Join us as we hear from McCann Dogs founders Marti and Deb McCann and ask your questions about how they found their way into dog training and how their team helps more than 600 dogs in their training facility and nearly 1000 dogs from all over the world every week!
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Happy Training! ~Ken
#dogtraining #dogtrainer
I have something very exciting to share With you because it’s a special edition Of the train station tonight Hello I’m Kel McCann and this is Ken Steve I really enjoyed doing it the Opposite way that we normally do it We’re excited to have you guys do Tonight because we have The train station uh rather than Focusing on you know puppy training and House training and all the things that We normally talk about uh we have some Super duper special guests guests very Special guest for a special event uh I Happen to know them really well and Their names are Devin Marty McCann and We are super excited to uh invite them To the stage and we are going to get Into some really great uh hot topics and Questions and learn all about the History of McCann dogs because this Weekend we are celebrating 40 years 40 Years This is the first train station it was a Live audience which is very unusual and Kind of exciting and a little bit Terrifying so it’s usually sitting in Front of a computer talking to you at Home and uh I guess well maybe not you Guys in the room but you at home about Dog training puppy nipping uh jumping up Solving your dog walking problems but Tonight’s show is a little bit different And I’m very excited to change the
Format up a bit So without further Ado let’s welcome out Deb and Marty McCann Now we have a series of questions that We’re going to ask them um that we’ve Come up with we’ve actually gotten a lot Of the questions from some of the posts We’ve put out over the last few weeks Things that people are interested to Know Um and uh to be perfectly honest I came Up with a few questions because I have I Know of several stories that I want them To share with everyone because they’re So great Um but uh throughout the live if you Guys have certain questions that you Want to ask let us know and somebody Will come by and get you a mic Um of course those of you are watching At home if you have questions you can Post them in the chat we do have our Moderators working today we have Um Aaron we have Robbie we have Kim we Have Lexi Um Dan the modern or Dan oh my God lots Of links Lucan I don’t know how I just Forgot his name he does have many names He has been promoted to uh showrunner Along with uh Rob and the rest of our YouTube team so we have lots going on But if you have questions in the chat You can let us know there as well and We’ll do our best to get to whatever we
Can now usually at this point is when Kale’s like got to probably say who we Are in case people haven’t watched us Before so this will be kind of fun to do That so did you say that already my name Is Ken steep this is Cal McCann we’re Professional dog trainers at McCann dogs But let me introduce you to the founders Of McCann dogs Hello my name is Deb McCann my husband Marty Marty started this 40 years ago never in a million years do We dream it would turn out the way it Did Um you know it just started out because We wanted to try and find a new way to Train dogs a more modern Techniques and and more current You know reward systems and um We decided he decided he didn’t like his Job and we decided to start our own Business training dogs and so it began In 1982 and we’ve been on a pretty much A whirlwind Journey since that time That’s for sure we actually have some Specific questions related to background In history so we’re going to start with That now before we Oftentimes in our train station we will Uh ask for you guys at home are joining Us from and um tonight’s a great Opportunity to find it where people have Come to join us from in in the room so
If you are from 15 minutes away put up Your hand about 15 minutes from now yeah Okay a couple of the couple in the Corner we know we know them very well How about uh 30 minutes away Okay How about an hour away Okay oh okay okay where are you guys That are an hour away joining us from [Music] Anymore okay okay we’ve got a couple People more than an hour away okay let’s Go go ahead from Toronto okay and Someone back here Victoria BC It’s very cool and V over there from Schaumburg and I think someone in your Room may have been from an hour away or More Uh from Ottawa wow very cool thanks for Joining us now in the chat on the live Stream I want you guys to drop where You’re joining the train station from we Love to find out and oftentimes after The show I’ll go through and uh you know Discover all sorts of places my Geography in high school was terrible But it’s exciting for me to find these Things out I mean we have students in Our online programs from 60 countries And it seems to be growing every day but It’s really exciting to find out where Our train station show reaches out to You know where our online students are Coming from and um it’s very exciting to
Have people that have traveled in to Hang out with us here tonight for the Live episode of the train station now we Kale’s created some really a great list Of questions but for those of you at Home we will be answering some dog Training questions but we’re going to Keep it at the end now if you’ve got a Question for Marty or Deb or Kayla or Myself uh make sure you drop it in the Chat and on that note let’s move on You love the phrase on that note I think I say it because of you okay We’re gonna start first oh I need to Interrupt oh I’m a bit concerned go for It some of my good friends have Threatened to sabotage this show so I Just want to make sure that the Moderator has a ability to mute or Sensor is there a delay okay that’s good That’s important And here we go never you have three Mccanns and one Steve Who’s Gonna Keep The Train on the road Versus McCann and now it’s McCann versus McCann versus McCann So I can see some people jumping in the Chat we’re joining us from Temple Texas Washington UK Vegas USA Burlington not Too far away uh from Eric Rochester UK California New Jersey Florida and the List goes on and on somebody uh ln23 is Joining us from Geneva Switzerland and Lots of people joining us from all
Around the world we’re super excited to Have you and uh I think we’ll move the Show along so that you can enjoy more of It Okay we’re going to start off with uh Asking about how you guys Um initially got involved in dog Training in the first place because Before the business started like how did You become involved in the interest of Dog training right from the beginning Like even prior to even wanting to have A business well Um I was going to college and living on My own in the bottom of a house and my Boyfriend at the time Um decided that I should have a roommate So he got me a narrative it wasn’t him No that wasn’t him okay Um so he got me an Airedale terrier and A puppy and um Marty was an Avid Reader Of uh of books about dogs he’s crazy About dogs so between his reading and Um my dog doing puppy training Um We trained this dog by herself Ultimately we went to the Hamilton Dog Obedience club I think she was born in June of 75 and we started classes in January of 76 and I started training my Dog and the ride home I was critiqued Endlessly By my so-called boyfriend And to the point where he eventually
Took over and he trained the dog through The rest of the course at the end of the Course I said Um forget it I’m training my dog you get Your own so we started training with the Hamilton Dog Obedience club and we did You know very well we went on to teach Classes there and as we were traveling Around at obedience trials we found There were all kinds of new and modern Ways to train and we wanted to use those With our own dogs and it always didn’t Uh Hamilton Obedience club is the old Was or is still the oldest obedient Club Probably in Canada I don’t know Ontario For sure and we wanted to do things a Little bit different and in an Organization like that change comes to Hard so we decided that we would start Just running some classes in our Backyard and eventually decided to go For it and rented a hall and in 1982 Formed a business and just with the Purpose of Uh trying to train our dog in modern Ways and you know just see what we could Do it was very very Um unplanned really so I think there’s a Lot of information there and I want to Dive into a couple specific Parts you Talked about how you wanted to use Different training methodologies you Were you had interest in more current Um you know ways of training dogs what
Made you decide on the methodology that Started McCann dogs what was the Difference Well the The training 40 years ago was quite Aversive you know dogs were trained on Chain callers which I train my dog you Know on train callers and and it was and We just thought there needed to be a Better way and so we attended seminars And tried to learn about new things Um the use of food in training was was Difficult back then people you know Didn’t think you should be bribing dogs And you know we uh were finding great Success with um with the use of food as A reward in our training and as a tool To teach We learned that that you needed to use Very positive ways when you’re teaching So that the dog learned what you wanted Them to learn without being worried About trying and getting something wrong We treated the learning phase very very Carefully with a lot of positive Reinforcement and but we also from our Training at the house dog bees club we Learned that the dog had to do as he was Told and that made us come up with this Saying called The best correction is the least the Least correction is the best correction Provided it gets the job done so you Know it’s one thing to use food or no no
