About Me
Meet my Pack
Myself, my wonderful husband Austin, and our two fur babies Coco (right) and Duke (left)
Duke
We rescued Duke in 2018 and he is now 10 years old. Duke is a German Sheppard/Lab/Border Collie mix. He is the best snuggle buddy you can ask for and he loves his walks and food. He is a gentle and sweet boy but loves his adventures!
Coco
We got the opportunity to have Coco join our family when she was 6 months old in 2021. Coco is now 3.5 years old and the inspiration to my dog training journey. She is a Chocolate Lab/Belgian Malinois mix. Coco is very active and loves to run and play fetch. She loves to train with me, is eager to please and very smart! She is a very quirky pup.
About me
My Story
My name is Chantel Benson and I got started with Dog Training in 2022. Prior to becoming a dog trainer, I was a Registered Practical Nurse locally in Parry Sound from 2013 until 2022. This career began to take a toll on my mental and physical health, so I decided it was time to make a change and follow a new passion and career.
I have always had dogs in my family growing up and always had such a fondness of them; I never thought I could have a career revolved around dogs. My dog training journey started when a friend, gave us the opportunity to rehome a 6-month-old chocolate lab. Coco was housetrained, but still required all her basic obedience. I knew I had to do my best for her, get her comfortable with us as owners and to ensure she is fulfilled and happy. I did online research and practiced different tricks with Coco and very quickly realized she was very motivated with training and incredibly smart. As she was advancing with her training and obedience, it gave me drive to want to learn more and teach her more as it was also improving my relationship with her and both of our confidence.
After training with Coco on my own for approximately 6 months, I noticed a change in myself. I found myself feeling significantly happier and fulfilled which I realized, I was missing from my previous career.
Due to this new found passion and skill, I decided I was going to make a change and obtained my diploma in Dog Obedience Training through PCDI College (Ashworth College) in August 2022. I then went on to complete a course on Canine Basic Behaviour 101 through Georgian College in October 2022.
I started shadowing Candace Schroer at Helping Paws Professional Dog Training in Waubaushene, ON to gain more experience, knowledge and hands on training in the field. I was able to gain entry to the dog training community in this way and am forever grateful to have been given the opportunity by Candace and have such a supportive mentor. I strive to always learn and grow in my dog training career so I can best serve owners and their dogs.
I am happy to share my knowledge and training with you to help your have a happy life with your pups!
Did You Know?
Did You Know?
The dog ear outline on my logo is actually my chocolate lab, Coco! She is the reason I found my love of dog training and guided me to this new career so I used her as motivation for my logo.
I chose my business name of Stay Pawsitive due to the dog pun of course, but also because I always try to maintain a positive attitude in life and my career.
This is also the mentality that I encourage my clients to have during training as I know it can be frustrating! I want to make training fun for both people and their dogs and for people to celebrate the small successes and STAY PAWSITIVE!