Offering massage and fitness programs for all stages of life. I enjoy working with your animal care team to help develop the best treatment plan for you and your dog.
Dogs use their noses every day, it's time that we let them use their noses for fun! I teach competitive scent work primarily based on operant conditioning and positive reinforcement. I believe that this is the quickest and strongest way to introduce odor to all types of dogs. Plus, they love it!
I capture the essence of your working relationship needed to succeed in dog sports. Catching moments of pure joy, split seconds of amazing athleticism, and perfect instants of connection!
About
Aleks Woodroffe
"Our relationship with our dogs has to be one of trust and respect. When these are given from both dog and human, an incredible bond can be built."
After finishing my Bachelor of Science at the University of Alberta in 2006 and moving down to Arizona to start working with the State of Arizona, my husband and I got our first dog as adults. Rosey was an energetic Flat-Coated Retriever and she led me to discover agility. I quickly learned I loved the sport and after absorbing as much as I could, I began teaching in 2014 at Top Notch Canines. Adopting Samantha in 2011 gave me a whole new set of skills to learn, she is a lovely people dog, but had anxiety and was uncomfortable around other dogs. It was through Samantha that I learned about behavioral rehabilitation, Fenzi Dog Sports Academy, and Scent Work! I was able to start in NACSW in 2016 with both Samantha and Rosey. Rosey went on and earned our NW1 in 2016. Tana came into our lives in spring of 2016, and her baby Georges in 2021, and we have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of our scent work journey!
Shortly after starting to teach agility, Rosey had an iliopsoas injury that pulled her from competition. It was through her injury that she taught me about rehabilitation, sports injuries, canine massage, canine fitness, and ultimately the love of competing in Scent Work. I attended the Rocky Mountain School of Animal Acupressure and Massage in Spring 2016 and became certified as a Canine Therapeutic Massage Therapist (CTMT), and Advanced Canine Massage Therapist (ACMT). I worked through my Canine Fitness program with Debbie Torraca (Gross) and Fenzi Dog Sports Academy, and received my CPCFT certification May 2023.
I grew up at a dressage training facility and listened to my mother patiently teach her students and helped her with the bodywork needed to keep the warmblood dressage horses in prime condition. My teaching style is very similar and I often hear her voice in my head as I mark a moment of brilliance in my own students. Learning from my father, a small-town physician, I learned the value of rational thought and scientific justification for my actions and beliefs. His example helped me through school and is a foundation that I value every day in my adult life. I think the patient teacher and thoughtful bodyworker I am today is a big part based on the lessons I've learned from them both.
It seems that life has a way to come back in circles, it seems to have for me. While in school I studied and worked in a moth pheromone research lab, so spent my days studying how moths follow pheromones back to source. I now use this knowledge every day during canine scent work teaching and competition. I'm always excited to share my knowledge with my scent work students and am so happy to celebrate all their successes! Teaching in person and online is something I really look forward to every day.
I love also to be able to share my knowledge and ability to support the sport through being a judge and hide setter. I became a fully approved AKC Scent Work Judge in 2021, ASCA Scent Work Judge in 2023, and was recently accepted to the NACSW CO program in 2023. I also am active in hosting and supporting trials in AKC (president of Copper State Scent Work Club) and NACSW (hosted several trials in Sedona, AZ and frequent Volunteer Coordinator for Mountain Dog trials in Colorado).
I live in Phoenix, Arizona, with my husband and our two dogs, Tana, and Georges.
I'm a full-time Canine Scent Work Trainer and Canine Bodyworker.
I am fortunate to be able to compete with Tana, who has earned first overall in all levels of NACSW (NW1 to Summit), with the majority of our runs pronounced. She is the 2nd Flat Coated Retriever to earn a Summit Title (with 1st place!). She is also the first Flat-Coated Retriever to have earned AKC's Scent Work Master Elite 1 and 2 (SWME2) titles, as well as the Scent Work Detective title (and now "SWD2"). We are working towards our SWME3 and "SWD 3" titles now!
Tana had a litter of puppies in the summer of 2021 and from that litter I found my next partner. Georges is a fun guy that is everything I didn't know I wanted in a dog. I'm very excited to see where our journey takes us! He currently has some AKC SW master titles in AKC and has passed 2 NW3s, working on focus and skills so he can play confidently in Elite.
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