Dog Blog Issue Fifteen
Getting to know you
One thing that really becomes clear when you talk to anyone at K9MD is that all the dogs are individuals with their own personalities, likes and dislikes. Dogs are living, thinking beings who deserve respect and companionship as well as care for their physical wellbeing. All K9MD trainers take time to learn about their dogs so they can get the best from their time spent with them. This is what makes working for K9MD, whether you’re a human or a canine, so rewarding. And this is why K9MD dogs give their very best when they are at work.
With two of our younger dogs recently completing their validation stage for detecting ovarian cancer with world-leading accuracy, it’s clear that the care and attention that goes into training our dogs is worth every second. This is what will save lives.
This valuable work begins when the dogs join K9MD as puppies and continues into adulthood. As much as time in the scent training room is crucial, so is time spent becoming a well-rounded, happy, good-natured dog, ready to work, rest and play every day. Here’s where our Puppy and Environment Trainer, Lynette James, lays the vital groundwork to ensure our dogs are superstars at cancer detection and can then go home and relax in a family environment. In this issue of the Dog Blog, we get to meet Lynette.
From the catwalk to the dog run
Lynette’s former career couldn’t be more different to what she does now, having joined the K9MD four years ago after 20 years in the high-end fashion industry. Asked why she made such a dramatic change in her career, she says, “I always wanted to work with dogs, it’s my passion. I didn't grow up with dogs or animals but always had a love and passion for them. So, when the position of Puppy and Environment Trainer opened up here, I felt the time was right, and I took the opportunity. I’ve been training my own dogs for dog sports as a hobby for more than 30 years. I have trained and competed in Obedience, Rally Obedience, Agility, Dog Scootering, Sledding and Canicross.” Lynette has helped run obedience shows and taken training classes for a local dog training club. “I’ve also taken puppy classes at a local vet clinic, which I just loved doing. Puppies are so much fun, and it was great helping people understand their pups and gain a bond with them early on. It’s very rewarding and I’ve always had an interest in canine behaviour.”
Now, Lynette has what most of us would consider a dream job, since she gets to work with all the K9MD dogs, from puppy to adult, helping them stay confident and happy in the world outside the scent room.
Currently, the bulk of Lynette’s time is spent with our latest recruit, Skye, teaching her good behaviours and starting her journey to becoming a cancer detection dog, while also ensuring her time at ‘work’ is a joy. This entails assessment of Skye’s qualities of focus and readiness to work. Lynette is also responsible for her environmental training to help the pup become accustomed to people and other dogs, particularly her workmates in the canine teams here at K9MD. As all eyes are on our Flagstaff Southern Skye, with such high hopes for her future as a K9MD cancer detection dog, we talk about her progress to date. Lynette proudly reports that, six months after joining the canine team, little Skye is doing well. “She is really starting to blossom and gain confidence. I’m thrilled with how she’s coming along. She’s a real character, not fazed by the bigger dogs. And although it’s taken her a while to get confident around people, (still a little work in progress) she’s a happy dog when she’s out and about, and I’m thrilled to see that change in her.”
Lynette’s official job title is Canine Environment and Puppy Trainer, although she describes her role as a Jack-of-all-trades. “The team here is pretty flexible and steps up with what needs to be done.” A typical day involves a quick scan of the work board first thing to see if there are any changes to the pickup route– Lynette is one of the ‘school bus’ drivers who brings some of the dogs to work each day. Back at HQ after the school run, she takes the dogs out for a pre-work toilet walk to stretch their legs, and then settles them in their kennels to wait for their working day as scent detection dogs to begin.
Lynette’s environmental work with the dogs fits around the scent room schedule but typically she’ll take the dogs for three walks in the morning, and one or two in the afternoon. In between, she helps with keeping the K9MD facility tidy and clean and helps out wherever needed before climbing back in her K9MD vehicle (affectionately know as a school bus) for the school run again, dropping the dogs back to their foster family homes around 4.30pm.
Lynette works with the dogs every day to provide them with mental and physical stimuli, through a variety of daily environmental experiences and exercise. This includes walks around the beautiful campus grounds at the K9MD facility at Invermay in Mosgiel, trips to the beach, and walks around shops and businesses in town. Visitors to Mosgiel Library, for example, will be very familiar with Lynette and the dogs as they are introduced to people, sights, scents and sounds around the bookshelves.
