BA, CPDT-KA, CTDI, CARO Rally-Obedience Judge, UpDog Games Judge
Julia Schwark has a passion for working with animals, and has fostered over 30 different cats and dogs and volunteered with multiple rescue organizations. As she began fostering dogs she found her passion in the science of learning theory and focused her university studies on learning theory and earned her Bachelors Degree in Psychology. The same learning principles applied to humans are also applicable to dogs and other animals, so this education has been hugely beneficial to her work in training dogs. She then became a Certified Professional Dog Trainer, Certified Trick Dog Trainer, and an official Judge for multiple dog sports organizations!
When not teaching classes or working in the office Julia enjoys competing and training in many dog sports and activities with her dogs, Rikki and Flint!
Rikki is an 11 year old “heinz 57” mixed breed that Julia adopted as a puppy and has turned into an amazing dog sport dog! Earning nicknames such as “Rockstar” and “Rocket”, Rikki excels at many dog sports – but her favourites are Agility, Rally-Obedience, and Nosework! She has recently earned her Lifetime Achievement Award in CARO Rally Obedience and has placed on the top 3 overall podium at the last three Agility Regional Championships events! She has recently begun to compete in Nosework and earned two Single Odour Games titles with the Noseworthy designation! For fun, Rikki also works on her Trick training, and has earned her Trick Dog Champion Title and is currently working on her Grand Champion Title and Triple Crown Title!
Flint is a 7.5 year old border collie that Julia adopted at 2 years old. Upon taking him home she began easing him into the differences in living in a city instead of the farm he was used to, and once he settled in they began dog sport training! He absolutely loves working and Julia and Flint have been improving as a team each and every day! Flint competes in Rally-Obedience and Agility, but his true favourite sport is Disc! He qualified for the Canadian Nationals UpDog Championship, and has earned many podium placements in local events. He is currently working towards his trick dog titles!
Julia has trained and competed in Agility and Rally-Obedience for years, earning many titles and accomplishments, including multiple top 10 finishes at the Regional and National level! She is also a certified Rally-Obedience Judge for all CARO Levels as well as the Western Canada Regional Director for CARO – she loves to help more people fall in love with Rally! She also trains in Nosework and Disc Dogs sports as well, and is a certified UpDog Challenge Disc Games Advanced Judge!
As well as training with DogWorks, Julia trained for many years with Wendy Alexander (IFCS Agility World Gold Medalist, OneMind Dogs – Agility). She also enjoys continuing her education by attending workshops, seminars, and classes with many different trainers in various fields of expertise, such as: Allison Maxwell (Heavenscent – Nosework), Bobbie Lyons (Pawsitive Performance – Canine Fitness), Kayl McCann (OneMind Dogs, McCann Dogs – Agility), Tombi Ericson (Disc Dog Sports), Ron Watson (Pawsitive Vybe – Disc Dog), Sara Carson (The Super Collies, AGT Finalist 2017 – Trick Training), Jane Elene Christensen (OneMind Dogs – Agility), Meaghan O’Neill and Teri O’Neill (MOTO Agility, World Agility Competitors), Anna Eifert (OneMind Dogs – Agility), Dani Fischbach (Germany AWC Team – Agility), Manca Mikec (Slovenian AWC and EO Team – Agility), Leslie Eide (The Total Canine – Canine Fitness), and many courses through the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy.
She has also attended a number of dog training conferences such as: The BCSPCA Behaviour Symposium 2018, Positive Vybe Disc Camp 2018, Positive Reinforcement 2.0 Camp 2019, Karen Pryor Clicker Expo 2020, 2021, and 2022, The Lemonade Conference 2020 and 2021.
Julia’s Dogs:
Rikki – CRLAA, CRMCh, CRWCh, TDCh, ATChC, VBA, BAoM, ExSCBr, ExGBr, ExJBr, ExSBr, ExStBr, GS-N, SDN, CRVX-MCL, CRAT, SOG(2)
4-time Doggy Fun Days Hot Dog Bobbing Champion 😉
Flint – CRA-MCL, CRAT
UpDog Challenge Titles (Disc): 1 Silver, 5 Bronze, 5 “UPs” (Individual Achievements)
