Our Story
LIZ NISHIMURA - Owner
Liz Nishimura was always curious about animal behaviour and human behaviour and pursued her interest in acquiring a B.A. in psychology from York University. When she adopted a German shepherd puppy of her own, she was even more inspired to learn about dog training. In September of 2004, Liz began an intensive training program to become a dog trainer and behaviour therapist.
YVES LEGARE - Owner
Yves worked in the busy IT department of a national printing company as a computer analyst. It was his patience and trouble-shooting skills that helped him excel at what he did. Yves was impressed how Liz was able to transform a stressed-out dog and family into a harmonious human/canine pack, in just a few hours. It didn’t take much more for him to quit his job, to take the same training and join her with his newly acquired skills in dog training and behavior therapy.
The husband-and-wife team of Yves Legare and Liz Nishimura have been training dogs for 19 years. Since 2004, both Liz and Yves have been in thousands of homes on three continents training not only dogs but their owners as well. In 2005 they were certified Master dog trainers by an international company. In the years following, they trained thousands of dogs of all breeds, ages, and behavioural issues. They received training, in Toronto, Canada; Denver, USA; Sydney, Australia; and Manchester, England. They worked in France from 2008 to 2011 and trained hundreds of dogs in their homes across the central and eastern regions of France.
It all started back in 2004 when Liz decided to follow her passion and fascination for animal and human behaviour. She discovered a program originating in Australia that taught how to read dog body language, their method of communication and how to teach and support dog owners in their day-to-day lives with their furry companions. Yves witnessed the transformation from stressed out dog/family relationships to harmonious and enjoyable companionship. He was sold on also becoming a dog trainer and Furry Logic Home Dog Training was born.
In less than 3 years following, Furry Logic trained over 1,800 dogs in Calgary and the surrounding area. Liz and Yves had separate clients but would confer over the dinner table to develop strategies when an unusual or extreme case arose. Because of this they could tackle all sorts of problem dog behaviours such as excessive barking, toileting in the house, aggression towards strangers and even aggression towards the owner. One example of an extreme case was when Yves was brought in to help a couple whose dog had caused $10,000 of damage due to separation anxiety, twice. It was one of their biggest challenges, not so much to change the dog’s behaviour but to change how the owner interacted with their anxious Weimaraner, which was the cause of such stress. As you may already know, dog training is a lot about people training too. These situations can be delicate and require superior persuasive skills.
This is one of the secrets to their success.
In 2007, Liz and Yves took Furry Logic and their two Rhodesian Ridgebacks, Shambay and Chinook, to Lyon, France. Dogs enjoy a special place in French culture and at the time were welcome in virtually all public places. That is not to say that all French dogs are perfectly behaved. Owners still sought out Furry Logic training for the exact same problems that dogs display all over the world. It took some time but eventually even veterinarians and veterinarian/behaviourists were looking to learn more about the Furry Logic method. The French appropriately call dog training ”canine education”. This led to connecting with the commander of the fire department for the entire Rhone Alpes area (pop. 5,500,000). The commander’s own dog who had won several awards for its search-and-rescue triumphs had some serious behavioural problems off the job. Even this award-winning dog benefitted from Furry Logic training.
In 2011, Liz and Yves returned to Calgary. They left behind some wonderful lifelong friends and brought home with them many amazing experiences and memories. Their passion for dog training was undaunted so they picked up where they had left off. To date, Furry Logic has trained thousands of dogs and their owners to have a calmer, more harmonious, mutually respectful life together. What could be more gratifying?
Furry Logic Home Dog Training continues to have an A+ accreditation with the Better Business Bureau, a qualification that is uncommon in the dog-training world.