Jo-Ann Steele is a co-owner of Carolark. She first walked through the doors of Carolark in the winter of 1997 with her very cautious little Sheltie named Emma.  It was upon the advice of their vet that she enrolled Emma in Basic Good Manners Level 1. They felt that due to Emma’s hesitation to be with other dogs and people she would benefit greatly from the socialization she would get at “dog school:.  The staff at Carolark helped Emma build her level of confidence through their positive reinforcement methods of training. Jo-Ann said, “ I am not at all embarrassed to mention to my Level 1 classes that Emma spent her first 5 weeks of the 8-week course sitting under my chair”.  Jo-Ann was delighted when in week 6 Emma was finally comfortable enough to come out and work alongside the other dogs in the class.  Emma completed Level 1, 2 and 3 with the help of the wonderful staff at Carolark. Sadly Emma is no longer with us but you can see the pictures of her, proudly displayed on the walls of Carolark as she goes over a jump in the level 3 classes. The caption reads “ Good Girl” and Jo-Ann would also add “Way to go Emma!”

In March of 1999, Jo-Ann attended the Turid Rugaas - Calming Signals seminar hosted by Carolark.  She was so impressed with the knowledge and great attitude of the speaker and the Carolark staff that she went up to volunteer with this wonderful organization.  Jo-Ann contacted, the then owner, Carolyn Clark and as they say…the rest is history.  She joined the team in April 1999 and has enjoyed working at the centre ever since.  In the summer of 1999 Jo-Ann’s family added another Sheltie named Jenny to their home.  “Team Jenny” completed a First Aid Course, passed the Canine Good Citizen test and went to “work” doing pet visits at the Osgoode Care Centre in Metcalfe.  In Jenny’s memory, her photos of the rosettes she achieved for The Carolark Foundations Challenge and the Rainbow Challenge remain up and will hopefully inspire others to take up the challenges in Carolark’s Level 3 classes.  Jo-Ann’s third Sheltie came to their household in 2002. Unfortunately Tina was born deaf but that didn’t stop the tenacious little dog. She flourished as Jo-Ann worked with her using positive reinforcement.  In puppy class Tina was a star, she soon figured out that sitting still allowed her to cope with the other puppies who she couldn’t hear approaching.  Tina went on to earn her Carolark Rainbow Rosette; her picture is on the Wall of Fame along with her two older sisters.

On May 1st 2004, Jo-Ann started an in-home boarding and doggie daycare service (Jo-Ann's Homecare for Dogs) in the Winchester area.  She gathered even more knowledge from observing dogs at play, at rest, on walks, etc, which she believes, helped her connect even more with her students in class. Like others on the Carolark team, Jo-Ann started out as a volunteer, followed the apprenticeship program, which lead to becoming an instructor.  Throughout the years she has attended numerous seminars, workshops and conventions to keep up with the latest dog friendly training methods.  All of the great times with staff and students at the Centre lead to Jo-Ann’s desire to someday own a dog school. Six years to the day after opening her doggie business, Jo-Ann and Nicky purchased Carolark and her dream was achieved.  To all of the great students, clients and wonderful staff of Carolark and of course to Carolyn who started it all, Jo-Ann says a huge ‘Thank You’ for helping her dream come true!
A member of CAPPDT since 2003.

Nicky Barham is the co-owner of Carolark.  She has lived in a multi dog household her whole life.  As a teenager in England she began showing and training dogs.  After moving to Canada Nicky’s family embraced and housed many “hard to place animals” rehabilitating them using positive reinforcement, kindness and respect.

Nicky has completed the Carolark apprenticeship program and in February 2009 was one of the first 100 trainers worldwide to graduate from the Karen Pryor Academy as a Certified Training Partner (KPA-CTP). This requires months of intensive study and training practice with regular assessments. To obtain certification students must graduate with an A or higher.  Karen Pryor is one of the world’s leading figures in positive reinforcement training and Nicky is extremely proud to be associated with her program.   You can read more about her by following this link http://www.karenpryoracademy.com/Barham_Nicola  

Nicky is also the former owner of Spot On Dog Training and currently lives with her husband, children and a variety of furry friends on their small farm in the country. She is a member of the international Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) and Responsible Dog Owners of Canada (RDOC). In April 2011, she earned certification and is now recognized as a CPDT-KA (Certified Professional Dog Trainer - Knowledge Assessed).

Carolyn Clark is the founder of Carolark that opened in 1992.   Carolyn has a passion for teaching animals and people. Her own animal companions have included fish, horses, birds, and dogs—and a garter snake called Snavely. With her toy poodle, she earned the first of several obedience titles in 1967. Awards and shows with her Doberman pinschers, English cocker spaniels, and a German shepherd followed. Carolyn taught classes for many years for the Bytown Dog Obedience Club. She taught her own classes under the name Carolark (Care for the Ark). Carolark was one of the first three schools in Canada to teach puppy classes following Dr. Ian Dunbar's Sirius Puppy Training protocols. In 1992, Carolyn turned her hobby into a successful fulltime business, founding the Centre for Applied Canine Behaviour in Kanata (Ottawa). In 1994, Carolark and the Centre for Applied Canine Behaviour became the first fully clicker training school in Canada; the school is featured in Karen Pryor’s Puppy Love video.

