What makes Mimi's style so unique?

I’m Miss Mimi, and every single day, I still proudly wrangle a pack of up to 15 dogs right here at my home-based daycare, Doggy Doolil. When I founded this sanctuary back in 2005 at 41 years old, all I had was a lifetime of deep love for owning dogs and pets.

Today, that lifelong passion has evolved into over twenty years of hands-on expertise in dog training, behaviour modification, and understanding canine body language. Much like the classic Dr. Dolittle, I've dedicated my life to truly understanding and "talking to" our furry companions, providing a safe, balanced haven for families across Surrey, Whalley, Delta, Newton, Guildford, Fleetwood and White Rock who want their dogs treated like family.

Growing up we had a pack of at least 3 dogs and any other critter that needed rescue or saving. We took all 3 of our dogs to obedience class back home in Sweden in the 70's, and that was my first taste of dog training. We had dogs for most of my 40 plus years, on top of all the other animals we rescued or owned growing up.

We brought the 3 dogs with us to Canada in 1979, when mom decided to move back home, and we added another one to the pack a year after that. I took equestrian riding classes, English style, back home in Sweden and when our mom moved back here to Canada when I was a 14, we landed in Kelowna. That's where I discovered western riding and I was hooked. 

Mom bought a nice split level home in Westbank, BC, just across the lake from kelowna, and she had a business, but in 1980 when the worst recession in decades hit us and interest rates rose to 25% mom lost her home and business, I had to quit school and go get a job at 17.

I worked in the corporate world and in theatre and film, logo design as a desk top publisher, and even started out as a hair dresser in my late teens. I grew up with a pack of dogs, and many other animals and I would never have imagined becoming a dog professional in my later life.

When I was 22 I suffered personal trauma, and needed to get away, so I went back to Sweden to live with my dad, and had my share of adventures. I spent 3 years backpacking around Europe and working as a croupier at a casino in Stockholm and Gothenburg, and as a barista at the opera house in Gothenburg.

Then at 25, I moved back to the Okanagan, where my family was living, and soon started a family. Later on in life as a single mother of 2 young girls, I relocated to Surrey, the city of parks, and found a large home with my sister and her little girl, and our mother, on just over an acre, in a big old house set deep into a forest.

Getting a dog was the obvious next move, and soon enough I had 5 dogs and a doggy daycare and the whole house to myself, the kids and the business. My sister bought a spa on Salt Spring Island and brought mom out there to live out her retirement.

These 14 years of living in a big home with a large pack of dogs and my two growing daughters were the best and the worst years. Teen girls are a challenge! Single motherhood is a challenge. But what I learnt was invaluable when it came to addressing stress, energy and calm. Thank you Cesar Millan!

Me at the Fontana Di Treva in Rome 1988

After getting the ‘members only’ dog daycare up and running in 2005, I started studying everything I could find about dogs, and read a lot of top dog training books. The one that captured my attention was Cesar Millan. I also watched all his shows on National Geographic.

He understood packs and that was what I needed to learn. His techniques worked every time and all I had to do was use calm energy and a slight touch or sound to get their attention, if they needed it.

In the worst case scenarios, I even mastered the Alpha roll for those that misbehaved and just would not submit to my leadership. My philosophy is, if I can fix these issues, then I should, because in many cases it means the dog will end up staying locked up and lonely.

I think the difficult dog has had enough of failure in his short life. Don’t you? And if I can help, I will.

To the left of the sign was a trail that took you to the business side of the home and the entrance to Doggy Doolil Daycare.

I received certification in Dog Obedience in early 2011, and started offering obedience classes in that same year, and I used the pack training I learned from reading and watching Cesar, mixed with my own experience running the pack in daycare, tweaked it a bit, and started calling myself ‘The Pack Leader. So the ‘PackLeader Academy’ was born. 

Over the years, I also got certified in Animal Emotions, a part of Animal Behaviour, allowing me to counsel dog behaviour problems and expertly care for and study the dogs emotions, to better recognize the fearful, aggressive, timid and shy dogs in a pack setting.

What makes Mimi unique?

I would take up to 25 regular dogs daily back then, in an open concept facility, free from kennels or crates. I had 5 of my own dogs and I would also take 2 dogs in for boarding. I even rescued dogs back then. 

So some days I would have 2 young teens, my 5 dogs, 25 daycare member dogs, and two boarding dogs. Maybe even a foster dog. 33 dogs, all behaving and running around, playing, sharing and respecting each other. It was beautiful. I did have a 5 bedroom home on a 1.3 acre lot of old growth forest of Cedars and Pines. It was a magical spot.

This gave me a unique opportunity to study how dogs relate to and learn from each other. How they play, use their sound and their body language to communicate. How some dogs in the pack police the pack, and some guard them. Certain breeds are sky watchers, watching for hawk or owls and alerting predators, so I would know to bring the little's inside. Gracie the Samoyed was so great for that.