No to your dog you know very little Correction but if that didn’t work then You had to find something that worked And what we learned that the different Things worked for different dogs that Was a huge thing that we learned that You know everybody’s not cut from the Same cookie cutter dogs learn different Ways you know you might have a Rottweiler that you trained on a flat Buckle collar and barely did any kind of A correction you might have a little Jack Russell Terrier that was full of Beans and required something more so Just through experimentation we started To develop things that we thought were Good solid foundation dog training you Want to add anything I can tell from a Space he wants to say something Um well I got started training dogs when I was about seven years old and um my Father a Wandering eye he liked women a Lot so my my mom kicked him out when I Was four and when he was when I was Seven I would go and visit my father Every second week his second wife was an Outstanding dog trainer my dad was an Expert horse tree and retrained Standardbreds and my grandfather was Quite a well-known Thoroughbred trainer Both were very successful so every Second week when I went to visit my Father I learned about horses and dogs So I got an early introduction to it
There was nothing to do at my father’s Home though there was for kids other Than horses and dogs so I read books Voraciously I read all about dogs and When I went my first dog training Classes at the Hamilton darbians club When I was about 20. they said I was a Natural I don’t know that I was a Natural I just had been studying it for More than 10 years anyways Um so Deb and I got an Airedale then When she didn’t want me to train her dog We got a second one we went to our first Try files and we both excelled Competitively and soon we had people who Wanted to learn from us and from there Step after so I could go on forever but I think I better Hand the mic back to Deb here we go Actually Um we thought it’s interesting to know At what point did you decide that you Wanted to go from like you were Basically a student of of dog training You were developing and educating Yourself when did you decide to go from Like a student and training dogs and Competing to actually you know teaching Classes and the deciding like okay this Is actually what we want to do with our Lives is we actually want to act start a A business what was the shift when did That start Well I think you know we had started
Experimenting with new methods of as I Mentioned earlier and I I clearly Remember training uh at Hamilton Dog Obedience club with a new Airedale I had Named keeper and I had been using all The new methods I had learned on her and Alongside keeper Um was a dog named Kyla owned by Allison McIntosh a wonderful dog and she was we Were training together and we were Training like taught like difficult Obedience things with puppies keeper was In Airedale and Kyla was a border collie And what I learned was watching Allison Train and she was quite a natural Um she would teach her dog to do Something and I would take three days to Do it with my Airedale you know two Steps forward one step back and we just Thought that we needed to have more Freedom to explore the type of training That Allison was doing and more positive Reinforcement and we weren’t going to be Able to do that within the confines of a Very well established Club Um When we started out in Canada dog Training There was no great dog trainers Particularly the Americans came up Weekend after weekend and they kicked Our butt they won one would come from Georgia one week they come first next Week from Kentucky and this is for a
Competitive obedience competitive Obedience from Michigan Etc they kept Showing up they kept winning and I said To my instructor at that time how come They keep winning and he said they’re Just better than we are and I thought to Myself why would they be better than we Are since I was a kid I’d played Sports In the states hockey and baseball and I Knew that we were just you know just as Good as anybody and so anyways Debbie And I sought out the American trainers We started going to seminars in the States we didn’t have any children we Traveled all over the place all we did Was dogs dogs dogs and we attended Seminars we mainly learned from American Trainers and one of the things that Makes me most proud is that now Canada Because of people like ukl are some of The best in the world Oh the first tears He held them back it was pretty good Um I I was setting up the question to get a Particular answer which I did not get so I’m going to rephrase my question Um there is a point uh that you decided To do a whole whack load of things in Almost the same year that was sort of The start of the business and Um that’s what I would like you to tell The girl okay well uh that year would be 1982 and in the summer of 1982 many of
You probably know Marty had open heart Surgery he had a misformed valve that Had to be replaced and it was replaced With a pig’s valve Um Well it was no he snorted oh like a pig Um anyways so at that time he decided That he wanted to I think I’ve already Said this he wanted to become a dog Trader he didn’t want to work at the Royal Bank for much longer and um uh That that year we started thinking about What could we do and in the fall of 82 We bought our first house by the end of The year we had started our own business And by less than a year later this thing Arrived Miss Thang in 1983 the fall of 83 Kaylee Was born and we were Off to the Races Because now we really had something to Uh earn a living for that’s great Um Weird laugh on the back Um when we were asking questions uh About the session there were a lot of Past students that had commented which Was really great to see and a lot of Them had referenced the business title McCann versus McCann and I was wondering If you could explain to every everyone What that means what does McCann versus McCann mean Well Um we had to come up with a name for our
Business and because Debbie and I have Been together now for 51 years we were Together eight years before we got Married and been married 43 years Um we’ve always been a partnership a Team equal so I thought well like Plumbers or carpenters will be McCann And McCann and quickly our close friend And trainer Faye Miller guest at the Time said McCann and McCann doesn’t make Sense for you too you speak again versus McCann and at that time the movie Kramer Versus Kramer was very popular so I knew It was catchy a little bit different I Thought it’d be more memorable and to This day some people still refer to us As that by the time we incorporate it Which I don’t know 1994 Deb says we then Were McCann professional dog trainers so That’s sort of the story in a nutshell Perfect Thank you there was a an agreeance in The background by a little Boston Terrier I think Um okay we’re going to get into some Questions Um about teaching Um so you guys were Um back when you were doing a lot more Teaching you were asked to teach all Over North America you guys did a lot of Traveling to different places Um do you have a specific place or a Trip that really stands out as being you
Know quite memorable Yes every time that happens we’re going To witness a McCann versus McCann moment Um yeah we did many seminars across Canada and um uh my personal favorite One was a seminar in quinell BC I went There three times the first time Marty And I went together the second time one Of our trainers Marie Salford who is um Has her own training school now she came With me and then the third time Denise Bond who was my office manager at the Time but also a very good dog trainer And had been our head instructor for us Before she worked full-time as the Office manager she came with me the Third time and it’s just that was on on Kid duty yeah Dad was on kid duty at That time And uh it was just really great because The people were so nice and so Appreciative and so Keen that it was Just like one of the most fun weekends I Had teaching people that were just Soaking up everything that you could Tell them and you know enjoyed it so Much they asked me back you know a Second and third time so that has got to Be my favorite I have two that come to mind one was in Eastern Canada the maritimes they flew Us from Toronto to Halifax picked us up Drove us over to Toronto Nova Scotia and Um the audience was so enthusiastic most
Of the men had suits and ties on or Jackets yeah and the trainers were of a Wide range of age they didn’t get many Leading trainers to come into their area So they’re very very um dedicated Enthusiastic so we really enjoyed I Enjoyed that a lot but one of the most Enjoyable most memorable is when we went To California yes we got hired to teach A seminar in Fresno California and we Also were hired to do some entertainment In a really spectacular Ballroom Stunning actually in uh in San Francisco So at the time there was a one of the World’s top trainers she wasn’t yet one Of the world’s top trainers but she Certainly is to this day and husband for Many years her name is Susan Garrett she Was one of our students one of our Instructors Kaylee was seven years old And so we took Susan and Kaylee and we Flew to Los Angeles did Disneyland and We did letting everybody know my real Name we did Hollywood we did Hollywood And we did um Yep we did Malibu it was five we rode Horses on Malibu Beach and um then we Drove to Fresno taught them fly ball Because for 15 years we were the best in The world at flyball that really is what Got us National and international uh Attention really was also being close to Toronto it’s important because it’s the Media center of the country so we’re
Always in the National magazine which is Dogs in Canada there’s no social Magazine in those days so um California Uh Mary Lou Retton anybody any old Timers remember Mary Lou Retton gold Medal winner for the gymnastics we were Sponsored by the Mars company who had The Mars chocolate bars Uncle Ben’s Minute Rice and Pedigree dog food Pedigree brought us in they paid us five Thousand dollars and we did Entertainment we had had to do 10 shows Uh every minute we they switched Audiences they had 10 ballrooms two Minute show and kale they have Susan and I the foremost did it and we had trained The people in France know to join us it Was one of our first entertainment shows Of a big magnitude and there was a cow There in the ballroom and it was just Fantastic and and one of the owners of Mars was um they said he’d never smiled Before but he smiled during our show and Um anyways that was a biggie then we After that we got asked to do a San Francisco’s 49er halftime show and they Were approached because our show was so Successful and uh the group that brought Us in that we taught actually in Fresno Was called Bark in the Park and great Group and um what else came on yeah they Did it and we’ve never gone to do the 49ers game but anyways because we’re Canadian that was sort of a strike