Carolyn gives seminars and workshops for pet owners and instructors in Canada, the US, Scandinavia, and Japan. She is proud to be an associate of Turid Rugaas of Hagan Hundeskole and International Ring of Trainers. Carolyn was a presenter at Karen Pryor’s first two clicker conferences, the precursors to ClickerExpo. A graduate of the Bailey and Bailey operant conditioning courses, Carolyn is honoured to have been a teaching assistant for Bob and Marian Bailey during four summers.

Carolyn is a charter member of APDT, a founding member of CAPPDT, and a life member of the Canadian Kennel Club.

Cathie Buchanan teaches puppy classes on Sunday afternoons and Wednesday evenings.  Cathie began assisting at Puppy Classes back in the days of rental space at the Glen Cairn Community Centre and Bell High School.  She has been teaching classes since our opening here in 1992.  Cathie raised her Labrador, Casey, for his whole lifetime following Carolark protocols.  Now taking over Casey's role is 3-year-old black Labrador, Piper.

Suan Chew joined Carolark in 2002 and teaches a specialized small dog class, while also assisting and co-teaching the Tuesday Level 1 classes.  Suan is an expert problem solver, and enjoys the challenge of improving the relationship between human and best-friend.  Suan has three dogs in her household, two Papillions (Etaz and Casper), and an Entlebucher Mountain Dog (K2).  She spends an endless amount of time in Agility with her two Paps.

Sandy Crosby took her first dog, Schatzie, to the Centre in the spring of 1993 and and currently is owned by two Rotties, Bö and Belle. She became totally hooked on the friendly and positive style of working with her dogs and after a comprehensive apprenticeship became an instructor in January 1997. She is a member of the international Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) and Responsible Dog Owners of Canada (RDOC).  She attends the scientific conference in Guelph and the APDT conference annually and others as often as she can, including K9 Search and Rescue workshops.  Being a member of a Search and Rescue Team (SAR) got her interested in K9 SAR.  Bö has been trained for SAR work but has not been certified....."we feel he is a little too laid back for SAR work, but the training has been tons of fun anyway".  In Oct 2010, she earned certification and is now recognized as a CPDT-KA (Certified Professional Dog Trainer - Knowledge Assessed).

Sue Galvin has been working as an assistant instructor at Carolark for four and a half years.  Over the years she has attended many workshops and seminars relating to obedience training, agility and behavioural sciences, and she is a member of the Canadian Association of Professional Pet Trainers (CAPPDT).

Danielle L’Ecuyer and her best friend, Pacha, a 6 year old flashy fawn boxer. Have been at Carolark for several years. Danielle assists in classes on Monday evenings for Level 1,Level 2 and Big Dog.  Pacha and Danielle have completed all the levels of training at Carolark. In 2009 Pacha earned her Canine Good Neighbour Certificate. Danielle is a member of the C.A.P.P.D.T. and volunteered at the CAPPDT conference in Ottawa April 2009. She has also attended and volunteered at many other seminars including  Bob Bailey, Jesus Rosales Ruiz, Dee Ganley. Danielle was one of the first 14 people in Canada to obtain Level 1 certificate for Tag Teach. Danielle says Working at Carolark is very rewarding, interesting and a terrific learning experience. She plans on filling her days at Carolark when she retires. 

Judy Miller Judy started training her first dog in 1978 in Montreal.  She moved to Ottawa and started training with Carolark in 1991. Judy is one of Carolark’s most long standing members with plenty of experience.  She teaches Level One Two and Rally O and a Freestyle (dancing with your dog) class.

She has attended seminars with Karen Pryor/Gary Wilkes, Patti Ruzzo, Jean Donaldson, Ian Dunbar, Terry Ryan, Chris Bach, Turid Rugaas, Anne Marie Silverton, CAPPDT, APDT, Alan Bauman, Susan Garrett, Ted Turner, and has instructed at Camp Dogwould 

In 2003 she became involved with the new CARO rally obedience, she has been a CARO judge since 2003.  Judy currently has two dogs Katie an English Cocker Spaniel and Corrie the Sheltie puppy. 

Cassy Montgomery started taking classes at Carolark with her black lab mix, Lilly, in 2005. After two years of taking almost all the classes offered by the center, Cassy began assisting in the fall of 2007. She now assists with Jo-Ann’s Level 1 class on Saturday mornings while still training Lilly and two year old yellow lab, Toby. She enjoys skijoring, dog scootering, canicross and competing in Rally Obedience with Lilly and Toby.

Nancy Nardone Brought her Jack Russell ‘Terrorist’, Zeus to Puppy Class at Carolark eight years ago, and never left. Zeus has been to many classes in all 3 levels at Carolark, he has learned to track, and search for objects and people. At Carolark, Nancy learned how to clicker train, which is the most effective and rewarding method for both her and Zeus. With all this experience Zeus has a large repertoire of tricks including skateboarding and fetching the TV remote.  Nancy assists with classes at Carolark.  She frequently attends professional seminars on training. She is a member of CAPPDT.

Deb Ooi Deb started at Carolark as a student around year 2001 on the recommendation of Suan and Sandy. We enjoyed the classes so much that we continued to enroll and re-enroll in both the rally obedience classes and all 3 training level classes offered by the school. In due time (about 7 years later) it just progressed her to assisting at the school. Thanks to the Carolark family (especially Judy Miller, our rally obedience instructor) Holly and Bear are the first Miniature Pinchers in Canada to ever receive their titles from The Canadian Association of Rally Obedience (CARO). For those that are not familiar with the breed... just passing a leg at a trial is a remarkable feat in itself!!