DOG AGILITY FOUNDATION TRAINING
DAFT INSTRUCTOR

SYLVIE FEFER

I have been involved in dog agility since 2000. My first agility dog, Django, a Border Terrier, won the 2003 National Agility Competition of Canada in her height division. Thanks to her, I found a new passion in life! My second agility dog, Dizzy, another Border Terrier, competed both in Canada and in the US. In 2009 he was the number 5 Border Terrier in agility in the US and both in 2012 and 2015 he placed 1st at the BC Regional Agility Championship. For my third dog I decided to branch out and get a Border Collie. Zappa taught me how to handle a fast and powerful dog. In the prime of his competition career, Zappa won two back to back BC Regional championships (2015 & 2016), and placed second at the 2015 AAC National Agility Championship. That earned him a spot on the Canadian world team. In April 2016 Zappa and I had the honor of representing Canada at the IFCS World Agility Championship held in the Netherlands and we placed 4th overall!! Yup, 4th in the world that year!

I keep up with new trends in agility handling and attend multiple seminars and camps every year. I currently draw my inspiration from Justine Davenport and the Shape Up handling system. My young Border Collie Lulu was trained in that system from day 1. She is even faster than Zappa so I have to run fast and think faster!

I have attended seminars by:

I actively compete in AAC, AKC, USDAA and UKI.

When I first started teaching dog agility I was interested in teaching advanced handling to advanced students and dogs. Then I taught my first complete beginner class. I was inspired with how gratifying it was to teach people and dogs who were just starting out. I love seeing the progress and I love opening up a whole new world to them.

I taught dog agility at Paws Ahead in Burnaby from 2007-2011. During that time I came to realize that good training in basic foundation skills is essential to a student's success and overall enjoyment of agility. When I left Paws Ahead to start running my own classes, I was determined I would offer students the chance to learn the basics correctly from the start. Doing agility is much more than having your dog perform the obstacles. I will teach you how to maintain connection with your dog, when to reward and how to reward your dog, and how to teach your dog both self control and speed. As you progress into course work, you will learn how to make good handling choices and give the dog the information needed in a timely manner. I will help you become a team with your dog and we will keep it FUN!

Here’s the alphabet soup version of my dogs titles:

Django, Border Terrier (1999-2009), SATChC, Bronze Award of Merit, 2003 AAC National Agility Champion, Master couch potato, Excellent Snuggler		Mach 5 Dizzy, Border Terrier, ATChC, ADCH, AAC Gold Award of Merit, AAC Lifetime Award, 2015 BC-Yukon Regional Agility Championship 1st place 2012 BC-Yukon Regional Agility Championship 1st place
Zappa, ATChC, ADCH, AAC Versatility Silver Award, MX, MXJ, MXF, T2B 2016 IFCS World Agility Championship in the Netherlands 4th place overall 2016 BC-Yukon Regional Agility Championship 1st place 2015 BC-Yukon Regional Agility Championship 1st place 2015 AAC National Agility Championship 2nd place 2015 Cynosport, 6th Place Steeplechase Finals 2014 USDAA NW Regional Biathlon Gold Medalist 2014 BC Yukon Regional Championship 2nd place 2014 Cynosport Biathlon 4th place 2014 Cynosport Grand Prix Finalist
Lulu, agility dog in training, AADC, MGDC, MSCDC