Against us you know I have a funny Accent but um anyways so that trip was Fantastic trip Fresno and we ended up in Uh we started out in Los Angeles Fresno And then we went to San Francisco and we Have since visited them that those Cities again we did the A1 Pacific Coastal Highway and we visited that area More than once because I I’m afraid of Heights I love driving along that Highway anyways we’ve come to bend up There for the for a U.S national Championships which Kelly’s competed in So did I for that matter give me that Microphone back So it yeah [Applause] So every every good story arc has you Know where the hero meets a challenge And you’ve talked a lot about your Successes and the things that have gone Really well but it’s often said that you Learn for more from your failures than You do from your successes maybe you can Get from each of you first devil asks You what’s one failure in your dog Training or maybe in the experience of Building up the McCann professional dog Trainers that change the way you looked At training or you looked at uh you know Business and uh what what did you learn From it well I was always very Anticipatory I I always anticipated Um you know cueing my dog we use the
Word yes to pinpoint good behavior so Um I was terrible I was always yesing Too early I did point out something Really interesting Debbie would take a Deep breath before no don’t tell my Story McCann versus McCann Um yeah You know I would I would I would say yes A little too early and I unintentionally Trained my dogs to do many things I Never intended them to do because they Got their keyword that they were Performing correctly and uh one that Comes to mind is I was teaching a dog to Do a go out which is you send the dog Away for obedience utility class and When they are ways away from you you Tell them to turn and sit and one of the Ways we teach that is to send them to Touch the wall so they go all the way Out and then you call their name and sit Well I would do that but I said yes too Soon and didn’t really pay attention so I effectively taught my dog to run out Spin in the air beside the wall and then Sit without ever touching the wall Because of where she received the yes Command and to get to Marty’s story Um I also always seem to take a breath Before I called my dog or gave a command And my dog still does that in agility Class and it wrecks her start line and I Have to tell her to not do that
Literally like a few weeks ago so I Didn’t learn No so my dog Bingo he would I would take A breath and initially he would like Break the Recall come too early but then He started but when I take a breath he Would just rock forward he was quite an Intense border collie and then I would Lose two points off my obedience score Because he was no longer in a Sit he was On his haunches but he was rocked Forward you could see air right through There and um so then I had to retrain Him Yes good dog I had to retrain him that The breath meant do not move and Um so we learned about timing that’s the Biggest thing yeah timing and subtle Body language is key to training a dog And when you get that you know under Control you really can Um make great strides with your dog Deb How did you identify that how did you Did you were you self-aware enough to Realize like oh I’m taking a breath or Was it did someone like the point I Wanted to make is having another person Observe you is really I was able to see It and we actually were early adopters Of video cameras very early which helped Us a great deal in obedience trials but Also in Fly ball we were you know Roger Nielsen was he called doctor video or Something like that in hockey we were uh
Doing exactly the same thing in the Sport of dog training yeah and this also Leads me to mention uh you know maybe You’re struggling with your puppy Training or your dog training and you’ve Tried everything and it’s just not going Right you know it might take uh you know One of our professional dog trainers to Watch a snippet of that video and in Seconds they can identify that little Thing that you’re doing wrong tension on The leash yesing too early so make sure You check out a link in the description Below to our puppy Essentials and our Life skills programs because I mean We we get the opportunity to work with People from all over the world and it’s Exciting for us and it’s it’s exciting To hear the success stories uh through That but you know sometimes you need an Actual human it’s not just watching a Video you need someone to look at your Look at what you’re doing and say like Ah all you have to do is turn your hand The other way and it can make a massive Difference anyway Link’s in the Description Um I’ll tell you two times that I goofed Up overdid it I overwhelmed my dog I was Leaving for the World Series to compete With my Airedale buddy and um I was Really wanted to do extremely well so I Was I I did too much I stressed him I Fried him as the term we used in those
For what I overwhelmed them and I Thought my goodness he’s going to do Terrible because I’ve got him so worried Anyways fortunately I had another a day Before we went and in that time I Changed my verbal commands I went from Using I’ve taught new words and then he Wasn’t stressed out because it was all Dependent upon that I did the same thing With a border collie that I trained to Do all the levels of obedience most People don’t know those names but that’s Novice opening utility before he was due I’m trained to all those levels and um That confused him and I had to I taught Him to come on the word come Yankee come And then when I realized that I’d upset Him and overwhelmed we had too much Going on I changed his command to here And that relaxed him and he did it so I Had a noise I would make too to relax Them when it comes to training um you Know you guys have uh helped thousands Of Handlers specifically one-to-one or you Know directly but you also have created This incredible team of dog trainers and Help those trainers to realize their Potential uh as dog trainers and they’ve Been able to help More than a hundred thousand dogs in This building which is very exciting With that in mind what’s one skill that Will ask both of you again what’s one
Skill that you wish every single person Would teach their dog in training and Why is it important well the one thing I Think that really lacks is verbal Control we are really big on this and People sometimes don’t understand what Verbal control means but that’s the Ability to manage your dog with just Your voice no leash I don’t even need a Caller you know the dog just needs to Learn has learned to listen to my voice And there’s all kinds of things that Contribute you think the dog is doing Something but because of different cues You’re not aware of the dog is not Responding to your voice but rather to Some other stimulus people call our dog And slap Um and you don’t realize that the kids Have their hand in their bait bag yeah Hand in their bait bag or they they Um they respond to a cue that is not the Queue you are hoping they responded to And in order to have verbal control you Have to be aware of what you’re saying And what is cueing the dog what is the Dog responding to and you know I could Give you all kinds of examples Um you know in in this Um one of the biggest factors that or Biggest things that we learned way way Way back probably prior to 1982 Um was in order to get your dog to walk On a loose lead no pulling no tension
Whenever the leash goes on the leash Remains loose you have to be able to Maintain the clip which is like the clip That you clip onto their collar hanging Perpendicular to the ground and if you Watch people with their dogs almost Ninety percent of them or more even to This day their clip is sideways these Should be held in a j shape or reverse GC you know it’s loose In being Unleashed off leash and In a loose leash you cannot attempt off Leash So that’s probably the single thing and We’ve used that term make sure make sure Your clip is hanging down You know perpendicular to the ground Because I’ll tell you an example you Watch a grade one class I agree I Graduate Oh life skills one class now I I judged The graduation just last week and um I Was watching the class and one of the Skills we do is they walk holding the Leash and the dog stops and sits beside Them but they also have to demonstrate Walking with the leash over their Shoulder completely hands-free and walk In class with all the other dogs and it Always surprises me that the dogs tend To do better walking with the leash over Their shoulder than the dogs when They’re on leash because the dogs when They’re on leash are getting these
Unintentional cues all the time little Pulls little you know this hand goes This way and you know all these little Cues that say to the dog you’re only Sure unleash you’re on leash so all that Matters to the dog that he’s been Managed by having a leash on not because That you’re beside them and you’ve given Them a command and when you take that Leash out of their hands the dog goes oh I don’t have any cues I remember Watching Marty once years ago with his Airedale demonstrating this to a class And he walked this was a wonderfully Skilled healing Airedale named Buddy and He walked down and he had his left hand On the lead and the dog was looking Around and you know pulling on the lead And he got to the other end of the hall He turned around sat the dog took his Hand off the lead and and just put his Right hand here with Alicia in his hand And walked up and the dog just went oh I Don’t feel anything I guess I better Keep my eyes on Marty and healed Beautifully on a total loose lead and That’s all because of what the dog Perceives as as their cue to behave Here let me say something Um in the in the simplest terms what I Say what people say what do you teach The dogs we teach them to listen and That is the same as verbal control loose Leash is crucial and there’s a lot of
Great dog trainers in this room but what We teach though is average people or Less than average people in less than Average dogs so really we aren’t dog Trainers we’re people trainers and That’s a skill Debbie’s been doing that Since she’s a little kid teaching people Various skills whether it was swimming Or CPR or how to teach dog training Classes uh my friend over here Ted Leslie says Deb’s the best trainer Of people he’s ever known and he’s a Schoolteacher himself I am immediately think of a couple As You may know if you’ve watched the YouTube channel I came here as a student Uh for many years as a student that Became a dog trainer I did the Apprenticeship program I met kale the Rest as they say is history yeah but um I think about the students that I helped In a very specific case and actually uh His mom and dad are in the room today But a friend of longtime friend of mine Cale and I went over to their house for Dinner and we uh we’re just hanging out And they trained their dog through grade Three uh or like our life skills three Program and we were hanging out getting Ready for dinner and they brought their New baby out and they had the baby uh You know he was gonna lie on the floor And play with his mobile and they said Hey Brooke go lie in your bed and I saw
