or opportunity that came up with my dogs, I always set out to find a solution. I had mixed results and more frustration.

Then I found Brad Pattison and his show At the End of My Leash. These were methods that made sense to me, and once I started to implement them, noticed amazing changes in my dogs. I knew that I wanted to help people find the same results with their dog, so I attended the Hustle Up School to become a Certified Educator Trainer.

The best thing that's come out of Brad’s training has been the amazing bond I've developed with my dogs. We always had fun together but now our relationship is on a whole new level. They look at me differently, and I see them differently as well. Brad has taught me how to see each dog for what he is and what he can be.

I'm so proud of my dogs every day. They really do rock!

I want to help you see your dog in a different light. I love when a client's jaw drops because they didn't think their dog could ever change.

As a Certified Educator Trainer I am committed to you and your dog, and will do whatever I can to help you see results. I have extensive experience with dogs of all breeds, sizes and ages, and have worked with many different issues from pulling, chewing, barking and jumping to various aggressions.

My classes are in Toronto, and I travel within the GTA for private sessions.

The Story of “My Dog Rocks”

There was a time when walking my dogs was so frustrating, I actually dreaded it. The pulling, barking at other dogs, total lack of respect for me. I didn’t feel like I had any control.

Then I started training with Brad’s methods. And everything changed. My dogs started to look up to me, listen to me and trust me. I started to look at them in a whole new way. I learned to not underestimate them and to raise my expectations. I started to let them teach me.

And that frustration? Well, I started to have an amazing time walking the dogs and now I look forward to getting out with them every day. If you see a crazy person walking her dogs and yelling "woohoo!", chances are that's me (or one of my amazing clients!).

So why My Dog Rocks? One day I was taking Jake for a walk doing some fun things and exercises along the way. We were having a great time together, and he was being so awesome. I could see so many positive changes happening and this proud feeling came over me. I looked at him and said out loud “Dude, you rock.” He smiled back, of course (he's one of those dogs that grins, and whether he was actually smiling or not, that's how I'll always remember it!).

I will always remember that feeling when I looked at him that day. It's a feeling I still get every day. It’s a feeling I want everyone to have with their dog. And I knew I wanted to work with people to help them achieve that.

I started my training company under the name Holmes on Hounds, but after a while, I knew that it didn’t feel right. That day and those words stuck with me, and defines the philosophy of how I work with clients. So in the summer in 2010, with the help of an amazingly talented woman named Marsha Clarke and her team at justbecuz (who also designed my logo and my website), My Dog Rocks was born.

Here's to having an amazing dog. I want you to say “My Dog Rocks!”