And after 21 years of doing it daily, I can now easily call myself a professional behaviour consultant and animal emotions specialist. My certification in Animal Emotions taught me a deeper level of understanding dogs core emotions and how to gain their trust and help them heal.

The CORE emotions that drive behaviour is vital to understand in order to assess their behaviour. By understanding why, you can start to heal. That’s part of what makes Mimi’s style of training so unique. Human therapy works the same way. By putting it into words and releasing it, you can heal past traumas.

My certification on Animal Emotions 2018

When it comes to rehabilitating and behaviour modification for a dog and its owner, I can comfortably say, I know what I am doing, and I believe I have a lot of experience in the field… but it can be a bit intimidating.

I don’t have certifications from top dog training schools. I have level 1 Basic obedience, Animal Emotions Behaviour Certification and some Trauma training, and the study on Cesar Millan, which is extensive, including a lot of real, lived, life experience. And that, my friends, I think is Priceless!

37 years in total of living with a pack of dogs of all sizes and breeds is a plethora of experience and understanding, that most highly educated book worms can't even come close to understanding.

I'm not knocking their skill or understanding, but I'm simply trying to impress on you, the reader, the value of my knowledge and experience. And my second language is English, so I don't have the best or broadest of vocabulary.

Doggy Doolil daycare yard ca. 2008

As a single mom, I went through some tough times with the girls, but that taught me a lot about my own behaviours and the power of calm energy. I always wished I had the dog training skills before having the children, because the difficult behaviours of teens are so similar to how to control an adolescent dog in a stressful situation.

I firmly believe it's a lot harder to train a human.

Calm and assertive in my motto! In dog training this is the golden ticket! Any time you act out emotionally by yelling and being unstable, they stop listening to you, just like children.

It's amazing what time and experience will give you. And don't we all wish we could do it all over again?

Our sign that hung up on the street with a winding 300 foot long driveway down to the house.

This situation in my life, although hard to live with, also allowed me to delve into the behaviours of the humans that came along with those dogs, in daycare as well as my training clients, and it helped me understand them both better as a unit.

I found that the ones really needing the training was usually the human on the other end of the leash. Once we got that under control, the dogs behaviour seemed to be solved.

Getting the human to admit their lack of leadership, calm energy, clear messaging or lack of understanding body language of dogs, or even how their own body language was confusing to the dog was the toughest part.

So my behavioural skills go way past just understanding the animal. As an empath, I feel the energy and recognize anxiety in the human just like a dog can smell it. When they come in for an assessment, they need to be prepared to answer some personal questions I might have about who they are as their dogs owner/master/parent/ husse/matte/mom/dad... because the more I know about them, the better I will understand their dog and their behaviours.

So I ask, please... be as honest and forthcoming as you can be. I'm here to help and support your dog in the daycare, as your personal, private coach/therapist and your dogs private one-on-one trainer/behaviourist. I can only do a good job if I have all the information and tools necessary to do the job.

The love and respect I have cultivated in the clients I have taught and the dogs I wrangled throughout the past 21 years here at the daycare have fostered an exceptional pack that now aids in rehabilitating new dogs anxieties or fears, teaching them patience and trust like never before.

I truly believe I would'n't be able to do this without the pack. There's really nothing else like it. Operating this 'members only' daycare has given this pack a place where trust and friendship meets, and where everyone knows their name. Cheers!

Since the start of the daycare back in 2005 I have had a pack of dogs that on a continuous basis kept the pack hierarchy going, as one dog left a new one came along to learn the ropes.

The longest a member attended our daycare was 12 years! And boy do I miss 'Woody'. Loki was with us 11 years. He was a beautiful GSD. Rosie, laying on the left side below, on the bench was with us for 10 years. Then the white and brown Labs came for 8 or 9 years.

Woody ca. 2009

I have maintained top Alpha position and the pack instinctively knows what I need and want, and work with me to achieve the calm and happy pack we have today. All I have to do is quietly growl if the energy gets too excited, or if a dog needs a warning, and the pack checks in with me and calms things down.

That's not to say they can't have their zoomies and frisky frolics. They trust me and know that I would establish top dog position with all new dogs, so no one is out there trying to vie for the top position. That option is moot. And they all know it. I'm a bossy bitch!

This keeps everyone on the same level and equal in the pack. It frees them up to just play and have a blast. It's a sight to see.

The original dog daycare yard was 8K+ sq. ft.

There was me, the pack leader, the Alpha of the pack. And then there's the Beta. That position was held by my dog Alfina. After she passed away with cancer at in 2017 at 14 years old, the position now switches depending on the day and what member dogs are here. Some days I go it alone. It takes a special dog to hold that position.

I am here to maintain a good energy and control it, and to allow for the fun to flow. This rewarding experience is the highlight of our pack's journey, and we all flourish in this nurturing environment. It's a way for them to live a true dog life.

So c'mon... give the dog a bone! 

Book an assessment today!

~Join the pack~