Hi, I’m Stephen Fiset and I am the owner of A Lick Of Sense.
However, I started just like any dog owner and… my entry into the dog world was rough. I adopted a beautiful Malamute and did pretty much everything wrong. Frustrated and wanting to understand what my mistakes were, I became a volunteer for the Montreal SPCA which immediately set the course for my future in canine behavior.
I finished my initial course in 2016 and, like any good trainer, I try and maintain a steady continued learning schedule to stay up to date on the science of dog training.
My goal as a trainer is to help people avoid the terrible mistakes I did myself and help establish pleasant and healthy relationships between humans and their furry friends.
Most of my experience as a dog trainer comes from the hundreds of group classes, hours of Day Training as well as private consultations for all manner of goals such as training puppies, teenagers or even aggression throughout the years. I have been a part of big teams such as De Main De Maître and De La Main à La Patte, and had the chance to give classes in partnership with Wiggle Dog Walks several times!
Education
2022
- Excel-erated Learning – Pamela J. Reid
- Spay/Neuter of Dogs: What Every Dog Trainer Should Know – Dr. Daniela Zurr
- Don’t bite the hand that feeds you: Human-Directed Resource Guarding – Dr. Christopher Pachel
- Play Way! for Reactivity and Aggression Challenges! – Dr. Amy Cook
- The Science of Aggression – Dr. Kristina Spaulding
- Recognizing Pain in Dogs – Debbie Gross Torraca
2020
- Exploring Advanced Animal Training Concepts – Karolina Westlund
- Expanding your force free toolkit – Chirag Patel (parts 3 & 4)
- Mon chien en ligne – Un événement contagieux
- Remote Consultations for Aggression Cases – Michael Shikashio
- Using Enrichment to treat Aggression – Emilie Strong and Allie Bender
- When sh*t hits the fan – Defensive handling or Emergency Scenarios – Michael Shikashio
- Beyond the Bite, Crucial Consulting skills for working aggression cases – Melanie Cerone
- Stress vs Anxiété vs Réactivité – Joel Dehasse
- Rethinking Puppy Classes – Adam Delderfield
- 80 years of changing behavior – Bob Bailey
- A journey of self – Christina Cass
- Watching and Wondering – The Science and Soul of Dog Training
- It’s not the dogs, it’s the people – Irith Bloom
- Mindset Matters – Reframing Reactivity – Janet Finlay
- Creating Resilience and Tolerance to Frustration Through Shaping and Play
- Aging Dogs – Lori Stevens
- Bitey end of business – Micheal Shikashio
- Popping the bubble! – Sarah Whitehead
- The Art of Delivering Instructions – Theresa McKeon
2019
- Canine Separation Anxiety – Malena DeMartini
- Expanding your force free toolkit – Chirag Patel (parts 1 & 2)
2018
- Agressive behavior in dogs – Chirag Patel
- Behavior Medications – Jennifer Summerfield
- But my dog isn’t motivated – Katy Sdao
- Errorless Learning – Susan G Friedman
- Learning to look, looking to see – Donna Hill
- Leave it – Pam Dennison
- What’s going on with adolescent dogs – Claudia Estanislau
- Premiers soins Animaliers – Wags and Walks
2017
- Anxiété de séparation – De Main De Maître
- Protection des ressources – De Main De Maître
- Stratégies de renforcement avancées – De Main De Maître
- Concepts avancés en entraînement canin – De Main De Maître
- Tenue de consultation – De Main De Maître
2016
- Formation Jacinthe Bouchard
- Volunteer in the Enrichment and training team at the Montreal SPCA (2016-2017)
- Détection d’odeurs – De Main De Maître
- Réactivité Canine – De Main De Maître
- Résolution de problèmes de comportements – De Main De Maître
- Séminaire sur le langage canin et les manipulations – Coeur canin