That dog go to his bed and he went and He laid down and in that moment I Recognized the the impact that we could Have as trainers the influence we could Have on these people’s families it was It all just sort of came together and it Was that moment was so impactful for me It is there any moment that either of You can think of whether it was like a Personal experience with a dog where You’re like training is this is why we Train whether it’s a personal story or a Student do either of you have a Something that you can think of that Immediately comes to mind it’s hard to Top that one but I’ll try in a minute Let Deb Cooper well Um you know I have I have I have the Pleasure of working the last 40 years Teaching dog training teaching people Teaching people how to teach other People of dog training Um so I think I’m very blessed I’ve been Uh given the opportunity to do this Every day you know for many many years So to pick out one student that changed That I have lots and lots of memories of Um of favorite students Um but there’s one um one grade one Student that that I can remember life Skills one student sorry I’m old time Um and it uh she was having a terrible Time with the dog chewing up their Cushions in their living room and I’ve
Given her quite a serious talk about 100 Supervision and what she needed to do to Rectify this problem and so I sent them Home and they said you know they would Practice they came back the next week And they said yes we we practiced every Week and we went down we sat in the Living room we let the dog be loose And he just and we were supervising but He just chewed the kitchen the cushion Anyways And and I said you sat and watched him Chew the cushion while you were Supervising so that led us to have a Quite a fun discussion at work about 100 Supervised Vision means supervise and React you know supervise and stop it From happening you know like it just was One of those things that it made me Think that what you say they don’t Always get the full meaning of what it Is and we have to be clear to let them Know what you know their expectations Are of the dog and give them the tools To to work through that Um we had a student a policeman drove up From Grimsby and he did poorly week After week after week and then suddenly In the last week everything came Together so that’s when we realized just Have the students hang in there do it Keep at it and you know we can train the Dogs in four weeks what our students Take to do nine maybe six weeks or
Whatever but um nine weeks eight weeks Of uh classes and one week of learning The basics and the Foundation uh yes you May Um that when he when he when it kicked In for him in that ninth week he was so Happy and we were so proud we realized So important for us just to hang in There with them don’t let them drop out Of class make it fun for them make it Enjoyable for them don’t scare them off And I think that’s really been our Philosophy of our our business is keep The students in class keep them here Because they’ll certainly do better than They would have if they they don’t Attend or drop out and here’s a little Story that I’m proud of it’s not exactly Saving anybody’s life or anything but I Had a bulldog in class with an older Gentleman he looked sort of like a Bulldog himself he could have went you Could have won a competition and um in The class the dog was outstanding Outstanding and I said to him you know I Could give you private lessons you could Go to New York and win the national Bulldog specialty and I won’t charge Your penny just because I wanted to do It and I did and he won it no kick butt Yeah that was years ago wearing Rockton Anyways but we did have a a bulldog just To tell a story its name was Lucy it was Owned by Dennis in Dundas Ontario and it
Painted all its toenails different color Everyone painted its own well it didn’t But the owners did and man when they Called that dog on the recall it came Like a rocket and said I love Bulldogs Love them Um When you teach the beginning levels uh Head Start life skills uh one or grade One as we used to call it Um it is one of the favorite things that I had teaching because you were had the Most impact on people on the dog on People’s lives you know it was it’s a Pretty wonderful job that people come up To you on a regular basis and thank you And tell you how it changed their lives And their families live and it still Continues to this day even with the Online Um and but I also just want to drop in a Cute little story here I really love Training competitive obedience classes Not very popular anymore but back when You went Um back when you know years ago Competitive obedience was the only thing To do you could do Fly ball there was no Agility so everybody competed for Obedience titles your Companion Dog Title your companion dog excellent title And your utility dog and I love teaching Those classes and I have many many Stories highlights from uh Earl the
Great Dane who kept me in constant Laughter trained by Carol uh Lawrence Fred the pig trained by Carol Lawrence Fred went through grade one grade two Grade three grade four he went through Novice open and utility he learned to Play Fly ball and do agility was Absolutely remarkable dog pig pig Anyways he uh he caused us a lot of Great things but I have to say the Funniest story I had was Robbie Stevenson who’s moderating right now had Her first dog trained with us and he was A border collie cross pretty goofy guy Named Smithers and she was in utility or Maybe she was an open I don’t know and Anyways I was talking to my class and I Noticed that Smithers was nowhere to be Found So um we have the double doors open There because I was using both Halls so Robbie and I walked around the corner to See where he was He was sitting facing the wall just Sitting there and we walked down and Looked at him he was doing tricks to a Bag of wieners that was sitting on the Bench Nobody there to reward him but he was Waving and he was doing all these are Really smart or really stupid I never forget it it’s one of those Things that has sticked in my brain Forever I love that
Um we actually uh got a Super Chat and For those of you in the audience who Don’t know what that is Um people can Um donate money and we will answer their Question and um And when that happens we toot well Ken Toots Yes So uh this Super Chat is from Ash Gallagher Ash is a very dear student Diverse she’s been a student for a long Time she’s from um Australia I actually Know her quite well I’ve done many uh Lessons and stuff with her online she is Just a wonderful gal Um and she says on this topic uh thank You for giving me closer bond with Coda Than I could have ever hoped for uh when She got to walk across the stage at my Graduation to come She got to walk across the stage of my Graduation or come visit me visit me When I was sick the power of training Really hit home happy 40th thank you so Much Yeah so um just to give you a quick back Story ash has a little uh Eskimo Um American Eskimo and uh it’s a Spitfire and it was not an easy puppy to Train and she just like you said she had We had many of pep talks over zoom while She was an Australia and I was here and She just did everything we said and she
Tried hard and the dog knows like 50 Million tricks and it’s just like like One of our biggest success stories so um Yeah we’re all pretty proud of him we Love her a lot actually she submitted a Question so I might as well jump to it Now since we’re on the topic of Ash so This one’s for you Um I’m also curious to hear the answer Uh so I’ll ask my mom because she’s the Greatest Storyteller of all time Um Ash had asked what your favorite dog Training story Um about me is Well I um don’t tell that I have a few I have A few Um I went to Um many agility trial championships with Kale in her younger years before yeah to Worlds and national championships and You know it’s pretty great being able to Travel with your teenage and young 20 Daughter who didn’t care she was Traveling with her mother I always Really uh love that but we were she was Out Um later than I at one show one time Team yeah yeah and um she came back to The room we had another girl staying With us uh Kim Cullen Um and they came back and I’m in bed and They’re sneaking into bed Kim gets in Her bed Kelly climbs into a bed beside
Me and her dog Jitterbug decides to join Us I don’t have dog sleep in my bed I know That maybe sounds wild but oh we don’t Have the dog sleep in the bed anyways Jitterbug Jitterbug settles on my head Basically and I said Kelly get your dog Off and she no wasn’t being very Cooperative and I said Kelly get your Dog So she reached back to grab the dog Grabbed my hair gave me a Scruff shake And said get off the bed And then mom went give me Give me her and then I proceeded to die Of laughter for probably the next 45 Minutes I just scream into my pillow and She’s like every time she said Kel it’s Not funny I would just laugh harder Because it was hysterical I don’t really know what that has to do With dog training but it was funny it Was funny it was one of my favorite Memories One one other one was uh with Jitterbug too interestingly enough uh That’s a border collie of Kelly she we Were at her Um one of her first world championships In the Netherlands and um a jitterbug Was a really great dog wasn’t as fast as Some of the Border Collies around then But she was a really great dog and Kelly Ran clean all weekend didn’t have any Faults didn’t make any mistakes always
