Corinne Lamy has a weakness for other people’s dogs. The eldest of his dogs, Caprice, belonged to a former companion. Titi, who is now 9 years old, belonged to the next one. And Edwige, a border collie mixed with Australian Shepherd, was first chosen by his new companion.
Since then, Jules, a 13-month-old Jack Russell terrier, and Nocturne, a 12-month-old German shepherd, with whom she dreams of developing new numbers, have been added to her pack.
Corinne Lamy, who lives in Carleton-sur-Mer, is a dog trainer. For the photographer, she poses with her Edwige sitting on her back and pretending to be beautiful. She offers her services to help owners of dogs with behavioral problems, for example, but she also does circus work, notably with the Flying Team, a company founded by another Quebec dog trainer, Émilie Ménard, from Coteau-du -Lake.
The company has multiplied its services in recent years. She presents shows in the first part of important events, but also in schools and in residences for the elderly.
“At first, it was the Valleyfield rodeo that offered me to put on a show with my dogs,” says Émilie Ménard. “In the beginning, I had three dogs. Today I have ten,” she says. Initially, Émilie Ménard made her dogs perform numbers with a frisbee and music. But the more the services and the requests multiplied, the more it was led to vary its numbers.
Today, she sometimes makes them walk on their front legs, buttocks in the air, do skipping and even skateboard ! Her shows have become so popular, both in the United States and Canada, that she has had to surround herself with a team of ten canine trainers, including Corinne Lamy.
“I’ve always been in love with dogs,” says Émilie Ménard. My dad didn’t want me to have dogs. One day I broke my arm playing trampoline. I offered to trade the trampoline for a dog. I was seven years old, I taught my dog stuff, and I was doing shows in my elementary school,” she recalls.
To put on shows, you have to be attentive to the characteristics of each dog, exploiting the strengths of each one. Several of the dogs that Émilie Ménard adopts were first in homes that did not suit them, and the owners wanted to get rid of them.
Turning problems into strengths
Learning tricks can sometimes turn dogs’ deficiencies into strength. “Edwige had major behavioral problems,” says Corinne Lamy. He showed signs of aggression towards his canine counterparts. It pushed me to train in the canine environment. At first, I took courses just to help him, then finally, I got hooked and paid for training on canine behavior, canine psychology, training methods. It has become a passion. »
The educator ended up taking advantage of her dog’s unbridled energy. “All that energy that he put into the undesirable behaviors is still there once it’s channeled. I can use it in sports or tricks. There is a natural motivation in that energy. »
“There are dogs that were very scared of the human environment when I got them. I got used to them and desensitized them,” adds Émilie Ménard.
Still, the dogs, to do the tricks that are asked of them, must feel that they will have a reward at the end, a treat, even a swim or a hug. “It’s a bit like with a small child,” says Corinne Lamy.
All that energy that he put into undesirable behaviors is still there once it is channeled. I can use it in sports or tricks.
A calming effect
The oldest, or the calmest, are often used more in zootherapy, especially in residences for the elderly where shows are given.
“Often the show is in two parts: a premiere for the enjoyment of the audience, a show that has a small effect wow, and then a presentation of the calmer dogs. We go around and people pet the dogs and talk to us. There are reactions, there is an exchange and it is really thanks to the dogs. »
Often, people who live in residences for the elderly have already had pets and can no longer have them, continues Émilie Ménard. “What we demonstrate above all is that these are our family dogs,” she says.
“In any case, for us, it’s clear that it has a calming effect, says Corinne Lamy. This forces us to take the time every day to spend some time with them. For them there is no stress of life, every day is a new day starting from scratch. »
Very recently, a whole brigade of pet therapy dogs was dispatched by the Saint John Ambulance to Dauphin, Manitoba, where a road accident left 15 dead and 10 injured among a community of elderly people. “Community members will be able to interact with the dogs, to receive therapeutic support through the unconditional love of dogs,” said St. John Ambulance Community Services Director Ruth Howard.