Since she works closely with all the dogs, Lynette has been able to develop a bond with each of them and knows them well. Like all the trainers here, she describes them all as being very much individuals. Without hesitation, though, when asked if she has a favourite, Lynette replies, “Freida! She is her own woman.” This is a common response from the training team, there is a definite pattern forming, when it comes to Freida. “Both Freida and Magic are great ambassadors for K9MD due to their excellent temperaments,” Lynette says. A vital part of Lynette’s job is to learn the dogs’ personalities, their likes and dislikes, and she tailors environmental training individually to suit each of them. This entails learning where their strengths and weaknesses lie, while at the same time ensuring all the training commands used at K9MD are consistent. This is crucial to getting the best out of the dogs when they are detecting cancer and is key to them achieving accurate results – exactly what people need when they’re waiting on a diagnosis.
Asked what she admires most about the K9MD dogs, Lynette responds, “They have a ‘want’ to work already instilled in them when they come to K9MD, and then the work of the trainers enhances this. The dogs are used to being handled by lots of different people, so they are more adaptable in different situations.”
Lynette had to wait a long time for her first family dog at home. “My family was into motorsport, and we travelled a lot. Having animals just wouldn't have worked. I did manage to convince my parents that a horse wouldn't be too much trouble! So, I got my palomino pony, Chief, when I was 13. My friends would look after him when I travelled with my family. I got my first dog, a Black and White Border Collie called Mac, a bit later in life at 30ish, I waited till my children were a bit older.” Now, never far from the company of her dogs, Lynette loves travelling with them on holiday, mainly around the South Island.
Getting to know every one of her family dogs, Lynette has learned something from each of them. “Mac was a bit of a handful for a first-time dog owner and was the reason I got into dog sports. Thanks to Mac I found a real passion for dogs and training.”
That passion took Lynette to dog shows all over New Zealand. “My next dog was a beautiful red/white Border Collie called Jaffa. I got Jaffa when he was 18months old. He was a rehome, and on his fourth home through no fault of his own. He was an amazing and very clever dog that went on to be a wonderful competitive Obedience dog.”
After Jaffa, she welcomed home a half Siberian Husky/Border Collie cross called Edge. “He was a real character and certainly taught me to have a sense of humour in my training.” He went on to become an Obedience Champion. Then came another Siberian Husky/Border Collie cross called Drift, “A beautiful big fluffy white and black boy who was deaf. I taught him sign language to communicate and he had one of the best recalls. I was very proud of that. It was an amazing experience to communicate with him that way.“ Drift also competed in Obedience to high level, until he sadly had to retire due to injury.
“My two favourite breeds have always been Border Collies and Siberian Huskies,” she says. “No surprises there! Being able to have the combination of both breeds works well for me. I just love their high energy and big personality. They are very different and amazing looking dogs.”
The training methods Lynette adopts for her family dogs is not dissimilar to that she uses at K9MD. “I like to use positive based dog training methods and that works well for the K9MD Dogs as well as my own dogs. I do include a lot more play in my training with my own dog, though, as I want a lot more engagement for our completive training.”
Lynette currently has one dog at home. Reef is a 5-year-old Border Collie (with a bit of Siberian Husky in him of course). “He is a cheeky and talkative character with a face full of freckles otherwise known as naughty spots.” Reef and Lynette are competing in Obedience, most recently at the National Dog Obedience Training Assembly. “We represented the South Island in the team’s event in Test B where we won first place and helped the team to the win. In the individual competition we placed fifth. “ Lynette says when the weather is too hot to run at full pelt around the park, Reef is happiest relaxing at home in his shell pool.
Being able to spend time with dogs both at home and at work is the ideal life for Lynette, and she is dedicated to bringing out the best in the K9MD dogs. “I feel that what we are doing at K9MD is so important and has the potential to make a real difference for so many. I’m most proud of seeing the dogs I work with gain confidence in different situations and go on to be amazing scent detection dogs.”
Amazing is right. The care of K9MD’s dedicated team of trainers has helped this incredible team of dogs become the best in the world at detecting cancer, and they will have such a beneficial effect on the lives of New Zealanders than they can ever know.