Play somewhere between second and fourth Probably in the class so she was doing Quite well and so we came time to get The awards and you know there’s all These people around and they’re Announcing the winners of like the each Jump height has an overall winner and Um you know I was kept my fingers Crossed that maybe she would sneak in in Third or something and I had my video Camera my other cam my uh still camera And I’m all ready and they announced Third and wasn’t Kelly they now second It wasn’t Kelly I didn’t think for a Minute she would get first I started Putting all my stuff away and then I Hear this screaming from the Canadian Team and pushing Kaylee as she’s walking You know down to the podium and uh and Uh and so then I madly try to pull the Video camera out again and she knows I’m Not a very good video auger Anyway so we get going and but we have a Really great photo of her on the podium She won Gold and she’s on the podium and Jitterbug is in the arms of the guy who Won second place He was from Britain and she’s just going Oh hi Hi so he did this and up she jumped and So that’s a picture kale in first place And this guy with Kell’s dog in his arm And her his dog in second place but I I Just when they played the national
Anthem there it was like nothing I’d Ever experienced before I mean I was Proud of Kaylee I was proud you know That she had done well and won but it Just really hit me hard and how proud I Was about her representing Canada in That situation Yeah Similar story Marty do you have a story That’s good Ah a dog named purple now and and she’s From Marty’s hero who was from kale Slice and she’s a great little dog and Um you know for years Um I was Kale’s mentor and traveled Around and walked horses and you know Helped her do her stuff until she got to Know more than I did But it was really interesting for me and A very interesting turn A fate where I had this new dog who was Very very fast and I am very very slow And she had to help me learn to run my Dog and train my dog you know with some Handicaps and it was just so fun for me To be the student and her be my coach And mentor and she made taught me how to Do things that I don’t know I might Never have learned to do without her Help and I steal my dogs turning nine Years old next month which horrifies me But the highlight of my life is training My dog purple in her class People
Yeah she’s a really good student by the Way and I’m not just saying that Unlike the person sitting beside her In um And then 1988 uh Debbie was pregnant had Our second Daughter Alexis Vera Lewis McCann also known as Lexi and so Debbie Was really busy with her newborn and her Pregnancy so I took over the training of Her dog Bingo and um I trained him and I Was really excited that I was going to Go in and do some serious butt kicking So just as I’m about to go in the ring She says give me that give me that leash Take the baby carriage and she takes the Dog she goes in the ring and uh a few of You in the audience know what a perfect Score is in obedience it’s 200. she got 200. her first perfect score Ben Debbie always says I’d say that Story because I’m bragging about myself Um I want to Circle back around for a Second because I’ve had the privilege of Sitting in on lots of dinner table Conversations talking about where Debbie Would walk the course and walk the Agility courses with kale where kale Would be maybe out following Marty Around trying to train when she’s just a Wee little thing Let’s talk a little bit about I don’t want to talk so much about that Time but when the teach the student Became the teacher in agility because
That’s been chaos focused for some time Now and you mentioned you know that Story just included your mom as a Student tell me a little bit about that Switch and when you recognized oh this Is so you know Kayla’s really you know Out on her own making great decisions it To a point where you know I wouldn’t Have made the same one well the switch The switch occurred slowly but for a Long long time Kelly was doing except Kale was doing exceptionally well and But we always used to say she didn’t Know what she knew you know like she Just she just was doing it sort of by Feel I sort of felt you know she’s she Spent a lot of time on obedience because We feel obedience Is the key to being an exceptional Agility dog basic training is the Foundation for everything and she knows That but it came I started to recognize It when she no longer was so Um Involved in herself and her dogs and she Was showing more and more interest in in Teaching other people and gained an Excellent instructor and she gained uh So much satisfaction from teaching her Students and see them do well and I Think you know that’s when I really Started to recognize that she’s flipped From you know the The Obedience Competitor which there’s a lot of people
That’s all they want is to do their Thing and do as well as they can but you Really saw her flip to where she had Obviously still wants to do as well as She can but I think she gains a lot of Joy and satisfaction from teaching other People For sure for sure okay let’s not talk About me it’s very uncomfortable Um uh dad We know well enough not to ask about Embarrassing stories about mom Um I can think of actually a couple About you but I’m not gonna go there uh But what I do want to know is you and Mom competed against each other a lot so Can you think of Any good stories about like you and Mom At a competition and like What was that like were you like did you Want to beat her always did you were you Like if I don’t win then I want you to Win or like what was the vibe how was That competing against her I was always Happy if somebody in our family or our Dog training organization did well and If I couldn’t come first I’d you know be Happy if she did or Faye or whoever it Would be any of our students and of our Instructors Um Boy I was going to say something and I’ve drawn a blank That’s unusual
Would you guys train and prepare for one Like before With one another You go would you collaborate about what You were doing like I know when I go With my crew of people we collaborate Because we all want to do well and I’m The same way of course I want to win Everything because I’m super competitive Thanks to you too but I also want like I’m Overjoyed when like my people do Well because you want them to do well Because everybody works so hard and There’s a lot of like collaboration There isn’t a lot of like Wanting to win over the other it’s like Is that how you guys were or was it like Definitely I helped you yesterday in our Backyard but today you’re on your own no We uh we we worked together and we uh we Talked all the time and analyzed and we Actually got kicked out of when we first Got married we lived in a little Apartment of fourplex and we got kicked Out because we came home from dog Training class we’d stay up all night Talking about dog training and when we Traveled and we went to the states so Much to learn seminars we just analyzed And broke everything down having the two People together was a real strength gave Us an advantage Um interestingly enough I got a couple Stories I competed with Kaylee and I
Felt the same way until a couple years Ago I had one of the fastest dogs in North America definitely not as well Trained as kales but superbly fast so Fast that two years in a row he ran last At Nationals in Steeplechase so for two Days you compete and then they rank the Dogs in reverse order the last day and Both days I was last I was the fastest But now it comes down to the crunch I would have to have a bio Reddit give Me that Give me that the thing is that his dream Had come true he won the Steeplechase he Was running last the course was made for His dog you know his dog was super fast And it was going to be easy for because Sometimes it looked like he was driving A Ferrari you know at uh exorbitant Speeds but and he couldn’t handle it no Um but it was all perfect but he was More excited about having his bio read Um Before he left so the dog’s on there and He’s out there and he’s just they’re all Waiting for him to read the bile because He had a big joke in it huge audience Yeah had a big joke in it and that was So much fun and then when he finally let His dog go it went uh Well what happened is all the dogs did Poorly because the surface was wet we Were no uh New Brunswick this time and Kaylee knew that everyone did poorly and
I’m running laps all I have to do is go Clean and I’ll win easily kale comes Over Dad Dad just go King just go Keen Anyways when I let out it was slippery And I’m old and I was afraid of falling And I got a little bit behind and I did Abysmally And to this day I regret not having my Moment in the sun anyway but my bio was Pretty good the crowd left and um that Is not surprising people for years later Still come up to me and say man that Pile was great Marty because I I made Fun of it I made fun of another person In a friendly way and it was uh yeah Whatever I’m still proud of that joke All jokes all jokes okay I gotta switch Gears a bit Um After 40 years of training is there Something that you uh notice about dog Training or Um even pet owners or people today that Differs from what you like what was Happening in years past Okay I’m going to go back to the Beginning after the second world like The beginning of this talk no because You want you want what happened recently I want to go back to the beginning so After the second world war The Men Who Came home from the second world war had Trained German Shepherds we’re going way Back yeah I’m going to cut to the chase
So they came they came back from the Second world war guys like Bill Keeler For example famous dog trainer trained Uh you know movie in Hollywood but he Was a trainer and he taught methods that Were uh by today’s standards that would Be considered very harsh all of the Instructors were men and all the the Raising of children in the household was Pretty damn harsh right and um suddenly Though in the early 70s women started Getting involved in the training and the Breeds changed from German Shepherds and Working hard-working dogs to Gold Retrievers and Shetland Sheepdogs and Poodles and stuff like that so Debbie And I I saw guys who were really nice Men but they were being taught like Gentlemen but they were being taught to Be harsh and they’d weren’t comfortable With it we weren’t allowed to use food In our dog training Club it was a No-No Not just within our club but that was You know North American wide no no food So we were early adopters of using food And we were considered weird some people Loved us and a few people thought we Were sassy sissies anyways but soon we Started to Excel and uh we we started Getting followers and that’s where we Are today really is oh okay you finish Off the 40 years then go ahead Well today today I think Um
