Meet Our Training Team
At High Tails Pet Resort we take pride in having some of the top dog trainers in the country. Each of our trainers is an expert in their field of specialization and has certifications to back that up. We believe our clients deserve the best! Our trainers regularly participate in professional development and compete in the sports that they teach. Our trainers are judges, performers and avid dog lovers who are committed to humane and science based training methods.
Amanda Poluck, IAABC-ADT
Amanda is an Accredited Dog Trainer through the IAABC. She also volunteers as Secretary and Host for trials with a number of different dog sport organizations, including CARO Rally, CWAGS Obedience, IWPA & APA Weight pull and PSA. Her journey in dog training started out with passing on her knowledge to train new teams in the sport of weight pull. As her enjoyment of dog sports grew, she started competing in Rally, Obedience, Bite-sports, Scent and NASDA. Amanda then branched into behaviour training when her husbands first sport dog a Cane Corso started having issues with reactivity at the age of 2. She wanted to gain a better understanding of the why behind this behavior and the ways to resolve the problem at its root.
Amanda has over a decade of experience in dog training and teaches a variety of classes at High Tails as well as offers private lessons. Her classes range from Puppy and Manners classes to CGN prep and Sport classes. Her Reactive Rover class holds a special place in her heart as her passion is helping dogs and their owners work together on this challenging issue. Amanda makes sure to attend seminars each year with a focus on Reactivity and Aggression to make sure she is aware of the current science and best methods to work on these issues.
Amanda's current partner in crime is an Olde English Bulldogge named Draken who she competes and holds titles with in Rally O, Competitive Obedience and Weight pull along with dabbling in other sports. She is one of the Training Directors for the Western Canada Pull Club. Amanda shares her home with her husband Mickey who is a APA & IWPA Weight pull judge, his sport partner Wick the German Shepherd, their cat Tony and 2 snakes.
Kara Bellingham, CPDT-KA, CTDI
Have fun with your dog, communicate with your dog and connect with your dog is Kara’s training philosophy! Enjoy and learn from every training moment, improve in what the team is doing and push to get to the next level!
Kara has a true love for all dogs and dog sports. She and her dogs perform with the Presidents Choice Superdogs, she has her Certified Professional Dog Trainer, Knowledge Assessed designation (CPDT-KA), she is a certified trick dog instructor through Do More With Your Dog (CTDI), is a supporting member of IAABC (International Association of Animal Behaviour Consultants), and is a certified Head Judge and Trainer for disc with Up Dog Challenge. She trains and has competed in Agility (AAC), Nosework, Dock Diving and Disc Dog, with her true passion being Freestyle Disc. Kara trained under Marion Paulson in disc dog and has attended many seminars including PVYBE with Ron Watson and Apryl Lea, Freestyle Disc with Andrea Rigler, Freestyle Disc and Dog Dance with Lucka Plevova, Freestyle Disc with Shaun Hirai, and many more! She continues to attend seminars whenever possible. Kara has travelled across Western Canada and through the USA where she has competed and placed in Skyhoundz, AWI, UFO and Up Dog Challenge.
Kara shares her home with her husband Shawn Bellingham who is an Up Dog Challenge Judge and their five dogs Piper, Electric, Treble, Hexadecimal and Waffles, who all go everywhere with them! She is an active member of the Calgary Disc Dog Club, they host competitions, fun matches and learning sessions where she has helped train many new disc teams. Disc in Alberta is a very up and coming sport, her goal is to keep watching this sport grow here!
Kara teaches a variety of classes at High Tails including Puppy class, Disc Dog, Agility and Tricks!
Carrie McAunual, CTDI
Carrie is a Calgary-based certified dog trainer, Certified Trick Dog Instructor/Evaluator, and an SDDA Judge (Sporting Detection Dogs Association).
Whether you want to teach your dog a fun game to play around the house or have your sights set on becoming a successful competition team, her program will get you and your dog started on the right foot/paw. Over the last 15 years Carrie has developed her scent detection curriculum using science based training to give you a comprehensive set of foundational skills.
She and her German Shepherd, Glitch, are very active competing in a variety of sports across numerous organisations. Carrie and Glitch became the first Calgary-based team to earn their SDDA Elite Championship and Grand Master Championship titles. In 2024 they had the honour of competing on an international stage finishing second at the North American Invitationals.
Carrie is currently training her baby Chinese Crested, Gallifrey, to compete in multiple scent disciplines. She is excited to see what they can achieve together.
No matter the age of your dog from puppy to senior, scent detection provides valuable enrichment for your best friend. Nothing makes Carrie happier than providing an inclusive classroom environment to help teams grow and achieve their goals.
Carrie teaches the Scent Detection classes at High Tails.
Janilee benell, cpdt-ksa, cbati-ksa, ctdi
Janilee Benell, CPDT-KSA, CBATI-KSA, CTDI started out with a passion for helping reactive and fearful dogs reach their fullest potential. In 2016, she competed for the first time with one of her dogs in WCRL Rally obedience. Since then, she has gone on to title four very different dogs in multiple venues and sports. One of her favourite things is watching a team learn and grow together through formal obedience type skills.
Janilee teaches a variety of classes at High Tails including C-Wags Obedience, Parkour, Rally Obedience Skills and Dog Sport Prep. She is also available for private one on one lessons.
Monika Hoyer, CPDT-KA
Monika has been training dogs for over 15 years and has competed actively in dog sports for the majority of those years. She enjoys the problem solving aspect of dog training and views all dogs on an individual basis while drawing from an extensive understanding of the evolution of animal behaviour.
Monika shares her life with her three dogs: Badger the Border Collie, Fennec the Kelpie mix, and Rook the Alaskan Husky, along with her six Barn Hunt gerbils, a couple of budgie birds, and her ‘fish in training’.
Monika’s dogs past and present boast titles in Barn Hunt, Flyball, Skyhoundz, Trick Dog, Canine Good Neighbour, and have dabbled ‘just for fun’ in agility, scent detection, bike joring, and dog sledding.
Her gerbil Wally is the one and only trained and titled Trick Gerbil, and has earned both his Novice and Intermediate Trick titles.
Monika has past experience working with wildlife and exotic animals and finding solutions for problem pet behaviour. Her primary focus these days, however, is the sport of Barn Hunt. In addition to competing and training at the Championship level, Monika has furthered her education by attending the BHA Barn Hunt Judge Workshop.
Monika’s goal is to help you and your dog enjoy the sport as much as and her dogs do by tuning in to what your dog is telling you in the ring and teaching you to work together as a team, read and trust your dog, and find true passion in the hunt! Visit her Facebook page HERE. for more info.
Monika teaches Barn Hunt Lessons and Classes at High Tails and holds NASDA events on site.
Jade Robertson Zwingli, IAABC-ADT
Jade is an Accredit Dog Trainer through the IAABC and both an Up Dog Challenge and a Canadian Association of Rally Obedience Judge. She has worked in a variety of environments in the animal world from the Calgary Humane Society, Calgary Zoo, dog daycare and of course dog boarding for the past 25 years.
Her vast experience includes behaviour assessments, behaviour modification, one on one coaching and group classes. She has a passion for helping fearful dogs and their humans find peace.
Jade trains and competes in disc dog, barn hunt, rally obedience, agility and earth dog. She shares her home with 3 Australian Shepherds and 2 Miniature Dachshunds.
Jade is the Manager of the Training Department at High Tails and if you call or email she will be in touch! She also hosts CARO trials at High Tails.