That you know people today are not Um as strict as they were in the past to Their detriment I think sometimes and That’s part of our job as dog trainers Is to teach them about what is Appropriate and what is appropriate yeah How to be a good leader how to set high Expectations because people tend to Treat the dogs you know sometimes like Kids and um you know want the quick Answer they want the secret of the Secret to get their dog to come when Called or whatever but what it really Boils down to is that Um you know there is no secret but what You need to do there’s no quick fix no Quick Fix You need to train your your Puppies early you need to train your Dogs regularly people don’t understand How important training regularly Training every day not necessarily going Out and doing you know big long Obedience training session but just the Management of the dog on a date day Basis and and teaching the dog to have a Good relationship with him relationship Is so important the dog needs to know That you’re in charge that you make the Rules that you Dole out the goods and When things go well you make them feel Like a king or a queen you know so they Need to learn that process and Um uh You know what we know about dog training
Is that the Training doesn’t have to be harsh we’ve Developed methods where we don’t need a Lot of physical correction anymore not Like they did in Years Gone by because Of proper timing body language because Of understanding Um you know repetitions of right that’s Another one thing that we want the dog To do things right the dogs learn so Much easier without the need and Um the dogs just need some basic Foundation and um But I think it’s it’s different than it Was before people were a little bit more Willing to correct which surprises me Because that was the day and time people Are not willing to correct their dogs Um Um these days but but um but we need to Come up with methods to help them Realize you know how to get those dogs To listen Um without Um with a minimum the least correction Is the best correction that’s what’s Important Um and to find that secret for each Individual dog we always tell people That it’s really about motivating it’s About motivating your dog because you Know you can be a good leader you can do All those things but if your dog doesn’t Want to listen if your dog doesn’t want
To please you if your dog doesn’t want To listen to you then it doesn’t really Matter you can put a stake in front of Their face or you could give them the Hardest correction it’s not going to Actually affect change so a lot of the McCain method and you know what I’ve Learned and obviously in obedience and I Take this over to my agility coaching All the time it’s Um motivating the dog I can’t tell you How many times I’ve watched somebody do Something and I’ve literally had naps More exciting than what they’re doing With their dogs and because they’re just They don’t know how to make that dog Tick and once they figure it out all of A sudden the dog’s like oh you’re Talking to me that looks like a lot of Fun and then it just gets better and Better and better and better so what You’re saying I think is is spot on and Then a lot of it has to do with with Motivating the dog so that they actually Want to do it kenjamin has a question Oh yeah I do a question So with that in mind understanding the Importance of leadership seeing the Evolution of training over the years When we started to work on an online Training element of McCann dogs Um what was your what were your initial Thoughts and now that we’ve helped tens Of thousands of people online what how
Do you see online training what’s Do you see it the same way you did at The beginning I know this is a real Question for me because I was not a fan Of online training I I just I just Didn’t get it I didn’t you know I taught Classes for so many years and loved it And had fun with it and you know saw People make great Improvement and I got So much positive feedback from teaching You know every day every week every Class and to do this online I just Didn’t get it I didn’t understand how You could possibly have the same Response and boy was I wrong holy smoly Um the online program that these guys Put together in March April of 20120. Um we had had a small online presence Prior for about five years prior to that But when we were shut down with the Pandemic in March of 2020 we had to lay Everybody off but seven people we called Them the skeleton crew and they put Together the most amazing program and Developed it over the last two years and It is truly remarkable I mean the the Program the lessons and the dog training Is all really good but what really hits Home is the feedback they get we have a Team of online dog trainers that that Learn to teach here in uh in class Um in person classes and they you know Answer questions is 24 hours a day
Six days a week you know you can get Answers to your questions personal Answers to your question and there’s There’s Zoom calls once a week where People get together from all over the World we have a group of of ladies that Live in all different six of them I Think all different countries and they Keep saying as soon as the pandemic was Over they’re all coming here for a Holiday they’re coming here and they’re Gonna get a hotel and they’re going to Come and visit us for a week and see What we do here and meet each other Because they only know each other from Online the online program just has Really blown my mind it is so much more Than I thought it could ever be and Hands off to those group of you that put That together That was not easy to convince you know She was the toughest critic that we had Which is always important as anybody Who’s been coached knows uh that you Need to be pushed and you need to make Sure that you can figure out all the Little bugs and and then have you know Results at the end that’s the most Important part and I’m sort of almost Third party watching from the outside Because I’m not as involved in the Online training program but seeing our Amazing uh trainers in there it’s it’s Exciting to watch these people who are
In you know uh halfway tens of thousands Of kilometers across around the world Being successful with their dogs because Of something kale mentioned or something That Robbie’s mentioned or something That another one of our online Instructors has you know watched this Clip and said oh you know what would be Good is you try this little thing or the Zoom calls you know when you have these Conversations with people on a zoom call And you can you know you can really you Can affect so much change with like good Leadership advice or just you know tiny Tweaks uh in your dog training and it’s Fun for me to see it evolve as well Again from the outside It reminds me of what Ash said about Changing your life Robbie was away on Vacation last week and I ended up having To cover her for a zoom private and I Haven’t done one in months and I Initially was like oh I’m so busy trying To prepare for the 40th I don’t have Time for this and uh I did the lesson And it was Um I don’t remember she was somewhere in The states and I can’t remember where She was now but um I did the lesson with her and Um the lesson was about trying to get The dog simply to go in a crate so that She could leave her house the dog was Just out of control running just ruining
Everything in her house and she was Getting ready to get rid of the dog Because she’s so frustrated because she Can’t get anything done because she Can’t put the dog in the crate she can’t Leave so it was a 30 minute Zoom private By the end of the zoom private the dog Was running in the crate lying down for Cookies she could close the crate she Could go around her house she could go Outside and come back in and she was Almost in tears at the end of the 30 Minutes because now she could go out for Lunch with her with her friend or Something it was like and I got off I Thought that was so rewarding like that 30 minutes was so rewarding for me Because I literally that lady can leave Her house now without being stressed That her dog’s gonna eat something or Hurt itself or whatever and she just Needed to learn how to get the dog not To panic and to go go in the crate so it Really and it happened on a zoom call on Like a random Wednesday at like noon or Something like that it’s just it really Is uh quite incredible a couple super Chats a couple super chats to mention I need to huge thank you to Shanny Blake 100 Super Chat since we love you Shandy Thank you happy 40th McCann dogs thank You to Debbie and Marty for training Kale to help agility obsessed people Like me the can dogs is filled with the
Most wonderful people and you just Deserve all the successes thank you Sandy and for Albert Rossignol Albert all of our favorite people Albert Says if it wasn’t for online training we Would have no proper training uh we have No proper training in our area and Willow would not have a home with us Without that Foundation super huge thank You to Albert you guys are awesome Um okay I’m gonna wrap up to uh one of Our last questions there and if there’s Anybody in the audience that has any Questions that they would like to ask You can start thinking about that we can Come to you in a second Um let me ask Dad uh the business has Been successful for 40 years now and Going strong Um you might not be able to name one Thing but what do you think the like Driving force behind the success is why Why after 40 years are we where we are Well and not still in the basement and People that work with us are um Gifted there’s no doubt about that like The online program isn’t because of Deb And I it’s because of our staff and We’ve so many gifted Talent skilled People but I think that a lot of people Want to leave their careers and come Into dog training because it is so damn Rewarding we’re rewarded every day the Testimonials are like
Overwhelming so many of them have been For years in person the online though I Think the students online are getting Even more reinforcement and More contact With the instructors than they do in Person and I don’t know each has its Strength but online is in many cases Stronger because of the close contact With like kale and Ken aren’t doing it All them and I we have 55 people and They’re all talented and the really cool Thing is when the pandemic hit we lost Five employees who moved away from the Area or retired because maybe they were Grandmothers and they needed to now stay Home and look after their grandkids Because their their children had to go To work or they wanted to move to Eastern Canada because financially it Was advantageous Um we lost five or six some of them were Here 30 years and so that’s a lot of Institutional knowledge that we lost but What’s happened is we went through our Learning phase and now we’ve got we’re Even stronger than we were before we’ve Got people coming back trainers that Have that are art trainers McCann method Trainers Robbie Stevenson unbelievable world Class she’s up in north of berry Christine Leslie’s back here I mean uh There’s somebody out in Victoria BC Who’s rocking our whole business so
We’re really we’ve got so many new People just coming in you’ve been Interviewing people and they are really Superb because they they enjoy what we Do a lot of talent I think part of our success people often Ask us this Marty and I were both very Good dog trainers I don’t know why but We just seem to get it from the Beginning Um but we also had a very strong passion To teach people and I you know I think Just like especially me but Marty also Really got great satisfaction out of Teaching people but the most important Thing is we came into this building with Very different skill sets if I had Started this business it wouldn’t be What it is today if he had started this Business it wouldn’t be what it is today But the combination of the two of us With very different skill sets allowed Us to grow this business Marty was in Charge of sales and marketing and Um Finance you know all that sort of end That business oriented stuff that made Us successful in that respect and I was Involved in the programming and the Staff management and the staff training And and and the administration of the Business and you know I would be lousy At what he did and he would be lousy at What I did but together We had the skills I think to take
Something a business that there was no Business of dog training there were Clubs and there was usually non-profit Clubs there was no for-profit clubs There was nobody to learn from nobody to Watch watch nobody to see struggles Through we really were we were you know Going blind trying to figure out what to Do and I think that you know we’ve been A team and without the team this would Never have happened and we happened to Get lucky and produce some kids that That well pretty I’ll finish that Sentence That produced some kids that um that are Pretty darn great kids and you know the Future of this business is theirs Um well I was going to say all three of Them are fantastic and have have strong Skills in many different areas and then They went ahead and married Ken kale Kale yeah Hail kale kale married Ken and I don’t Know if you know about Ken But Ken is One of the hardest workers I’ve ever met In my entire life Um you know he’s a full-time fireman And he works a full-time job with us Oh a man and then I mean we all know That he has YouTube channel is off the Charts with his 1 million subscribers Which is uh unheard of it’s like one Percent I think of content creators ever Get to 1 million and we’re a dog trainer
So that’s quite an accomplishment but You know the YouTube videos how many YouTube videos you have 700 YouTube videos for free for people To To learn from I mean without without Ken The you know we wouldn’t be able to go Forward in the future yeah Shannon Villaso she’s not here tonight Unfortunately but she was with that Online program when it started in what 2000 and yeah 2015. she’s still there You know running everything from behind And Um My Daughter Alexis married a Wonderful guy Kieran many of you met He’s an executive chef and he’s uh he’s You know we’ll figure out some way to Get him involved in the business before Too long Um but uh you know we’ve been very Blessed we’ve had great kids great Future in in them but the odd thing I Want to say is we have been I’m already Touched on this we have been surrounded By great people you know Marty and I Could never have done this alone they The great people from the office staff To our maintenance staff to our Full-time dog trainers to our associate Instructors it boggles my mind thinking About all the exceptional people that Have come to work with us over the years But we have been very very blessed with
Talent Beyond Comprehension to be honest and You know you can give Marty and I a lot Of credit but you know what the smartest Thing we did was surround ourselves with All these amazing people because we are Just very very lucky Foreign Well there’s a couple things that I want To mention Um enough we’re going to go to the Audience in in studio in Training hall Audience if you guys have any questions Let us know just raise your hand we’re Going to get a microphone out to you I Do want to mention for the uh amazing People that have dropped the super chats Tonight Um we’re actually working with the Ontario Veterinary College you OBC pet Trust and all of our Super Chat Donations tonight are going to research In canine cancer so we’re really excited About that so for those of you at home I Don’t know which camera somewhere on the Tally light but for those of you at home Who are um you know if you’re watching And you’re in your donating tonight a Huge thank you all of the donations 100 Are going to uh research canine cancer At the ovc Have another Super Chat I think this might be for Marty and Deb So from
Tpal07 thank you for the Super Chat I Can’t forget to toot Um asks what is the biggest personal Lesson training dogs has taught you the Biggest personal lesson that training Dogs has taught you Patience for me some people assume I’m Patient because I’m a dog trainer nope I’m not Dog the dogs have trained me yeah Um Well I don’t want patience for me ah Yeah Well they I I’ve totaled I mean a lot of Dog training things obviously they’ve Taught me but if you’re looking for Like A Life Lesson Um Well that’s sort of interesting you know I had a job in Recreation for the first Uh Until 1988 I guess 1989 and while I was Working for the incaster recreation Department I learned uh I went to a Conference and they were doing these Tasks about goals and wants and needs And you know how you get those out of Your jobs and stuff and the entire time I was doing that I thought My needs my goals my wants are all met By dog training teaching dog training Classes and training my own dogs and Um I think you know I I learned that I was such a very lucky individual to
Have an opportunity To learn from the dogs to to like to Watch a dog learn and to watch a human Learn I don’t know I’m not answering This question very well but it’s just it Just it just it there’s I just feel so Grateful that I have learned Um things about human nature Um by watching them work with their dog And being able to read human body Language because as Marty said earlier We really have been trainers of humans Not trainers of dogs sure we train our Own dogs and did very well at that but Training people is another whole ball Game but one which I really really love And um Um I’m just very thankful that I was Been given the opportunity to do this For the last 40 years Um is there anybody in the audience who Has any questions For Mama McCann Or Doug yes want to be the microphone Taker over Oh it’s me Um I have a question for I guess all of You No unfortunately where do you see the Mechanics oh okay my name is Christine Kubota and I have been a McCann Instructor for I think 15 years here so I’m enjoying my evening tonight so it’s
Great where do you see like what is the Vision that you see in the next 10 20 Years this is not my vision it’s Kent Okay He’s been the largest dog training School in the world in person In person uh at one time we trained over 750 dogs every week and we had to for Various reasons we had to as we expanded Our facility we just management and Timing and that sort of thing scheduling Is we had we’re down to like 600 dogs a Week now so it wasn’t because of lack of Demand Um Ken wants to make us the largest dog Breed in the world that’s his goal Breathe breathe I didn’t say breed did I Yes I didn’t mean to say breathe I meant I meant to say the word brand Those lights are throwing me up brand That’s that’s Ken’s goal I love it thank You I don’t think we’ll ever not have In-person classes I mean there’s always Been you know the possibility that Online has surpassed or in person Um you know in this this last year and Um it saved our bacon through the Pandemic Um but we will never not have in-person Classes this is a training ground for All those people that do all those good Answering on the online program this is This is where we have an apprenticeship
Program you know and right now we have Six apprentices that are just finishing And boy are we excited about these six New so they spent an entire year going Through an apprenticeship program and Learning our method and how to teach and Now they’re going to come in and start Become instructors in class and then Some of the really skilled people will Then potentially move off to work in the Online program and answer all the Questions in in and video reviews and And zoom calls that that we do online I I see it as a A you know it’s there’s two pieces to This you know we may not always train 600 dogs a week you know we’re running Four days a week now we used to run six Days a week Um but uh we may not always do that many But I think we’ll always do in-person Classes We should probably preface that the Apprentices come from our classes so They’re all students already and we see Something in them in their training Ability and I know what I look for in a Lot of what other people look for is Their personality will they be a good Teacher because there’s lots of great Dog trainers out there but they’re not Good people people and that’s really What makes a great instructor is a dog Trainer but also they need the ability
To teach and coach and help and support People so that’s another thing we look For yeah let’s get back to Chris’s Question for a moment uh you know we we Are working on some Really exciting things that are Happening our presence in the digital Space on YouTube our presence you know Worldwide it Kells reputation and Agility as well as our reputation as Obedience trainers there’s a there are Some things that we’re working on you Know from that platform that are very Exciting that I can’t mention quite yet But I will say that it’s it’s bigger Than dog training and uh that’s pretty Exciting for us uh and we’ll drip stuff Out in the YouTube channel so make sure You hit that subscribe button but uh We’ve got some big things planned yeah Yep go ahead okay we have another Question over here Oh I’d Carol and one of the instructors And Ken year was a great segue to my Question because um I don’t know Deborah Marty probably kale Um part of that when I hear it that’s Super exciting and I get excited but I Think if I own the business and the Financial pressure part of that would Scare the crap out of me Ken’s talking About that stuff and some of the things With Ken starting the YouTube Um some things I’ve asked to do and you
Guys have been so supportive in trying Those but how do you balance that with The business risk and doing some of Those different things is up and hard Wow this is like a tell-out with the Can Employees I love it I guess it’s called Being an entrepreneur yeah and being in The business for 40 years so we have a Good idea what cash flow is and risk Taking Our ability yeah yeah I think I think You know Um can work so hard for us and he has All these great ideas and uh if he wants A new camera or a new light or a trip to Los Angeles to a convention we just say Yes You know because you know it’s it’s Worth it when you surround yourself with This kind of people Um anything’s possible so Um you know Marty looks after the money And you know he he Doesn’t be silly with it I don’t know How let’s describe that Um but I think that uh We’ve set Ourselves up over the years being fairly Conservative people that going forward In the future looks good for us Carol we’re going to develop a parkour A course on the property we’re lucky we Have this beautiful 20 acre property so We can do that cool We’re lucky to have you buddy very lucky
Any other questions Hi I’m Norman Nelson and I am a student At mccanns I’ve already often wondered You were always obedience And then When did agility come in who was the one Who brought it in Well we did we did agility When it first originated my bingo was Born in 1985 and Marty maybe can give You a little bit more details but we Started doing agility Um and Kelly was just a young kid Um With With usdaa in in the states and AAC in Canada Okay well because we were um Known within the dog world as the best Fly ball trainers were world champions For many years the crufts if anybody’s Familiar with the most famous dog show In the world it’s in England called Crufts the crufts agility Champion would Come over every year in December to see Us personally at the Credit Valley big Which was the biggest show in Canada and Then they would give us ideas and then They wanted to learn we would exchange Our ideas about Fly ball and they we Would learn from them about agility and Then a club that you’re a member of Swansea which we taught at for a while To tell you the truth in Toronto they
Were one of the early they hosted trials So we went there and competed and we Learned from the British because they Were the best and they learned from us Because we were the best in Fly ball and As it was growing in the states uh we Attended seminars in the States on Agility we Um you know we weren’t afraid we’re Afraid to try new things I remember Those of you that know agility and the A-frame it had slots on it and in order To do the touch the contact on the Bottom we tried to figure out a way that Would teach the dogs to go all the way Down to the bottom which you have to Touch the yellow or are you fault and Anyways Kelly probably started doing a Frame like this they went up to the top And then they went step we used to say Step step step step One slot at a time all the way down to The bottom and then we realized how Crazy that was I mean we were Innovative Dog trainers so we had a new skill but We just kept trying things and Experimenting we had our own Training Hall in Rockton then when it was first Coming around in the early 80s and you Know the actual date it’s on the board No the with agility it’s on the board Out in the lobby 86. Um but then we ventured into the states
And uh I think Kell was in her first USDA trial when she was like eight eight Or nine years old and I was in the same Class as her and she beat me yeah I was Bingo and it was it was fun Because he was so fast and I had to they Had a rule that allowed you to lie your Dog down So um during the course you know they Had rules about it but because my dog Was so fast and nobody knew what to do With them I I didn’t able to handle Where she was with her dog Piper and she Would just run around the course with Her side by side and never make a Mistake and she used she used to beat me All the time I should have known that She was headed for greatness Okay we have to wrap up shortly here I Think we have the time for a few more Quick questions nope just one more or no More okay Um Violetta hessing oh Mrs McCann you spent so many years Announcing the beautiful shows Um everywhere when we did demos and I Was wondering if you could tell us the Funniest moment that made you You know the the most amusing moment That you had in your time announcing the Show oh well there are a few what well That that actually is uh I’m Dan McCann The youngest McCann child that is kind Of what I was gonna ask about too I
Don’t know if it’ll inspire you or not But one of the stories that we’ve heard A lot in the McCann family is about the McCann Dog Stars doing the World Series When the Toronto Blue Jays uh won 1996. Then 92. uh so Mom and Dad have told Many different stories about uh the Entertainment shows and V’s asking a Question there’s many to choose from Whether that’s the Calgary Stampede Indianapolis Ontario Place Royal winter Fair take your pick well v Um V started training with with agility Actually and when she was 13 years old So what year was that kid She would come from Toronto with a Fellow named John Grant Norma you Probably knew John Grant he was into the Beginning of agility when it’s started And she would train and she was a part Of our entertainment shows for years But there’s one I want to showcase my Middle daughter Alexis she was quite Young we were at the Royal winter fair And she was racing Um A Fly ball I think with my dog Kino and She was young when she was out with the Dogs giving getting them exercise before Coming back before coming back to race Fly ball in front of this huge audience And so she was outside they’re all Outside and they’re all walking back in And she had this long tug toy and they
Line up and she throws a tug tie over Her shoulder and holds her dog and Everybody’s going what smells and uh Then everybody turns and looks at Lexi While she was walking outside like a Little kid would do she she dragged her Her long tug toy and got covered in dog Poo and and then she threw it over her Neck so now she’s covered in dog poo in The middle of a demo and everybody was Cracking up just trying to get the show Done she did not think it was so funny But we have laughed about that for years For years We went when we did the Sky Dome the Blue Jays won the World Series game six Was played in Atlanta it was the first Time in Canada I think that they’d ever Opened up a stadium and so there was 50 000 fans and they were drunk and uh they Were just crazy Canada was crazy about The Blue Jays the potential for winning Their first World Series and Um so Debbie went up to the announcers Booth where uh Tom and Jerry talked from And I’ve got a an earphone in she’s got A mic and I’m down on the baseball Diamond gonna organize the show The Crowd was drunk And they’re young and they’re Wild and The camera pulled a close-up of V he was Sitting right there with the toucan 30 And she’s got a little dog it’s named Skippy his little black skipper key dog
And when they pulled the the camera on Her this great big uh Jumbotron Crown Went nuts and they never stopped Cheering and the person who’s the some Of the facility persons was with me and They said you know what we couldn’t Communicate with Debbie so they told Debbie just go ahead with the show Normally when we do our show as the dogs Race down the crowd cheers and then Somebody wins and the crowd quiets and Then they next time cheers quiet these Guys were so blitzed and never stopped Cheering it was crazy crazy so I as a Fool sent that videotape out to Brandon Manitoba where we did the Manitoba Royal Winter fair and the guy lost it I could Kill him so I don’t have the live Footage we’re looking because some of The people they’ll be here this weekend They might be able to dig it out I have Some still photos but that was really Man talk about a high when the Blue Jays 50 000 people going crazy crazy I need to mentioned that we’ve had a Couple super chats uh from a couple of People Sue Kay uh a 10 super chat for The cancer research Amanda uh Schadenheim uh yes for the cancer Research search another 10 super chat so Thank you guys for everyone who’s Donated tonight we’re also taking Donations this weekend is all about the Fourth anniversary of the McCann dog
Celebrating uh you know what you guys Have uh accomplished and created uh and That’s really exciting so for those of You who are at home tomorrow we’re going To be live streaming a um uh agility Show the mechan Dog All-Stars at about 4 P.M Eastern Standard Time so wherever You are the freestyle disc and a bunch Of other things yeah so there’s some Pretty some pretty cool stuff to see Absolutely yeah with five time disc dog World champion champion Carol Lawrence In 21 time agility uh world champion Cal McCann in her agility stuff but I want a Huge thank you to Marty and Deb Um I mean we talked a lot about the Business we talked a lot about dog Training and I think we’re sort of left With that sense of you know what would You try if you knew you couldn’t fail And it’s such an exciting way to look at The world and you know see the growth That can happen uh with when you Recognize that kind of potential So with that said with all of the Teaching all of the training all the Things that we’ve talked about tonight The rest my friends well that is up to You happy training [Applause] Thank you everybody huge thank you to Our YouTube Studio staff as well huge Thank you to those guys for making this Happen you guys
Huge thank you to all of our Traders our Amazing traders who are in here in blue Helping people every single week here in The training facility Our studio audience or our YouTube Audience thank you guys for joining us Happy training we’ll see you guys soon [Applause] Foreign